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Show Friday, March 3, 2006 ™DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE I World Baseball Classic preview Pools C and D Pools A and B B! I esides the all-power|ful Dominican team, 'many casual fans may be disinterested by the other seven teams in these two pools. But while the D.R. is the prohibitive favorite to get to the championship game at PETCO Park, there are some interesting teams in this half of the field, with some ripe Joe Beatty Matthew Piper storylines waiting to be captured. will be major leaguers Bruce pionships in history, Taiwan With players dropping out Chen (hey, whatever it lists may also hold a fair amount on your passport) and by the hour, previews like of unheralded talent. Ramiro Mendoza, these have the chance to Japan— Starting with Ichiro with nearly every be invalid by the time Suzuki at the top of the lineup, other hurler in the newsprint Japan will look to play small his early 20s. dries. ball against the Familiar heavy-hitting n a m e s Western powPoolC among the ers. The order Cuba —A position complete eniglacks proven power hitters players include ma, Cuba will draw the fonow that Hideki Matsui and Einar Diaz, Jose cus of scores of major league Tadahito Iguchi have both deMacias, Olmedo scouts lookcided to abstain. Saenz, Julio ing for the The host nation for Pool next great A, Japan is also the clear fadefector. vorite to advance. Manager Little is known about the inBobby Valentine has a cast of dividuals on the roster, due seasoned professional playto it being completely ers who could play double or composed of triple-A ball—much like his players situation with the Mets. from the Korea—Hee-Seop Choi is C u.b a n the most familiar offensive national name on a power-heavy club league. Sixthat will also feature SeungZuleta and Carlos teen-year-old outfielder Day- Lee. It may not be a Yeop Lee, who hit 56 home an Viciedo is the extreme on who's-who of all-stars, but runs in the Kothe young squad, which aver- in perhaps the weakest pool, rean Baseball ages 24 years. Cuba is always veterans of any talent level Organization Pool A a favorite in the Olympics, could prove vital in getting to last year. China—Chen Kun, the Chibut it will be a different talent the second round. nese National Team's hardestThe Korean level at the WBC. Of course, throwing pitcher, tops out in pitching staff Puerto Rico—The Ricans are most of the big-named squads easily the most talented Pool the mid-'8os. According to the is replete with here have already proven C team and should be able to WBC's online recognizable names, includtheir worth to major-league site, "practical- ing Jung-Keun Bong, Chanpunch a ticket front officesly all of China's Ho Park, Jaw-Weong Seo and to the next Netherlands—Why should players have Sun-Woo Kim. round without Dutch fans care about Cubelow-average arm strength." too much trouSince they're playing under racao, a small island 4,800 ble. So they've got that going for a unified flag, now Kim-Jong miles away from Amsterdam? them, which is nice. II canfinallyprove he's in the The only issue for the allBecause the little oil-rich isle Manager Jim Lefebvre will arms race. star laden squad is that there is home to the be lucky to steal one win, as is not a lot of depth beyond core of the even Chinese Taipei will be PoolB Netherlands' the starters. Pudge Rodriguez, heavily favored against the Canada—Injuries will probteam and will Carlos Delgado, Javy Lopez Chinese. There are 156,000 ably prevent Eric Gagne, Rich represent the mother country and Carlos Beltran will be the organized baseball players in Harden, Ryan Dempster and in the Classic. Andrew Jones, offensive threats, with Bernie China, which seems like a lot Randall Simon, Wladmir Bal- Williams filling the requisite until you consider that's only 1 entien all call Curacao home old salt category. The pitchers in every 8,333 Chinese people. and along with Shea Hillen- are good, but there isn't a lot Birdfluis more common. brand, should give the fightin' of major league