Japan's World Baseball Classic Roster Announced

This is a dismal selection - almost unbelievable in it's almost total disregard of the two top teams in the Central League.

Amen, Christopher. Total disregard. Btw, where are the Matsuis?

I might be worried if I was a Marine fan. They have their three top pitchers in this thing. Honestly, they should've left two out and placed Kobayashi or Kubo instead of all three IMO.

And where's Kawakami or Shimoyanagi?

No Tomo Ohka? No Kaz Matsui? No Hisashi Iwakuma? I thought Oh could have put together a better team them this one.

While there were no quotas for each team (like last time), it wasn't possible to assemble an all-star team because some of the players weren't willing to participate (which is understandable considering it's right before the season begins - same situation in MLB). So Oh had to make his selection from a limited pool of players (hence no Kawakami, etc.).

I am happy to see the CL champs well represented (not!). Do you think Mr. Oh has issues with certain teams?

Well, you must remember that he is a manager of a Pacific League team (though he has managed the Giants in the past) and has seen a lot more of his own league than of the Central League. And the Pacific League is arguably where the best two teams from last year (Lotte and Softbank) played.

I was somewhat taken aback to find the dearth of Hanshin players in the roster, but then I remembered that they made up almost the entire starting line-up of the All-Star game. Not that there is a conspiracy brewing in the Japan National team or anything.

I, too, am disappointed not to see any Hanshin Tigers on the roster. More confused is the word. No Kanemoto, Imaoka, Akahoshi, and Fujikawa. Though there was a quota, so they probably didn't select from Hanshin. But still, no players from Hanshin is highly disappointing?

- No Tomo Ohka? No Kaz Matsui? No Hisashi Iwakuma?

Many NPB players are more deserving over Ohka, but with Iwakuma's 2005 performance I wouldn't put him on the WBC team. And Kaz has struggled so I'm not sure he was going to be put on the team.

Though I'm disappointed not to see Imaoka, Fukudome, Kanemoto, Akahoshi, and Fujikawa.

Sorry, Fujikawa is there, didn't notice him at first. Though I still wish Akahoshi and Kanemoto would have least made it, too.

It is also his selections that are puzzling - Kuroda?, Uehara? Matsunaka (OK his figures are excellent, but he has a long history of baulking in short high pressure competitions). To ignore the best base runner in Japan (Akahoshi) is also unfathomable.

I wonder if the absence of Hanshin players has something to do with the fact that they failed to perform in their most important games of the season.

Given that other players (Matsunaka, Matsuzaka, Uehara for example) did not exactly perform in important games, it seems that this is not the reason. Other selected players' numbers were also not particularly inspiring.

I think some deserving players in the CL were:

Dragons - Araki, Ibata, Fukudome, Iwase, Kawakami
Tigers - Imaoka, Kanemoto, Akahoshi, Igawa
Hiroshima - Maeda
Baystars - Miura

The order I had in my mind looked like:

1. Norihiro Akahoshi (CF)
2. Tadahito Iguchi (2B)
3. Ichiro (RF)
4. Hideki Matsui (LF)
5. Kenji Johjima (C)
6. Michihiro Ogasawara (1B)
7. Akinori Iwamura (3B)
8. Hirokazu Ibata (SS)
9. Pitcher

The only problem with that lineup, though, is an abundance of lefties. I think the big problem with Oh's roster is a lack of contact hitting. I like Ibata over Nishioka because of the proven glove and the solid batting averages. I like Ogasawara over Matsunaka because of his defense. I think Akahoshi and Ichiro at the top of the order can overwhelm teams with their speed. I think it's going to be a huge mistake to not have Akahoshi.

I think they're going to have the DH for the WBC, so you could plug in an extra hitter.

- I think they're going to have the DH for the WBC, so you could plug in an extra hitter.

In which case, Matsunaka or Kanemoto can be used (provided that Matsunaka doesn't get the nod at first base).

Does anyone think it's possible Oh chose so many players from the Marines so that they might possibly be a little weaker once the season starts? Say one of their starters gets injured, that would be a huge blow to the Marines. This is just adding on to what others are saying, and I personally don't think Oh is conspiring to do any such thing.

Some players definitely deserved to be on the roster but were not. Players that definitely should have been on the roster are probably Kanemoto and Iwase. The roster is pretty much made up of very young players, and Kanemoto would provide a great veteran presence for the team, moreso than Ichiro or Matsui (if he's chosen). Iwase would be a great addition becaues he could even be used as a lefty-specialist, although Ishii more than fills that role.

Some people are saying that Akahoshi deserved to be one the team. I definitely agree. Although I'm a Swallows fan, I must admit even with Aoki's amazing year that Akahoshi brings more to the table than Aoki, at least in this tournament. Both players provide comparable hitting skills, but Akahoshi brings to the team speed that the team currently lacks. In fact, I believe that neither Akahoshi nor Aoki deserve to start, and thus Akahoshi's speed off the bench would only be the positive that either of these players bring.

