Cuba, Mexico, and Japan in the WBC Semi-Finals

 With Either the U. S. or Venezuela!!

    The 20-Nation World Baseball Classic features the highest-paid players in the History of Baseball. The 20 teams were placed in four Pools of 5 teams each. As of today -- Saturday, March 18th-2023 -- the WBC Semi-Finals consist of Cuba, Mexico, Japan and the winner of tonight's game in Miami pitting the USA against Venezuela. Above you see the All-Star Team After Games in Pools A-B-C-and-D have been played. As you see above the All-Stars include Randy Arozarena of Mexico and Yoan Moncada of Cuba. Those two U. S. Major League Superstars are why Mexico and Cuba have shocked the WBC World by reaching the WBC Semi-Finals in Miami...with Cuba having had to win Pool A play in Taiwan and then winning its Quarter-final game in Tokyo. Cuba is in the semi-finals because of 27-year-old Yoan Moncada, the Superstar switch-hitting Third Baseman for the Chicago White Sox. And Mexico is in the semi-finals because of Randy Arozarena, the young Superstar outfielder for the Tampa Bay Rays.

      Led by the great Randy Arozarena, Mexico last night upset Superstars such as Francisco Lindor and Puerto Rico 5-4 in Miami. That propelled Mexico in the WBC semi-finals at 7 PM on Monday, March 20th against Japan.

     The great Mexican hero Randy Arozarena was born in Cuba, is a young Major League Superstar with the Tampa Bay Rays, and somehow is playing for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic. He is the reason Mexico is playing Japan in the WBC semi-fianls on Monday night in Miami. Of course, Arozarena was also eligible to play for either Cuba or the USA in the WBC.

     But let it be known that the Chicago White Sox switch-hitting Yoan Moncada is the reason little Cuba will play either the USA or Venezuela in the WBC Semi-Finals in Miami on Sunday night March 19th.

    This is the line-up that the U. S. can use against Venezuela tonight starting at 7 PM in Miami. Everyone of these U. S. players is a Major League Superstar and this line-up includes the highest-paid baseball players in history, such as Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, etc. If the U. S. beats Venezuela tonight in Miami, the U. S. will play Cuba in the WBC semi-finals at 7 PM tomorrow night -- Sunday, March 19th!! And in Little Havana-Miami tomorrow night, the Cuban players will be loudly booed by a sell-out crowd...just for showing up to play the Super-Star USA Team of Super-Star Venezuela in Miami.

     But, of course, Team Venezuela also has a Superstar Lineup to face Team USA tonight in Miami, led by lead-off batter Jose Altuve who has won multiple Batting Titles playing for the World Champion Houston Astros. And baseball fans can look at the Venequela line-up above and understand that this team can beat Team USA tonight in Miami.

     So now Japan plays Mexico in one WBC semi-final game in Miami at 7 PM Monday night, March 20th. And Cuba plays either the USA or Venezuela in the other WBC semi-final in Miami at 7 PM Sunday night, March 19th. I still think Shohei Ohtani and Japan will beat Mexico in the semi-finals Monday night and then Tuesday night in Miami win the Championship game against either the USA, Venezuela or Cuba. As an incomparable pitcher and hitter, Shohei Ohtani is the most famous and most incomparable baseball player in the world. After this season he will be a Free Agent and it is likely the LA Angels will lose him to a richer team that will offer Ohtani at least a half-billion-dollar contract. But Japan in the WBC has other Superstar players other than just Shohei Ohtani.

    But one of the BIG stories in the 2023 20-nation World Baseball Classic is the fact that Yoan Moncada and Team Cuba have made it to the Semi-Finals and will play either the USA or Venezuela tomorrow night...Sunday, March 19th...in Miami. Win or lose...that is BIG NEWS!!

