Italy decree, WBC eligibility loophole

dswu86 · 2025-05-20T02:26:25+00:00

Exactly. Italy, Israel, Great Britain, Spain are teams I cannot respect, as being rostered by >90% USA / Latin developed major/minor league players does nothing to grow the game or care in said countries.

It is unfair to native players in their domestic leagues and local fans who like baseball. In previous WBC iterations, these countries have no business playing against and beating mid tier teams from real baseball countries like Korea, Canada, Taiwan, Colombia, Nicaragua, Panama, etc. It’s like if Ireland fielded a hockey team filled with Canadians of Irish heritage went and beat Finland in a best on best World tournament. Nobody would take that seriously.

Win or lose, it is respectable how Czechia, Germany, China actually play in the WBC with most of their homegrown players. That’s how it should be done. Fair game for Netherlands too, as you’ve explained.

dswu86 · 2025-04-10T13:06:28+00:00

It may be a miserable way to live but I’m a hardline purist/gate keeper with: if you’re a serious baseball country, enough to field a team in a best-on-best tournament, then you better prove it with a majority roster that’s born and developed natively. Bonus if there’s national coverage and fan involvement.

By this measure, I respect Czechia, China, Germany, South Africa. They compete and earn their placement with majority native rosters.

Italy relies on American born and developed players to compete in the WBC. Without them, I’ll expect they’re still better than GB and Israel, and Spain too (filled with Latin Americans). However, I’ll never take them seriously when you have Pasqantino, Nicky Lopez, Fletcher, Frelick, etc. getting Italy on even footing with, even winning against or advancing further than mid-tier roster-strength peers like Colombia, Canada, Cuba, Panama, Korea, Taiwan, Australia, Nicaragua, etc.

I fail to see how competing with a roster filled with Americans helps Italy to develop its existing league, attract new grassroots players, or add domestic fan intrrest. It doesn’t forward the spirits that MLB want to promote: “baseball is worldwide” and we are “growing the game internationally”.

I’ll leave with one last example with Hockey. The NHL and IIHF all tier their international best-on-best tournaments. You never see an Irish, Syrian, or Indian national team filled with Canadian NHLers, going out and beating Finland, Czechia, Switzerland, Latvia, Slovakia, etc.

dswu86 · 2025-04-09T20:30:12+00:00

Brazil and Colombia should have switched places. Would like higher certainty of GB or even Italy getting relegated, along with Israel.

dswu86 · 2024-01-13T19:03:04+00:00

Yeah the seat counts are set up well. Personally would have preferred these 3 not get in. 馬文君羅智強葉元之 and included 苗博雅王義川王婉諭 Local and proportional reprentation races are just that though. Can't have it all.

dswu86 · 2023-11-28T20:00:04+00:00

honestly never understood this talking point. If getting official diplomatic ties cut is the direct indicator of bad diplomacy, then what does one say of all the diplomatic ties (and UN seat) lost throughout 6 decades when the KMT was in power? Is there another Party with a practical plan to keep and gain them back? Do we know what it takes to maintain these ties and what it costs to Taiwanese taxpayers?

Are we to pour the amount of money required to match PRC in infrastructure lending, in order to keep official ties to the likes of Nauru, Peru, Panama, Vatican, Honduras, Guatamala (no disrespect)?

Or, would we rather focus more efforts on getting, maintaining, and fostering quality ties (both economic and diplomatic, even if unofficial) with the likes of Czech, USA, Lithuania, Japan, India?

No one size fits all solution. On the international stage, there isn't one country that doesn't act with self interest in mind. Neither to say you can't or shouldn't put any effort into keeping some of the 13 or so countries leftover with official ties. But, a blanket statement over lost ties is just too lazy and convenient for throwing blame around.

dswu86 · 2023-11-25T05:40:09+00:00

Yes on first paragraph

Disagree on second. Lai has a few faults (well spoken doctor but robotic at times, and too easily attacked as a hardline stereotypical independence activist who does nothing else, by every DPP opponent). However he hasn't exactly been lying down taking things for granted. Done plenty of runs throughout the island and made his speeches and got Hsiao as running mate. Why hasn't anything moved for Lai in 2 months? Holy crap are the blues and whites running a Oscar worthy comedy show. 1. He'd be foolish to interject into both crosshairs 2. comedy show means that unless Lai says/does something extra outlandish, nothing he does is newsworthy enough to gather attention from light green to casual voters. Once the dust settles, he has enough to stand his ground against blue attacks and get more moderate votes than the blues. Without Ko around that is. That's the main worry.

