[pbald]

As many other baseball fans, I was quite intrigued about the cuban team in the WBC.
I watched the game against Panama and have to admit I was impressed by some things and let down by others.
Offensively, that kid Gourriel has definitely mlb caliber, and he's only 20 or 22. The shortstop did some great plays too and has some good clutch.
They seem defensively sound, but I was little disappointed on how they ran the bases.
All in all, this seems like a very young yet very talented team, I wonder what could they do against an MLB team.
Will they beat Puerto Rico? that's a lot tougher than Panama, we'll see.
Peter.

[Lefty Noob]

No, I think they're a good team, but not good enough to beat the Puerto Ricans. Yet.

[fantasymaster]

No way they are going to match the real pros, that's the same propaganda the Russians had in the 80s with their amateur("Professional") players. Maybe they have one or two talents that can play in AAA.

[Lefty Noob]

Welcome to GoTeamsGo, fantasymaster, and thanks for joining us here in the WBC forums. I did have to make a slight edit to your post to remove a link that had nothing to do with the topic at hand. Please review our forum policies at Forum Rules

Which two teams do you think will advance out of Cuba's pool?

[pbald]

Remember fantasymaster that sometimes it all comes down to some pitcher dominating the complete lineup.
What if those cubans have their ace hidden and the guy comes in and starts hanging zeros on PR's board?
Lefty: the two teams advancing will definitely be Cuba and PR, I just don't see Netherlands as a contender.

Thanks,

Peter.

[Lefty Noob]

pbald, I agree. Those were the two I had. A few of us on the board got together and put together a predictions thread over at WBC Predictions Thread - you might want to go check it out!

By the way, I neglected to extend the official welcome to GoTeamsGo. Glad to have you on the boards! So, how would you rate the Cubans against the other teams you've seen so far in the WBC?

[pbald]

The cubans definitely seemed at the same level Panama is, only younger and more unexperienced.
Haven't had the chance to see PR yet.
What I'd love to see is that cuban team playing against Dominican Republic and US, I know that's not gonna happen the way the tournament is set up, but I think it could be a heck of a show. If only to clear the misterious fog surrounding them.
Remember, no team is as good as it looks when it's winning or as bad as it looks when it's losing.
Thanks,

Peter.