World Baseball Classic

Stroman?! Lmao
US is about to get Fucked

The Royals back up catcher took out Salvador Perez on a play at the plate
 

Mexi said:

Hosmer sucks and shouldnt be playing over dan murphy
But i guess he needs work since hes missing ST games

Click to expand...

You're joking, right?
 
I don't think Hosmer sucks.  I might take Murphy over him, but it's pretty close.  Both are decent.  
 
Murphy's name is realistically only mentioned because of the 2015 postseason.  If he didn't have that postseason we wouldn't be talking about him.  That being said, he's a solid player.

GMF1991 said:

Yea but these are their careers. People are upset that players like Harper, Trout Syndergaard and Bryant aren't playing. I feel like they would consider it after landing that massive deal. Less to lose.

If you get hurt playing in an exhibition game you stand to lose a lot.

Click to expand...

You could get hurt in any game, including spring training.  In my opinion, it's a weak excuse.  
 
These aren't exhibition games either.  They're more than that.
 
Venezuela won a wild one today.

You're right, it's not an injury thing, it's a waste of your time thing. 
 
If people want to play in it, that's cool, good for them. If someone doesn't, it's understandable, because they're getting ready to play in games that show up on the paycheck, and maybe they'd rather be around their teammates in spring training.

PWNdroia said:

You could get hurt in any game, including spring training.  In my opinion, it's a weak excuse.  
 
These aren't exhibition games either.  They're more than that.
 
Venezuela won a wild one today.

Click to expand...

 
You're not looking at this from the team's perspective. They are paying the players. Spring training is part of the league's program. The team's coaches and trainers are involved. They're not involved with their specific players (at least I don't think they are) in the WBC. There's a reason some teams don't want their star players participating in this, and if they do, they want restrictions on their use. As a Mets fan I don't want guys like Harvey or Syndergaard out there when their arm could tear at any moment if they're not being watched by the team's trainers, trainers who are familiar with them and their injury history. 
 
I'm still not sure how these games aren't exhibition. What are they? What's the reward? I won't take "playing for your country" as an answer. 

oh boy, andrew miller blew a game. 

PWNdroia said:

You're joking, right?
 
I don't think Hosmer sucks.  I might take Murphy over him, but it's pretty close.  Both are decent.  
 
Murphy's name is realistically only mentioned because of the 2015 postseason.  If he didn't have that postseason we wouldn't be talking about him.  That being said, he's a solid player.

Click to expand...

you must have missed his 2016 season if you think Murph only gets talked about because of his 15 postseason

25 homers
47 doubles
.347/.390/.595
Superstar numbers last year. Cmon man

PWNdroia said:

You're joking, right?
 
I don't think Hosmer sucks.  I might take Murphy over him, but it's pretty close.  Both are decent.  
 
Murphy's name is realistically only mentioned because of the 2015 postseason.  If he didn't have that postseason we wouldn't be talking about him.  That being said, he's a solid player.

Click to expand...

murphy is a much better hitter than hosmer.
 
hosmer is probably the most overrated player in the league.  

Carlos Beltran is getting affected by midlife crisis.

Mexi said:

you must have missed his 2016 season if you think Murph only gets talked about because of his 15 postseason

25 homers
47 doubles
.347/.390/.595
Superstar numbers last year. Cmon man

Click to expand...

 
Keywords "last year."  I'm aware of the numbers, but you do realize he had his best season at 31 years of age?  I don't expect him to continue this trend until I see it myself.
 

GMF1991 said:

 
You're not looking at this from the team's perspective. They are paying the players. Spring training is part of the league's program. The team's coaches and trainers are involved. They're not involved with their specific players (at least I don't think they are) in the WBC. There's a reason some teams don't want their star players participating in this, and if they do, they want restrictions on their use. As a Mets fan I don't want guys like Harvey or Syndergaard out there when their arm could tear at any moment if they're not being watched by the team's trainers, trainers who are familiar with them and their injury history. 
 
I'm still not sure how these games aren't exhibition. What are they? What's the reward? I won't take "playing for your country" as an answer. 

Click to expand...

 
I guess by definition it's somewhat exhibition, but I wouldn't up and call it a pure exhibition game.  It's not exhibition because there's still something to win, like winning on an international scale.  If there were nothing to win at all (like spring training), then I'd consider it exhibition.  Because it's a tournament, I consider it more than exhibition.  Maybe not as important in your eyes as an MLB game, but certainly not a "spring training game."

snipezo said:

murphy is a much better hitter than hosmer.
 
hosmer is probably the most overrated player in the league.  

