February 23, 200620 yr Red Sox owner John W. Henry confirmed today that Manny Ramirez, who received permission to delay reporting to the Sox until March 1, will not play in the World Baseball Classic. "We want to support the baseball classic," Henry said, "but it's actually a plus for us that he's coming here March 1 and not playing there." Henry added that the team did not ask Manny to pull out of the event. If Ramirez had played in the WBC (he was listed on the Dominican Republic team?s provisional roster), he would have had to report to the Dominican team on March 2, meaning he would have spent exactly one day in Sox camp before March 20, when the event ends. Instead, it appears Ramirez will spend the entire month of March with the Red Sox in Fort Myers. Ramirez?s intentions regarding the WBC were unclear as of last night, when Manny Acta -- manager of the team representing the Dominican Republic -- said he had not been able to contact Ramirez to learn whether he planned to play. ''We haven't been able to talk to Manny," Acta, who is also third base coach for the New York Mets, wrote in an e-mail. Even before today?s confirmation from Henry, there were strong indications that Ramirez had informed the Sox he was withdrawing from the WBC and would spend March in Fort Myers. http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/reds...as/extra_bases/
February 24, 200620 yr Manny isn't playing and the Mets are pushing hard for Pedro not to play. So much for the Dominicans taking the whole thing. Vidro dropped out today as well for Puerto Rico. So much for this event ever meaning anything.
February 24, 200620 yr Manny isn't playing and the Mets are pushing hard for Pedro not to play. So much for the Dominicans taking the whole thing. Vidro dropped out today as well for Puerto Rico. So much for this event ever meaning anything. It is pretty disappointing. I wanted all the best players to participate. As for the Dominicans, I think they can handle not having Manny in there. Pujols. Vlad. Ortiz. They still have the firepower. Although, at this point I suppose I think the Venezuelans have as good of a shot as anyone. They've got outstanding starting pitching and a decent offense.
February 24, 200620 yr that sucked, well now you know pedro is not gonna play....... yea this tournament is starting to lose some spice,they better get started before they lose more players......
February 24, 200620 yr Pedro and Manny or not, the USA was still going to win. Maybe, maybe not. That's why you play the games. Athletes dropping out just hurts the competition level and the prestige. You'd want every country to be sending their best, bar none. If some of the best in the game decide it's a better idea to play for their MLB team than the tournament can't possibly have the intended value because players that wouldn't be playing otherwise are now taking leading roles. Just from the DR team, they at this point have for sure lost their LF and C, and the chances seem high that they will also be without their projected 3B and #1 SP. The Japanese are playing without their LF, and the Puerto Ricans without their 2B. A team like the Dominicans, if they don't win, can now say "Oh, if Manny, Pedro, and Aramis would have showed we would have taken the Americans to school." And there's really no way to tell them they're wrong is there? How many more starters are going to be missing come March 3rd?
February 24, 200620 yr Manny being Manny. yeah I know. it had to be said. I couldnt have said it better myself...
February 25, 200620 yr Pedro and Manny or not, the USA was still going to win. Maybe, maybe not. That's why you play the games. Athletes dropping out just hurts the competition level and the prestige. You'd want every country to be sending their best, bar none. If some of the best in the game decide it's a better idea to play for their MLB team than the tournament can't possibly have the intended value because players that wouldn't be playing otherwise are now taking leading roles. Just from the DR team, they at this point have for sure lost their LF and C, and the chances seem high that they will also be without their projected 3B and #1 SP. The Japanese are playing without their LF, and the Puerto Ricans without their 2B. A team like the Dominicans, if they don't win, can now say "Oh, if Manny, Pedro, and Aramis would have showed we would have taken the Americans to school." And there's really no way to tell them they're wrong is there? How many more starters are going to be missing come March 3rd? players are being smart by dropping out...how many guys will go on the DL or struggle at the end of the season as a result of this? I'm going to bet a high number... From the beginning, it was a cool concept on paper, and many of these players were interested initially...but one by one they're starting to realize that this is nothing more than a bunch of overhyped meaningless exhibition games and participating in this will most likely hurt them for this upcoming season And another thing is, how can anyone take a tournament seriously where a team can conceivably win by winning four out of eight games?
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