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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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CUBA HEADS TO MIAMI FOR SEMI-FINALS OF WBC

       The seven photos above chronicle today -- March 15th-2023 -- as one of the Greatest Days in the storied history of Cuba Baseball. You see the very last pitch getting ready to end a 4-to-3 victory over Australia in the Tokyo Dome, which occurred at about 9:30 A. M. Eastern Time this morning. The talented and gritty Cuban players had won the 5-team Pool A in faraway Taiwan and today survived the Quarterfinals of the start-studded 20-nation 2023 World Baseball Classic in faraway Japan. Now Team Cuba flies, of all places, to nearby Miami as one of the four Semi-Finalists in the international event where teams from Japan, U. S., Dominican Republic, and Venezuela literally have line-ups loaded with the highest-priced baseball players in the history of the planet -- names such as Ortani, Betts, Trout, , Soto, etc., etc., etc. But let it known...this talented Cuban Team was not scared in Taiwan or in Japan and it will not be scared in the shadows of Little Havana in Miami. This Cuban Team is led by 27-year-old Superstar Yoan Moncada, the Third Baseman for the Chicago White and Cuba. His guts for fighting for his chance to play for Cuba in the World Baseball Classic tells you all you need to know about #10 Yoan Moncada.

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Team Cuba is in the WBC Spotlight in Japan!!

With Cuba Anxious & Excited!!

    The magnificent Tokyo Dome is one of Japan's greatest treasures and it has hosted World Baseball Classic games in all five years of its existence -- 2006, 2009, 2013, 2017, and 2023. The baseball-loving Japanese are currently hosting the most star-studded WBC in history with a plethora of Major League Superstars that include Japan's unique icon and Babe Ruth-like Hitter-Pitcher named Shohei Ortani. Tomorrow at 6:00 A. M. Eastern Time the Tokyo Dome will host Team Cuba vs. Team Australia to start the Quarterfinals of the 2023 World Classic. Team Japan, of course, easily won its four games in the 5-team WBC Pool B. Japan has Major League teams rated almost as good as the U. S. Major League teams, and Japan in the 2023 WBC also has some top U. S. Major League superstars, including the incomparable Shohei Ortani who is in his prime and the most acclaimed baseball player on the planet. But Team Australia, which gave Japan its closest game in Pool B and then the Aussies easily won their other games to make them the big favorites over Team Cuba to start the Quarterfinals tomorrow -- March 15th-2023 -- in the Tokyo Dome. But Team Cuba earned its trip to Japan by winning the 5-team WBC Pool A that was played in a raucus new stadium in faraway Taipei, Taiwan.

    Baseball-loving Cubans should read this huge article today in The Japan Times about tomorrow's WBC Quarterfinal game between Australia and Cuba in the Tokyo Dome. The article predicts Australia will beat Cuba!!!!

     Also, as shown above, The Japan Times seems to be rooting for Australia against Cuba in tomorrow's big Quarterfinal WBC game in the Tokyo Dome.

     And, as shown above, The Japan Times today explains that Australia's baseball scouts have compiled a minute update on Cuba's WBC team...but, of course, Cuba has also compiled a top scouting report on the Australian team.

      Every team in the 2023 World Baseball Classic that plays Cuba has to be most concerned with containing Yuan Moncada and Luis Robert, two young Major League superstars.

      Cuba won the WBC Pool A competition in Taiwan because Yuan Moncada, #10, and Luis Robert, #88, both proudly and bravely begged their Major League team, the Chicago White Sox, so they could play for Cuba in the World Baseball Classic. Yuan is a powerful 27-year-old switch-hitting Third Baseman and Luis is a 25-year-old powerful Center Fielder. They are the reason Cuba is playing Australia tomorrow to start the Quarterfinals of the 2023 World Baseball Classic in the Tokyo Dome. The game starts at 6:00 A. M. Eastern Time and will be televised by the Fox Sports Network {FS2}.

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Team Cuba Flies from Taiwan to Japan!!

 

         Today is Monday, March 13th-2023 and this photo gladdens the hearts of Baseball-Loving Cubans in Cuba. It shows Luis Martin arriving in Tokyo proudly carrying his Cuban duffel bag. Luis -- born in Guantanamo, Cuba -- is the Superstar 25-year-old Center Fielder for the Chicago White Sox and he has let it be known to the media that "It was my dream to play for Cuba in the World Baseball Classic." For that stance Luis has been loudly criticized by the U. S. media that adhers only to the opinions of Counter Revolutionary Cubans in the USA. Yet...today there is Luis Robert in Tokyo proudly ready to help Team Cuba in the Quarterfinals of the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Luis had just flown from Taiwan where he helped Team Cuba win the 5-team Pool A in the 20-nation WBC.