experience Chinese Taipei—Taiwan goes Hollands some decent pop in outside of Javier Vazquez, J.C. by "Chinese Taipei" because the middle of the lineup. The Romero, Dicky Gonzalez and its people believe they are the pitching isn't deep, but Mark Joel Pineiro. only legitimate Chinese govMulder (who hails from South ernment. To my thinking, this Holland, 111.) would be an ace PoolD adds incentive on any team, and Kirk Saarloos Australia—This isn't a bad for the winner is a respectable big leaguer. In team, but it sure had rotten of the China/ theory, Sidney Ponson could luck in the pool draw. The CT game. What provide another live arm, but Aussies lack would be better than meeting that seems a bit unlikely for big names but for handshakes and asking the the troubled rotunda. have proven losers, "Who's the real China their ability to now? Huh?" Panama—Most of the well- play good team baseball with Joking aside, Taiwan will be known Panamanians are ag- a silver medal at the Athens taken very seriously by Asian ing veterans, with the only Olympics. The "headliner" on powers Korea and Japan. It Ichiro Suzuki straddles a fence true super- the team is Royals uber-prosmay lack the big names of during warmups for Japan's WBC star—Mariano pect Justin Huber, who will those clubs, but with the most team at the Tokyo Dome. Suzuki Rivera —de- start at first base. He, along Little League World Chanv and Japan are favorites In Pool A. clining an in- with former major league vitation. This puts the onus stalwart Dave Nilsson, proon a young rotation to come vide the meat of the lineup through. The core pitchers and will be joined by a lot www.dailyutahchronicle.com www.dailyutahchronicle.com wmv.dailyutahchronicle.com of young players currently working their way through the minors. Like the Cubans, MAGICi T H E GATHERING - - GAMES WORKSHOP - • the Aussie players have a lot ROLE-PLAYING GAMES • - ONLINE COMPUTER GAMING to prove on the big stage and shouldn't be counted out of F lip-flopping nationalities, plumbers pitching Pujols and new meaning to the phrase "smuggled Cubans" are among the many forthcoming highlights of the intriguing inaugural World Baseball Classic. Some of the big questions have already been answered. Alex,Rodriguez decided that he isn't Dominican after all, despite having spent three days in the D.R. with his greatuncle thrice removed when ho was ten years old. Nomar Garciaparra IS Mexican, he eventually concluded, but he opted out of the competition in a bold political statement against the current govern.ment. Which, he guesses, is •probably pretty bad. Many things are still up in the air, however. How many long bombs will A-Rod and Co, launch against South Africa's staff of 75-mph flamethrowers? Will Asian pitchers be able to adjust to cowhide balls, which are tougher to grip than their native horsehide balls? Does George Steinbrenner have an armed task force ready to infiltrate camp and detain as many Cubans as possible? The following is part one of The Chronicle's two-part viewing guide for the WBC. Larry Walker from taking part, but Canada still has a sizeable portion of Major League players. Jason Bay, Corey Koskie and Justin Morneau lead the offense, while Erik Bedard, Jeff Francis and Chris Reitsma highlight one of the deepest pitching staffs in the tournament. It sounds far-fetched, but the Bacon Boys might even be capable of nabbing a win against the U.S., as the Ute women's basketball team rejoices Mexico—The announcement of Garciaparra's absence leaves the Mexican lineup looking like Nomar's spine: a little thin. There isn't much to protect sluggers Vinny Castilla, Jorge Cantu, Erubiel Durazo and Benji Gil. Pitching is Mexico's strong suit. Fireballers Oliver Perez and Rodrigo Lopez will supplement sinkerballer Esteban Loiza in one of the Classic's most feared rotations. South Africa—All-times saves leader Lee Smith is the pitching coach. Sadly, he can't pitch. Winning the Classic is going to prove a tougher task than ending apartheid for the South Africans, who have no professional players. Bricklayers