Posted on 02/14/2006 3:26:57 PM PST by presidio9
Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter are among the headliners on the 30-man U.S. team roster announced on Tuesday for next month's inaugural World Baseball Classic.
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The 16-nation tournament will feature the world's best players competing for their home countries staged over three weeks.
Clemens, 43, winner of a record seven Cy Young Awards for major league pitching excellence, will be joined by fellow-starters Dontrelle Willis, Jake Peavy and C.C. Sabathia on a pitching staff that will be stacked with 10 relievers.
"I'm excited to be a part of it," Clemens, a free agent after going 13-8 with a major league-best 1.87 ERA last year with Houston. said in a teleconference call on Tuesday. "Obviously. this is a good group of guys. We'll be ready to go."
Third baseman Rodriguez and shortstop Jeter, New York Yankee team mates, will man the left side of the infield. Other infielders named include Chipper Jones, Michael Young, Chase Utley and slugging first basemen Derrek Lee and Mark Teixeira.
Jason Varitek is one of three catchers and outfielders named who include Johnny Damon, Vernon Wells and Ken Griffey Jr.
Stoppers Billy Wagner, Joe Nathan and Brad Lidge top the relief corps, which U.S. manager Buck Martinez said was the key to the pitching staff.
"The strength of the team is in the closing staff, with the power of the closers," Martinez said about the pre-season competition that will have starting pitchers limited by strict pitch counts to protect their arms.
"They have a tendency to get ready early. They have the tendency to throw strikes. I think the relievers will be a little more advanced than the starters. We have a lot of depth in that bullpen from guys who can give us innings and get us through this thing."
Wagner said he looked forward to playing for his country.
"I'm honored to be a part of this," he said. "I believe with the talent we have and the pride, it's going to be like playing in the Olympics."
The U.S. are in Pool B along with Mexico, Canada and South Africa and will play their first-round matches in Phoenix, Arizona. Their first game will be against Mexico on March 7.
The two winners in the Arizona pool advance to Anaheim, California, to compete against the two finalists among Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan.
The semi-finals are March 18 at San Diego, with the finals two days later at the same site.
The other pools include powerful teams representing the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Cuba.
It would be tough to beat Domincan Republic.
Hope they pull it off!
But will Clemens play for the 'Stros come next season? Not any earlier than May 1. The drama is almost too much.
The Dominican Republic is not going to be as good as you think. They don't have the pitching. Their two best starters are Pedro Martinex (who may not be playing) and Bartolo Colon. Put that against Dontrell Willis and Clemens, and I'll take the US.
Unless Houston collapses out of the gate, he will end up there. Or NY. With NY, it doesn't matter, because the more they need him, the more money they will throw at them. There is nothing Boston can do to make him go back there.
Unless Houston collapses out of the gate, he will end up there. Or NY. With NY, it doesn't matter, because the more they need him, the more money they will throw at them. There is nothing Boston can do to make him go back there.
I think he'll either play for the 'Stros or retire. He has nothing else to prove. As an Astros fan, I am very appreciative of what Roger has done for our city and team, but I wish he'd stop with the theatrics. In all honesty he should probably retire. His age will catch up with him.
Just hoping Jeter, Arod etc. don't get hurt and cost my Yanks when REAL baseball starts.
I think this world thing is a bunch of crap.
You're kidding yourself if you don't think the Yankees remain a possibility. If he's coming back at all, the possibility of winning another WS is the primary consideration.
Hi George...
I predict this will be the last time they try this for a while. It goes without saying that SOMEBODY will get hurt.
If the Yanks want him, and he wants to go back there, then I wish em all good luck. If Steinbrenner wants to overpay for still another player, then go ahead. In Houston we get the hometown discount--the Rocket would twist the knife in ol' George even more than he did for Drayton.
The real question is, which A-Rod shows up? Regular season A-Rod, or playoff A-Rod? We all know that Jeter will be Jeter and clutch at all times.
How, exactly, was the roster chosen? I'm interested because in many instances the players that were on the provisional roster and were dropped are much better than the players chosen.
I think it has more to do with who wants to play. A lot of the really good players bowed out quietly (probably fears of injury). Still a solid team by all accounts, but those Dominicans are going to be hard to beat (with Prince Albert, Big Papi, etc.).
As a Yankees fan, I am always amazed to hear how protective fans of other teams are of your owner's pocketbooks. You are giving him money every time you go to a game, or even watch on TV for that matter. He owes it to you to pay as much as possible for the product. Trust me, most of these guys have a lot more cash than Steinbrenner, and none of them are losing money.
I disagree. Drayton McLane can do what he wants with his money. It's his. He knows how to spend it wisely and build a solid team. The problem with Steinbrenner is he thinks spending more money is smarter than carefully spending less. The Yanks have basically sold out your entire farm system to get aging veterans. Don't get me wrong, they are great players, but selling out the farm means you have to keep replacing aging veterans with more Free Agents. The Astros are the team they are in large part to their superb farm system, with a nice blend of seasoned Free Agents.
Steinbrenner has his philosphy, Drayton has his. If Steinbrenner wants to spend his money by giving an aging superstar millions upon millions, then he is welcome to do so. Drayton has decided not to give Clemens what he wanted (what was it--$20+ million). I agree with his decision.
All I know is that Apolo Anton Ohno buys the same purple lipstick that ARod wears in the playoffs :)
While I agree with the idea of keeping your star prospects, that philosophy doesn't have to be inconsistent with signing free agents. The best Yankees prospect to come along since Jeter was Sorianio, who they traded for A-rod, which was an upgrade (and the Yankees are not paying his entire contract so they are basically getting him at market value). All joking aside, anybody who says they wouldn't love to have A-rod on their team is an idiot.
The point is, most of the other owners in the bigger cities are sort-changing their fans. Sure, keep your prospects, but every team has a few holes. Spend that money to plug those holes instead of pocketing it.
A-Rod is a stat machine. He's a great talent, and of course I'd love to have him (if $ were no object). But he's the Peyton Manning of baseball. If the game is on the line, I'd want Jeter up to bat.
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