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Interesting that, at this late hour, Korean players are still threatening to boycott the WBC. See here:
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Ok guys, it's confirmed. Just as I thought and always said, Spain was situated in San Juan, Puerto Rico (I knew MLB wasn't going to put a Spanish Team full of Cuban defectors in the same group as Cuba) whereas Canada was put in Phoenix. So, that leaves Brazil traveling to Fukuoka instead. Best regards!
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Originally posted by Rally Monkey View Post
I thought the owners agreed to add the tenth team in 2015
Originally posted by dviera78 View Post
Great news! The Asia tickets should be going on sale soon.Comment
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Interesting. I, too, figured that MLB would want to avoid the politics of playing Spain against Cuba. Didn't think they were imaginative enough,though, to put Brazil in Asia. Should be very, very interesting.Originally posted by dviera78 View Post
Cool looking tix!
Update: I just checked my predictions. I thought MLB would try to smooth the way for Team USA by putting Spain in Phoenix. By putting Canada there, they've made it a bit more likely that we'll see an upset. And, with more major lragurrs playing in the field, that they'll sell more tickets.Last edited by Rally Monkey; 11-29-2012, 07:38 PM.Comment
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New IBAF Rankings, Brazil jumps to 20th and New Zealand breaks in at 29th.
Source: http://www.ibaf.org/en/news/2012/11/...8-5ddf603e1d39Comment
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Bad news: According to reports out of Japan, WBC preliminary rosters--which had been set to be released next week--won't be due now until mid-January.
More blown deadlines. Shouldn't be a surprise.
UPDATE: Here's a report from Team Canada that sheds some light on why the roster deadline is being pushed back. Makes sense: Some free agents (like Ryan Dempster) don't know where they'll sign yet, and their new teams could put the kibosh on their participation. But we should be hearing some roster commitments next week during the Winter Meetings.
Last edited by Rally Monkey; 11-30-2012, 06:56 PM.Comment
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Not too surprising, as 9 of Brazil's 28-man roster (for the qualifiers) played in Japan last year and another has played in Japan in the past. That's a good chunk of their team being familiar with Japanese baseball fans, especially the players with some NPB experience (Fernandes, Matsumoto, Kunabushi).Originally posted by Rally Monkey View PostComment
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As for the new IBAF rankings, they are confusing.
The IBAF post dated November 29 (yesterday) concerning newly updated rankings state they have been revised to reflect the September and November WBC Qualifiers, the Cuban team's trip through Taiwan and Japan this Fall, and the South American Championships won by Argentina.
Many team rankings have been updated.
However, for the First Place Team, Cuba, nothing has changed from September 21 through November 29 --- their total is exactly 766.02 points for both Sep 21 and Nov 29. Losses during their trip to Taiwan and Japan ? Doesn't matter ! ???
And now let's look at the Fifth Place Team, Canada, nothing has changed from September 21 through November 29 --- their total is exactly 485.00 points for both Sep 21 and Nov 29. Three consecutive lopsided victories at the Regensburg WBC Qualifier Pool ? Doesn't matter ! ???
So what is happening with Lausanne and the IBAF ? Don't know, but it's obvious that their rankings need to be double-checked before accepting them at face value.
If we assume these most recent IBAF rankings have validity, and I know this is a BIG IF for many who post here, and the decision is made to give some new nations a chance with a second round of qualifiers then the candidates for being added might include the following twelve teams --- # 22 Argentina, # 27 Pakistan, # 30 Croatia, # 32 Indonesia, # 33 Sweden, # 34 Hong Kong, # 35 Ecuador, # 36 Sri Lanka, # 37 Greece, # 38 Belgium, # 40 Honduras, # 41 Guam.
Or it may be decided to not have an additional round of qualifiers, but to replace some of the teams who did not win a game in 2012 --- Thailand, Nicaragua, France, Czech.
Addition of a second round of qualifiers could come in 2016 or in 2020. There are three and a half years to go before Fall 2016 WBC Qualifier decisions will be set in stone.Comment
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Like we kinda guessed at, Brazil once they won seemed like a good fit for Japan with some slight regional interest likely to exist. The Brazil games will do a little better then Spain games in Japan would have.Comment
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Phil, as I've written here countless times, the IBAF rankings are a joke. They should be ignored.Comment
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Japanese media is reporting the schedule for Samurai Japan in Pool A in Fukuoka.
Sat., March 2
Japan v. Brazil
Sun. March 3, 7 pm
Japan v. China
Wed. March 6, 7 pm
Japan v. Cuba
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I wonder if all of the first round groups will use the same format?Originally posted by Rally Monkey View Post
Day 1
1 v. 4
2 v. 3
Day 2
1 v. 3
2 v. 4
Day 3
1 v. 2
3 v. 4Comment
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I'm guessing Cuba will play China in a March 2 doubleheader, Cuba will play Brazil on March 4, and Brazil will play China on March 5.Comment
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No. Other than Pool A, they're 4 day rounds. Probably two doubleheaders the first two days, then single nighttime games the last two days. Like in 2006.Originally posted by NewEnglandAmazins View PostComment
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You're right. I must be really tired, I didn't see that Japan is off on Monday the 4th and Tuesday the 5th.Originally posted by Rally Monkey View PostComment
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