Plunk Everyone

Japan won it's second consecutive WBC championship last night beating Korea 5 to 3 in 10 innings, but the real victory of the tournament goes to Korea's Shin-Soo Choo, who also plays for the Cleveland Indians, who lead the WBC in total HBPs with 3. Congratulations Shin-Soo Choo!

Choo collected his third plunk of the tournament in the semi-finals game against Venezuala, on a pitch thrown by Carlos Vasquez. In the finals, Japan was the only team to get plunked - Hiroyuki Nakajima got hit by Chang Young Lim in the 10th inning, but that was after Japan had scored their two runs, so the plunk didn't contribute to the final score. Through the course of the tournament, 42 batters got hit by pitches, but they only scored 7 runs as a result of those plunks. None of those plunks occured with the bases loaded.

Also, Korea led the tournament in total HBPs on the batting side with 7. Australia got 6 plunks and 5 baseballs hit Mexico. Japan and USA got hit 4 times, Venezuela and Cuba took 3 plunks, and the Netherlands, Panama, Puerto Rico and Italy all got hit twice. The Domincan Republic and Canada only got hit once a piece, and every baseball missed China, Taiwan and South Africa.

21 of the 42 WBC plunks were recorded by players who are not on Major League 40-man rosters, and American League players slightly edged the National Leaguers in the HBP category 11 to 10. The Phillies and Indians tied with 4 plunks each by their players.

On the pitching side, Ismel Jimenez of Cuba led the tournament with 3 batters hit, and helped his Cuban team to a total of 8 to lead the tournament. Mexico and Venezuela hit 5 batters, and the Dominican Republic managed to hit 4 batters without making it out of the first round. The Netherlands and China hit 3 batters, and the US, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Italy, Japan and Korea threw 2 plunks each. Taiwan only hit one batter as did Australia. Canada and Panama were the tournament pacifists with no batters hit. This leads to the possibility that there is an inverse relationship between the number of plunks a WBC team throws and the number of occurrences of the letter A in the country's name.



Here's the final totals for pitchcounts for Major Leaguers (some may be non-roster invitees):

MLB Team	Pitcher	WBC Team	Pitches	IPOuts	Rough Outings*
ARI	Travis Blackley	AUS	74	17	0
ARI	Tony Pena	DOM	22	6	0
ATL	Jorge Campillo	MEX	135	26	0
ATL	Javier Vazquez	PUR	127	28	0
BAL	Jeremy Guthrie	USA	106	11	1
BOS	Fernando Cabrera	PUR	34	6	0
BOS	Enrique Gonzalez	VEN	152	29	0
BOS	Javier Lopez	PUR	35	7	0
BOS	Daisuke Matsuzaka	JPN	249	44	0
CHA	Matt Thornton	USA	61	14	1
CHN	Ted Lilly	USA	98	19	0
CHN	Carlos Marmol	DOM	42	5	1
CIN	Johnny Cueto	DOM	71	14	0
CIN	Ramon Ramirez	VEN	103	16	0
CIN	Pedro Viola	DOM	13	3	0
CIN	Edinson Volquez	DOM	58	9	0
CLE	Rafael Perez	DOM	35	9	0
COL	Manny Corpas	PAN	31	6	0
COL	Jason Grilli	ITA	62	11	0
COL	Ubaldo Jimenez	DOM	65	12	0
DET	Armando Galarraga	VEN	143	22	0
DET	Fu-Te Ni	TPE	26	4	0
FLA	Christopher Leroux	CAN	34	5	0
FLA	Matt Lindstrom	USA	33	6	0
FLA	Rick VandenHurk	NED	127	16	1
HOU	LaTroy Hawkins	USA	47	11	1
HOU	Roy Oswalt	USA	201	34	0
KCA	Lenny DiNardo	ITA	14	0	0
KCA	Joakim Soria	MEX	20	6	0
LAA	Francisco Rodriguez	MEX	32	6	0
LAA	Scot Shields	USA	75	13	1
LAA	Rich Thompson	AUS	48	9	0
LAN	Jonathan Broxton	USA	71	12	1
MIL	Mark DiFelice	ITA	45	12	0
MIN	Luis Ayala	MEX	68	10	1
MIN	Jesse Crain	CAN	18	4	0
NYA	Damaso Marte	DOM	26	6	0
NYN	Elmer Dessens	MEX	81	20	0
NYN	Pedro Feliciano	PUR	42	9	0
NYN	Nelson Figueroa	PUR	110	22	0
NYN	Oliver Perez	MEX	149	20	1
NYN	J.J. Putz	USA	45	9	1
NYN	Francisco Rodriguez	VEN	98	17	1
OAK	Brad Ziegler	USA	76	10	2
PHI	Drew Naylor	AUS	20	1	1
PHI	J.C. Romero	PUR	51	8	0
PIT	David Davidson	CAN	17	3	0
PIT	John Grabow	USA	68	13	1
PIT	Ian Snell	PUR	122	24	0
SDN	Heath Bell	USA	82	11	2
SDN	Jake Peavy	USA	110	15	1
SEA	Felix Hernandez	VEN	147	26	0
SEA	Carlos Silva	VEN	177	37	1
SFN	Jonathan Sanchez	PUR	119	20	1
SLN	Adam Ottavino	ITA	50	9	0
SLN	Dennys Reyes	MEX	43	5	1
TBA	J.P. Howell	USA	44	10	0
WAS	Joel Hanrahan	USA	80	15	0
WAS	Saul Rivera	PUR	48	11	0

