Some final thoughts on Team USA's loss in WBC

Some questionable lineup and managerial decisions. Underperformance by some highly decorated players.

That's the story for Team USA, which had to settle for silver in the World Baseball Classic after losing 3-2 to Venezuela in Tuesday's championship game in Miami.

The U.S. bats were kept quiet until the bottom of the eighth, when Bryce Harper delivered a two-out, two-run, 432-foot home run to center field to tie the score at 2.

It could have been an iconic home run in baseball history, but it will mostly be forgotten because Venezuela answered quickly with a run in the top of the ninth and made that lead stick.

Reliever Garrett Whitlock walked Luis Arraez to start the ninth, and Eugenio Suarez followed with an RBI double that provided the Venezuelans the winning run.

Honestly, it was silly to not throw strikes to Arraez, a contact hitter without much power. If you throw Arraez a strike, the worst thing that will likely happen is he will hit it for a single. You can't just give him a base. You have to make it earn it.

Suarez is a completely different type of hitter -- big power, but a lot of swing-and-miss. If you lay one in to him, he can hurt you, and he most definitely hurt Whitlock and Team USA.

Why did they pitch Arraez like a slugger and then challenge Suarez in the middle of the plate? No idea.

A better question: Why was Whitlock out there anyway? Mason Miller is Team USA's best reliever, but apparently he was only available for a "save situation." 

That's weird. Can you pitch an inning or can you not? What difference does it make whether it's a save situation? 

When asked after the game why Miller wasn't used, Team USA manager Mark DeRosa said he wanted to "honor the Padres" by only using Miller if there was an opportunity for a save.

The San Diego Padres, of course, are Miller's MLB team. But what's the priority here? "Honoring the Padres" or winning a game for your country?

That's why this tournament, as much as I enjoy it, still doesn't carry a lot of weight with people. 

DeRosa's taking a lot of heat for the U.S. loss and rightfully so. Gunnar Henderson had been the hottest American hitter in the tournament. He did not start in the championship game, so Alex Bregman, who is ice-cold, could go 0 for 3. Cal Raleigh, who hit 60 home runs last season, didn't leave the bench in this final game.

In fairness, Raleigh was hitless in the tournament, and he wasn't the only big name who was quiet for the U.S. Aaron Judge was 0 for 4 with three strikeouts in the title game. Even with his big homer, Harper hit only .214 for the tournament. Will Smith, who was catching instead of Raleigh, was hitless Tuesday night. Bregman batted .143 in the WBC.

Not great. A lot of blame to go around, for both the manager and the players. 

Kyle Teel out 4 to 6 weeks with Grade 2 hamstring strain

White Sox catcher Kyle Teel is expected to miss four to six weeks with a Grade 2 hamstring strain, general manager Chris Getz announced on Wednesday.

Teel, who was playing for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic, was injured Tuesday running from first base to second after doubling in Italy's 8-6 win over the United States.

Earlier in Tuesday's game, Teel homered to give his team the lead. Italy was a surprise winner in Pool B of the WBC, as it completed a 4-0 run through pool play with a 9-1 win over Mexico on Wednesday night.

With two weeks to go until the regular season begins, it is certain that Teel will begin the season on the injured list. The best-case scenario involves a return around mid-April, which would likely require a rehab assignment in Triple-A Charlotte. 

Most likely, Teel will not play for the Sox until late April or early May.

Fortunately, the Sox have depth at catcher. There's been an offseason debate over who will be the team's long-term answer at the position, Teel or Edgar Quero?

With Teel out, Quero will get the chance to catch the overwhelming majority of the games this first month. Despite plenty of trade speculation, the Sox also have Korey Lee on their roster. The pitchers like throwing to Lee, who is a respectable defensive player. You wouldn't want Lee to be your starting catcher because he doesn't hit enough, but he's fine as a backup who plays once or twice a week.

Injuries are inevitable in sports, and despite all the crying from Sox fans on social media, Teel's pulled hamstring does not change the trajectory of the season. It shouldn't be a long-term injury, and the Sox have other players who are capable of filling in.  

Japan beats U.S. in championship of thrilling World Baseball Classic

Shohei Ohtani

Shohei Ohtani on the mound. Mike Trout at the plate. Two of the greatest baseball players you will ever see. Two outs in the top of the ninth inning, a one-run game ... and a full count.

These are the moments we want when we watch baseball, right? Ohtani and Trout are, of course, teammates during the regular season with the Los Angeles Angels.

But on this night, they were competitors, playing for their countries. Naturally, the World Baseball Classic championship would come down to this matchup.

Ohtani struck out Trout on a well-placed 3-2 slider, giving Team Japan a 3-2 victory over Team USA.

Full credit to Japan. They went 7-0 in the tournament, becoming just the second team to run the table in the WBC. (The Dominican Republic went undefeated on its way to the 2013 championship.)

The Americans were the defending champions, but they fell just short in this tournament -- ending with a 5-2 record.

Team USA scored nine runs in its quarterfinal victory over Venezuela and 14 runs in a semifinal win over Cuba. However, the Americans managed only two solo home runs -- Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber -- on Tuesday against Japan.

It wasn't for lack of scoring opportunities. Team USA put 13 runners on base -- nine hits and four walks. That should be a recipe for more than two runs, but the Americans went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position, grounded into two double plays and stranded nine runners.

In fact, Ohtani walked Jeff McNeil to lead off the ninth inning, but Mookie Betts followed with a momentum-killing double play. That left it up to Trout, and Ohtani slammed the door with the strikeout.

This was a great game that capped a great tournament. Team Mexico and Team Venezuela also showed very well. The Mexican team defeated the Americans in pool play, and took Japan to the wire in Monday's semifinal. In fact, Japan rallied from behind twice and needed two runs in the bottom of the ninth to pull out a 6-5 win.

The Venezuelan team made a surprising 4-0 run through pool play, taking down the powerful Dominican team, as well as Team Puerto Rico. Venezuela had a 7-5 lead against Team USA in the quarterfinals, before Turner hit a grand slam in the eighth inning to lift the Americans to a 9-7 win.

I've been baffled by some of the criticism of the World Baseball Classic. Some have called these games "meaningless" or "exhibitions," especially after New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz was unfortunately injured while celebrating Team Puerto Rico's win over the Dominican Republic.

I disagree with that assessment. These games obviously mean a great deal to the players who participated, and even grizzled veterans -- like U.S. pitcher Adam Wainwright -- have said they've never played baseball in a louder environment than the one in Miami this week.

As a matter of fact, I'd like to see more of the top American players step up and play. In particular, I'm talking about pitchers. As far as position players go, Team USA had a tremendous group. It featured former MVPs such as Trout, Betts and Paul Goldschmidt. The American roster included the best third baseman in baseball (Nolan Arenado) and the best catcher (J.T. Realmuto).

Turner is a former batting champion who hit five home runs in the tournament. Schwarber is the reigning National League home run king. Heck, McNeill won the NL batting title last season, and he had to share playing time at second base with Tim Anderson, another former batting champion. 

That's an embarrassment of riches.

On the pitching side, Wainwright, Lance Lynn, Nick Martinez and Merrill Kelly made starts for Team USA. Nothing against these four men, because all are good pitchers. Wainwright, 41, and Lynn, 35, have enjoyed long careers in MLB for a reason, but if you were selecting a 1-2 punch for American-born pitchers, I don't think you would choose them at this stage of their careers.

I'm not going to call out individual guys who I think should have played. The regular season is important, and everybody has the right to prioritize what they wish. I just hope we see some American-born aces sign up to pitch next time this tournament is held in 2026.