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2017 - Dominican Republic WBC Team

Saturday, May 4th, 2013

They are the defending champs, the first team to go through all their games undefeated after being embarrassed in 2009 by being eliminated in the first round. It was a star studded lineup but so was the 2009 team. What will be the lineup in 2017?

Catcher - Carlos Santana will only be 31 in 2017. The question will be whether he will still be catching or playing first base by that age. Gary Sanchez is the best young catcher out there. He should be ready to make an impact with the Yankees by 2017. The question may be whether the Yankees would allow him to participate in the event. Wilin Rosario is probably suited more for a backup role.

First base - Miguel Sano will earn this spot with his 40 homerun bat making an impact on the Minnesota Twins. The Dominican Republic should be able to find plenty of good defensive players for the third base position, his current position. Edwin Encarnacion will only be 34 and he could DH or play first base to allow Miguel to play third. The Dominicans could also make room for veterans Albert Pujols and Adrian Beltre if they can remain healthy. Neither got to play on the championship team because of the existing injury rule. Both will be pushing 40 by 2017.

Second Base - Eric Aybar will be a veteran that will have lost his range at 33 to play shortstop. He could slide over to second or play third base. Alen Hanson is a younger player who may not have the arm for short and could be the Pirates second baseman by 2017. Ronny Rodriguez of the Cleveland Indians could also fill the second base role. There could also be a battle for the shortstop position between Starlin Castro, Jean Segura and Manny Machado (if he qualifies) and the losers will move to second and third.

Shortstops - They were loaded here in 2013 with Jose Reyes and Eric Aybar switching off. The Dodgers wanted Hanley Ramirez to get some reps here as well. All three will be in their mid-30s by then and they could still occupy that position as Derek Jeter did for the United States team in 2009 at age 35. They will have to fight three up and comers in the Cubs Starlin Castro, the Brewers Jean Segura and the Orioles Manny Machado. Down on the farm youngsters like the Royals Adalberto Mondesi, son of Raul and the Indians Dorssys Paulino could be ready for backup roles. Emilio Bonafacio could be a nice utility option that could play all three infield positions. Leury Garcia filled that position for the 2013 team and will be available to fill that role again in 2017.

Third Base - Pedro Alvarez is of Dominican descent. He needs to swing and miss less to make an impact. Juan Francisco is getting an opportunity with the Braves. The Cubs Junior Lake is down on the farm and should be a regular by 2017. The Dominicans also have a lot of names they can choose to put here from the shortstop position. It will be a wide open but talented position.

Outfield - The Dominicans were a bit short here in 2013. That should not be the case in 2017. They should have lots of choices to cover ground in centerfield in Starling Marte, Eury Perez, Rymer Liriano and Gregory Polanco. The corners should see Moises Sierra, Marcell Ozuna, Domingo Santana, Jorge Bonafacio (who could be teammates with his brother Emilio) and any of the losers in the centerfield fight. The outfield could be so crowded that one of the best corner outfielders Oscar Taveras could choose to play for Canada, but the Dominicans would be wise to make room for him.

Starting Pitchers - Major league teams are very protective of starting pitchers they let participate in this event. Johnny Cueto could be their ace. Alexi Ogando and Michael Pineda are also potential starters here. Carlos Martinez was just called up by the Cardinals. His small stature makes him better suited for the bullpen. The Brewers may have Willy Peralta as their ace by this time. The Rays will have called up Alex Colome by this time. There are others scattered in the majors, future Samuel Dedunos.

Bullpen - They will have a number of players coming out of the pen more talented than Fernado Rodney, but he was a late bloomer, closing for the Dominicans at 36. Neftali Feliz should be healthy and Kelvin Herrera should be an established closer with the Royals by this time. The Mets have a load of pitchers who could move to starter or relief in Jeurys Familia, Rafael Montero and Domingo Tapia. Arodys Vizcaino will have established himself with the Cubs by 2017. You could always have a late bloomer like Pedro Strop or Felipe Paulino.