*-Outings with more than 20 pitches per inning

Labels: WBC

They wrapped up the 2nd round of the WBC last night, with the game to determine if Korea or Japan was the winner of their pool, but they also determined that Korea can get hit by as many pitches as Australia - though it's taken Korea 4 more games. Korean right field Yong-Kyu Les got plunked by Japan's Tetsuya Utsumi, and unfortunately had to leave the game because of it. But, it put Korea in a tie with Australia for the most HBPs in the tournament, with 6 each.

Of the teams moving on to the semi-finals, Korea has been plunked 6 times, the US has 4 HBPS, and Japan and Venezuela have been hit 3 times each. Through the first 2 rounds, players from the Phillies 40-man roster have been hit the most with 4 HBPs, and the Cleveland Indians WBC representatives have been plunked 3 times. Baltimore, the Yankees, the Mets, and the Twins have all had their players get hit twice in the WBC. That could be a good sign for the Mets and Twins who were the worst teams in their respective leagues in the category of getting hit by pitches.

Labels: WBC

Team Cuba was eliminated from WBC competition last night, but they hit one more batter on their way out - a 9th inning plunking of Japan's Hiroyuki Nakajima on a pitch from Vladimir Garcia. That brings Cuba's total plunks thrown to a tournament leading 8. It'll take some work for any of the semi-finalists to match that number in only 2 remaining games, at most. Venezuela is the leader among the remaining teams with 4 hit batters, the US has two, and Japan and Korea have each hit just one batter.

Labels: WBC

In WBC 2nd round action yesterday Shuichi Murata of Japan got plunked by Jung Keun Bong of Korea, but it was Korea that won the game, earning a spot in the semi-finals and sending Japan to an elimination game again Cuba - a re-match of the 2006 WBC. Murata has now been plunked twice in the WBC. In the other game yesterday, Adam Dunn and Jimmy Rollins helped team USA earn a spot in the semi-finals by getting plunked by Puerto Rico's Jonathan Sanchez and Nelson Figueroa. Figueroa is listed as a non-roster invitee to Mets training camp, and maybe showing the ability to plunk Phillie Jimmy Rollins will earn him a spot on the Mets roster. Either that or Rollins has developed an interest in being hit by baseballs after filming his recent TV ad for Dick's Sporting Goods. (They couldn't get Chase Utley for that role?)


Here's the pitchcounts for WBC pitchers on major league rosters (or at least with invites to major league spring training camps).

