Cuba vs Brazil Sound Interesting?

[Homebrewer]

Anyone have the lineups?

Where is it being played?

[Wallerrrr]

its in japan

should be a good game. brazil almost be japan...im thinking they have a decent shot against cuba

[Homebrewer]

Cuba vs Brazil in Japan.

Of course. I should have guessed that.

[Wallerrrr]

gotta love the logistics of it huh..lol

[Homebrewer]

gotta love the logistics of it huh..lol

March Madness is coming soon...so guess it's time to get used to it.

[Ohtaniland]

So are the MLB Cuban defectors allowed to re-up with team Cuba?

[Wallerrrr]

no, they had a nice write-up on Fox (i think) talking about how MLB players who defected can't rejoin Cuba for the tourny...

 

they should have a solid squad (they always do) but seeing kendrys, chapman, etc play for them would have been interesting...

[Wallerrrr]

something about Brazil in the WBC...it was gonna be added to and finished up for the site but i never posted it...just a little bit of background on Brazil...

 

 

The Brazil National Baseball team represents the nation of Brazil (obviously) in senior-level men’s international competition and is a member of the Pan American Baseball Confederation. The Brazilian team is composed in large part of Japanese-Brazilian players who tend to have Portuguese first names and Japanese last names.

 

Brazil recently went from an unknown underdog to being the most dominant team of the Panama qualifier; could this be a WBC Cinderella story in the making? Prior to the start of the qualifying tournament, few would have been able to name any Brazilian baseball players other than Indians catcher Yan Gomes, heck very few still might not be able to name any players. The world better take notice though, they have less than a month to learn about this improbable baseball squad, one which showed amazing attention to detail throughout the tournament and also displayed fantastic pitching.

 

Here comes the beautiful part about the WBC; as the sport continues to grow and develop in Brazil in the near future, the tournament will undoubtedly be looked upon as a turning point in the country’s baseball history. Brazil has always been globally known for competing in the sport of soccer but now, with the inspired play of this baseball squad, it is primed to take the global stage in the WBC tournament.

 

Although Brazil has seemingly come from nowhere to take the qualifying tournament by storm, they are actually led by a very familiar name that any baseball fan would recognize, Barry Larkin. That’s right; Hall of Famer Barry Larkin is managing Brazil this year in the WBC. Larkin is credited as being a key figure in the country’s player development the past three years, along with his assistant coaches who have been building the program even longer. According to Larkin, many of the coaches have been working with the players on the team since they were 10, 11, and 12 years old. It’s apparent that a lot of time and dedication has gone into this forming this club into the unit it is today..

 

Players to Watch:

Andre Rienzo is a 24 year old righty in the Chicago White Sox organization. Rienzo has pitched in the White Sox organization for 6 seasons and has a career 29-20 record in the minors with a 3.30 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. Rienzo, ranked the 7^th top prospect in the White Sox organization by Baseball America, ended his Arizona Fall League season early so he could pitch for Brazil in the World Baseball Classic qualifying tournament in Panama.

 

Yan Gomes has the distinction of being the first Brazilian-born player in major league history. The 25 year old catcher/infielder was originally drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 39^th round of the 2008 amateur draft but he chose not to sign. In 2009 he was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 10^th round and this time he chose to sign with the club. In 2012 Gomes made his debut at the major league level with the Jays. He would finish the year batting only .204 (20-for-98) with 4 home runs and 13 RBI’s. Although it isn’t the most flattering stat line, the fact he became the first player to represent his country at the major league level made him a national hero of sorts.

 

Why You Should Care:

This Brazil squad may not have what it takes to make a deep run in the WBC but they definitely have what it takes to play spoiler. They may not have what it takes to upset the reigning 2-time WBC champs (Japan) in Pool A, but I would not be surprised to see this fundamentally sound Brazilian team complete with China and Cuba. Like I stated previously, this is a squad that began its Cinderella run in the qualifying round; they remind a lot of people of the Netherlands team that upset the Dominican Republic in 2009.

 

Barry Larkin is the manager! This is Larkin’s first time managing any team and he is doing it on a global stage. Larkin has always been known for his solid fundamentals and his tremendous defense; traits that seem to be rubbing off on his Brazilian team. Larkin was quoted in recent interviews as stating he really enjoys the “x’s and o’s” of the game. Larkin explained he may be interested in managing again down the road but see this opportunity, coaching Brazil, as a onetime deal citing his desire to spend time with his 16-year-old sophomore daughter. It will be fun to watch the Hall of Famer manage this underdog team throughout the tournament.

 

Interesting Fact(s):

Due to the heavy influence from the Japanese baseball community in Brazil, the team is opening WBC in Pool A, which is competing in Japan. Brazil was originally scheduled to go to Puerto Rico but due to the baseball lineage it was decided they would play in Japan.

 

Barry Larkin is no stranger to the WBC. He helped coach team USA in 2009 when Davey Johnson managed the squad.

[ELEVEN]

I saw Chapman pitch for Cuba vs DR at Petco. Crossed seeing the Cuban team off my bucket list...

[Ohtaniland]

I hope Brazil waxes Cuba.

[Wallerrrr]

me too...i think the bigger upset would be Brazil over Cuba rather than Brazil over Japan.

[Homebrewer]

Barrrrrbarrrrrrrro!

 

Roll the R's

[Homebrewer]

The Cuban team looks a little overweight to me.

[Wallerrrr]

lol...they got some pop! in those bats

[Ohtaniland]

Cuba always has a solid team. I think all Cuban baby boys get a baseball bat instead of a rattle.

[Wallerrrr]

Cuba vs Brazil in Japan.

Of course. I should have guessed that.

btw...It's in the blurb below but, the Brazilian team is composed in large part of Japanese-Brazilian players who tend to have Portuguese first names and Japanese last names. That reason is one of the main reasons they were put in this pool, due to the majority of the player's heritage....pretty interesting. logistically its weird but interesting none the less.

[Wallerrrr]

weak crowd..they must all be waiting for Japan later tonight (tmrw am)

[Homebrewer]

That is interesting.

Lots of Japanese in So America. I think it was Argentina or Chile that had a Japanese President?

Peru maybe?

[Homebrewer]

I thought Barry Larkin was like the Governor of Ohio, Mayor of Cincinnati, or something..

[Brent Maguire]

Having no crowd sucks the energy out of this game. I'm trying to catch up on watching games and have the Japan-Brazil game from yesterday and it's such a different vibe. China-Japan is going to be a fun one to watch for sure. 

[Homebrewer]

Having no crowd sucks the energy out of this game. I'm trying to catch up on watching games and have the Japan-Brazil game from yesterday and it's such a different vibe. China-Japan is going to be a fun one to watch for sure. 

Guess it isn't "Yen Saki Night" at the WBC.

Kinda like an afternoon game in Miami will be this season.