The Dominicans won’t have a hard time finding players to repeat their championship run.

Posted in Dominican Republic, World Baseball Classic | No Comments »

Top Dominican Prospects - National League

Monday, April 29th, 2013

Myworld arrived in Norfolk to watch a baseball game and see a bit of Norfolk. It has been raining all day so we spend the day in a new city stuck inside a hotel room. This gives us an opportunity to write about the top Dominican prospects in the National League. The rain has stopped, the ground is wet. Only two hours until game time.

1. Oscar Tavares OF (St. Louis Cardinals) - He was born in the Dominican Republic but lived in Montreal, Canada for a number of years. This gives him the opportunity to be on top of two prospect lists, the Canadian and the Dominican Republic. Don’t be surprised if he plays for the Canadian WBC team in 2017. He is considered the best hitter in baseball, though his bat is more conducive for batting titles than homerun titles. Defensively he is a better fit in right field than center, but he lacks the cannon for an arm like many rightfielders. Myworld saw a lot of him in spring training, but we failed to see him impress with the bat. We were not convinced of the hype but it was a small snap shot in time.

2. Carlos Martinez RHP (St. Louis Cardinals) - His arrival to spring training was delayed by a visa issue. He has already had one incident where he had to change his name from Carlos Matias to Carlos Martinez. He stands only 6′0″ but he is one of the Cardinals hardest throwers on a roster filled with hard throwers. His fastball lights the radar guns in the high 90s and his curveball has tremendous break. He could turn into a Pedro Martinez type of starter or his physical limitations could move him to the bullpen as a closer. He has yet to throw over 104 innings in a season, so time will tell if his small frame will limit the number of innings he can pitch in a year.

3. Rymer Liriano OF (San Diego Padres) - The Padres had expectations a good spring would allow him to fill their right field job this year. They will have to wait until next year to achieve those expectations due to an elbow injury and Tommy John surgery putting an end to his 2013 season. Rymer adds the potential for power to his speed to give you a five tool player. He has yet to hit over 12 homeruns in a season, but he has 97 stolen bases in the last two years. The power should come, the speed may decrease as he fills out. His speed allows him to play center field and a strong arm makes a shift to right a possibility. He still needs to work on improving his patience at the plate.

4. Gregory Polanco OF (Pittsburgh Pirates) - Polanco had a breakout 2012 season where he hit .325 with 16 homeruns in his first exposure to full season ball. He also stole 40 bases in 55 attempts. He only signed for $175,000 as an international free agent and in his first couple years could not hit better than .267. Gregory is also a five tool talent, but one who makes contact and shows good patience at the plate, drawing 44 walks for a .388 OBA last year. Next year will be a big year to prove 2012 was not a fluke.

5. Marcell Ozuna OF (Miami Marlins) - Marcel is one of those all or nothing players. He swings hard and can hit it a mile, or have it settle in the catchers mitt for strike three. He has struck out 237 times in his last two years, but he has also slugged 47 homeruns. He hasn’t shown the motivation to steal a lot of bases, despite an impressive 25 for 30 success rate over the last two years. With a cannon for an arm, his ideal position is right field, though he has the speed to play center. He will be playing AA next year. With a decimated Marlin’s roster he is not too far down in the depth chart to wait long if the Marlins need major league help in their outfield.

6. Alen Hanson SS (Pittsburgh Pirates) - A teammate of Greg Polanco, he also had a breakout year last year. One position the Pirates are lacking for their major league roster is shortstop. Alen has all the defensive chops for the position except for a strong arm. That may play better at second. His bat is certainly not an issue with a .309/16/62 slash line. Last year Alen got the triple/double, smashing 33 doubles, racing for 13 triples and depsiting 16 balls over the fence for homeruns. He was also 35 for 44 in stolen bases.

