Knuckle Curve » 2009 world baseball classic

Sidney Ponson Tested Positive at WBC

Stephen Kersey — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 03:15:28 +0000

At the 2009 World Baseball Classic, Sidney Ponson currently of the Kansas City Royals tested positive for Phentermine, a stimulant that is on the banned substance list. As a result, Ponson won’t be able to play in international baseball competition for 24 months.

Ponson, who pitched for the Netherlands in the 2009 WBC, says that he was prescribed Phentermine to lose weight. Major League Baseball won’t suspend him.

On the season, Ponson has pitched like he needs performance enhancer. The 32-year-old from Aruba is 1-5 with a 7.27 ERA. Last year, while splitting time between the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees, Ponson was 8-5 with a 5.04 ERA.

Ponson isn’t the first big league player to have busted at the WBC. Recently, Chicago Cubs catcher Geovany Soto tested positive for marijuana. Soto played in the WBC for Puerto Rico. Since the positive drug test, Soto has apologized. Like Ponson, Soto won’t be suspended by the MLB.

Sidney Ponson - WBC Netherlands (Image: Zuma Press)

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Ichiro to the DL with a Bleeding Ulcer

Stephen Kersey — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 21:03:29 +0000

Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners has never been on the disabled list – until now. Due to a bleeding ulcer that has led to discomfort and fatigue, Ichiro will begin the 2009 MLB campaign on the disabled list. The Mariners will try to get off on the right foot without arguably their best player.

This offseason has been an extremely busy time for Ichiro. Playing in the 2009 World Baseball Classic for Japan, he had the entire pressure of the country on him to bring home back-to-back WBC titles. Thanks to Ichiro’s game-winning hit, he was able to do just that.

Ichiro's Heroic Hit for Japan (Image: newscom)

Although he didn’t get many swings in during spring training, Ichiro hit .417. After missing the final three spring training games, doctors found that the problem was a bleeding ulcer.

Last year the Mariners massively underperformed, however Ichiro wasn’t part of the problem. He hit .310 with six homers, 42 RBIs and finished with more than 100 runs, 200 hits and a batting average of better than .300 for the eighth consecutive season in his career.

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Venezuela Advances, Mexico Goes Home

Stephen Kersey — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 05:38:46 +0000

On Monday, two exciting contests took place during the 2009 World Series Classic. The first game saw Cuba go up against Mexico. The loser of this game was to be eliminated.

After getting up early, Cuba saw Mexico tie the ballgame. But a five-run spurt put Cuba up for good. Mexico made a late rally but it was too little, too late for Mexico. Cuba, on the other hands, lives to play another day.

In the other game on Monday, Puerto Rico went up against Venezuela. In this contest, the winner advanced and the loser would go against the United States in an elimination game. Venezuela got a run in the third and a run in the seventh and that ended up being all they needed. Starter Felix Hernandez was dominant and Puerto Rico was held to only five hits in their 2-0 loss.

Puerto Rico will now face the United States on Tuesday night. The loser of the game will be sent packing. The good news for Puerto Rico is that they dominated the U.S. in their previous game, winning by a final margin of 11-1.

Source: Newscom

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Manny Ramirez Aggravates Leg Injury

Stephen Kersey — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 05:34:29 +0000

During a recent exhibition game, Manny Ramirez of the Los Angeles Dodgers aggravated a leg injury that has been bothering him as of late. Ramirez, who signed a $45 million contract earlier in the month, said he’s worried about the injury.

Right now, the plan is to see if the pain will go away. If it doesn’t, the Dodgers will perform tests to make sure there isn’t anything major wrong. At this point, Ramirez hasn’t ruled out the possibility of missing regular season games.

Ramirez got hurt in the outfield when he was playing in the field for the first time this spring. Chasing a ball into the corner, Ramirez felt a pull near his hamstring. Although the injury seems to be similar to a pulled hamstring, the Dodgers think it’s probably a tendon and not his hamstring.

Expect the Dodgers to bring him back slowly. Having a healthy Ramirez in the beginning of the season isn’t nearly as important as having Ramirez healthy heading into the postseason.

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Puerto Rico Destroys the U.S. in WBC 2009

Stephen Kersey — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 06:47:57 +0000

The United States recently lost a game to Venezuela in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. Against Puerto Rico, the United States didn’t just lose — they got destroyed. When all was said and done, Puerto Rico had won 11-1 after the mercy rule came into play.

Carlos Beltran and Felipe Lopez hit homeruns for Puerto Rico, while Carlos Delgado had two RBIs and Ivan Rodriguez had three hits. Puerto Rico remains undefeated in the 2009 WBC.

