I’m sure almost all of you have watched at least some of the WBC this past weekend, and most saw one or both of Team USA’s games. I have to say I was really surprised how well the US played, especially against two tough teams in Canada and Venezuela. And it was awesome to see that Adam Dunn brought his A-game with him from Nats ST. He had two awesome games. Here are his batting stats for the two games:

.750 BA, 2 HR, 5 R, .875 OBP, 2.250 SLG, 3.125 OPS

Plus he had at least one great catch out in RF against Canada that saved at least one run. So much for those who said Dunn isn’t committed to the game! Granted those stats are for just two games so sample size mitigates any really sound conclusions being drawn, but he was a key component to Team USA’s surprisingly good opening weekend. 

I always lose my productivity after lunch and get it back just about when I’m ready to go home for the day. Somewhere in those 3-4 hours I take a break and do some baseball reading. Today, I perused some sources earlier in the day and thought I would share so you can have something to do at 3 PM when all you want to do is go home and take a nap. 

The WaPo has a great story out about the sketchy training system down in the Dominican Republic and how the system is pretty much a way of life for the young players and their families hoping to make it to the big leagues. It’s an excellent article and worth checking out. I’ve yet to see another story on TV or print that gets inside the system to this detail to really break it down for fans who (like me) had no real idea how things work down there. 

The System of Finding Future Baseball Stars – Washington Post

Below is a post at WaPo’s Baseball Insider Blog about the declining attendance at pro sports during the recession and what baseball might do about it. I’m always game for posts or articles mixing economics and sports. 

Here is an article from the NYT about the Dominican Republic’s loss on Saturday to the Netherlands. I watched that game and it was great! Part of the reason for the WBC is to show the rest of the world that baseball is a great sport and that a few nations don’t have a monopoly on it. Plus it’s always nice to have a favorite taken down a peg or two, although cockiness typifies Dominican baseball style and that makes it more entertaining to watch. Nonetheless, it’ll be nice as more of the underdogs get better and make the whole tournament competitive. And hey, Australia beat Mexico last night so who knows what’ll happen. I was really hoping South Africa would pull out a huge win over Cuba but I guess the world can only take one huge upset at a time. Anyway, check out this article. 

Victory Restores Dominicans’ Swagger

That should help you kill about 30-45 minutes of your workday. I didn’t even look at ESPN this morning, although they’re not my favorite source for baseball writing.