7. Wily Peralta RHP (Dominican Republic) - Wily has had many opportunities to make the Brewers starting rotation. This should be the first time he will get enough starts to knock him off the prospect list. Willy has a mid-90s fastball, but is more comfortable in the low 90s. His big strikeout pitch is his slider. Last year he made his major league debut, getting six starts for a 2.48 ERA. As with most pitchers who face major leaguers for the first time, his strike rate decreased to a career low 7.1 strikeouts peer nine innings

8. Daniel Corcino RHP (Cincinnati Reds) - The Reds have a surplus of pitching with Robert Stephenson and Tony Cingrani ahead of Corcino. Dan is a small righthander, standing just 5′11″ but his fastball can hit the mid-90s. He also has a slider that can be a strikeout pitch and a developing change. Last year Daniel skipped High A, starting in AA and aqcuitted himself well. In 26 starts he was 8-8 with a 3.01 ERA. Corcino is a couple levels ahead of Stephenson, so if the Reds need a pitcher to fill their starting rotation Corcino will get the call ahead of Stephenson.

9. Luis Mateo RHP (New York Mets) - The Mets have a number of Dominican pitchers in their minor league system in Rafael Montero, Jeurys Familia, Domingo Tapia and Hansel Robles. Mateo seems to have the more consistent stuff. In the two years with the Mets opponents have hit him at a .202 clip. His fastball glides to the plate between 92-97 and his slider is considered to be his best pitch. The Mets only signed him for $150,000. He should get his first season in full season ball and is a couple years away from making the Mets roster.

10. Arodys Vizcaino RHP (Chicago Cubs) - He’s bounced around from the Yankees to the Braves and now to the Cubs. A balky elbow make general managers worry about his durability. Dynamite stuff make other general managers want to acquire him. He already has had some success pitching in the major leagues, getting 17 appearances in 2011 before missing the 2012 season because of Tommy John surgery. He has that small 6′0″ frame, but can hit the mid-90s with his fastball. Time will tell if the surgery will slow down that velocity. His curveball has good break, sometimes making him overly dependent on it during games. He’ll miss the first part of the early 2013 season, pitch some rehab and if he has success may see some time in the Cub bullpen for the summer.

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Top Dominican Prospects - American League

Saturday, April 20th, 2013

The Dominican Republic made up for their early elimination at the hands of the Netherlands in the 2009 WBC by going undefeated in the 2013 WBC to become the first team other than Japan to take the championship, getting some revenge by beating the Netherlands in the seminfinals. To the rest of the world - there is more where the 2013 team came from. This is a review of the American League Dominican Republic prospects.

1. Miguel Sano 3B (Minnesota Twins) - He is probably the best power hitting prospect in baseball right now. If he was a superior defensive player he may be considered the best prospect in baseball. The Twins hope he doesn’t get too big to play third base. While his bat would still play at first it would certainly be less valuable. Miguel finally broke from the rookie leagues and played in the full season Low A league slugging 28 homeruns. The slugging numbers (.637 vs .521) and the batting average (.292 vs .258) were down but he showed an increased awareness of the plate walking 80 times. This year he is playing in the pitcher friendly Florida State League and showing pitchers no mercy, hitting .362 with five homeruns (.690 slugging). He still needs to cut down on his strikeouts.

2. Gary Sanchez C (New York Yankees) - Gary Sanchez was considered the top prospect out of the Dominican Republic in 2009, but Sano appears to have surpassed him. The question with Sanchez is whether his defense will be good enough to allow him to catch. He is said to have better catching tools than Jesus Montero but 16 errors and 18 passed balls at two levels tells a different story. He did slug 18 homeruns and has the bat to move to first base, but like Sano the stick is more valuable if it can be used behind the plate. While he is not a fast runner he was able to steal 15 bases in 19 attempts. He is also playing in the Florida State League, hitting .351 with three homeruns.

