USA! USA!

SPORTING GOODS

I never really get into the Winter Olympics (or the "Winter Games" as former Apple II owners might know them), so the next time for me to display my battered patriotism appears to be the World Baseball Classic.

While there are some interesting subplots (Will Cuba be allowed to play? Does anyone want A-Rod on their team? Can I really root for Roger Clemens?), the main plot will be how will the center of the baseball universe (USA) fare against countries who put baseball at the center of their universe (Dominican Republic, Venezuela).

There are a lot of stars on those teams (how is Soriano/ Tejada/ Pujols/ Manny/ Vlad/ Ortiz for a murderer's row), the fun part for me will be watching to see how the US squad gets put together. It's hard to predict who might come on board, or who will drop out for health reasons, but the MLB has released a list of players who have said they will play.

Taking a quick look at who has said yes, here is the current US lineup as I see it.

Johnny Damon, CF
Derek Jeter, SS
Barry Bonds, DH
Mark Teixeira, 1B
Lance Berkman, RF
Eric Chavez, 3B
Jason Varitek, C
Vernon Wells, RF
Michael Young, 2B

Bench: Joe Mauer and Michael Barrett (catchers), Derek Lee (1B), Jimmy Rollins (middle infield), Craig Biggio (2B/OF), Chipper Jones (3B/OF), Carl Crawford (OF)

I hate to cut Adam Dunn, David Wright, and Juan Pierre, but I had to do it for the flexibility that Biggio, Chipper, and Jimmy Rollins provide. The team has to have three catchers.

Starting pitchers: Roger Clemens, Roy Halladay, Dontrelle Willis, Jake Peavy, Mark Buehrle
Middle relief: John Smoltz, Andy Pettite, Barry Zito
Short relief: Billy Wagner, B.J. Ryan, Brad Lidge, Huston Street, Chad Cordero, Jason Isringhausen

There are going to be some restrictions on how long pitchers can pitch, due to the MLB wanting to protect their players. So having a stacked bullpen, including some starters working out of the pen, will be a huge advantage. I wanted to keep Ben Sheets for sentitmental reasons (2000 Olympian) but just couldn't find him a place on this star-studded pitching roster. If 14 pitchers turns out to be excessive, the US could sub in Wright or Dunn for one pitcher, but they have to carry 13 per the rules.

In the end, the US will have by far the best pitching in the tournament. The DR has the best lineup in the tournament, although the US offers more depth from 1 through 16. It will be just if these two teams end up meeting in the final. Anything else would have to be considered a disappointment. No offense meant to Venezuela, Japan, and Puerto Rico.