Re: Official World Baseball Classic Thread
Cuba is putting a pasting on China.
Cuba is putting a pasting on China.
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#77
Re: Official World Baseball Classic Thread
Why were there so few people there?!
This game now is empty as hell too. Not a good sign.Comment
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#78
When it's teams like Brazil and Cuba (not the most affluent of places) playing in Japan with fairly expensive ticket prices I'd expect it to be dead.
Just like here, I can pay a couple hundred for tickets to the last two games, but if the US isn't in it I'd much rather watch on TV for free.
They need to take a lesson from the world cup. Make it a bigger event (so stars will want to play) and have one centralized (rotating) host.Last edited by ubernoob; 03-04-2013, 12:27 PM.badComment
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#79
Re: Official World Baseball Classic Thread
It'd be basically the same if the games were played in the US or in Toronto though with China there'd be a good crowd at the Rogers Centre. In fact, in '09 other than the Canada games the Rogers centre was barely half full and in some cases pretty damn empty though not as empty as it looked in Japan last night. (going by highlights as I couldn't watch last night)Member of the Official OS Bills Backers Club
"Baseball is the most important thing that doesn't matter at all" - Robert B. ParkerComment
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#80
Re: Official World Baseball Classic Thread
They could do that, but you can't just manufacture it to be a "big event" that the stars want to play in and fans show up for. It has to earn that of its own merit. The World Series is what most US/MLB ballplayers and fans care about.Comment
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#82
Re: Official World Baseball Classic Thread
The main problem is that MLB simply takes up too much of the "baseball months" and MLB isn't going to switch its schedule for it. They will never be able to get the magic combination that would really help the competition take off:
1. Hosted in the US
2. During the summer
3. Featuring most major MLB stars
2 and 3 are the biggest hurdles to overcome obviously.Comment
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#83
Re: Official World Baseball Classic Thread
Plus, it's only the third iteration. Still so early in its' infancy. Did the World Cup have as much prestige as it does now during the third one? I guess it takes some time, especially since it's baseball and not soccer.Comment
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#84
Re: Official World Baseball Classic Thread
The World Cup/soccer isn't really a fair comparison because it was a different time. Sports wasn't as much of a business then, so the World Cup was allowed to naturally grow along with the club structure. The clubs might not like that their players play in all these International competitions, but all top leagues allow for International breaks. They see it as good for the sport. Not only that, but there are also International youth competitions, so the International game is ingrained as part of the process of being a top player from a young age.
The WBC is competing with a clear-cut and established best league in the world that doesn't have any reason to cater to it. The only way that will change is if the players see being called up to their International team as a high honor. Right now, a lot of players simply don't care about that call-up. The International game just isn't emphasized in baseball in the US. I'm not sure what changes that. Losing Olympic status certainly didn't help anything.Comment
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#85
Understand the money aspect, just sucks they couldn't shorten the MLB season when this comes around to put more emphasis on it.Originally posted by MoOriginally posted by MoOriginally posted by MoComment
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#86
Re: Official World Baseball Classic Thread
No matter how you slice it, it's pretty hard for baseball to do this in the middle of the summer as most of the countries have their leagues in the summer months. (with the exception of Cuba which has halted play in their league to take part. Their league is a winter one that runs from November-March) You can't just take a month off to run this tournament or else you'll be playing baseball in November!
The only practical way I can see it happening without all the restrictions on pitch counts and probably getting some big stars to play is if you have the event in November in domed stadiums or tropical climates.Member of the Official OS Bills Backers Club
"Baseball is the most important thing that doesn't matter at all" - Robert B. ParkerComment
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#87
Re: Official World Baseball Classic Thread
I think the event should stay where it is... thinking about it, the timing is pretty much perfectly placed in North America (at least.)
NBA isn't in playoffs, and nobody cares about the regular season. Hockey has a limited fanbase, and is also in the regular season still. March Madness hasn't hit quite yet. NFL season is over. No MLB yet.
If the event were taken seriously by everyone, this would slot in perfectly to whet our appetite for baseball.badComment
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#88
Re: Official World Baseball Classic Thread
I think it would be feasible to run the tournament kind of like the WC where you have qualifying rounds well before the finals and run a 2-week final round midseason in the summer. The problem is that MLB has this gigantic schedule of 162 games and keeps adding playoffs. So they're already stretched for time. Maybe they could be convinced to shorten their season every 4 years? I don't know.Comment
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#89
Re: Official World Baseball Classic Thread
R.A. Dickey to start on Friday against Mexico
I really hope that team USA actually gets far in the WBC this year.Comment
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