WBC Rosters

For whatever reason, the media sort of poo pooed it the World Baseball Classic in '06 - especially when the US failed and we were left with a Cuba-Japan championship game. Personally, I loved it. Not USA losing, but the entire format. It's another good idea from the much maligned Bud Selig. Anyway, the preliminary rosters came out today. Just look at the infields for the US and Dominican Republic. Holy smokes! They might be fighting each other out of the dugout to see who plays each game.

USA:
Mark DeRosa
Derek Jeter
Derek Lee
Larry Jones
Evan Longoria
Brian Roberts
Jimmy Rollins
Dustin Pedroia
Kevin Youkilis
David Wright

Dominican:
Adrian Beltre
Robinson Cano
Carlos Pena
Jhonny Peralta
Albert Pujols
Miguel Tejada
Hanley Ramirez
Aramis Ramirez
Placido Polanco
Jose Reyes
Alex Rodriguez

Some serious lumber off the bench, to say the least. Looking for a sleeper? How about Venezuela with a roster that includes:
Felix Hernandez
Crazy Carlos Zambrano
Johan Santana
Miguel Cabrera
Bob Abreu
Maggs Ordonez

Oh, and Vinny Rottino is on team Italy. That's all you need to know about their chances. Nick Punto might be their best player.