On Wednesday, MLB announced the
60-man provisional rosters for March’s World Baseball Classic. There are 394
major league players on these provisional rosters for 15 of the 16 teams
participating. Only Cuba, whose participation in the
tourney is tied up in political wrangling, has not yet provided its player list.
Being on the provisional roster
does not mean that all players will participate, but it defines the overall pool
of those who are willing to do so. Going forward, no new names can be added.
Final
30-man rosters for each team must be locked in by the start of the event on
March 3.
For
the Cardinals as a supplier, their contingent could be one of the smallest of
all 30 major league teams. There is a wide range by team from the Tampa Bay
Devil Rays, with only five names, to the Minnesota Twins and New York Mets, with
23 possible players each.
The
average MLB organization is supplying 13 players, so the Cardinals are getting
off very easy in terms of potential disruption to their Major League camp
compared to most other organizations. Only the Devil Rays are assured of
providing fewer.
This
will undoubtedly sit a bit better with Tony La Russa and his staff, who like
most all other major league staffs seem to be quietly against the WBC. Publicly,
of course, all comments are positive to demonstrate solidarity with the
Commissioner, or perhaps to avoid unpleasant and embarrassing
fines.
Looking
at the Cardinals’ list confirms the earlier decision by closer Jason Isringhausen to skip the WBC. Earlier, catcher Yadier Molina and outfielder
John Rodriguez expressed interest in playing for Jose Oquendo’s
Puerto
Rico
squad. Both of them are on the list of 60.
First
baseman and reigning National League Most Valuable Player Albert Pujols is set
to play for his homeland Dominican
Republic
squad, and new Cardinals outfielder Juan Encarnacion may join him. Finally,
another recent Cardinals’ addition, reliever Ricardo Rincon, is a possible
participant for Mexico.
But,
there are also some surprises.
Sidney Ponson, already knighted in his native Aruba,
is on the list of possibles representing the
Netherlands.
I guess colonial ties are close enough. Another potential member of the Dutch
powerhouse is South
Holland,
Illinois
native Mark Mulder.
Others
provisionally on the Netherlands’ roster include former Cardinal Danny Haren,
who interestingly is also on the USA’s list, and Toronto’s Shea Hillenbrand,
along with their only superstar, Atlanta’s and Curacao’s Andruw Jones. At least
45 of the other remaining Dutch names are guys I have never heard
of.
Here
are the Cardinals on the provisional rosters:
| Cardinals
Player |
WBC Country |
| Encarnacion, Juan |
Dominican Republic |
| Molina, Yadier |
Puerto Rico |
| Mulder, Mark |
Netherlands |
| Ponson, Sidney |
Netherlands |
| Pujols, Albert |
Dominican Republic |
| Rincon, Ricardo |
Mexico |
| Rodriguez, John |
Puerto Rico |
There is no confirmed word yet as to whether either Ponson or Mulder
actually plan to participate. However, the WBC website clearly implies Mulder is
committed to play, while Ponson is characterized as much less likely. If I had a
vote, I would side with Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan in their likely wish that
both remain very close to Jupiter, Florida during March.
Even with perhaps “only” seven players gone, it could be for a long time - as
much as three weeks of spring training. With several players in pivotal roles
for the 2006 Cardinals, it is easy to see how the World Baseball Classic
could be an inhibitor to La Russa’s charges coming together as a team.
Yet, for many of these men, the pull to represent their home country in the
WBC is strong – in fact, in many cases, a matter of national pride. Yet, in
other cases, ancestral ties make for some real stretches, as shown above.
Let’s just hope that the WBC will never be cited by anyone as an excuse for
problems that occur later on during the 2006 season. There should be no debate
as to what is most important.
WBC or not, for every one of the Cardinals’ players, the primary goal should
be a World Championship as measured by winning the final game of the postseason
come October.
Brian Walton can be reached via email at brwalton@earthlink.net.
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2006 www.thestlcardinals.com. All
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