and street sweepers will be prominent members of the team. That's right—a team that gets to bat against Roger Clemens. United States—While so much buzz surrounds the devastating Dominican lineup, the United States still enters the competition as the prohibitive favorites. Clemens is joined by Jake Peavy and Dontrelle Willis in the rotation, while the likes of Joe Nathan and Brad Lidge should provide shutdown relief. The U.S. infield alone could probably beat most of the teams in this tournament, with Derek Jeter, Chipper Jones, Derrek Lee, Alex Rodriguez, Michael Young and Mark Teixeira. The biggest problem for the United States might be winning with a cast of pampered prima donnas, although that cause was greatly helped by the decisions of Barry Bonds and Gary Sheffield to stay home. m.piper@ chronicle.utah.edu STORE HOUBS: MM -THDUSI 11AM TO IOPM - F R I D A Y 1 LAM T O M I D N I G H T SATURDAYi 10AM T O MIDNIGHT - SVNDAYi NOON T O S P M SANCTIONED MAGIC TOURNAMENTS 6831S. S1XTE, SALT LAKB CITY v PHONEt M l J 6 M 6 0 6 OR U77JUUmiRS WWW.HASmnOHEIBS.COH Students Make Extra Money Donate Plasma at Biomat USA. Earn $60 your first week with U of U ID. Earn up to $220 plus ' bonuses per month. NEW PRODUCTS: Hours: M,W t F: 7-4 T, H: 10-7 Sat: 8:30-3 GRIFOLS Biomat USA, Inc. Caring for people's health. 606 West North Temple, SLC 801-531-1279 I Does this ad look ugly? * Think you can make something better? The Chronicle is hiring page designers. # ' WORLD OF WARCRAFTi RPG MAGIC THE GATHEWNGi GUILD PACT SETTLERS OF CATAN TICKET TO RIDE SAME MAGIC & ILLUSIONS IT'S TIME FOR YOUR "SPRING CLEAN-UP" 25% off any or BRAZILIAN WAX {0\s esihetjcerc m. openeree! to pulling a few upsets. Dominican Republic—No matter what the U.S. media says, the Dominicans are heavy favorites in the Classic and should steamroll their way to the finals. The roster has become a little more mortal with Vladimir Guerrero, Manny Ramirez and Aramis Ramirez's recent pullouts, but there is still enough talent here to make two Dominican rosters. On the pitching front, the Doms will trot out Bartolo Colon, Jose Lima and a host of well-known relievers. Robinson Cano, Adrian Beltre, David Ortiz, Miguel Tejada, Alfonso Soriano and Albert Pujols are just six of nearly 20 top infielders named to the provisional roster. The outfield is good, albeit a bit old thanks to the departures of Manny and Vlad. Moiscs Alou and Sammy Sosa provide star power, while Juan Encarnacion and Jose Guillen provide actual power. And who's not rooting for 42-yearold Luis Polonia to return to glory with a few walk-off home runs? Italy—Fun, foody names probably won't compensate for a lack of major-league talent, as the Italians will have to hope a storied baseball tradition can provide some tangible results. Mike Piazza is by far the biggest name here and will shoulder most of the offensive load. David Dellucci pulled out, so the Italians will rely on small bailers like Frank Catalanotto, Marco Scutaro and Mark DeRosa to get on base in front of Piazza. Venezuela—A few all-star hitters and a ridiculous stable of pitchers make for a team that is dreaming of bringing the championship home. Johan Santana will be the ace, but there is very little fall-oft" to Freddy Garcia and Carlos Zambrano. - • - - •> A In the bullpen, Venezuela has a dozen solid major league arms that will be vying for the final roster spots. No matter who makes it, the pen will be formidable. Melvin Mora dropped out after he was asked to play center field, but there are still enough bats to put up runs. Magglio Ordonez, Bobby Abreu and Miguel Cabrera will knock in runs while Omar Vizquel and Victor Martinez get on base. The wildcard for Venezuela is manager Luis Sojo, who has learned under Joe Torre for years. Sojo will undoubtedly be viewing the WBC as an audition for a managerial job and will therefore treat it with the utmost importance. 7. beatty @ chronicle.utah.edu , , „ TV •< . , ' •„- 1 To apply e-mail ^ • k.trieu@chronicle.utah.edu. • NEED MONEY? WE NEED YOU! 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