00:00Welcome back to Newswire here on SportsGrid.
00:02The World Baseball Classic begins next week,
00:05and all the players and all the squads are getting ready to head to their destinations
00:09because they've got to get ready for this big tournament that begins in Arizona
00:12and in Florida and actually all across the world.
00:16Let's bring in Daniel Alvarez from El Extrabasse,
00:19who's covering this, of course, from a very big global landscape.
00:23He follows Team Venezuela very closely and carefully,
00:26but follows all the teams as well.
00:28Daniel, great to have you here on Newswire. Thanks for coming on.
00:31Thank you for having me, Craig.
00:32Always exciting to be here with you
00:35and always exciting to cover the World Baseball Classic.
00:38It's a fantastic tournament, and I just can't wait for the tournament to start.
00:44It's going to be great, and I think we've gotten a lot of the paperwork
00:47out of the way at this point.
00:49There was just so much discussion about who's going to be in,
00:51who's not going to be in, insurance, and all that other stuff.
00:53Now we can just get down to the game.
00:55So I would ask you, this year, Daniel, going into this,
00:58this obviously has more hype and better players than ever before.
01:02What is your view on the overall pools, where they're playing these games,
01:06and who do you think has the best chance to emerge from all of this when it's all over with?
01:11Well, I think it's fantastic, as you mentioned, better players than ever before.
01:16And especially on the U.S. side, I've been noticing enthusiasm among players in all levels
01:25and all teams because they want to be part of it.
01:27And obviously what happened in 2017 had a lot to do with it, what happened in 2023.
01:32And that final where we saw Mike Trout facing Shohei Otani obviously gave the players more motivation
01:40to say yes to Mark DeRosa's calls over the offseason and the previous months to participate.
01:47And obviously that's creating a lot of hype.
01:50And you also see that in other teams, other nationalities.
01:53Obviously, when you think about the Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico or Venezuela,
01:59there's always that national pride.
02:01And what they've done in Caribbean series or other tournaments before obviously helped create that.
02:07But this is something different.
02:09And when we see the rosters, it's impossible not to think that obviously the United States, Japan,
02:15the current champions, that they have won the championship three times,
02:18the Dominican Republic and Venezuela are the strongest teams.
02:22But we also know that once the pool play happens, it's only one elimination game that they have to play
02:32and win.
02:32And anything can happen in those games.
02:34I mean, in 2023, we saw Mexico being just three outs away from beating Japan.
02:39And then obviously they came back.
02:41But that Mexican team was really close.
02:43So I think it's a wonderful competition.
02:47And although we have four teams that are the favorites, I think obviously anything can happen.
02:54Yeah, I would agree.
02:55And it feels like once they get to the knockout round, it feels a lot like college basketball in the
03:00NCAA tournament,
03:01where anything can happen.
03:02It doesn't matter if you're a favorite or an underdog.
03:04A good pitching performance can take you all the way.
03:07Eight advancing teams play single elimination quarterfinal games on March 13th and March 14th.
03:12And then the four quarterfinal winners play in Miami in semifinal games, the 15th and 16th championship game at Lone
03:18Depot Park on the 17th.
03:20Well, Daniel, of course, is going to be hoping and rooting a little bit, even though he's a journalist for
03:25Venezuela.
03:25That's where he's from and certainly has covered their sports and does it for Alex Drabasse at a very high
03:30level.
03:31So how does Team Venezuela stack up this year?
03:34It appears to me on paper the team is better than they were the last time.
03:38But I guess the issue is outside of Puerto Rico this time, Daniel, it feels like every team is better
03:43this time than last time, too,
03:44because so many players wanted to play in this.
03:46Yeah, absolutely.
03:47But the problem with Venezuela is the pitching and especially the pitchers that will not be there with the team,
03:54with Jose Alvarado having insurance issues, Jesus Luzardo choosing just to participate after the pool play
04:00and not knowing for sure if it's going to be the quarterfinals and then we'll know what happens next.
04:05I think the offense is one of the best offenses in the tournament, one through nine.
04:12And with the depth that they have on the bench as well, they can do damage at any given point
04:17in the game
04:17and any batter can give you a hard time.
04:21And I think that's why this team is better probably than the ones in previous tournaments,
04:27even though those had Miguel Cabrera or Victor Martinez.
04:30I think this team offensively is the best one that they've had on paper.
04:36But they're going to have a tough time building, especially that bridge between starts with Ranger Suarez
04:44or Eduardo Rodriguez or Cater Montero to give the ball to Eduardo Vasardo and Daniel Palencia,
04:49who both had breakout seasons in 2025.
