2013 World Baseball Classic - Puerto Rico

 Puerto Rico is a tiny island, but they hold a disproportionate amount of baseball talent for their small size. This is a fact that they exploit the heck out of in international competition. They seemed like a lock to escape the opening round of the WBC like they did in 2006 and 2009, but they were ready now to push their run even further in 2013. While they shared Pool C with the powerful Dominican Republic, it just meant they needed to beat up on the other teams. And beat up they did as they were victorious over Spain 3-0, then Venezuela 6-3. Their advancement secured, their matchup with the Dominican Republic was merely for seeding, so their 4-2 loss wasn't devastating.

What was more devastating was their round 2 loss to the United States, 7-1. Now at risk in the losers bracket, Puerto Rico had no room for error as they ousted Italy 4-3 to set up a rematch with the USA to determine who would advance to the semi-finals with the Dominican Republic. Victory this time belonged to Puerto Rico, and once again they were rewarded with a game against the DR to determine seeding, and again they lost, this time 2-0.

If their games against the Dominican Republic and United States weren't daunting enough, their semi-finals game against the 2x champion Japan must've felt like a needless difficulty increase. Out of every team before that had a chance to do the deed, it was Puerto Rico that finally beat Japan when it mattered most, prevailing 3-1 to ensure that there would be a new champion of the WBC. Who would face Puerto Rico in the finals? The Dominican Republic, naturally. The third time wasn't the charm in this case, as Puerto Rico fell 2-0 and had to settle for the silver medal.

Angel Pagan utilized his spread out chart and A speed to make the All-WBC team.

For a utility infielder, Aviles has decent power.

Beltran wasn't banging trash cans yet in his career, so you know his chart is legit.

No thanks. That chart is acceptable for the 0 control, it's just the mere 5 innings available with no control to spare that bothers me.

And I've been ragging on pitchers who allow baserunners as early as 15 on their rolls, and here's a guy even worse who fails on a 14 roll.

It's good that De La Torre has 2IP. That way when his 0 control gets him lit up in relief, he'll have the extra stamina to maybe try to finish the inning.

Beyond a late inning defensive replacement, you'll have no use for Falu.

Jose Molina gets the unfair comparison to his brother, but on his own he's still a pretty decent Catcher with a +8 arm. Offensive criticisms are all on him though.

I really need a name for the situations where you need to ignore the 1B eligibility for cards like this. Great card for a Catcher, terrible 1st Base.

If your starting outfielder is slow and you need a late inning Pinch Runner that you can feel safe leaving in the game, Rios might be your guy.

All-WBC Catcher Yadier Molina needs to be your starting Catcher. On-base of 9 is great for his position, chart is pretty decent, but that beautiful +14 arm is the star of the show!