American starting pitcher Jake Peavy got rocked in his two innings of work. He allowed six hits, six homeruns and only struck out one batter. At the plate, the United States only got six hits.

Next up on the WBC schedule, the Americans will play the Netherlands. The loser of that game will be eliminated from the World Baseball Classic 2009.

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World Baseball Classic Standings – 2009 WBC

Stephen Kersey — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 06:07:44 +0000

Here’s a look at the standings for the 2009 World Baseball Classic. While it’s not much of a surprise that Cuba and Puerto Rico are undefeated, it is surprising that teams like the United States and Japan have a loss. And it’s very surprising that the Dominican Republic is eliminated.

POOL A
Korea (3-1)
Japan (2-1)
China (1-2)
Taipei (0-2)

POOL B
Cuba (3-0)
Mexico (2-2)
Australia (1-2)
South Africa (0-2)

POOL C
Venezuela (3-1)
United States (2-1)
Italy (1-2)
Canada (0-2)

POOL D
Puerto Rico (3-0)
Netherlands (2-2)
Dominican Republic (1-2)
Panama (0-2)

Next up is the second round of the World Baseball Classic 2009.

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Results and Scores – World Baseball Classic 2009

Stephen Kersey — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 05:11:18 +0000

On Tuesday, Venezuala took care of Italy by a final score of 10-1. Cuba rallied late to beat Australia 5-4 after trailing heading into the seventh inning. In the biggest shocker of the tournament so far, the Netherlands beat the Dominican Republic for the second time to eliminate one of the World Baseball Classics’ favorites. The score was tied at zero heading into the 11th. After the Dominican Republic scored in the top half of the inning, the Netherlands scored twice in the bottom of the 11th to win the ballgame.

On Wednesday, Mexico demolished Australia 16-1 in a game that was actually scoreless heading into the third inning. Puerto Rico then did something the Dominican Republic simply couldn’t do — beat the Netherlands. In another shocker, the United States lost to Venezuela by a final score of 5-3.

On Thursday, the only game on the schedule is Mexico going up against Cuba.

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2009 World Baseball Classic Update

Stephen Kersey — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 05:38:20 +0000

On Sunday, there were five games on the 2009 World Baseball Classic schedule. The first game saw Cuba hit six long balls on their way to beating South Africa 8-1. Then the Dominican Republic bounced back from their stunning defeat against the Netherland to beat Panama by a final score of 9-0.

The United States advanced to the second round by beating Venezuela by a final tally of 15-6. Australia demolished Mexico 17-7, while Korea stomped China 14-0.

On Monday, Mexico beat South Africa easily. Korea surprised Japan by a final score of 1-0. In a 6-2 ballgame, Italy was able to eliminate Canada. Puerto Rico advanced to the next round with a 3-1 victory over the Netherlands.

The 2009 WBC continues on Tuesday with three games lined up: Italy vs. Venezuala, Dominican Republic vs. Netherland and Cuba vs. Australia.

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Dominican Republic Stunned by Netherlands

Stephen Kersey — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 05:43:14 +0000

Dominican Republic Stunned by Netherlands

In the first inning the Netherlands had three infield hits and aided by Dominican Republic errors, they were able to score three runs. Amazingly enough, those three runs held up for the Netherlands as they handed the Dominican Republic a stunning loss.

Sidney Ponson got the start for the Netherlands and allowed two earned runs in four innings. Four relievers combined to shutout the Dominican Republic the rest of the way.

Although they were missing a lot of their stars, the Dominican Republic was still very much favored in the game. But after stranding 21 runners and committing three errors, the island nation is one more loss away from being eliminated in the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

Next up the Dominican Republic will play Panama in a must-win situation. Netherlands will play Puerto Rico on Monday and will try to get their second-straight shocking victory.

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Alex Rodriguez Injury Update – Surgery?

Stephen Kersey — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 05:13:05 +0000

Alex Rodriguez was back in the news on Thursday. And once again, the news wasn’t good. This time, it was revealed that Rodriguez may need surgery on his ailing hip.

The Yankees slugger is suffering from both a cyst and a torn labrum in his right hip. Early in the day on Thursday, rumors spread that Rodriguez would definitely need surgery. But later reports indicate that Rodriguez will likely try rest and rehab before going under the knife.

This news means that Rodriguez won’t be able to play in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. He had been scheduled to be on the Dominican Republic WBC roster. He will have to wait until 2012 to represent the Dominican Republic.

If it turns out that Rodriguez does need surgery, he could miss as much as four months. The decision on whether or not he will need surgery will likely be made in the next few weeks.

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