    Even though the collegiate and pro basketball playoffs are ready to commence in Basketball/Football-obsessed USA, the 5th World Baseball Classic is playing before sold-out stadiums in Taiwan, Japan, USA, etc...and the games are being televised in all 20 of the baseball-loving nations. Baseball fans are enthused that the Super-Paid U. S. Major League Superstar Players are filling the lineups -- especially of nations such as the U. S., Dominican Republic, Japan, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela. Yet...underdog nations such as Mexico and Cuba are also making some headlines in the 2023 WBC!! Cuba has advanced to the Quarterfinals in Japan after winning the tough 5-team Pool A in Taiwan. And check the photo-image above. It is not a MIRAGE. On TV and in a sold-old stadium in Phoenix last night, Mexico defeated the Superstar-ladened Team USA 11-to-5. The experts, of course, still predict that the U. S., Japan, or the Dominican Republic will be crowned the 2023 WBC CHAMPION on March 21st in Miami. But first they must beat some good teams.

     In the first week of the 2023 World Baseball Classic, even baseball-loving Cubans in Cuba have had a lot to cheer for. That's because, surprisingly, the U. S. eased the drastic six-decade-old Embargo enough to allow Team Cuba to have some U. S. Major League Cuban-born Superstars. Most of Cuba's plethora of Major League stars succumbed to pressure not to join Team Cuba but there are two prime very brave and super exceptions -- #10 Yoan Moncada and #88 Luis Robert. At age 27 Yoan is the Superstar switch-hitting Third Baseman for the Chicago White Sox. And at age 25 Luis is the Superstar Center Fielder for the Chicago White Sox. Their courage and talent helped Team Cuba win the WBC Pool A in Taiwan and now, proudly, Yoan and Luis are in Japan to help Team Cuba compete in the WBC Quarterfinals at the awesome Tokyo Dome. Japan was already 4-and-0 in the First Round and is considered unbeatable but two of the five teams in Tokyo will move on to the Semi-Finals that will be played in Miami...so a team like Cuba or Australia can advance.

     But for now and forever, Yoan Moncada and Luis Robert will be remembered for making the baseball-loving Cubans in Cuba very Happy and Proud in March of 2023.

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A Happy Sunday for Baseball-Loving Cubans!!!

 

    On the Big Stage of the 20-nation, Superstar-Studded World Baseball Classic, today in faraway Taiwan the baseball-loving island of Cuba beat home-based Taiwan 7-to-1 in a raucus, sold-out stadium. While the U. S., Dominican Republic, Japan, and Venezuela are all loaded with Major League Superstars such as Trout, Ortani, Betts, etc., etc., Cuba this time is allowed a few  Major League Superstars. Yoan Moncada, #10 and the Superstar switch-hitting Third Baseman for the Chicago White Sox and Cuba, had a homer, double, and single to help Cuba to a quick 6-0 lead in Taiwan's beautiful, sold-out stadium on the way to cruising to a 7-1 victory that is monumental to the team and to the Caribbean nation. Now Yoan Moncada and his Cuban teammates fly to Tokyo to participate in the World Baseball Classic quarter-fianls next week.

    The four games at Taichung Stadium in Taiwan revealed a gritty and dedicated Cuban team, with the strong Fox Sports Network televising all four games live to baseball-loving nations around the world.

     Not only did Yoan Moncada play excellent defense at Third Base and also belt six key hits in the last two games in Taiwan, he also was a vocal leader to the players who look up to him.

    Above are the incredible final records of the teams in Group A of the World Baseball Classic played in Taiwan. All five teams finished with 2-2 records but Cuba ended #1 as champion for this reason: Cuba barely lost a 4-2 first game to Paises Bajos/Netherlands and then barely lost 6-3 in ten innings to Italy, before blasting Panama 13-4 and Taiwan 7-1. Scoring that many runs and allowing that few runs has crowned Cuba the Champion in Group A of the World Baseball Classic. The WBC guarantees $300,000 to each of the 20 teams and each Group winner also gets more money to be divided among the players. Cuban players such as Third Baseman Yoan Moncada and Center Fielder Luis Robert Jr., who are being well paid by the Chicago White Sox, are giving their shares of WBC money to the rest of the Cuban team...and, presumbably, other Major League WBC players will do the same with their teams. The USA's WBC Center Fielder, Mike Trout, has a guaranteed $430 million contract with the LA Angels, so Mike -- who also is swamped with millions of endorsement dollars -- doesn't need his WBC money, and neither do many other players in this star-studded World Baseball Classic.

