World Baseball Classic – Indians Dropping Like Flies

The Indians, having eight big league players on temporary rosters for the World Baseball Classic, are dropping like cold ice on a mug.

Right-hander Fausto Carmona, who is also on the roster for the Dominican Republic, and Venezuelan roster member Rafael Betancourt will not be in the tournament, which will begin next month.

Carmona, missing more than two months due to a left hip strain last season, left the Indians with no choice but to remove him from the Classic scenario, although they still want his presence at camp, working on his delivery and getting him ready to tackle the number 2 spot on their rotation.

Betancourt was another story. After pitching for Venezuela in 2006, he felt the tension affected his performance for that season. He made only three appearances in the Classic, after that, felt shoulder pains when he returned to camp and ending up suffering upper back strains two weeks before the regular season.

“I was taking time to make my decision to play or not play,” Betancourt said. “I did it the first time, and I think, for me, I don’t play winter ball, so it takes a little bit of time to get ready to compete. I got the experience in 2006, and it was a very good experience representing my country. But to prepare myself for the season, it wasn’t good for me.”

Dominican mainstay Jhonny Peralta will be on the possibility of not participating. Peralta said that he is interested in playing for the Dominican team, but with Hanley Ramirez, Jose Reyes and Miguel Tejada all on the provisional roster, is uncertain if he can blend in with the star studded crowd.

“I don’t know if I’d have a chance to play,” Peralta said. “I don’t know what’s going on with that.”

Grady Sizemore and Mark DeRosa of the USA, Rafael Perez of the Dominican Republic, and Shin-Soo Choo of Korea, are expected to leave the camp to raise the banners of their respective countries. Masa Kobayashi of Japan however was still undecided.

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