December 18, 2008

Beckett Will Skip WBC

Good news: Josh Beckett will not pitch for the United States during the World Baseball Classic in March so he fully heal from the oblique injury he suffered toward the end of last season.

Terry Francona said he was "not terribly worried about the position players" but "you certainly worry about the pitchers, because they are not ready to compete yet, and it makes all of us nervous".

Dustin Pedroia says he will play for the US and Daisuke Matsuzaka -- the MVP of the 2006 tournament -- will pitch for Japan. Francona expects between seven and nine Red Sox players to play.

According to Ian Browne:
David Ortiz played for the Dominican Republic in 2006, and as long as he has no health concerns, the big designated hitter expects to do so again. Left fielder Jason Bay is all but certain to get an invitation from Canada.

First baseman Kevin Youkilis, closer Jonathan Papelbon and left-hander Jon Lester are other Boston players who might have received overtures from Team USA.
Had Mike Lowell been healthy, he would have suited up for Puerto Rico.

3 comments:

9casey said...

The WBC is the biggest waste of time ..it far out ranks the All-Star game for meaningless exhibtion.....

Patrick said...

Personally, I like the WBC.

I really don't want to see Lester pitch in it. The guy is an unfortunate candidate for falling victim to the Verducci Effect, having pitched 74 more innings last season than the season before.

The guy is a horse, but considering the Red Sox should be playing baseball into October, I'd rather hear about him getting jacked in Arizona, than pitching in March.

laura k said...

I like it too. More baseball > less baseball. We're hoping to see a game this year, as round one is being played in Toronto.