Team USA can finally scream “We Are the Champions” after high expectations to win the World Baseball Classic. It did not come easy though, as Team USA had to beat highly-skilled opponents in the Dominican Republic, Japan, and WBC runner-up Puerto Rico in consecutive games. Team USA was aided greatly by their starting pitching, going 3-1 with a 1.25 ERA in the tournament. Puerto Rico did not stand a chance against Marcus Stroman, who no-hit them through 6 innings. Some key hitters for Team USA were Brandon Crawford and Eric Hosmer, who both had an OPS over a thousand.

Overall the WBC set record highs with ratings and attendance. This year marks the first time in which total attendance for every game exceeded 1 million fans. This count was prior to the championship game, which was the second most attended game for a WBC final game with 51,565 fans.

Ratings were also at its peak in WBC history, as 2.3 million fans watched the championship game, roughly 1.4 million more viewers than the 2013 final. Speaking of 1.4 million, that is the amount of fans that tuned in to the semifinal game between USA and Japan. Yet, this was on the MLB Network, not a major network like ESPN. Imagine the amount of viewership if the games were broadcasted on ESPN or if it can ever get to a major point, FOX.

Personally, the WBC gets me foaming at the mouth. I crave the excitement, I crave the opportunity to see international players, and I crave the passion and intensity international fans bring to games. The Japanese fans brought a different ambiance that American baseball fans are accustomed. The Japanese used what seemed to be boom stick noisemakers everywhere they went and were doing an organized chant prior to every pitch. Many countries had fans with noisemakers like the ones they used in the World Cup.

Every country had multitudes of fans who brought their respective country’s flag and wore it like a cape.

In the WBC, we saw an impressive run by Israel, a team that was not only on the verge of not making the tournament, but also not expected to make it out of the first round. However, they were one game away from having the chance to play in the championship round. We saw figures like the American Eagle and the “Mensch on a Bench”.

We saw Italy make an astounding comeback against Mexico, scoring 5 runs in the 9^th to beat Mexico 10-9. We saw impressive pitching performances from players we may not recognize. We saw one of the game’s best relievers in Andrew Miller blow a lead to Nelson Cruz and the Dominican Republic. We saw Adam Jones make an impressive home run saving catch sparking the U.S. to advance to the championship round. All in all, we saw a lot of international baseball history.

Hopefully, the World Baseball Classic has helped increase the excitement and importance of international baseball, especially for major league players. With Team USA winning the championship, this could bring the top-tier players from the United States, such as Clayton Kershaw, Mike Trout, and Kris Bryant to play for Team USA in future WBCs. I hope to be able to see countries allow their major-league players to play for their countries, like Cuba, who does not allow defected players to play for their country. Countries like Japan, South Korea, and China only allow a select number of players due to the tournament’s expensive insurance policy. Increasing participation for the WBC would be instrumental, as it would be one step closer to have the best of the best square off against one another.

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Notable Additions: Chase Headley 3B, Chris Capuano P, Chris Young OF, Justin Wilson RP, Andrew Miller RP, David Carpenter RP, Chasen Shreve RP, Stephen Drew IF, Nathan Eovaldi SP, Garrett Jones 1B, Didi Gregorius SS

Notable Losses: Derek Jeter SS, Ichiro Suzuki OF, Martin Prado IF, David Phelps SP, Brandon McCarthy SP, Shane Greene SS, David Robertson RP, Alfonso Soriano OF, Hiroki Kuroda SP, Brian Roberts IF