My roster would be (given the players selected):

1. Ichiro (RF)
2. Iguchi (2nd)
3. Tamura (CF)
4. Matsunaka (DH)
5. Matsui (LF)
6. Arai / Ogasawara (1st--depending on pitcher)
7. Iwamura (3rd)
8. Tanishige (C--he's WAY better than Abe at calling a game)
9. SS -- I must admit that I don't know much about the shortstops named to the roster. I would have preferred Miyamoto as the SS (and captain), as he handled the role amazingly in the Olympics (I think he hit .500 or something over the whole thing). It's unlikely he'd hit anywhere close to that against Major League pitching, but he's a good contact hitter who plays amazing defense.

All in all, it isn't a bad selection. It could have been worse (imagine Kiyohara being chosen through a fan voting system).

What about So Taguchi or Tsuyoshi Shinjo? Both of these guys have seen plenty of MLB pitching and would be familiar with some of the stadiums in the later rounds of the WBC. Plus, these 2 have shown over the years to be proven defensive players.

I guess we have to take into consideration for all the players "not" chosen, they may have declined an invite anyways?

There's lots of talk about how the Giants, Tigers, and Dragons owners were unwilling to release players for the tournament, and if those owners didn't explicitly state these refusals most players are still going to follow them. They've always been selfish teams. Which I guess could explain how there's a grand total of 4 players from those 3 teams combined.

I wonder if Oh is subconsciously saving his players and abusing Marines?

But then again I hear there's going to be a pitch count limit for pitchers and innings limit for position players.

I don't necessarily think that the tag "selfish" is entirely appropriate here. Remember, Valentine was very much against the timing of the competition and there are still big worries about pre-season injuries. This is not really a legitimate world competition but mainly a money making exercise for MLB. Given this, is it surprising that owners and managers are less than enthusiastic about their players competing?

Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui has decided to sit out the WBC. Sadahuru Oh said he could fill the void with Hanshin Tigers outfielder Norihiro Akahoshi or Dragons outfielder Kosuke Fukudome. [Japan Ball Article]

Yomiuri catcher Shinnosuke Abe withdrew from the WBC citing concerns over a shoulder problem, and will be replaced by BayStars catcher Ryoji Aikawa. [Japan Ball Article]

Iguchi and Ohtsuka might back out of Team Japan as well. The Japanese squad is starting to look even more questionable than it already did. [Yahoo! Japan Headlines - in Japanese]

It's about time. Fukudome and Akahoshi should have been included automatically from the start. But Aikawa of the BayStars?

I share the same opinion on Akahoshi and Fukudome, they should have been included from the start. As for Aikawa, I don't understand that selection either, I prefer to see Akihiro Yano of the Tigers. Yano would be the better choice by far.

Sources close to NPB said they are likely to select Dragons' outfielder Kosuke Fukudome to fill out the last spot the Japan WBC roster. [Daily Yomiuri Article]

White Sox second baseman Tadahito Iguchi announced that he will also sit out the WBC. Iguchi cited that this is the second year of the 2 year contract with the White Sox, and that the team expects more from him this year, so he wants to be in spring training. [Full Japan Ball Article]

Dragons' infielder Masahiro Araki has been given an offer to replace Iguchi on the Japan roster. Araki said he will give an answer in the next few days. Araki hit .291 with 181 hits, and 42 stolen bases. [Full Japan Ball Story]

It seems that Oh is continuing to ignore the Tigers in his selections. A case of letting his prejudices get in the way of good sense perhaps?

Who's he going to pick? Fujimoto?

They have selected Swallows' shortstop Shinya Miyamoto to replace the void left by Iguchi. [Full Japan Ball Story]

Miyamoto is an excellent player, who I like and wanted to see on the original roster and am finally glad made the team. Though I'm still disappointed that there is such a lack of Tigers on this roster. Only 1 Hanshin player, Fujikawa?

Imaoka. He is a good second baseman and should have been selected ahead of Taguchi.

Foot in the mouth time. I should have written Iguchi.

It seems Oh continues to ingore the Hanshin Tigers when choosing replacements on the WBC roster. Hanshin is one of Japan's biggest baseball teams in terms of popularity and fanbase, if not the biggest. To continue to ingore selecting Hanshin players is puzzling? No Kanemoto, Akahoshi, Kubota, Shimoyangi, Yano, or Imaoka?

By the way, Hanshin closer Tomoyuki Kubota has told Nikkan Sports that he wants to play in the WBC, too. He said, "Going as a replacement kinda stinks, but if means I get to go then I want to go."

[Full Japan Baseball Daily Article]

I'm not sure whether it's Oh ignoring Hanshin, or the Hanshin brass not wanting to release the players to play in the tournament, and thus are putting on silent pressure or understanding on Oh not to select them. Central League teams, particularly Hanshin, Chunichi, and Kyojin, have in the past been negative towards anything other than CL ball.

