Cuba FIRST WBC TEAM TO MAKE SEMI-FINALS IN MIAMI!!

 

    This was Team Cuba back on Tuesday right after beating Australia in the Tokyo Dome, making Team Cuba the first team in the star-studded, 20-nation World Baseball Classic to reach the Semi-Finals!! These running guys got to Tokyo by winning the 5-team Pool A in faraway Taiwan. After becoming the first team to make the semi-finals on Tuesday, Team Cuba got five full days to celebrate from Tokyo to Miami because the first semi-final game for Team Cuba is not until 7 PM Eastern Time Sunday night against, believe it or not, either the United States or Venezuela...either Cuba's bitter enemy or its sweet ally. Of course, both the U. S. and Venezuela are loaded with Superstars from the U. S. Major Leagues.

     This graphic uses the Cuban flag to show that Team Cuba was indeed the first of the 20 nations to make the semi-finals of the World Baseball Classic.

     There is one vital WBC game tonight in Miami: Puerto Rico vs. Mexico. The U.S. Today photo above shows the New York Mets' Superstar shortstop Francisco Lindor leading Puerto Rico to a smashing upset over the Dominican Republic, which was considered unbeatable by many experts. So the DR is eliminated and Puerto Rico can make the semi-finals against Japan if it beats Mexico tonight.

     But Mexico against Puerto Rico tonight is also a powerful team, and Mexico shocked the WBC with its wins over both the U. S. and the Dominican Republic. And Mexico is led by Cuban-born Randy Arozarena, the Superstar young slugger for the Tampa Bay Rays. Randy is among the many top Major League Cuban plays that opted not to play for Team Cuba...and he did so bad-mouthing Cuba.

    But 27-year-old Yoan Moncada, the great switch-hitting Third Baseman for the Chicago White Sox, very bravely and proudly chose to play for Team Cuba. And that decision is why Team Cuba was the first team to make the WBS Semi-Finals where Cuba will play either the U. S. or Venezuela Sunday night in Miami. And Yoan is not afraid to play the huge game in Little Havana, Miami on Sunday night.

    The Center Fielder for the Chicago White Sox and for Team Cuba is the talented, brave, and proud 25-year-old Luis Robert. When he was criticized for playing for Team Cuba, Luis told the media and social media, "I dreamed of playing for Cuba again."

    While the experts picked either the U. S. or the Dominican Republic to win the 2023 World Baseball Classic, I have picked Japan...and not just because of Shohei Ohtani, the Superman pitcher and hitter leading Team Japan. Japan has a Major League that is close to being as good as the U. S. Major Leagues...and the great Ohtani has a lot of help. With Ohtani having massive pitching and hitting stats, Japan is the only unbeaten of the 20-teams at 5-and-0. Japan next plays Monday night {March 20th} in the semi-finals in Miami against either the winner of tonight's game between Puerto Rico and Mexico.

     The mighty United States plays mighty Venezuela in the semi-finals of the WBC in Miami at 7:00 PM Saturday night, March 18th. The U. S. is led by Mike Trout, the highest paid baseball  player in history, and the U. S. has other almost-as-rich Major League Superstars. Venezuela is led by Batting Champion Jose Altuve and other super-rich Major League superstars. Despite having a Major League superstar at every position, the U. S. has lost to Mexico and barely, in its last game, won 3-2 against Colombia, a team that had lost to both Great Britain and Canada.

     Venezuela is surely the underdog against the U. S. Saturday night but the graphic above tells me the game should be rated even. When he is healthy, Salvador Perez is the best all-around catcher on the planet, and his MVP award for leading Venezuela to the title in Pool D of the WBC tells me he is healthy leading up to Saturday night's showdown in Miami against the United States. But leading into the WBC it was well known that Venezuela, the U. S., the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico were all loaded with Major League superstars...and yet many people agree with me that Japan should have been listed as the favortie from the outset.

    While Third Baseman Yoan Moncada is the prime reason that Team Cuba was/is the first team to reach the semi-finals of the 2023 World Baseball Classic, there are other reasons, of course. For example, Team Cuba has four Cuban-born pitchers from the Japanese Major Leagues that have looked sharp in both Taiwan and Tokyo, and I imagine on Sunday night in Miami we will see all four of them pitch against either the U. S. or Venezuela.

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