Click to expand...

 
I think Murphy is better, but not much better.  Murphy is overrated because of his 2015 season and his 2016 season for which he played out of his career norms in his aged 31 season.  I don't expect that happening again.

PWNdroia said:

 
Keywords "last year."  I'm aware of the numbers, but you do realize he had his best season at 31 years of age?  I don't expect him to continue this trend until I see it myself.
 
 
I guess by definition it's somewhat exhibition, but I wouldn't up and call it a pure exhibition game.  It's not exhibition because there's still something to win, like winning on an international scale.  If there were nothing to win at all (like spring training), then I'd consider it exhibition.  Because it's a tournament, I consider it more than exhibition.  Maybe not as important in your eyes as an MLB game, but certainly not a "spring training game."

Click to expand...

I never said it was a spring training game.

What's the reward? Is there a trophy?

If anything Spring Training has more meaning. Players are getting back in to form. Teams are getting a close look at their prospects. Players are competing for starting positions. It has a lot of meaning.

Mexi said:

If it was me

Yelich
Arenado
Goldy
Stanton
Lucroy
Crawford
Kinsler
Hosmer
Jones

Click to expand...

Jones 9? What?

 

 
I'll take the guy who is improving each year and strikes out less. And his '12-'15 was nothing if not consistent. .287 .326 .416 .742. Always hit a shitload of doubles, so you could argue he was one step away from that translating in to more power. Which happened when he adjusted his swing & approach. More power, better plate discipline. Forcing you to throw inside and when you do he rips it over the fence. 
 
Hosmer really only has him beat in Fielding. Murphy can't field for shit. 

GMF1991 said:

I never said it was a spring training game.

What's the reward? Is there a trophy?

If anything Spring Training has more meaning. Players are getting back in to form. Teams are getting a close look at their prospects. Players are competing for starting positions. It has a lot of meaning.

Click to expand...

 
Depends who you are but do you think Arenando, Tulo, Stanton etc are competing for their starting pos.? And I would argue playing in the WBC actually helps them more so than ST games because you're facing pitchers who are trying to compete and win. 

What? I never said the players competing in the WBC were competing for ST jobs. I was just pointing out why Spring Training games aren't just "exhibition" games. 

GMF1991 said:

What? I never said the players competing in the WBC were competing for ST jobs. I was just pointing out why Spring Training games aren't just "exhibition" games. 

Click to expand...

 
yeah, and you said this:
 

If anything Spring Training has more meaning. Players are getting back in to form. Teams are getting a close look at their prospects. Players are competing for starting positions. It has a lot of meaning. 

Click to expand...

 
Which I disagree with because I think playing in a tourney is more important than ST where players who are usually playing in the WBC already have jobs locked up and it helps them to get ready for the season more-so than ST imo 

You're twisting my words. I was pointing out why Spring Training matters. Some players are competing for starting jobs, not ALL players. It's a statement which supports MLB's Spring Training, in response to PWndroia insinuating that Spring Training doesn't matter. My statement had nothing to do with the WBC. 
 
I actually agree with your point that the WBC is good because it gets players in to competitive games sooner. But don't twist my words. Nobody in their right mind would EVER think a player like Giancarlo Stanton or Nolan Arenado was competing for a starting job this spring. 

This kinda spiraled out of control and I'm going to just sum up what I've been trying to say. 
 
This started out with this quote:
 

PWNdroia said:

  I kinda wish USA cared more about its team and the whole competition.  So much more to play for IMO.

Click to expand...

 
I decided to look at this from the perspective of an MLB team. Maybe you're the Miami Marlins and you have a player like Giancarlo Stanton who missed half of 2015 and a good portion of 2016 with injuries. Would you rather have your trainers, who are familiar with his injury history and health records, around him all spring as he prepares for the 2017 season -- or would you rather have him playing for Team USA in a tournament with trainers who may not be familiar with his previous injuries, and may not be looking out for his best interests. 
 
I am not against the WBC - I'm just pointing out why some stars aren't in it. Obviously there is no proof that participating in the WBC puts players at risk of an injury, but some teams don't want to make the assumption that it isn't a risk. 
 
Later on, I made a statement supporting MLB's Spring Training. It seemed that some people thought the WBC has more meaning than Spring Training, which I disagree with. I agree the WBC might prepare star players for competitive games this season, but Spring Training (slightly unrelated) is not insignificant since it gives players time to round back in to form, work on their mechanics, be around their teammates, lets some players compete for starting jobs (not all players, especially not Star athletes), and gives coaches a chance to look at players from their Minor League system.