3. Dorssys Paulino SS (Cleveland Indians) - On many teams he would be considered their shortstop of the future. With the Indians he finds he is second on the depth chart behind Francisco Lindor. Paulino has a better stick than Lindor, but he doesn’t play the position as well defensively. Last year he combined for a .333 average at two rookie levels, slugging .558 with seven homeruns in his professional debut. He has above average speed that allowed him to steal 11 bases in 13 attempts. He is one rung behind Lindor in the minors so the Indians will keep him at shortstop, but his eventual position may be second base.

4. Yordano Ventura RHP (Kansas City Royals) - They call Yordano the “Lil Pedro” after Pedro Martinez because of his small stature. He only stands 5′11″ but he hits 102 miles per hour on the radar gun. Myworld does not recall Pedro with that kind of velocity. He needs to work on his secondary pitches, which include the curveball and change. His command is also a little spotty. After a promotion to AA his strikeouts per innings pitched dropped to 7.7 while his walk numbers were a bit less than one every two innings. His small stature eliminates any downward plane advantage a pitcher with a triple digit fastball would have.

5. Adalberto Mondesi SS (Kansas City Royals) - He is the son of the Dodgers Raul Mondesi and his brother Raul Mondesi Jr. plays for the Tampa Bay Rays. He may not be able to hit for the power of his dad but his defense at short has the potential to be a plus. He has all the tools to play the position. He also showed a little better bat last year than most projected, hitting .290 with three homeruns. One issue was his 65 whiffs in 50 games. That may be acceptable for a power hitter, but Adalberto may not fit that mode.

6. Alex Colome RHP (Tampa Bay Rays) - Alex is the nephew of Jesus Colome. The Rays always seem to have a large queue of pitchers waiting to get into the Tampa Bay Rays starting rotation. The Rays seem to try to accomodate room for one pitcher by trading one veteran to acquire a bat and an injury to another gives another young pitcher an opportunity. Alex is next in line for an opportunity to fit into the starting rotation. He lost the battle for the fifth starters spot to Roberto Hernandez (ex-Fausto Carmona). Alex has a fastball that pops the plate in the 93-95 mile per hour range with a curve ball, slider and change his other offerings. He has made three starts this year and has only given up one earned run for a 0.56 ERA. The opposition is hitting him at a .143 rate.

7. Jorge Bonifacio OF (Kansas City Royals) - Another relative of a major leaguer, Jorge is the younger brother of major leaguer Emilio. He is not the same kind of player as Emilio, relying more on his power than his speed. The trade of Wil Myers seems to have opened a spot for him in right field. Last year he played in Low A where he hit .282 with ten homeruns. His major league debut in right field is still a couple years away. It’s early in the season in the Carolina League, but after the first 12 games he has yet to hit a homerun and is hitting .250. Five of his twelve hits have gone for extra bases.

8. Danny Salazar RHP (Cleveland Indians) - Danny was signed in 2006. It is only now, after toiling five years in rookie and Low A leagues that he is knocking on the door of the major league roster. He is not a big guy, standing just 6′0″ but the velocity on his fastball has seen jumps to 93-97 with readings in the triple digits. He still needs to work on his secondary pitches, but his changeup is considered the best among the pitchers in the Indians minor league. He had Tommy John surgery in 2010, one of the reasons he stayed frozen at the lower levels of the minor leagues. This has restricted his work load, with 2009 seeing his most work with 107 innings.

9. Ronny Rodriguez SS (Cleveland Indians) - Ronny plays shortstop and is a step ahead of Lindor in the depth chart. He attended high school in the United States but moved back to the island where he was signed as an international free agent for $375,000. He has shown some pop his first two years hitting 11 and 19 homeruns. Last year he improved his strikeout numbers but he still swings at too many pitcher’s pitches. This could result in a lower average as he rises to the top. He is currently playing in AA Eastern where he is currently hitting just .218. He has only walked once in 14 games for a .228 OBA.