MLB Team	Pitcher	WBC Team	Pitches	IPOuts	Rough Outings*
ARI	Travis Blackley	AUS	74	17	0
ARI	Tony Pena	DOM	22	6	0
ATL	Jorge Campillo	MEX	135	26	0
ATL	Javier Vazquez	PUR	127	28	0
BAL	Jeremy Guthrie	USA	54	6	0
BOS	Fernando Cabrera	PUR	34	6	0
BOS	Enrique Gonzalez	VEN	84	18	0
BOS	Javier Lopez	PUR	35	7	0
BOS	Daisuke Matsuzaka	JPN	151	30	0
CHA	Matt Thornton	USA	49	11	1
CHN	Ted Lilly	USA	98	19	0
CHN	Carlos Marmol	DOM	42	5	1
CIN	Johnny Cueto	DOM	71	14	0
CIN	Ramon Ramirez	VEN	74	11	0
CIN	Pedro Viola	DOM	13	3	0
CIN	Edinson Volquez	DOM	58	9	0
CLE	Rafael Perez	DOM	35	9	0
COL	Manny Corpas	PAN	31	6	0
COL	Jason Grilli	ITA	62	11	0
COL	Ubaldo Jimenez	DOM	65	12	0
DET	Armando Galarraga	VEN	64	12	0
DET	Fu-Te Ni	TPE	26	4	0
FLA	Christopher Leroux	CAN	34	5	0
FLA	Matt Lindstrom	USA	33	6	0
FLA	Rick VandenHurk	NED	127	16	1
HOU	LaTroy Hawkins	USA	26	8	0
HOU	Roy Oswalt	USA	135	23	0
KCA	Lenny DiNardo	ITA	14	0	0
KCA	Joakim Soria	MEX	20	6	0
LAA	Francisco Rodriguez	MEX	32	6	0
LAA	Scot Shields	USA	65	12	1
LAA	Rich Thompson	AUS	48	9	0
LAN	Jonathan Broxton	USA	71	12	1
MIL	Mark DiFelice	ITA	45	12	0
MIN	Luis Ayala	MEX	68	10	1
MIN	Jesse Crain	CAN	18	4	0
NYA	Damaso Marte	DOM	26	6	0
NYN	Elmer Dessens	MEX	81	20	0
NYN	Pedro Feliciano	PUR	42	9	0
NYN	Nelson Figueroa	PUR	110	22	0
NYN	Oliver Perez	MEX	149	20	1
NYN	J.J. Putz	USA	45	9	1
NYN	Francisco Rodriguez	VEN	77	14	0
OAK	Brad Ziegler	USA	60	7	2
PHI	Drew Naylor	AUS	20	1	1
PHI	J.C. Romero	PUR	51	8	0
PIT	David Davidson	CAN	17	3	0
PIT	John Grabow	USA	25	6	0
PIT	Ian Snell	PUR	122	24	0
SDN	Heath Bell	USA	59	8	1
SDN	Jake Peavy	USA	110	15	1
SEA	Felix Hernandez	VEN	147	26	0
SEA	Carlos Silva	VEN	137	33	0
SFN	Jonathan Sanchez	PUR	119	20	1
SLN	Adam Ottavino	ITA	50	9	0
SLN	Dennys Reyes	MEX	43	5	1
TBA	J.P. Howell	USA	10	3	0
WAS	Joel Hanrahan	USA	50	10	0
WAS	Saul Rivera	PUR	48	11	0

Labels: WBC

Mexico was eliminated from the WBC by the Cubans last night, but at least they got hit by a couple of pitches on their way out. Marlins 3rd-baseman Jorge Cantu, playing for Mexico, was plunked in the 4th inning by Cuban pitcher Norge Vera. In the 7th inning, Mexcio's Christhian Presichi was plunked by Pedro Luis Lazo. But, Mexico couldn't capitalize on either of those free base runners to score a run. Cuba has thrown 20% of the 35 WBC plunks so far, with a total of 7. Mexico has thrown the 2nd most with 5, but they missed their last chance to add to that total. If you picked Australia in the always popular "office pool to pick which WBC team will get plunked the most", you have the lead so far. Australia got plunked 6 times before their elimination, but Korea is right behind them with 5 and still alive in the tournament.

For those of you more worried about how many pitches are thrown, rather than how many pitches hit people, the New York Mets pitchers are leading the tournament with 439 pitches thrown. Seattle is a distant 2nd with 284, and Red Sox pitchers have thrown 279 for third place.

