Unfortunately you have swapped Venezuela and the DR in your statement.
Here’s the bracket going forward.
So if team USA can get past Canada, they would almost certainly face the Dominican Republic in the semi-final. Paul Skenes would be the starting pitcher. Tarik Skubal made one start before returning to the Tigers and is unavailble going forward. It’s hard not to get greedy: I want to toss in Fried, Crochet, Hader and Hoffman.
The D.R. is a powerhouse. I’m sure the betting sites are preditcing a D.R. vs Japan final.
Yep, my bad for not double checking. Good catch on your part.
No shade on you. That was one of the reasons both teams played so hard yesterday even though both were in to the next round. The winner gets to miss Team Samurai.
Some roster substitutions for Team USA going forward:
Out:
Tarik Skubal
Micheal Wacha
Ryan Yarborough
In:
Will Vest
Tyler Rogers
Tim Hill
Also, Joe Ryan is replacting Clayton Kershaw but he’ll only pitch if they advance beyond the quarterfinals.
Since I live in greater Miami I took a look at going to the Korea - Dominican Republic game on Fri evening = tomorrow which starts at the reasonable hour of 6:30pm.
$750 per seat generally behind home plate but up rather high, $400ish for baseline seats high in the lower bowl, and outfield nosebleeds are $150. Very few tickets available in each of the better sections I sampled.
For Saturday’s game Venezuela vs Japan, add about 25% to those prices. And even fewer seats available despite the fact game time is 9pm, so ending around midnight.
Plus parking but I didn’t get far enough into testing the purchase to see how much they want for that.
Far cry from the $50 I spent earlier this week for a Marlins pre-season game.
Might go to Fri night, might not. Sat is too past my bedtime for something of less than all-consuming interest, especially after the hour-ish drive home.
Miami is home to a LOT of folks from both the DR & Venezuela, so the crowd for either game will be very enthusiastic and energetic. And loud. Lotta excitement if I do go.
I was looking at ticket prices a couple nights ago for the Houston games - they were quite a bit lower. I wonder how low they’ll get before game time.
Bye-bye, Team Samurai!
You’d think Team Venezuela was fired up for some reason.
USA plays DR tonight. DR has a real murderers row for a lineup. Paul Skenes vs Luis Severino. Overall the U.S. has a pitching advantage over DR but in a single game that doesn’t matter as much. Should be a good game.
Fox carried several games on the main channel. Not this one. It’s going to be on FS1. I can’t help but think that’s a mistake. This should be the most interesting matchup in the tournament.
There are very, very few seats left for the DOM vs USA game. nosebleeds abeam roughly 1st or 3rd base are selling for $230 ea. And there aren’t many.
How can you not love baseball?
Rooting hard for either Venezuela or Italy to win it all. WBC needs a fresh new champion.
Joe Ryan coming aboard didn’t work out, so Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman will join the squad instead. Team USA could throw a hell of bullpen game, if it comes to that.
So, the group brackets designed so USA/JAP could only happen in a final, worked insofar as it will just not happen.
Still you get issues where MLB insurance clauses prevent a player from participating. Team PUR’s management and fandom were particularly salty over that this year. Lindor, Correa, Báez left off Puerto Rico's WBC roster over insurance coverage . (Manager Yadier Molina, asked in a post-game press conference if this affected the final outcome, showed heart and answered “that would be kind of disrespectful to the boys who came and played”.)
Over in the socialnets of course the USA manager got dragged good and hard over the premature triumphalism in the pool round. Meanwhile Team DOR’s celebratory flamboyance is gaining a lot of admirers.
Incorrect. If USA had won their pool and Japan hadn’t been eliminated, they’d be lined up to play tomorrow in the semis.
This Italy/Venezuela game is far more entertaining and electric than it has any right to be.
It is, isn’t it? Balls-out baseball!
You know people will hammer the political angle if Venezuela beats USA 2 months after Maduro got snatched by the US military.
Phillies OF Johan Rojas has been suspended 80 games for a failed drug test.