I used the word experienced rather than old in the intro but the words are interchangeable. Didi Gregorius is the only starting position player who is under 30 years old. The Yankees offense will struggle to hit and stay healthy in 2015. There’s no question that this team is just… different than the normal Yankee squad. There is still talent in the lineup, but it will be interesting to see if that talent will show. Alex Rodriguez is returning to the Yankees…. Okay I’m going to talk about A-rod for just a minute because I think it’s important. Why!? Why on Earth is this guy still allowed to step foot on a baseball diamond. In the last article I talked about Brock Holt who does everything right. Holt is a good teammate, he hustles, he puts his all into his work and most importantly he does it with integrity. A-rod, on the other hand, does not. He was blessed with a rocket arm, an athletic body and all the tools to be one of the greatest players of all time. What did he do with it? He spat on it. A-rod is decided that he is better than the system and has broken the rules on multiple occasions. He has no integrity and no respect for the game of baseball. The greatest moment of the 2013 season for me was when Ryan Dempster threw behind A-rod on the first pitch, and then drilled him on the second. Everyone on the planet knew that it was intentional, even the umpire. The umpire did not eject Dempster from the game, showing he thought A-rod deserved it. I’d do the exact same thing if I were a pitcher. It’s beyond me why Pete Rose is banned from the game yet A-rod gets to play. Something seems backwards here. I hope for nothing but the worst for A-rod and I’m not afraid to say it. He had his chance.. correction CHANCES, and he spat on them. The game will in a better place when he finally retires.

Lets get back to talking about the rest of the team. I think the pitching staff will be more effective than some think. It was announced today that Masahiro Tanaka will get the nod to open the season. This is the first time in 6 years that CC Sabathia will not be the opening day starter for the Yankees. Tanaka was outstanding in his rookie season finishing with a 2.77 ERA through 136.1 innings. An arm injury limited Tanaka in 2014 but the Yankees hope and believe it will not be a problem this season. Tanaka has an effortless delivery with a large repertoire of pitches. His split-finger is flat out filthy and will confuse hitters all year. It will be important that he stays healthy in order to lead this rotation in 2015. Michael Pineda will be the second best pitcher in the rotation and will try to capitalize on a full season. He missed a lot of time due to injury and suspension in 2014 but he was one of the most effective pitchers in the game when on the field. He finished with a 1.89 ERA through 76.1 innings of work. He has a mid 90’s fastball to go along with a nasty slider that he can put wherever he pleases. CC Sabathia finds himself as the third man in the rotation to start 2014. He hasn’t posted  a sub 4.00 ERA since 2012 when he finished with a 3.38 ERA through 200 innings. He has lost his velocity and movement on his fastball and slider. He came into spring training much heavier than the last and has also gained some of his velocity back. His fastball touched 96 MPH this spring, surprising everyone. It will be important for CC to stay healthy and keep his velocity to be effective in 2015.

The bullpen is led by Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances. Miller finished the 2014 season with a 2.02 through 62.1 innings. He is exceptionally tough on lefties. Betances was a breakout player in 2014. He posted a 1.40 ERA through 90 innings last season. Betances should be used as a closer in 2015 and will close games with ease. The addition of Miller gives the Yankees a deadly setup/closer combo.

Breakout Player:  Nathan Eovaldi SP

Nathan Eovaldi will now be pitching in a hitter friendly ballpark. He struggled last season with the Marlins, finishing with a 4.37 ERA through 199.2 innings of work. (I’d be pretty upset to fall 1 out short of 200 innings… just saying.) Eovaldi has a live fastball but struggles to control it. He falls behind in counts often, giving the hitter a strong advantage. He will have to work on his control and secondary pitches but if he can improve in those areas, he will be a solid Major League starter. If healthy I expect:

204.1 IP, 3.91 ERA, 172 SO

Game Changer: Carlos Beltran OF

Beltran has had one of the most solid careers in MLB history. He has a career batting average of .281 and a .491 slugging percentage. He struggled for the first time in 2014, finishing with a .233 batting average and driving in 49 runs. Yankee fans can only hope that last year was a fluke for Beltran. If Beltran is hitting .275+, he will bring the entire team up with him. He has a leadership quality that few players have. Put in simpler terms.. If Beltran rises, the team rises. If Beltran falls, the Yankees fall.

The Yankees will go as far their health will take them. They have a history of injuries and are a team filled with age. The pitching rotation should be strong and will be backed by a solid bullpen. The position players will have to stay healthy if they want a chance to contend in the AL East.

Make sure to check back in on March 31st for my complete standing predictions along with a few other fun pieces of news. Until then, you will be able to find a new preview of an individual team from March 1st through the 30th here at KRUI.FM.

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