    This is Luis Robert Robles Jr. in his #88 WBC uniform for Cuba. As a star Major Leaguer for the Chicago White Sox, Luis and his teammate with both teams Yoan Moncada have been sharply criticized for playing for Team Cuba in the WBC. Luis responded to the U. S. media this way: "I dreamed of playing for Cuba. I left to play in the top echelon of baseball. But all the people I know in Cuba love baseball and are good people. They support me in the U. S. and I want them happy. I dreamed of playing for them in this Cuban uniform in the WBC." Born 25 years ago in Guantanamo, Cuba, Luis at 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds is a very fast and powerful Center Fielder. When he joined the White Sox three years ago he was ranked the Top Major League Prospect in the world, just as Yoan Moncada also was. The informative Baseball Reference website reports that, in his three years in Chicago, Luis has been paid salaries of exactly $15.333 million dollars and he has, among lots of other toys, a multi-million-dollar mansion in Florida. But Major Leaguers like Luis only get the $40-or-so-million-dollars-a-year contracts when they reach Free Agency, when all 30 Major League teams can bid for them...including the obscenely rich teams such as the Mets, Yankees, Dodgers, etc. And, while already a multi-millionaire, the young Luis has not reached his Free Agency stage yet. But, let it be known, that he is proud to be wearing his Cuban uniform in the World Baseball Classic.

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Cuba vs. Homestanding Taipi Tonight in WBC

 

   The Chicago White Sox's powerful switch-hitter Yoan Moncada and Team Cuba defeated a good Panama team in its third game in Pool A of the World Baseball Classic being played in faraway Taipi, Taiwan. Unfortuately, Cuba lost its first two games -- 4-2 to Netherlands and 6-3 in 10 innings to Italy.

     With a line-up led by two super talented Major League stars from the Chicago White Sox -- Third Baseman Yoan Moncada and Center Fielder Luis Robert Jr., Cuba was the favorite to win the 5-team Pool A in Taiwan but Moncada and Robert didn't get to practice with Team Cuba at all and their 14-hour flight to Taiwan landed just hours before Game One, perhaps causing Cuba's two close losses in the first two games. But the 13-4 win over a strong Panama team in Game Three revealed loudly that Moncada and Robert were no longer hampered by jet-lag.

    Tonight at 11 PM on the Fox Sports Television Network {FS2} in its 4th game in Taipi, Team Cuba will play the home team Taipi, which has a strong 2-1 record and is tied with Netherlands for first place in the standings.

    Cuba's starting pitcher tonight in Taipi again Taipi will be 33-year-old Havana-born right-hander Elian Leyva.

     While Cuba's baseball-loving fans root for Team Cuba, many Cubans are also rooting for Venezuela in the 20-nation World Baseball Classic. Above is Venezuela's line-up tonight against the Dominican Republic in Miami, a vital opening game. The DR entire line-up consists of Superstar Major League players but baseball fans can see {above} that Venezuela also is loaded with Superstar Major Leaguers, also with Venezuelan Major League players making guaranteed $300-$400 Million Dollar contracts in the United States. And, as you can see above, Venezuela's starting pitcher tonight will be Sandy Alcantara, the Cy Young Winner and the best pitcher in Major League Baseball in 2023. So Venezuela will be tough to beat although Japan, the Dominican Republic, and the USA are the Big Three favorites. Japan and the USA are also playing on their home turf. Japan is already 3-and-0 and many experts have predicted that Japan, playing in the Tokyo Dome, can win this year's star-studded World Baseball Classic when Superman Ortani and the other Japanese get to Miami. But the key game tonight is Venezuela vs. Dominican Republic; the USA tonight starting at 9 PM on the prime Fox Network has an EASY game against Great Britain.

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