10. Enny Romero LHP (Tampa Bay Rays) - Enny throws hard, hitting the mid-90s with his fastball, excellent for a pitcher who throws from the left side. His secondary pitchers, the curve and change are far from polished. He also has some command issues, walking more than a hitter every two innings. His ERAs the last two years (4.26 and 3.93) tell the tale of a pitcher who still needs a lot of work. Enny is pitching for AA Southern where a poor middle start of his three starts had inflated his ERA to 5.93. He has already given up four homeruns, which is just one less than he gave up last year.

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Major Leagues Global Game

Monday, April 1st, 2013

Major league baseball announced that of the 856 players on major league 25 man rosters (106 of which are on the disabled or restricted list) 241 of those players were born outside the 50 United States. That is 28.2 percent of all players, the fourth highest mark. The year 2005 had the highest percentage with 29.2, followed by 2007 (29) and 2012 (28.4).

The countries and territories outside the 50 United States that make up this list include:

Dominican Republic (89, a drop from the 95 they had last year), Venezuela (63, a drop from the 66 they had last year), Canada (17), Cuba (15, their highest total), Mexico (14), Puerto Rico (13), Japan (11), Colombia (4), Panama (4), Curacao (3), Australia (2), South Korea (2), Nicaragua (2), Netherlands (1) and Taiwan (1).

The Milwaukee Brewers lead all teams with 14 foreign born players, followed by the Texas Rangers with 13.

You can read the press release here: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130401&content_id=43618468&vkey=pr_mlb&c_id=mlb

Does this mean the fact they include Puerto Rico in this list that if a player L.J. Hoes makes a major league opening day roster he would be placed on this list since he was born in Washington, D.C., which is not considered one of the 50 states? Myworld is not aware of any current players born in Washington, D.C. currently on a major league opening day roster.

Posted in Australia, Cuba, Canada, Netherlands, Japan, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Panama, Korea, Nicaragua, Taiwan, Mexico, Colombia | No Comments »

Dominican Republic WBC Champs

Wednesday, March 20th, 2013

Their hitters were considered the strong point of this team, but it was the bullpen that shined in the WBC. After Samuel Deduno worked five innings of two hit shutout ball, the bullpen of Octavio Dotel, Pedro Strop, Santiago Casilla and Fernando Rodney shutout the Puerto Ricans out the rest of the way on one hit in the last four innings to win their fourth game against Puerto Rico 3-0. Those four relievers plus Kelvin Herrera combined for 24 shutout innings in the tournament.

The Dominicans jumped out to an early 2-0 lead off Puerto Rican hurler Giancarlo Alvarado. Jose Reyes led off the first with a double. An intentional walk to Robinson Cano put runners on first and second, allowing Edwin Encarnacion to drive in both runners with a 2-run double into deep centerfield.

Hiram Burgos replaced Alvarado in the second and shut down the Dominican bats for three innings. In the fifth they scratched out another run with a bunt single from Alejandro DeAza and a booming RBI double from Eric Aybar. They had opportunities to score more runs in the latter innings, but with their bullpen they didn’t need them.

The Dominicans become the first team to go undefeated through the tournament at 8-0. What is even more impressive is they were also undefeated when playing exhibition games against major league teams, beating the Phillies 15-2 and the Yankees 8-2. That is a 10-0 won/loss record. Put them in any of the divisions in the major leagues and they might be a favorite to win all of them. Their only achilles heel is starting pitching. That bullpen may eventually get wore down if the starters did not pitch to some length.

In 2009 it was Asias time to shine with Korea and Japan playing in the final. In 2013 it was the Caribbean’s turn with Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Will 2017 be Europes turn with Netherlands and Italy or North America with the United States and Canada? Each country has four years to answer that question.

There were 35,000 who watched the game in San Francisco. In the Dominican and Puerto Rico myworld bets that over 50 percent of the television sets were tuned into the game. Both teams can be proud of the effort they made to get to the final.

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Dominicans Roll to Final

Tuesday, March 19th, 2013

Another rematch with Puerto Rico is on the horizon for the Dominican Republic. It almost looks like the 2009 WBC when Korea duked it out with Japan for a number of games until Japan beat them in the final. Puerto Rico has yet to beat the Dominican Republic in any of the games they have played them this year, but it only takes one.