MLB Team	Pitcher	WBC Team	Pitches	IPOuts	Rough Outings*
ARI	Travis Blackley	AUS	74	17	0
ARI	Tony Pena	DOM	22	6	0
ATL	Jorge Campillo	MEX	135	26	0
ATL	Javier Vazquez	PUR	127	28	0
BAL	Jeremy Guthrie	USA	54	6	0
BOS	Fernando Cabrera	PUR	25	6	0
BOS	Enrique Gonzalez	VEN	84	18	0
BOS	Javier Lopez	PUR	19	4	0
BOS	Daisuke Matsuzaka	JPN	151	30	0
CHA	Matt Thornton	USA	35	8	1
CHN	Ted Lilly	USA	36	9	0
CHN	Carlos Marmol	DOM	42	5	1
CIN	Johnny Cueto	DOM	71	14	0
CIN	Ramon Ramirez	VEN	74	11	0
CIN	Pedro Viola	DOM	13	3	0
CIN	Edinson Volquez	DOM	58	9	0
CLE	Rafael Perez	DOM	35	9	0
COL	Manny Corpas	PAN	31	6	0
COL	Jason Grilli	ITA	62	11	0
COL	Ubaldo Jimenez	DOM	65	12	0
DET	Armando Galarraga	VEN	64	12	0
DET	Fu-Te Ni	TPE	26	4	0
FLA	Christopher Leroux	CAN	34	5	0
FLA	Matt Lindstrom	USA	33	6	0
FLA	Rick VandenHurk	NED	127	16	1
HOU	LaTroy Hawkins	USA	26	8	0
HOU	Roy Oswalt	USA	135	23	0
KCA	Lenny DiNardo	ITA	14	0	0
KCA	Joakim Soria	MEX	20	6	0
LAA	Francisco Rodriguez	MEX	32	6	0
LAA	Scot Shields	USA	53	8	1
LAA	Rich Thompson	AUS	48	9	0
LAN	Jonathan Broxton	USA	42	9	0
MIL	Mark DiFelice	ITA	45	12	0
MIN	Luis Ayala	MEX	68	10	1
MIN	Jesse Crain	CAN	18	4	0
NYA	Damaso Marte	DOM	26	6	0
NYN	Elmer Dessens	MEX	81	20	0
NYN	Pedro Feliciano	PUR	29	7	0
NYN	Nelson Figueroa	PUR	69	15	0
NYN	Oliver Perez	MEX	149	20	1
NYN	J.J. Putz	USA	34	6	1
NYN	Francisco Rodriguez	VEN	77	14	0
OAK	Brad Ziegler	USA	60	7	2
PHI	Drew Naylor	AUS	20	1	1
PHI	J.C. Romero	PUR	28	6	0
PIT	David Davidson	CAN	17	3	0
PIT	John Grabow	USA	25	6	0
PIT	Ian Snell	PUR	122	24	0
SDN	Heath Bell	USA	36	6	0
SDN	Jake Peavy	USA	110	15	1
SEA	Felix Hernandez	VEN	147	26	0
SEA	Carlos Silva	VEN	137	33	0
SFN	Jonathan Sanchez	PUR	56	12	0
SLN	Adam Ottavino	ITA	50	9	0
SLN	Dennys Reyes	MEX	43	5	1
TBA	J.P. Howell	USA	10	3	0
WAS	Joel Hanrahan	USA	37	8	0
WAS	Saul Rivera	PUR	27	8	0

*- Rough outings are appearances with 20 or more pitches thrown per inning worked.

Labels: WBC

Mexicon and Cuba played the final game of the first round of the WBC last night, and once again there were plenty of international HBPs. Mexican starting pitcher Pablo Ortega through his 2nd HBP of the tournament, hitting Michel Enriquez of Cuba in the first inning, and Mexican reliever Dennys Reyes hit Leonys Martin. Cuban starting pitcher Luis Rodriguez hit Mexico batter Agustin Murillo in the 2nd inning.

After the first round of the WBC, Cesar Izturis of Venezuela, Brad Harman of Australia and Shin-Soo Cho of Korea are all tied for the WBC lead with 2 HBPs each. Australia, however, will not be moving on to round 2. On the pitching side, Johnny Cueto of the Domincan Republic, Pablo Ortega of Mexico and Ismel Jimenez of Cuba are leading the tournament with 2 plunks each.

Labels: WBC

There were just 3 WBC games yesterday, and people only got hit by pitches in two of them. Derek Jeter got hit by Orber Moreno of Venezuela, which will probably earn him a contract with the Red Sox, but American pitcher Brad Ziegler (of the A's) returned the favor by hitting Cesar Izturis in the following inning. That's the 2nd of the tournament for Izturis. In the Mexico vs Australia game, Australian pitcher Brendan Wise hit Jorge Alberto Vazguez. There's one last 1st round game today, between Mexico and Cuba, and then round 2 starts Saturday.

So far, Travis Blackley has led the WBC in pitches thrown, among pitchers who are on Major League spring training rosters, but if fans are concerned about WBC pitch counts, you should also be worried about Miguel Cabrera, who is wearing out his arms swinging his bat 34 times so far. Jorge Cantu has swung 32 times and Luke Hughes 31 times. But, here's the pitch counts of the Major League-ish pitchers in the WBC:

