Team Usa | Midwest Sports Fans

Team USA wins Gold, and Golden Torch is Passed to Kevin Durant

With one of the more entertaining NCAA football weekends in recent memory behind us, I pause to wonder if I should ever write again. As friend after friend of mine responds with sarcasm about my “Football is not Football” argument, I watched in horror as my Colts lost to the lowly Texans.

Fortunately, I have one, and only one, shot at redemption, which is the hope that while most Americans were watching the NFL kickoff its season, I could possibly write about something that most people missed:

Team USA against Turkey in the World Championship Final.

A second can change everything.

You could not invent a more dramatic ending for the USA/Algeria game. A 91st min goal by none other than Landon Donovan sent the USA into the quarters while also making American fans the happiest people on Earth.

With England up 1-0 against Slovenia, every minute that ticked by with the USA and Algeria tied meant doom and a very uneasy exit from the World Cup for the Americans.

Chances were a plenty for the US, but the ball would not go into the net. Close call after close call, and another disallowed goal by a non-existent offsides, could’ve put the US in the wrong situation.

One man, Landon Donovan, had other plans.

sidney crosby celebrates game-winning goal in gold medal game, canada over u.s.

The biggest game in recent hockey history did not fail to live up to expectations. In a stunning and more than epic Olympic gold game, the Canadians defeated the Americans 3-2 in OT.

It was more than anybody could have expected. The intensity, heart, and pure determination of every skater was left on the ice today.

Ultimately, Canada would not be denied their gold medal in front of the home fans in Vancouver.

The official rosters for the 2009 World Baseball Classic were announced today. In previous posts, we broke down the 2009 World Baseball Classic schedule and we will be analyzing the rosters of the different nations as the week goes along.

But seeing as how this blog is based in the U.S., we figured why not start out with Team USA for an analysis.

At the bottom of this post you can see the complete 2009 World Baseball Classic roster for Team USA. My initial thoughts are that it is not that imposing of a team, and that Team USA could have a rough ride trying to make it out of the second round. (Remember, Team USA failed to make the final cut in 2006.)

Some quick hit reactions:

Jake Peavy is one of the best pitchers in the world and a great ace, but there is nothing imposing behind him. Roy Oswalt has declined for the last few years and Ted Lilly and Jeremy Guthrie aren’t scaring anyone.
Team USA appears to have an outstanding bullpen. I assume that White Sox-killer Joe Nathan will close, and there are plenty of capable arms to bridge the 7th and 8th innings. If Team USA can get leads, they could be in good shape to told them.
Brian McCann is about as good as it gets at catcher.
The left side of the infield will be outstanding when David Wright and Jimmy Rollins are playing. With Derek Jeter and Chipper Jones out there, Team USA instantly gets much older. Something tells me that Wright and Rollins will get the majority of the playing time, especially with Jeter already nicked up this spring and Chipper seemingly always hurt.
Ryan Braun is a monster and Grady Sizemore, despite my abject hatred for him, is an excellent center fielder. But Curtis Granderson and Brad Hawpe? Is that really the best we can do? Granderson picked it up in the second half last year and was tremendous in 2008, so I can let than pick slide. But Team USA knows that it can’t take Coors Field with it to the WBC right? I am hoping that Hawpe ends up becoming a seldom-used bench player.

Anyway, I’m under the gun and about to leave so this post has to be short and sweet. Below is the complete breakdown of the Team USA 2009 World Baseball Classic roster. I’ll be back later tonight and tomorrow with breakdowns of the other nations’ rosters.

POS	Player	MLB Team	Bats	Throws
SP	Jeremy Guthrie	Baltimore Orioles	R	R
SP	Ted Lilly	Chicago Cubs	L	L
SP	Roy Oswalt	Houston Astros	R	R
SP	Jake Peavy	San Diego Padres	R	R

RP	Jonathan Broxton	Los Angeles Dodgers	R	R
RP	Brian Fuentes	Los Angeles Angels	L	L
RP	J.P. Howell	Tampa Bay Rays	L	L
RP	Matt Lindstrom	Florida Marlins	R	R
RP	Joe Nathan	Minnesota Twins	R	R
RP	J.J. Putz	Seattle Mariners	R	R
RP	B.J. Ryan	Toronto Blue Jays	L	L
RP	Scot Shields	Los Angeles Angels	R	R
RP	Matt Thornton	Chicago White Sox	L	L
RP	Brad Ziegler	Oakland Athletics	R	R

C	Chris Iannetta	Colorado Rockies	R	R
C	Brian McCann	Atlanta Braves	L	R

1B	Kevin Youkilis	Boston Red Sox	R	R
2B	Dustin Pedroia	Boston Red Sox	R	R
3B	Chipper Jones	Atlanta Braves	S	R
3B	David Wright	New York Mets	R	R
SS	Jimmy Rollins	Philadelphia Phillies	S	R
SS	Derek Jeter	New York Yankees	R	R
IF	Mark DeRosa	Cleveland Indians	R	R

OF	Ryan Braun	Milwaukee Brewers	R	R
OF	Curtis Granderson	Detroit Tigers	L	R
OF	Brad Hawpe	Colorado Rockies	L	L
OF	Grady Sizemore	Cleveland Indians	L	L

Team USA 2009 World Baseball Classic Roster

POS Player MLB Team Bats Throws

SP Jeremy Guthrie Baltimore Orioles R R

SP Ted Lilly Chicago Cubs L L

SP Roy Oswalt Houston Astros R R

SP Jake Peavy San Diego Padres R R

RP Jonathan Broxton Los Angeles Dodgers R R

RP Brian Fuentes Los Angeles Angels L L

RP J.P. Howell Tampa Bay Rays L L

RP Matt Lindstrom Florida Marlins R R

RP Joe Nathan Minnesota Twins R R

RP J.J. Putz Seattle Mariners R R

RP B.J. Ryan Toronto Blue Jays L L

RP Scot Shields Los Angeles Angels R R

RP Matt Thornton Chicago White Sox L L

RP Brad Ziegler Oakland Athletics R R

C Chris Iannetta Colorado Rockies R R

C Brian McCann Atlanta Braves L R

1B Kevin Youkilis Boston Red Sox R R

2B Dustin Pedroia Boston Red Sox R R

3B Chipper Jones Atlanta Braves S R

3B David Wright New York Mets R R

SS Jimmy Rollins Philadelphia Phillies S R

SS Derek Jeter New York Yankees R R

IF Mark DeRosa Cleveland Indians R R

OF Ryan Braun Milwaukee Brewers R R

OF Curtis Granderson Detroit Tigers L R

OF Brad Hawpe Colorado Rockies L L

OF Grady Sizemore Cleveland Indians L L

Follow the link and use your web navigational skills view the complete 2009 World Baseball Classic rosters for all 16 nations participating.

Team USA wins Gold, and Golden Torch is Passed to Kevin Durant

Landon Donovan Makes Sure U.S. Stays Alive in World Cup

Canada Defeats USA in Stunning Fashion to win Olympic Gold

Team USA Roster for 2009 World Baseball Classic

Team USA 2009 World Baseball Classic Roster

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