The Netherland bats were very quiet. The only run they scored in the 4-1 loss was in the first inning courtesy of the wildness of Edinson Volquez, who walked the first two hitters he faced. A couple of groundouts allowed Andrelton Simmons to cross the plate with the first run.

Diegomar Markwell shut the vaunted Dominican Republic bats out for the first four innings. Those bats are difficult to fool after they have seen you at least once in the lineup. Carlos Santana got the Dominican train rolling with a double. Moises Alou followed with a double, tying the score at 1-1. A Jose Reyes single gave the Dominicans a 2-1 lead and a Miguel Tejeda single ended the day for Markwell. The Netherlands brought in Tom Stuifbergen. He could not stop the bleeding, throwing a wild pitch to allow Jose Reyes to cross the plate and giving up an RBI single to Edwin Encarnacion. It would be the only inning in which the Dominican bats saw any life.

Edinson Volquez settled down after the first inning and pitched through the fifth, retiring 11 hitters in a row at one point. With a 4-1 lead the Dominicans went to their bullpen to start the sixth, Kelvin Herrera, Pedro Strop and Fernando Rodney leading the charge. They limited the Netherlands to two hits and one walk, not enough to overcome a 4-1 deficit.

It was a good run by the Netherlands. They have a young club that will gain four years of major league experience when the 2017 WBC arrives. Instead of one veteran from Curacao in Andrew Jones, they will have four strong bats in Andrelton Simmons, Jurickson Profar, Didi Gregorius (who didn’t play in this event because of injury) and Jonathan Schoop and an Aruban in Xander Bogaerts. A championship is on the horizon.

The Dominican Republic is undefeated. They will try to finish 8-0 and take a championship back to Dominican.

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Rodriguez Leads Dominicans to Number One Seed

Sunday, March 17th, 2013

Wandy Rodriguez tossed six innings of shutout ball to lead the Dominican Republic to a 2-0 win over Puerto Rico. The win gives the Dominicans the number one seed and the right to play Netherlands to avenge their double loss in 2009. Carlos Santana provided the only run the Dominicans needed with a solo homerun in the fifth.

The Dominicans scored an insurance run in the eighth on a Francsco Pena single. Fernando Rodney picked up his third save of the tournament by pitching a scoreless ninth.

The loss means Puerto Rico will have to play two time defending champ Japan. Japan will be rested and ready to play, having played two exhibition games in Arizona.

There were over 25,000 who attended the game, more fans than attended the Puerto Rico/United States elimination game.

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Dominicans Make it to Final Four

Friday, March 15th, 2013

The Dominican Republic beat the United States 3-1, rallying in the ninth off the once invincible Craig Kimbrel for two runs. Kimbrel has looked very vulnerable this spring. Nelson Cruz started the inning with a double and Eric Aybar brought him in with an RBI single to break a 1-1 tie. Jose Reyes singled to drive in Aybar with an insurance run.

It was a much better game for R.A. Dickey than his first game against Mexico. He went five innings and only gave up a solo homerun to Hanley Ramirez in the second. He gave up five hits and struck out four.

His counterpart Sam Deduno gave up three hits in the opening frame and walked in the United States first run. After he struck out Adam Jones he settled down for the next three innings giving up two hits and a walk.

Fernando Rodney was able to retire the side in order in the ninth to pick up the save. The United States must now beat Puerto Rico again to play the seeded game against the Dominican Republic. If the Dominican Republic comes out of this as the number one seed, their first match will be against the Netherlands. It was the Netherlands who knocked them out of this tournament in 2009, beating them twice.

David Wright did not play in this game because of sore ribs. Willie Bloomquist played in his place. That is a big dropoff in offense the way David Wright has been hitting. Willie went 0 for 2. The Dominican Republic bullpen limited the United States offense to just one hit in the last five innings.