MLB Team	Pitcher	WBC Team	Pitches	IPOuts	Rough Outings*
ARI	Travis Blackley	AUS	74	17	0
ARI	Tony Pena	DOM	22	6	0
ATL	Jorge Campillo	MEX	65	14	0
ATL	Javier Vazquez	PUR	60	13	0
BAL	Jeremy Guthrie	USA	54	6	0
BOS	Fernando Cabrera	PUR	13	5	0
BOS	Enrique Gonzalez	VEN	61	12	0
BOS	Javier Lopez	PUR	14	3	0
BOS	Daisuke Matsuzaka	JPN	65	12	0
CHA	Matt Thornton	USA	11	6	0
CHN	Ted Lilly	USA	36	9	0
CHN	Carlos Marmol	DOM	42	5	1
CIN	Johnny Cueto	DOM	71	14	0
CIN	Ramon Ramirez	VEN	59	9	0
CIN	Pedro Viola	DOM	13	3	0
CIN	Edinson Volquez	DOM	58	9	0
CLE	Rafael Perez	DOM	35	9	0
COL	Manny Corpas	PAN	30	6	0
COL	Jason Grilli	ITA	62	11	0
COL	Ubaldo Jimenez	DOM	65	12	0
DET	Armando Galarraga	VEN	64	12	0
DET	Fu-Te Ni	TPE	26	4	0
FLA	Christopher Leroux	CAN	34	5	0
FLA	Matt Lindstrom	USA	21	4	0
FLA	Rick VandenHurk	NED	72	10	0
HOU	LaTroy Hawkins	USA	18	5	0
HOU	Roy Oswalt	USA	65	11	0
KCA	Lenny DiNardo	ITA	14	0	0
KCA	Joakim Soria	MEX	11	3	0
LAA	Francisco Rodriguez	MEX	15	2	0
LAA	Scot Shields	USA	42	5	1
LAA	Rich Thompson	AUS	48	9	0
LAN	Jonathan Broxton	USA	31	6	0
MIL	Mark DiFelice	ITA	45	12	0
MIN	Luis Ayala	MEX	29	4	0
MIN	Jesse Crain	CAN	18	4	0
NYA	Damaso Marte	DOM	26	6	0
NYN	Elmer Dessens	MEX	68	18	0
NYN	Pedro Feliciano	PUR	25	5	0
NYN	Nelson Figueroa	PUR	46	11	0
NYN	Oliver Perez	MEX	63	6	1
NYN	J.J. Putz	USA	21	3	1
NYN	Francisco Rodriguez	VEN	32	6	0
OAK	Brad Ziegler	USA	27	4	1
PHI	Drew Naylor	AUS	20	1	1
PHI	J.C. Romero	PUR	16	4	0
PIT	David Davidson	CAN	17	3	0
PIT	John Grabow	USA	2	2	0
PIT	Ian Snell	PUR	50	12	0
SDN	Heath Bell	USA	19	3	0
SDN	Jake Peavy	USA	58	9	0
SEA	Felix Hernandez	VEN	61	12	0
SEA	Carlos Silva	VEN	58	12	0
SFN	Jonathan Sanchez	PUR	56	12	0
SLN	Adam Ottavino	ITA	50	9	0
SLN	Dennys Reyes	MEX	21	4	0
TBA	J.P. Howell	USA	10	3	0
WAS	Joel Hanrahan	USA	29	5	0
WAS	Saul Rivera	PUR	14	4	0

*- Rough Outings are games with 20 or more pitches per inning. This is not a metric anybody has proven to mean anything, as far as I know. Basically, I made it up, but pitchers throwing over 20 pitches per inning are probably working harder than normal.

Labels: WBC

It was a shocking day in the WBC yesterday - TWO Minnesota Twins players got hit by pitches. That's certainly shocking. AND, Pedro Martinez hit a batter from the Netherlands... that's not that shocking, except that he did it in a game that his Dominican Republic team lost to the Netherlands, knocking the Dominican Republic team out of the tournament. (Honestly, we should have seen this coming the day Alex Rodriguez said he'd play for them... even though he never actually played). Pedro Martinez hit Dutch batter Gene Kingsale in that game, and the Dominican's Miguel Tejada, also of the Astros, got hit by Netherlands pitcher Leon Boyd.

The Cuban team plunked Australia 3 times in a 5-4 victory. Ismel Jimenez threw two of those - at Ben Risinger, and Phillies prospect Brad Harman. Also, Cuban pitcher Danny Betancourt hit Twins prospect Luke Hughes.

Nick Punto was the other Twin to get plunked yesterday, playing for Italy, which now means Punto's WBC plunk total this year matches his Major League career total for HBPs - 1. He got hit by Ramon Ramirez of Venezuala. Also in that game, Italian pitcher Tiago De Silva hit Venezualan Cesar Izturis, of the Orioles. And, Enrique Gonzalez of Venezuala, who is also listed among the Non-Roster Invitees to the Boston Red Sox training camp, made a shrewd move to make that team - he plunked Italian batter Francisco Cervelli, who is a triple-A catcher for the Yankees.


