- The full list of competing counties can be foundhere. If you're too lazy to click a link, I'll unveil the countries as I go along in this series.
- Apparently, Japan and Cuba are in, as they have been officially announced as competitors.
- The island of Curacao is governed by The Netherlands. Therefore, Randall Simon and Andruw Jones will be eligible to play on that team.
- Alex Rodriguez has declared that he will be playing for the Dominican Republic. You may have surmised this if you watched the Home Run Derby and saw him waving a Dominican flag while wearing... slacks and a button down shirt. Apparently, his All-Star workout jersey was in the wash. Rodriguez, by the way, was born in the Dominican town of New York, New York.
- Gary Sheffield is out. He refuses to risk injury in something that's "made up" - unless he's paid for it.
Japan
LineupRF Ichiro
CF Dave Roberts
SS Kaz Matsui
DH Hideki Matsui
2B Tadahito Iguchi
LF So Taguchi
C ?
1B ?
3B ?
Who knew that Dave Roberts was born in Japan? This team is very outfield-heavy, so much so that Hideki Matsui, who played CF in Japan, will get a chance to DH in the WBC. For those of you not familiar with the names at the "bottom" of the lineup, Iguchi is a rookie for the White Sox, and Taguchi is a defensive specialist for the Cardinals. As for the remaining three positions - do you think they can get Tom Selleck to play first base?
Bench
OF Tsuyoshi Shinjo
The Met fan favorite (until the fans found out that he couldn't hit) will be most remembered for his giant orange armbands. Where is he now? Shinjo returned to the Japanese league after a short and unsuccessful career in the Majors.
Rotation
SP Hideo Nomo
SP Kaz Ishii
SP Tomo Ohka
SP Kaz Tadano
SP Stephen Randolph
At a point in 2002 (Ishii's rookie year in the Majors), the top of this rotation would have struck fear into any ballclub. Maybe not so much any more, but it still may be enough to win this pool. Rounding out the rotation are a guy who went from the Expos/Nationals to the Brewers, a guy who gives "backdoor slider" a whole new meaning, and a spot starter for the Diamondbacks.
Bullpen
RP Shigetoshi Hasegawa
RP Shingo Takatsu
RP Akinori Otsuka
RP Satoru Komiyama
RP Masao Kida
RP Mike Nakamura
CP Kaz Sasaki
With four big names in this lineup, the starters theoretically only have to give six good innings each game (assuming Hasegawa and/or Takatsu don't falter). Not a bad pen, even with the cup of coffee guys at the bottom. If you think those names are Gammonsesque, you should see the guys I had to cut from the pen.
South Korea
LineupC ?
2B ?
3B ?
1B Hee Seop Choi
SS ?
LF ?
CF ?
RF ?
DH ?
Well, Korean home run kind Hee Seop Choi will have a lot of running around to do on defense, unless he can find some people to play with.
Bench
None
Rotation
SP Chan Ho Park
SP Sun-Woo Kim
SP Jae Weong Seo
SP Cha Eung Baek
SP Tommy Phelps
Well, it's Park, who started it all for Koreans in the Majors, and a list of prospects who haven't quite panned out yet. I don't know if this rotation will be good enough to get past Japan in this pool.
Bullpen
RP Jung Bong
CP Byung-Hyun Kim
BK Kim was a starter in Japan, and that's what he wants to be. However, while his submarining style makes him a great set-up man, the element of surprise is lost the second or third time through the lineup as a starter. That said, he's the only person from Korea with MLB closer experience, so he gets the nod. BONG!
Taiwan
LineupC ?
1B ?
2B ?
LF Chin-Feng Chen
3B ?
SS ?
CF ?
RF ?
DH ?
Chen has played small parts of three seasons with the Dodgers so far, but is yet to get a hit in the Majors. As with Choi, he's going to have a lot of running around to do unless he can get some help.
Bench
None
Rotation
SP Chin-Hui Tsao
Coming into 2005, Tsao had made 19 career appearances for Colorado, starting 8. His 7.60 career minor league ERA (not to mention 9.40 with the Rockies) probably won't put fear into anyone's heart.
Bullpen
None
