April 9, 2026

58 thoughts on “World Baseball Classic: USA vs. Venezuela”

  3. If this is true they need to shake the format up. Manager Omar López said he woke up Tuesday with texts from three different major league organizations imploring that he not use their relievers on back-to-back days after he needed six to beat Italy.

    1. He got to use almost all of his main guys. The problem with Whitlock’s choke job is that Valencia was only available if it was a save situation.

    2. To have all these days off and then one team play back to back in the finals is silly. I guess TV didn’t want two semi final games on the same day.

    1. I hate “represent your country” sports, turning things into another engine prompting people towards knee-jerk “patriotism.”

    2. I always think they should let players make their own inter-country teams. The Olympics too. They say it’s all about bringing the world together, then they segregate the world based on those invisible lines they all fight over.

    3. Love that idea, Plank. Also, great to see you here. Been a while.

      Pete, agree completely. The scoundrels have enough refuge as is.

    4. plank, that would be cool!
      Although how to you stop all the best players from just making one LA Dodgers team?

  7. Seriously does anyone here on this site actually care about the WBC? (Other than seeing judge not come thru when needed which sadly is eventually going to cement his reputation as a choker)

    1. It was somewhat entertaining, especially with the US losing twice in a row now because anything can happen. It wouldn’t be entertaining at all if it was just the US barnstormers blitzing a bunch of AA pitchers and high school kids. I didn’t watch more than a few hours total though.

    2. It’s meaningful baseball in mid March. I enjoyed it. Italy’s run was entertaining. I watched most of it. Is Team USA losing the same as watching the Yankees get Boone’d out of the postseason yet again? No, of course not. But I think it’s fun and I do get invested every time it comes around.

  10. Lagrange 4ip 0r 2h 4k 1bb, for ST 13.2 1er 6h 13 K 4bb
    Lagrange threw fastballs on 25 of his 60 pitches, averaging 99.6 mph and running triple digits nine times.

    2. Or come up with something new and even more disturbing?
      I agree, it’s tantalizing!

  11. Rumors are that Gil will start the season in AAA. With no fifth starter needed at first, that makes the most sense, as it gives them an extra reliever for the start of the season. Then the extra reliever can be sent down to make room for Gil.

  12. By the way, I’ve been seeing some people giving the Yankees shit for how they’ve handled Gil. The guy was fucking hurt, and he’s obviously not been the same pitcher since! What the fuck do they want from the Yankees on this shit?

    It’s like, “You should have traded Clint Frazier and Miguel Andujar before they were hurt.” WHY would you have traded those dudes BEFORE they were hurt? BEFORE they were hurt, they were both regular players in the lineup!

    1. Hindsight is 20/20.
      What they could have got for Sanchez after 2017? Boom.
      But after his terrible 2018 and good 2019 I wanted him gone. Sadly they held on to him again. And he got bad again. And then made even worse by trading him for Josh Pig Donaldson. If there can be one do-over this would be the one I would pick on.

  14. Not an answer. Hope we didn’t give up anyone useful

    Ryan Weathers was tagged for 7 runs on 8 hits in 3 IP by the Blue Jays in Dunedin, including a George Springer grand slam. Daulton Varsho also homered off Weathers, who has an 11.68 ERA in 12 1/3 spring innings.

    2. I don’t think you can worry about results, and concern yourself more with their stuff. Cruz was awful in spring Training, as well, last year, because he was trying stuff out to see what worked.

      Gil I’m concerned about because the STUFF looks bad.

  18. Is he Proud of this?
    How has this non-analytical thinking gone so far! Mr owner of the title of “most games managing the Yankees without a WS championship” (despite having the best hitter since the day you took over a team that had just lost game 7 of the ALCS)
    Sheesh.

    1. I think he is proud of this and I get the feeling that he thinks it’s all going well. “Look, we’re in the playoffs every year. We’ve had some bad luck with injuries. A ball drops here, a line drive gets caught there and things look different. It’s not about results. It’s about putting in the work, takin’ your reps, keepin’ a positive attitude. The results will follow. I like the guys we got. You’ll see, 10, 12 years from now it’ll be us hoisting that trophy. I mean not THESE guys. Maybe Volpe. But I’ll still be here. Then we’ll see how many people are still talking about the Dodgers’ previous 9 championships. No, they can keep their fancy numbers and reason and talent. I’ll go with intangibles and good attitude any day”

  19. Ryan Weathers said he is next pitching on Tuesday in Arizona against the Cubs. That means he’s lined up to make his Yankees debut Monday in Seattle.

    Ryan Weathers will be in the Yankees’ starting rotation, Aaron Boone confirmed. “He’s healthy and the stuff is in line with where it needs to be. I don’t put a lot of stock in numbers in spring,” Boone said.

    2. Playoffs? pfft, small sample size. numbers mean nothing. all you need to know is about hustle and grit.

    1. Hopefully he forces his way on to the team later this year, and is the starting left fielder next season.

      I don’t think it’s a bad thing to have a 24-year-old left fielder to look forward to next season.

  27. So, for the record:
    Brian, it was how many weeks ago that you said, and we all agreed, that they surely have more moves ahead and if this was all they did, it was a pretty bad, disappointing off-season.
    As it turns out, they didn’t have any more moves planned, that was it. No more than holding on to what they had last year, just a year older and (Grisham, for instance) with serious question marks.
    Is that right? Am I missing anything?

    2. To be clear, I’m in now way putting anything on Brian, just comparing where we’re ending up to how we saw the process developing.

    3. I said that before they traded for Weathers (amusingly, it was, like, two hours before they traded for Weathers). They also signed Goldy and Grichuk since then, but the Weathers move WAS the other big move.

      It’s also a possibility that they thought Rafael Montero was going to, you know, pitch for them (visa issues have kept him from joining the team).

      But yes, I wish they would still sign someone like Kopech.

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