Here's the report on pitch counts for all you people convinced that the WBC is going to somehow cause your favorite pitchers to melt down in mid-September:

MLB Team	Pitcher	WBC Team	Pitches	IPOuts	Rough Outings*
ARI	Travis Blackley	AUS	74	17	0
ARI	Tony Pena	DOM	22	6	0
ATL	Javier Vazquez	PUR	60	13	0
BOS	Fernando Cabrera	PUR	5	2	0
BOS	Enrique Gonzalez	VEN	61	12	0
BOS	Daisuke Matsuzaka	JPN	65	12	0
CHA	Matt Thornton	USA	7	3	0
CHN	Carlos Marmol	DOM	42	5	1
CIN	Johnny Cueto	DOM	71	14	0
CIN	Ramon Ramirez	VEN	59	9	0
CIN	Pedro Viola	DOM	13	3	0
CIN	Edinson Volquez	DOM	58	9	0
CLE	Rafael Perez	DOM	35	9	0
COL	Manny Corpas	PAN	30	6	0
COL	Jason Grilli	ITA	62	11	0
COL	Ubaldo Jimenez	DOM	65	12	0
DET	Armando Galarraga	VEN	64	12	0
DET	Fu-Te Ni	TPE	26	4	0
FLA	Christopher Leroux	CAN	34	5	0
FLA	Matt Lindstrom	USA	21	4	0
FLA	Rick VandenHurk	NED	72	10	0
HOU	LaTroy Hawkins	USA	12	3	0
HOU	Roy Oswalt	USA	65	11	0
KCA	Lenny DiNardo	ITA	14	0	0
KCA	Joakim Soria	MEX	11	3	0
LAA	Francisco Rodriguez	MEX	15	2	0
LAA	Scot Shields	USA	30	3	1
LAA	Rich Thompson	AUS	48	9	0
LAN	Jonathan Broxton	USA	18	3	0
MIL	Mark DiFelice	ITA	45	12	0
MIN	Luis Ayala	MEX	29	4	0
MIN	Jesse Crain	CAN	18	4	0
NYA	Damaso Marte	DOM	26	6	0
NYN	Elmer Dessens	MEX	68	18	0
NYN	Pedro Feliciano	PUR	20	4	0
NYN	Nelson Figueroa	PUR	32	8	0
NYN	Oliver Perez	MEX	63	6	1
NYN	J.J. Putz	USA	21	3	1
NYN	Francisco Rodriguez	VEN	17	3	0
OAK	Brad Ziegler	USA	21	3	1
PHI	J.C. Romero	PUR	16	4	0
PIT	David Davidson	CAN	17	3	0
PIT	John Grabow	USA	1	1	0
PIT	Ian Snell	PUR	50	12	0
SDN	Heath Bell	USA	19	3	0
SDN	Jake Peavy	USA	58	9	0
SEA	Felix Hernandez	VEN	61	12	0
SEA	Carlos Silva	VEN	58	12	0
SLN	Adam Ottavino	ITA	50	9	0
SLN	Dennys Reyes	MEX	21	4	0
TBA	J.P. Howell	USA	10	3	0
WAS	Joel Hanrahan	USA	29	5	0
WAS	Saul Rivera	PUR	11	3	0

*-Rough outings are my count of pitching appearance that averaged over 20 pitches per inning. This may or may not be an accurate measure of pitching appearances that were somewhat stressful for a pitcher - basically I made it up. But, the 2008 average was about 16 pitches per inning, so if a pitcher is breaking that 20 pitch mark, he might be working a little harder than normal. It also lines up nicely with a pitcher breaking the 100 pitch mark in 5 innings of work.

Labels: WBC

In WBC action yesterday, team Puerto Rico collected two HBPs, both by current members of the New York Mets, and coincidentally the topics of yesterday's post on this site. Carlos Delgado got hit by David Bergman of the Netherlands, and Alex Cora got hit by Juan Carlos Sulbaran. Also, Erubiel Durazo of Mexico got hit by South African pitcher Shannon Ekermans. None of yesterday's plunks resulted in the plunk batter scoring a run, though.


Here are the updated WBC to-date pitch counts for pitchers currently on Major League spring training rosters:

MLB Team	Pitcher	WBC Team	Pitches	IPOuts	Rough Outings*
ARI	Tony Pena	DOM	14	3	0
ATL	Javier Vazquez	PUR	60	13	0
BOS	Fernando Cabrera	PUR	5	2	0
BOS	Daisuke Matsuzaka	JPN	65	12	0
CHA	Matt Thornton	USA	7	3	0
CHN	Carlos Marmol	DOM	16	3	0
CIN	Johnny Cueto	DOM	71	14	0
CIN	Pedro Viola	DOM	13	3	0
CIN	Edinson Volquez	DOM	58	9	0
CLE	Rafael Perez	DOM	21	6	0
COL	Manny Corpas	PAN	30	6	0
COL	Jason Grilli	ITA	62	11	0
DET	Armando Galarraga	VEN	64	12	0
DET	Fu-Te Ni	TPE	26	4	0
FLA	Christopher Leroux	CAN	34	5	0
FLA	Matt Lindstrom	USA	21	4	0
FLA	Rick VandenHurk	NED	72	10	0
HOU	LaTroy Hawkins	USA	12	3	0
HOU	Roy Oswalt	USA	65	11	0
KCA	Lenny DiNardo	ITA	14	0	0
KCA	Joakim Soria	MEX	11	3	0
LAA	Francisco Rodriguez	MEX	15	2	0
LAA	Scot Shields	USA	30	3	1
LAA	Rich Thompson	AUS	33	6	0
LAN	Jonathan Broxton	USA	18	3	0
MIL	Mark DiFelice	ITA	45	12	0
MIN	Luis Ayala	MEX	29	4	0
MIN	Jesse Crain	CAN	18	4	0
NYA	Damaso Marte	DOM	13	3	0
NYN	Elmer Dessens	MEX	68	18	0
NYN	Pedro Feliciano	PUR	20	4	0
NYN	Nelson Figueroa	PUR	32	8	0
NYN	Oliver Perez	MEX	63	6	1
NYN	J.J. Putz	USA	21	3	1
OAK	Brad Ziegler	USA	21	3	1
PHI	J.C. Romero	PUR	16	4	0
PIT	David Davidson	CAN	17	3	0
PIT	John Grabow	USA	1	1	0
PIT	Ian Snell	PUR	50	12	0
SDN	Heath Bell	USA	19	3	0
SDN	Jake Peavy	USA	58	9	0
SEA	Felix Hernandez	VEN	61	12	0
SEA	Carlos Silva	VEN	58	12	0
SLN	Dennys Reyes	MEX	21	4	0
TBA	J.P. Howell	USA	10	3	0
WAS	Joel Hanrahan	USA	29	5	0
WAS	Saul Rivera	PUR	11	3	0

*- Rough outings are my un-scientific count of games in which a pitcher threw more than 20 pitches per inning. The 2008 MLB average was about 16 pitches per inning, so if a pitcher is getting over 20, they might be working a little harder than normal.

Labels: WBC

Last season, the Detroit Tigers hit the Cleveland Indians with 21 pitches, but it looks like they just couldn't wait to get 2009 started. Detroit's Amando Galarraga, pitching for Venezuala, hit Mark DeRosa of the US and the Cleveland Indians in the 2nd inning of yesterday's WBC game. Galarraga hit 3 Indians last season, but DeRosa was with the Cubs then. Welcome to the Indians, Mark.
Keeping with the Indians theme, Shin-Soo Choo collected his 2nd HBP of the WBC yesterday, thrown by Quoqiang Sun of China. That makes the Indian's outfielder the HBP leader in the WBC. Korea got hit 3 times in all by the pitching staff from China, with Bum Ho Lee getting plunked by Dawei Zhu and Taek-Keun Lee getting hit by Kai Liu.

That wasn't the only 3 plunk game yesterday though - Mexico plunked Australie 3 times as well. Oliver Perez of the Mets, pitching for Mexico hit Australia's Brett Roneberg. Brad Harman of the Phillies got hit by Pablo Ortega, and Justin Huber got hit by Francisco Rodriguez - that's the not the Mets Francisco Rodriguez, but the Angels back-up Francisco Rodriguez. Because they had a spare.

Cincinnati's Johnny Cueto, who was last year's rookie leader in plunks, hit 2 batters pitching for his native Dominican Republic. He hit Ruben Rivera and Luis Durango of Panama.

Rounding out yesterday's big day of WBC plunkings, Alfredo Depaigne of Cuba got hit by Gavin Jeffries of South Africa.



Here's the WBC to date pitch counts for guys on MLB spring training rosters (including some Non-Roster invitees)

