http://tinyurl.com/b98emat
Of the 223 players with at least 350 plate appearances in 2012, J.P.
Arencibia ranked 169th in wOBA. Among those players born in the United
States, he’s not one of the top 100 hitters. Maybe he’s in the 100-150
range.
Yet there was Arencibia getting what may well have been the biggest at-bat
for Joe Torre’s team in Friday’s game against Mexico. Team USA was down 5-1
with two on and none out in the bottom of the fifth. A right-hander was on
the mound for Mexico. Arencibia is right-handed.
The U.S. is carrying three catchers. Joe Mauer was DHing, but there was
little danger in batting for Arencibia and putting in Jonathan Lucroy
afterwards. That would actually be an upgrade. Lucroy is a better player than
Arencibia.
Of course, Buster Posey and Matt Wieters are also better players than
Arencibia. They’re not here. A.J. Pierzynski, Alex Avila and John Jaso are
better players than Arencibia. I’d probably argue for Chris Iannetta, Jarrod
Saltalamacchia and A.J. Ellis, too.
Which is why Team USA is never going to win the World Baseball Classic as its
presently constructed. It’s not just that many of the country’s best
players don’t want to play. It’s that those in charge do a lousy job of
picking the players that do. And then it does an even worse job of employing
the players who are picked.
Gio Gonzalez is Team USA’s second best pitcher. He’s not even going to be
used in Round 1, since it’s such a given that the team is going to advance
to Round 2 (except that’s hardly the case). Eric Hosmer, starting for the
ailing Mark Teixeira, is the wrong fallback to the wrong choice to play first
base in the first place. Don’t even get me started on Heath Bell.
Willie Bloomquist was on the provisional roster, for crying out loud.
And there was Arencibia. He’s not one of the United States’ five-best
catchers. It’s arguable whether he’s in the top 10. Yet there he was
starting against Pool D’s toughest opponent in Friday’s opener. Because he’
s handled a couple R.A. Dickey bullpen sessions. And then he was left in to
take a crucial at-bat in the fifth, even though Dickey had already been
pulled.
As I’m writing this, Team USA is still in the game against Mexico. Maybe it
will come back. Maybe it will still advance to Round 2.
But winning the tournament? That’s not happening. Team USA wasn’t designed
with any thoughts of winning the World Baseball Classic. It’s just there to
get taken down by a more interested team.