Hanshin's management have said that they have no objection to their players taking part in the tournament, so this doesn't seem to be the case. Oh seems very much to want to ignore Hanshin which is short sighted. For example, Fukudome has asked to play before Kanemoto. Imaoka is not even invited (the best man with runners on base in Japan) - this is not good management.

Rangers' reliever Akinori Ohtsuka and Swallows' closer Hirotoshi Ishii have committed themselves to the WBC.

There were concerns that Ohtuska, who recently was traded to the Rangers, might withdraw from the WBC because the Rangers asked him to join their spring training instead of participating in the WBC.

Ishii, has been in deadlock talks with the Swallows to try to negotiate a move to the major leagues, as the team refuses to put him up for auction on the posting system.

[Full Japan Ball Story]

The Japan team released it's provisional roster, Wednesday. Below is only the added provisional players:

(No other players can be named to the roster, in the case of any injury, a player must be selected off of this provisional roster to replace the injured player)

Pitchers
Yuya Andoh- Tigers
Shugo Fujii- Swallows
Masanori Hayashi- Giants
Masahide Kobayashi- Marines
Tomoyuki Kubota- Tigers
Takahiro Mahara- Hawks
Daisuke Miura- BayStars
Fumiya Nishiguchi- Lions
Masanobu Okubo- Buffaloes
Kiyoshi Toyoda- Giants

Catchers
Toru Hosokawa- Lions
Tetsuya Matoyama- Buffaloes

Infielders
Atsushi Fujimoto- Tigers
Kazuya Fukuura- Marines
Shuichi Muruta- BayStars
Hiroyuki Nakajima- Lions
Tomohiro Nioka- Giants
Toshihisa Nishi- Giants
Takashi Toritani- Tigers

Outfielders
Shogo Akada- Lions
Atsunori Inaba- Fighters
Saburo Omura- Marines
Shigenobu Shima- Carp
Takayuki Shimizu- Giants

Also, the Japanese team has unveiled their new uniforms at the Wednesday press conference. [Full SpoNichi Article]

Those unis are ... disappointing.

This page here, compiled by Gary Garland over at Japan Baseball Daily, tells the times of the exhibition games, tournament games, and gives some very useful travel advice to people traveling to Japan to watch the WBC.

Toyoda, Hayashi, Fujimoto? Couldn't he find anyone better? It was nice to see Andoh and Toritani getting a chance, even though it is only as reserves, but the whole selection is incomprehensible and one has to question if Oh was the right man for the job. Anyway I wish both the team and reserves well.

The Cardinals' official website said that Taguchi turned down an offer to play in the WBC because he wanted to practice with the team in March instead of playing games for Japan, even though he wanted to. He said that bad timing was the main cause, and in the end he was more concerned about accomplishing something with the Cards rather than the Japanese team.

It kind of seemed to me that his agent made up his mind because there was a lot of talk of next year's contract as he has had a slew of single year signings with the Cards.

According to MLB.com, Hiroki Kuroda is Daisuke Matsuzaka. Take a look at the picture they use and the familiar ace number, 18.

Yeah, well MLB.com and Mr. Street have also placed a photo of a player that is not even on Korea's WBC 30 man roster.

Who's going to close for Japan?

Swallows' closer Hirotoshi Ishii will most likely close for Japan.

How good are the other Asian teams? Will Japan be able to go right through them?

Looks like Korea has a full squad, if I remember correctly. So Korea is probably the better team than Japan. And both teams are better than Taiwan, but the Taiwanese can pull off an upset or two.

Wait, you're trying to say that because Japan does not have Matsui, Iguchi, and Johjima they are a weaker team than Korea? That doesn't sound right. Lee is most likely Korea's best hitter, and Japan has MANY hitters better than he is: Ichiro, Matsunaka, Ogasawara, Iwamura, Arai, ... I could probably go on.

The pitchers, with starters like Uehara, Matsuzaka, Watanabe, Sugiuchi, and Wada are amazing as well. I don't see any way in which "Korea is probably the better team." Granted, Korea could beat Japan, but on paper, Japan is BY FAR the better team. Check out some betting websites as well. Japan's the clear favorite.

Korea has looked pretty good so far in matchups against NPB teams. For example, the Samsung Lions beat the Dragons 10-5 a few days ago. The pitching for Korea is pretty good, under-ranked at that.

Taiwan also looks to be good. They also have a lot of talented players.

China, I doubt will last very long, probably getting eliminated in the Asian Pool. I see Japan, and either Korea or Taiwan going on.

I don't know enough about the Korean league, but Korea always seems to do well against Japan, looking at the Olympics and such. Japan does have really good players, but it's difficult to compare with the lack of information. Hee-Seop Choi is more of a slugger than any Japanese player, including Hideki. Should be very interesting to see the games though.

Does Japan really need Hideki Matsui when you have Matsunaka to replace the power of Matsui?

Team Japan would probably be better with Matsui, but it is a bigger problem that they dont have Johjima. They really don't have any of the best catchers on their roster.