04:52Yeah, and again, you get to this time.
04:55I mean, the major league teams are watching closely to make sure these guys aren't throwing 120 pitches
04:59and going nine innings.
05:00And Daniel's point is correct.
05:02Team USA, Team Japan, and Dominican Republic even with a little bit of a stronger bullpen there.
05:07But the offense is great.
05:08Let's talk about Ronald Acuna Jr., who, if he's not the very best player in baseball,
05:13he's certainly in that Otani conversation and Aaron Judge conversation.
05:17He has opted to play this year in the World Baseball Classic.
05:22And so that gives Team Venezuela a dynamic that very few teams have outside of those two favorites.
05:28Yeah, absolutely.
05:29Ronald Acuna, we talked to him last week in Northport where the Braves have their spring training facilities.
05:35And he's just so excited.
05:38And he's so locked in.
05:40And compared to the offseason previews to that 2023 World Baseball Classic,
05:46he worked out differently, both physically and mentally as well.
05:51And I feel like he's more prepared and mature to face this tournament.
05:55Because in 2023, he really struggled, especially in pool play.
05:58He had a good game against the U.S.
05:59But unfortunately for Venezuela, that was too late.
06:03It was after the Trey Turner Grand Slam happened.
06:06But Ronald, I see him different this year.
06:09And he's very excited for the tournament for two reasons.
06:11Number one, obviously representing Venezuela.
06:14But number two, remember that after the tournament in 2023,
06:18he had that 40-70 season that was obviously historic and where he won National League MVP unanimously.
06:26So he believes that this tournament will also help him get back to that MVP-type form.
06:32So obviously that's something that we're going to have to watch closely this year.
06:38And Team Venezuela, by the way, for those of you from a betting perspective,
06:41they are plus 850 to win the World Baseball Classic.
06:44Shorter odds for the Dominican Republic, shorter odds for Japan.
06:47And of course the U.S. is the slight favorite.
06:49Before we get to some of the other players on the other teams,
06:52I do want to mention one thing.
06:53Miguel Cabrera not playing in the World Baseball Classic.
06:56But he is a coach on the World Baseball Classic team.
07:00And so that's a huge get for him to be in the dugout.
07:03I know he, generally speaking, everyone thought when he retired, that would be it.
07:07You wouldn't see him.
07:08He'd be watching his kids or on a beach somewhere.
07:10But here he is, back in a uniform again.
07:13Yeah, he's just so excited to be there.
07:15And I asked him last year, hey, you want to be part of there?
07:18He's like, I don't care if I'm the water boy.
07:19I just want to be with the team.
07:21He's played in every single tournament since its creation.
07:26And it's going to be weird for him not to be in uniform, playing active on the field.
07:30But he's just so excited to be there.
07:32And every player I've talked to, obviously, is dreaming about this.
07:35Because it's not only me.
07:36It's Cabrera, Victor Martinez, Johan Santana as the pitching coach.
07:40So when I see the coaching staff, I'm like, man, I wish these guys were still playing because it would
07:46be so good for the team.
07:48So, yeah, they're all excited because they all grew up watching them and having them as coaches.
07:52It's really special for them.
07:54I hope we get to catch up before it all begins.
07:56But putting on your journalism hat here, do you think it is Team USA's to lose here?
08:02Because, Daniel, they're not that big a favorite here at minus 105.
08:05It sort of tells me that this is wide open.
08:07It is wide open.
08:09I would honestly, Craig, have the Dominicans over the U.S.
08:14Because of just the lineup and the blame throwers that they have in the rotation and in the bullpen as
08:21well.
08:21I think they're really close.
08:23Obviously, it's probably a U.S. to lose.
08:25But I really feel that this Dominican team can do something special.
08:29All right.
08:30So, Daniel, when does the first World Baseball Classic Games begin?
08:33But it's next week, correct?
08:35It's next week, March 4th, my birthday.
08:38You're going to have the Asia Games.
08:41But then March 5th, the other teams start playing.
08:44And then March 6th, you're going to have all teams playing that day.
08:47Obviously, big day for Lone Depot Park and also the pool playing in Houston as well.
08:54Right around the corner.
08:55And check out El Extrabasse for all of your coverage on the World Baseball Classic.
09:00Daniel, great to catch up with you.
09:01And I know, as always, I'll see you at the ballpark soon.
09:04Thanks for coming on.
09:05For sure.
09:05Thank you so much.
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