00:00We do know that Tigers ace Tarek Skubal is going to play for Team USA, but there's a caveat.
00:06He's going to play for them once.
00:08Tarek Skubal will make one start.
00:10This is according to Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic, does a great job covering the Tigers.
00:14He will make one start in the WBC.
00:17It will likely come in pool play, and then he'll go back to Lakeland to join the Tigers in their
00:22camp.
00:23Skubal said, quote, if they go to the finals, I think I'm going to try and lobby to just go
00:27watch and be with the guys.
00:29And that, of course, indicated that his start will be in pool play.
00:32That's the tweet that we put out at just BB Media.
00:35So Tarek Skubal will throw in the World Baseball Classic, but it seems like the final is Mr. Skeens's at
00:42this point.
00:42And you're going to have to rely on some of the other arms.
00:46Joe Ryan just hit the shelf with a lower back issue.
00:49So Nolan McClain, your show, dude.
00:52He's going to get a shot, and I think it's going to be really fun.
00:55You know, this is understandable, I think, for a lot of reasons.
00:59It's going to be a contract year for Skubal.
01:01We just had the most, you know, contentious, I think, arbitration case of that I can remember.
01:08And it's also a big year ahead for the Tigers that are clearly all in on winning it this year.
01:13I think it reminds me a little bit of when we were in high school playing summer ball tournaments.
01:18And, like, for the really serious tournaments, there'd be some really good local pitchers that we wanted to bring up.
01:22They'd come up, make one start, and go home.
01:25But that's reserved for the nasty guys that would just come and then leave.
01:28And it was like, all right, great, appreciate your service.
01:31Skubal's got to do in that.
01:32And you know what?
01:32We'll take that on Team USA, right?
01:34Like, that's the thing is, would you rather him not throw it all or do this?
01:38I think for pitchers, it's a fine gap to bridge in this constant push and pull of who can play,
01:43who can't, all these different things.
01:45I think with pitchers is the way to do it.
01:47The silly part is, I think, like, him having to lobby to be there.
01:49He should absolutely be in the dugout.
01:51That almost defeats the purpose.
01:52But that's my only big thing there.
01:55He's already in Florida.
01:56It's not that far away.
01:57Let him go down and go celebrate.
01:58That would be silly.
01:59He can drive.
02:00That's no issue.
02:01I just think about my club baseball days at Syracuse University.
02:04And sophomore through senior year, I would send a text to whoever was the manager of the club team.
02:08And I would say, hey, what day should I come and pitch?
02:11And I would go show up and do that.
02:13So I knew Tarek Skubal and I had something in common.
02:16And I'm really just, I'm glad that it's out there in the open.
02:18That's why people don't like you pitchers.
02:19Even in high school, you POs, you get a rap for a reason.
02:23You just show up, pitch once, and dip.
02:26It's really nice.
02:27I will say I find it a little weird that this is not more common.
02:31And I saw the reserve pitcher pool that was put out by Major League Baseball and by the World Baseball
02:36Classic.
02:37And there are some really interesting names on that reserve pitcher pool.
02:40So guys that won't throw in pool play, but if their teams advance to the knockout round, they can pitch.
02:47Tetsuya Imai is on that list for Team Japan.
02:49The guy that just saw it.
02:50I didn't see that yet.
02:51I think Lizardo is on that list for Venezuela as well.
02:54Like Barrios is on that list for Puerto Rico, if I'm not mistaken.
02:57But there are like legit big leaguers that are on that list that are doing the reverse.
03:02I understand if School Bowl wants to go throw against, you know, the best team in their pool, like whether
03:06that's like the Mexico game that they have in pool play in Houston, he can go do that and then
03:10go back to Detroit.
03:11It's just the inverse makes a lot more sense to me where you continue to build up with your team
03:16and then you go throw in the knockout stages.
03:18But I just want to like pose this idea to you.
03:21I feel like this should be a bit more common, especially for pitchers that are on such a regimented schedule
03:27that go throw and then come back to your team.
03:30Obviously, build up with the organization is incredibly important.
03:33Yeah, I think for the pitcher side, it makes more sense because, again, I'd rather see this guy make a
03:37start with the USA across his chest than not, even if it's a unique circumstance there.
03:42And I think it's the best setup.
03:45And I imagine that it was probably based on Team USA wanting to pace things out where, of course, you
03:51want to save your big guns.
03:53But it's like the old approach we always talk about, like you've got to make it tomorrow anyway.
03:57So why not pretty much guarantee yourself, guarantee yourself a victory here in ballplay when scuba starting or let's give
04:03yourself a really good shot.
04:04And then you've got all of your other, you know, big dogs down the line as well.
04:08So it seemed like maybe it just worked out best with the schedule.
04:10But I love that approach in general.
04:12And I hope it allows us and opens the door a little bit more for the really talented and expensive
04:17players, maybe expensive to ensure, to still be able to get their foot in the door and be a part
04:21of this tournament.
04:22Yeah, it'd be really cool.
04:24Does this change your WBC pick at all?
04:27Or no, not really.
04:28Were you going to go with USA anyways?
04:30I felt like, I mean, I do think USA is just too good.
04:35It doesn't change it, but it does make it a little bit more wide open to me.
04:41Just the idea of like, okay, you got to win two out of three.
04:44And you got to go through, you know, scuba and skeins.
04:48I just thought like, man, with the bullpen, no way.
04:51But now it's, you know, I get, I still think there are a bunch of other really good arms, but
04:55there was something about the skein scuba duo where it's like, no, there's no shot.
04:58What are you going to do?
04:59Yeah.
04:59This is where I think it gets a little bit interesting.
05:01And then also a mind for Japan.
05:04That's a game changer on the mound there.
05:06I think that could be a guy that if that down the stretch there, he could be a huge, huge
05:12benefit for them because that's another guy.
05:13I mean, big league hitters will see him soon, have not seen anything like that just yet.
05:18And I think that's going to be working to Amai's favor.
05:20Did you see what Taylor Tramiel said the other day about his splitter, which isn't even his, his most known
05:24pitch, like his best pitch.
05:26Tramiel said, I've been playing baseball for 24 years or however many professionally, 14 professionally, whatever it was.
05:32I've never seen a pitch like that.
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