Daily Archives: March 6, 2009

I’m going to be covering the World Baseball Classic for SI.com over the next few weeks. My coverage starts today with previews of all 16 teams. You can check those out here:

Pool A: Japan, Korea, Chinese Taipei, China
Pool B: Cuba, Mexico, Australia, South Africa
Pool C: USA, Venezuela, Canada, Italy
Pool D: Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Netherlands, Panama

The first two games in Pool A have already happened, with Japan beating China 4-0 and Korea defeating Chinese Taipei 9-0. China and Chinese Taipei, who battled for 12 innings in their Olympic showdown last year before China came away with their first-ever win in international competition, will play tonight at 10:30, and the loser of that game will be the first eliminated from the tournament.

Things really get going after that, with Japan vs. Korea kicking off a slate of five games tomorrow, including Team USA’s opening game against Canada.

I’ll be livebloggin the USA’s game for SI.com tomorrow at 2:00, and will liveblog nearly all of the USA’s games in this tournament. Be sure to check those out, as well as my overview of the tournament and the rules changes:

The top two teams from each pool advance to Round 2, and it would be a major upset if any of the “second division” teams — Chinese Taipei, China, South Africa, Australia, Canada, Italy, Panama, Netherlands — were to advance at the expense of any of the “first division” teams — Japan, Korea, Cuba, Mexico, USA, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico. . . . With the weak half of the teams eliminated, the competition should really start to heat up in Round 2. It will take just nine days for the elite eight to yield a champion via the final at Dodger Stadium on March 23.

I’m likely a bit biased because I’ve been emersing myself in the tournament for the last week or so in preperation for doing this coverage, but the innagural WBC was more popular than expected, and I think as each tournament gives the next more backstory (such as the USA’s Round 2 exit and Korea’s three games against Japain in 2006), those stories will begin to overshadow complaints about the format or the players who aren’t participating. In just the second go-around, I can really see this thing catching on, not just in Asia and Latin America, where it’s already a big deal, but here in the U.S. as well. After all, it’s passionate, high-stakes baseball being played by some of the best players in the world.

Today’s news is powered by an MRI machine, and this video …

• Jack Curry covers the recent history of A-Rod’s hip health:

When Rodriguez underwent a magnetic resonance imaging procedure for his right quadriceps last May, General Manager Brian Cashman said the results showed an incidental irregularity in his hip. …

But after the finding, the Yankees were seemingly lax about examining Rodriguez’s hip again. Rodriguez, the highest-paid player in baseball, did not have another M.R.I. on his hip during or after the season. Cashman said the irregularity on Rodriguez’s M.R.I. was an insufficient reason to pursue additional testing.

Still, considering how valuable Rodriguez is and how closely the Yankees typically supervise players, they could have ordered an M.R.I. last October to determine if the irregularity had developed into something more significant. The Yankees have $275 million invested in Rodriguez. An M.R.I. costs a few thousand dollars. Cashman said that was unnecessary because Rodriguez did not have a documented injury, often has stiff legs and never reported any pain.

• Tom Verducci writes of the Yankees’ achilles heel … the age of their big stars:

The Yankees have a 37-year-old catcher coming off shoulder surgery (Jorge Posada), a shortstop who turns 35 in June (Derek Jeter), a 39-year-old closer (Mariano Rivera), a 35-year-old outfielder (Johnny Damon), another outfielder who turns 35 in June (Hideki Matsui) and now a 33-year-old third baseman with a problematic hip. None of those position players except Jeter played 150 games last year.

• The Post sizes up possible short-term replacements (both internal and external) for Rodriguez.
• Ken Davidoff thinks the A-Rod hatred might just vanish come Opening Day:

A hip injury has to cause a tremendous concern for the Yankees. However, let’s take a leap and say that this is a condition from which A-Rod can recover, and be something close to his old self.

If A-Rod can return to the Yankees’ lineup sometime in May, then perhaps he’ll actually be appreciated for the positives he brings to the table. Rather than the negatives.

Right now, when everyone is tied in the standings at 0-0, it’s easy to hate the guy. To pick on him for daring to offer praise to Jose Reyes, of all things.

But when the Yankees open the season April 6 in Baltimore, and Cody Ransom is playing third base, we’ll get the full appreciation for the 7.1 Wins Above Replacement Player that A-Rod put up in 2008, a down year for him.

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