Cubs players playing in WBC

[Tabou71]

Love watching the WBC. cant wait!

[Cubsfan365]

Carrie Muskat ‏@CarrieMuskat
#Cubs in World Baseball Classic: 1B Anthony Rizzo (Italy), P Ryan Searle (Aus), P Yao-Lin Wang (Chinese Taipei)

Searle has been pitching very well in the Australian Baseball League this offseason and Wang still seems like a good sleeper prospect. Kinda surprised that Castro isn't on DR.

[Rynoplasty]

What the hell is the criteria for being on the Italian team? Rizzo is from Florida....are his parents from Italy?

An Italian sounding name is good enough. Barring that, anybody who has seen The Godfather Part II should suffice.

[Cubsfan365]

Netherlands has Jurickson Profar, Xander Bogaerts, and Andrelton Simmons.

Venezuela is pretty stacked. I imagine their starters will be:

C- Miguel Montero/Salvador Perez
1B- Miguel Cabrera
2B- Asdrubal Cabrera/Marco Scutaro
SS- Elvis Andrus
3B- Pablo Sandoval
LF- Carlos Gonzalez
CF- Gerardo Parra
RF- Martin Prado

Pitching staff includes Felix Hernandez, Anibal Sanchez, Henderson Alvarez, and Carlos Zambrano

[Milnertime]

Carrie Muskat ‏@CarrieMuskat
#Cubs in World Baseball Classic: 1B Anthony Rizzo (Italy), P Ryan Searle (Aus), P Yao-Lin Wang (Chinese Taipei)

Searle has been pitching very well in the Australian Baseball League this offseason and Wang still seems like a good sleeper prospect. Kinda surprised that Castro isn't on DR.

It's likely that Jose Reyes is going to be the starter. I'd honestly rather Castro not play. He's basically the one player that the Cubs really can't afford to lose to have any chance at being surprisingly mediocre this season.

[poodski]

It's likely that Jose Reyes is going to be the starter. I'd honestly rather Castro not play. He's basically the one player that the Cubs really can't afford to lose to have any chance at being surprisingly mediocre this season.

Mediocrity!!!!

[Doogolas]

Mediocrity!!!!

Hey, I'd rather be the OK looking guy who lucks into a super hot chick sometimes, than the fat ugly bastard who only gets with meth addicts.

[synister281]

Rizzo representing for Italian Cub fans everywhere...woo! haha

[CubbieSteve]

I'm actually excited for this to start up. I need some beisbol

[KyleJRM]

Either would be awful, but if I had to pick one guy not to lose in 2013, it'd be Rizzo.

Barney at SS and Valbuena at 2b has some thin sheen of respectability. Who goes to first if Rizzo is out for any length of time? Clevenger? Vitters?

[Cubsfan365]

Either would be awful, but if I had to pick one guy not to lose in 2013, it'd be Rizzo.

Barney at SS and Valbuena at 2b has some thin sheen of respectability. Who goes to first if Rizzo is out for any length of time? Clevenger? Vitters?

Call up Vogelbach.

[jiggin]

I hope no one from the cubs attends. Its just an opportunity to hurt yourself...

[Wadester22]

I disagree. The WBC is a great opportunity for players to get a head start for the next season. Also, if more people stopped being ******* about getting injured before the mlb season, then maybe this WBC would start to catch on, and could become a major sporting event.

Coaches and owners are too worried about their stars getting injured, but will still put them in half the exhibition games then? You can get hurt on any play of any game, no matter if its an exhibition game, WBC game, or regular season. And okay, so what, you get hurt in the WBC. Still a long season ahead, plenty of time to heal.

Let these guys play, it's not like football where players are injured every play. I would rather have a team that is ready and warmed up when the season starts, even if someone gets injured and is out for a while.

[Hawkize31]

I disagree. The WBC is a great opportunity for players to get a head start for the next season. Also, if more people stopped being ******* about getting injured before the mlb season, then maybe this WBC would start to catch on, and could become a major sporting event.

Coaches and owners are too worried about their stars getting injured, but will still put them in half the exhibition games then? You can get hurt on any play of any game, no matter if its an exhibition game, WBC game, or regular season. And okay, so what, you get hurt in the WBC. Still a long season ahead, plenty of time to heal.

Let these guys play, it's not like football where players are injured every play. I would rather have a team that is ready and warmed up when the season starts, even if someone gets injured and is out for a while.

Totally agree. I don't like the "I don't want any of my team's players in the game" mentality. The Cubs are likely to not compete this year. WBC could be fun to watch. How can you be a fan of baseball and not like the WBC or the All Star Game? Its a chance to see the best players on the same field. The whole point of baseball is entertainment, the WBC provides a nice change of pace for it.

Also, there are pretty decent rules in place t prevent injuries: pitch counts and minimum rest days.

[Milnertime]

Either would be awful, but if I had to pick one guy not to lose in 2013, it'd be Rizzo.

Barney at SS and Valbuena at 2b has some thin sheen of respectability. Who goes to first if Rizzo is out for any length of time? Clevenger? Vitters?

Honestly, I agree with you in terms of production. But in terms of production + fan interest/attendance, Castro would be worse, IMO.

Clearly, either being out would be awful.