2013 World Baseball Classic

[Party]

I'm not saying this atmosphere should be a regular season thing. But there is clearly a solid fan base of baseball fans in Miami that deeply love the game and don't come out to watch the Marlins.

[Beef]

Perhaps. There's probably a solid fan base, but I'm sure a lot are only there to root based on country pride.

I don't know if they're the type of fans/crowd that would come out for regular season games (even if not with the same passion). For real, I don't know. I think I'd be surprised though.

[HUGG]

Hopefully, David Wright can be back tomorrow. We need him.

/2 sentences I never thought I'd type

[Party]

He's likely out for tomorrow. Going up to Port St. Lucie "cause he owes it to the Mets."

[HUGG]

Well, he wanted to play tonight and the Mets wouldn't let him. So, I think it's more that they're making him go and he's being good about it publicly.

We could replace him, but then he's done for the tournament. I feel like we should have someone on stand-by in case that's what we want to do. Longoria, Freese and Zimmerman are all in Florida right now.
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Or get Bloomquist to pretend he's hurt.

[Mainge]

Or get Bloomquist to pretend he's hurt.

For America.

[Erick]

I like Rodney's celebrations.

Also, if Wright doesn't play, can Zobrist play 3B? Because he really can't be worse than Willie Bloomquist.
Cishek has been fantastic. Best reliever the United States has had in the tournament.

[Chewford]

He's likely out for tomorrow. Going up to Port St. Lucie "cause he owes it to the Mets."

I don't care what he owes anyone, there's never any justification for anyone having to go to that horrible place.

[Erick]

Hopefully, David Wright can be back tomorrow. We need him.

/2 sentences I never thought I'd type

Hopefully the team hits some HR's tomorrow. They've only hit 1 in the tournament so they're due. Puerto Rico has a bunch of guys nobody knows on their staff.

[Mainge]

This WBC stuff is neat.

[Party]

I feel like a staff of nobodies has an advantage in this kind of tournament because you're only likely to see them once or twice. It's not as exactly BP.

[Mainge]

I think Nelson Figeroa is pitching for PR tomorrow

[HUGG]

He is.

[Mainge]

MIAMI -- Entertaining games combined with energized crowds have made Marlins Park an ideal setting for Round 2 of the World Baseball Classic.

Even the lime-shade green on the walls fits into the festive flavor of baseball's global event.

"It's been great," said Paul Archey, MLB's senior vice president of international business operations. "First of all, the color scheme is perfect for the World Baseball Classic. It's been terrific. You want a facility at this time of year particularly that is in warm weather or a dome. You have both here."

More than 30,000 were expected for Thursday's marquee Team USA-Dominican Republic matchup. In all, 21 Major League All-Stars are on the two rosters.

Ideally, the event handlers prefer to keep the retractable roof at Marlins Park open. But on a chilly and extremely windy Thursday night, the roof was shut.

However, the operable wall, located beyond the left-field wall, was open, offering a picturesque view of downtown Miami.

"Miami is the perfect city to host a tournament like this," Miami Marlins president David Samson said. "The crowds have been exciting."

So far, the roof has been closed in two of the first four games.

"As you can see, we've had great support from the fans," Archey said. "We'll have another great crowd tonight. The enthusiasm has been great. It's worked really well."

The next Classic is scheduled for 2017, and the vision is to make the showcase become baseball's World Cup.

"Remember, we've only had the tournament three times," Samson said. "It's in its infancy. What you'll find over time is that this becomes actually like the World Cup in soccer. You've already seen the types of matchups that we have here, and the reactions we have from people."

Marlins officials clearly hope to have the Classic return in four years.

"We'll apply to host it again," Samson said. "We'd love to. We're honored, and our people have done a lot of work. We've worked very well with MLB, and it's worked very well."

http://web.worldbaseballclassic.com/...k_mlb&c_id=mlb

[Party]

I think Miami is guaranteed to host atleast one round of the tournament for the forseeable future.
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And it's all not because of this week.