MLB Team	Pitcher	WBC Team	Pitches	IPOuts	Rough Outings*
ARI	Tony Pena	DOM	14	3	0
ATL	Javier Vazquez	PUR	60	13	0
BOS	Daisuke Matsuzaka	JPN	65	12	0
CHA	Matt Thornton	USA	7	3	0
CHN	Carlos Marmol	DOM	16	3	0
CIN	Johnny Cueto	DOM	71	14	0
CIN	Pedro Viola	DOM	13	3	0
CIN	Edinson Volquez	DOM	58	9	0
CLE	Rafael Perez	DOM	21	6	0
COL	Manny Corpas	PAN	30	6	0
COL	Jason Grilli	ITA	18	1	0
DET	Armando Galarraga	VEN	64	12	0
DET	Fu-Te Ni	TPE	26	4	0
FLA	Christopher Leroux	CAN	4	2	0
FLA	Matt Lindstrom	USA	21	4	0
HOU	LaTroy Hawkins	USA	12	3	0
HOU	Roy Oswalt	USA	65	11	0
KCA	Lenny DiNardo	ITA	14	0	0
LAA	Francisco Rodriguez	MEX	15	2	0
LAA	Scot Shields	USA	30	3	1
LAA	Rich Thompson	AUS	33	6	0
LAN	Jonathan Broxton	USA	18	3	0
MIL	Mark DiFelice	ITA	45	12	0
NYA	Damaso Marte	DOM	13	3	0
NYN	Nelson Figueroa	PUR	32	8	0
NYN	Oliver Perez	MEX	63	6	1
NYN	J.J. Putz	USA	21	3	1
OAK	Brad Ziegler	USA	21	3	1
PIT	David Davidson	CAN	17	3	0
PIT	John Grabow	USA	1	1	0
SDN	Heath Bell	USA	19	3	0
SDN	Jake Peavy	USA	58	9	0
SEA	Felix Hernandez	VEN	61	12	0
SEA	Carlos Silva	VEN	58	12	0
SLN	Dennys Reyes	MEX	21	4	0
TBA	J.P. Howell	USA	10	3	0
WAS	Joel Hanrahan	USA	29	5	0
WAS	Saul Rivera	PUR	11	3	0

*- Rough outings are my un-scientific count of games in which a pitcher threw more than 20 pitches per inning. The 2008 MLB average was about 16 pitches per inning, so if a pitcher is getting over 20, they might be working a little harder than normal. Of course, it might not matter at all, but in 2006 a lot of people seemed to be convinced that pitching in the WBC ruined their favorite teams pitchers for the regular season. Then again, maybe it doesn't make a difference and there are enough ups and downs of pitching performance from season to season that it was just a coincidence and people blamed the WBC for no good reason.

Labels: WBC

In World Baseball Classic action yesterday, Shin-Soo Chu of Korea got hit by a pitch from the hand of Japan's Minoru Iwata, making Korea and the Cleveland Indians proud. Matt Stairs of Canada and the Phillies got hit by Jake Peavy of the US and the Padres, Bobby Abreau of Venezuela and the Angels got hit by Cody Cillo of Italy, and Randall Simon of the Netherlands got hit by Carlos Marmol of the Dominican Republic and the Cubs.

Obviously nobody wants their favorite players from their favorite Major League teams to get injured on an HBP in the World Baseball Classic, but on the other hand it has to be an honor to take a pitch for your country in an international competition, and if they can do it without getting injured it should serve as good practice for the upcoming season.

Another thing MLB fans and teams seem to worry a lot about is their pitchers getting worn out by throwing too much in the WBC. So, for your reference, I'll be keeping track of pitches thrown by MLB pitchers in WBC games. The chart is organized by Major League team so you can see if your team's pitchers are being overworked, or comfortably mowing down the international competition.

MLB Team	Pitcher	WBC Team	Pitches	IPOuts	Rough Outings*
ATL	Javier Vazquez	PUR	60	13	0
BOS	Daisuke Matsuzaka	JPN	65	12	0
CHA	Matt Thornton	USA	7	3	0
CHN	Carlos Marmol	DOM	16	3	0
CIN	Edinson Volquez	DOM	58	9	0
CLE	Rafael Perez	DOM	9	3	0
COL	Jason Grilli	ITA	18	1	0
DET	Fu-Te Ni	TPE	26	4	0
FLA	Christopher Leroux	CAN	4	2	0
HOU	LaTroy Hawkins	USA	12	3	0
KCA	Lenny DiNardo	ITA	14	0	0
LAA	Scot Shields	USA	30	3	1
MIL	Mark DiFelice	ITA	45	12	0
NYA	Damaso Marte	DOM	13	3	0
NYN	Nelson Figueroa	PUR	32	8	0
NYN	J.J. Putz	USA	21	3	1
PIT	David Davidson	CAN	17	3	0
SDN	Jake Peavy	USA	58	9	0
SEA	Felix Hernandez	VEN	61	12	0
SEA	Carlos Silva	VEN	58	12	0
TBA	J.P. Howell	USA	10	3	0
WAS	Joel Hanrahan	USA	15	3	0
WAS	Saul Rivera	PUR	11	3	0

* - Rough outings are my unscientific count of outings with an average of more than 20 pitches per inning. The 2008 Major League average was about 16 pitches per inning, so if a pitcher averages 20 pitches per inning, he might be working a little too hard in that game.

Labels: WBC

Korea second baseman Keun-Woo Jeong got hit by a Chen Lee pitch in his first plate appearance of today's game against Chines Taipei (we have to call Taiwan that because otherwise the People's Republic of China will take their ball and go home). Jeong claims the first HBP of the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

Labels: WBC