Dice-K named to Japan's squad for WBC
 Japan's national baseball team manager Tatsunori Hara (second right) speaks beside the World Baseball Classic trophy during a press conference in Tokyo Monday. (AP) |
The Associated Press is reporting that Daisuke Matsuzaka of the Red Sox was among seven major league players named today to a 34-man preliminary roster for Japan's team at the 2009 World Baseball Classic.
Other major leaguers named to the provisional squad by manager Tatsunori Hara were Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners, Kenji Johjima of the Mariners, Hiroki Kuroda of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Akinori Iwamura of the Tampa Bay Rays and free agent reliever Takashi Saito.
Kosuke Fukudome of the Chicago Cubs was also on the list. New York Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui, who is recovering from a knee injury, was not included.
Matsuzaka told the AP in November that he will play in the WBC if requested. In 2006, he beat Cuba in the championship game, becoming a global star.
"I'll accept the offer if I'm asked to play," Matsuzaka said.
There is the potential for injury risk by playing in the WBC. The United States team left the WBC in 2006 without major injuries, but the effects of playing competitive games so early in the year led to problems. San Diego Padres ace Jake Peavy starred in the WBC before going 1-3 in April and 11-14 overall in 2006. Then-Washington Nationals reliever Luis Ayala, who played for Mexico, missed the entire season with an elbow injury suffered while pitching in the WBC.
Major league teams agreed pitchers needed more time to prepare for the tournament. Matsuzaka plans on following that new protocol.
"I'll pick up the pace of my training in December so that I won't have to scramble at the last minute," Matsuzaka told the AP.
Japan won the inaugural WBC in 2006 and will defend its title in the 2009 tournament, which begins March 5 in Tokyo.
Notable players from Japan's professional leagues included on the squad are pitcher Yu Darvish of the Nippon Ham Fighters and 21-game winner Hisashi Iwakuma of the Rakuten Eagles.
Material from The Associated Press and Boston Globe was used in this report.
I don't think I like this. As we saw with the last WBC (which was awesome to watch and I am looking forward to this one) pitchers who participate add about 20 innings to their season and can run down because of that. Especially a guy like The Wiggler, who is still conditioning his body to throw more than 170 innings in a season. The pitchers are kept to strict pitch counts and are at an advantage over the hitters who for the most part won't have in season timing yet, but this could be a real drawback on a guy who needs to come up big this season.
Ahh... does not the front office have a say in this matter? God forbid he gets hurt while pitching for his national team , those 110 million plus beans they spent for him carries no clout ? just wondering is C.C. pitching for USA ? I bet hank wants nothing to do with that on his 167 million bean investment .
I think Done has a great point. Remember how Timlin faltered down the stretch in 2006. I'm a skeptic about whether this should not be played a a spring tournament but a winter thing. Check out getoutofmyballpark.com for some of his thoughts.
How can you say no to these guys though. Sometimes representing their country is very important to these guys. If they want to do it let them. Everyone used to bash american basketball players for not wanting to play in the olympics. And now people bash baseball players for wanting to represent their country because they play one extra month. They have all the best physical trainers in the world at their dispense. They should be able to handle it. I hated how Steinbrenner reacted to the first WBC complaining about his players, and I hope the Red Sox don't turn into that. Good Luck Dice-K.
I agree it would be nice to save Dice-K, but get real people. He is a national hero in Japan. He would rather give up his guaranteed contract than lose face and not represent his homeland. Boras may have been driving the bus when his contract was negotiated, but this issue is non-negotiable for Dice-K.
I'll be eagerly anticipating Yu Darvish's starts. He seems to be the next great Japanese pitcher that everyone will want. I also can't believe they didn't pick Okajima. He hasn't dropped off too much from his first season and he doesn't have the health concerns of Saito.
As for Okajima, I heard that he turned down the offer before this selection.
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