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United States Dominates Puerto Rico

Wednesday, March 13th, 2013

For the first time in this 2013 WBC the United States dominated its opponent taking the lead at the start and mixing in their superior offense with shutdown pitching to beat Puerto Rico 7-1. Gio Gonzalez shut down the Puerto Ricans for the first five innings, giving up just three hits and walking none. David Wright drove in five, getting two clutch bases loaded hits to drive in five and put the game away for the United States.

The Puerto Ricans started Mario Santiago whose only real professional pitching experience has been with the SK Wyverns of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO). He was drafted by the Royals in 2005 and released by them in 2011 to pursue his professional career in the KBO. He has signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the 2013 baseball season.

The United States scored first in the opening frame after a two out walk to Ryan Braun and an RBI double from Joe Mauer. They added another run in the third on back to back singles from Brandon Phillips and Braun with a walk to Mauer to load the bases. David Wright grounded one to shortstop, Puerto Rico failed to turn two and the United States was up 2-0. It was the first of three at bats David Wright would get with the bases loaded.

David Wright got two more opportunities in the fifth and eighth. In the fifth he drove in a run with a clutch bases loaded single to make it 3-0. With the bases loaded in the eighth he drove a ball deep to the right centerfield gap, bouncing away from a sprawling Angel Pagan to drive in three more runs. In between Adam Jones had an RBI single in the seventh.

Puerto Rico could score their only run in the eighth on a ground out. Eddie Rosario had doubled to put runners on second and third with no out. Irving Falu struck out and Armando Rios popped out to end the threat. Prior to that the closest Puerto Rico got to score was when they got Carlos Beltran to third with two out in the fourth.

Craig Kimbrel got Mike Aviles to ground into a double play to end the game. The United States plays the Dominican Republic on Thursday while Puerto Rico does battle with Italy on Wednesday. The announced attendance listed over 32,000, a little more than the Tampa stadium could accomodate.

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Italy Puts a Scare to the Dominican Republic

Tuesday, March 12th, 2013

So much for the Doimincan Republic romping past Italy. Chris Colabello blasted a 3-run homerun in the first inning off Edinson Volquez to give Italy a quick 4-0 lead. The Dominicans battled back with homeruns by Jose Reyes and Robinson Cano in the third and sixth inning pulling them to within two. In the seveth the Dominicans rallied for three runs to nick the Italians 5-4.

Volquez was wild in the first inning, walking the first three hitters he faced. Alex Liddi drove in the first run with a fly ball and Colabello drove in the next three with his drive to right center. Volquez settled down after that, retiring his next nine hitters before walking a batter, his fourth of the game.

Italy had their best opportunity to extend their lead in the fifth when they hit back to back singles to put runners on first and third with only one out, sending Volquez to the showers. Juan Cedeno struck out Anthony Rizzo and Lorenzo Barcelo got Alex Liddi to ground out to short to end the threat.

Tiago Da Silva pitched well going five plus innings. The only runs he gave up were the two solo homeruns from Reyes and Cano. Yankee minor leaguer Pat Venditte gave up three hits in the seventh to load the bases with one out. Italy called on Lucas Panerati to hold the 2-run lead. He walked Edwin Encarnacion to score one. Brian Sweeney came on to replace Panerati and gave up a game tying sacrifice fly to Hanley Ramirez and a go ahead soft single to right to Nelson Cruz.

Fernando Rodney worked the ninth to pick up the save. After giving up a one out walk he had to face Drew Butera, who has gotten some clutch hits for Italy in their first two wins in the first round. Drew grounded into a 6-4-3 double play.

There were a little over 14,000 enthusiastic fans at the game, which left large splotches of empty seats in the stadium. If the United States/Puerto Rico game does not draw more than 28,000 it may be best to consider holding the game next year in Tampa, or find a better location other than Florida, which has proven to be poor baseball draw for Tampa Bay and Miami.

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