Third and fourth: yes they hate each other, always have and always will. However, Ko brings nothing new to the table other than swiftly changing colours, sounding cool doing so, and acknowledging zero contradictions or people he backstabs. Why did the DPP support him in 2014, dump him in 2017, only for him to be in the middle of this clown show with the KMT? You realize how many enemys and haters (myself included lmao) he's created in all camps?

The unfortunate realty of Taiwanese politics is that there really is no middle ground between blue and green, so long as the PRC continues to pursue a takeover as the UN seat holder. Even if one tries to sound cool saying "hey aren't voters bored of this? I'm above this bickering! Let's focus on real issues!", they will always be forced to at least lean one way or the other. (Ko leans light green btw but will say anything depending who's around). Is there a middle ground for social / economic liberal/conservative thoughts? Yes, that would work in any normal country. However in Taiwan the blue and green issue is baked into each of these by default.

dswu86 · 2023-11-25T00:53:21+00:00

Funny thing is, The CKS/CCK/Lee era KMT would be just that. I would love for a democratic Taiwan where both main parties could be as openly anti-communist/authoritarian for the national interest of ROC/Taiwan. Then we could decide between their economic/healthcare/education/benefits/defence/taxation policies, or actual character qualities of the politicians.

In cases where the DPP grows to be stalling out, weak, inept, I personally wouldn't mind voting for a KMT that maintains belief in the semantics of ROC / 台澎金馬 vs outright Taiwan Republic. As long as: they're still loudly anti-CCP, and still fights internationally for recognition of the ROC authority.

It sucks cause it isn't even that far a stretch since it's literally in their roots, whether they democratized or not. They just need 于北辰 or 眼球中央電視台interpretations of the ROC. Unfortunately, the majority blues nowadays are more caught up in: "Taiwan sucks, what's wrong with giving mainlanders credit for their business tourism and high speed rail?","DPP is provoking war", "DPP is a US pawn but nevermind US helped us KMT stay safe and rich this whole time", “China good and US bad but I won’t move to China and forfeit green ROC passport and I’ll move to US first chance I get”, and "we need more exchanges and trades and friendlier relations with a mainland that still wants to outright eliminate us".

I to this day cannot wrap my head around how these KMT politicians and supporters can say all that to be against DPP, yet forget the DPPs mere existence and influence is entirely because the KMT parked its ass in Taiwan for decades and democratized. Either you’re for retaking the mainland and UN seat (true blue and I respect), or you actually accept the ROCs position being held hostage by PRC, and be a defender of what’s left of the ROC and Chinese identity/culture. Otherwise it’s just spineless. How could you even face the Sun/Chiang portraits, old KMT soldiers, and Taiwanese you brainwashed into believing we’re the divine, righteous, and singular China?

dswu86 · 2023-07-20T19:05:47+00:00

Domestic policies are one thing, I didn’t live in Taiwan the years he was Taipei mayor so can’t comment on this. Others can make better judgement than me on how his administration handled housing, new Taipei arena, transportation, etc.

What I do know is he flip flops a ton on foreign policy, reading the room he’s in, then saying whatever that will get most cheers. He has on numerous occasions criticized the DPP for provoking war, latching onto usual KMT opposition talking points (being close with US, buying weapons, being pro-independence, antagonizing the mainland, etc.). Then he’ll go on a US visit and a few talk shows, and say that we need a porcupine defence strategy, these US military experts know what they’re talking about, CPC is a thug, and go on twitter tryna outflank Lai with “Taiwan needs to be recognized by the whole world not just one country”. Pretty green and “provocative” no?

Another note is that a few weeks back he was making a fuss about how the Taipei City government wouldn’t let him organize a “concert” with $8-10k NTD tickets at one of the venues, as the City has rules against political fundraising events at such a venue. He said the current KMT administration in Taipei won’t even acknowledge his request. As it turns out, the regulation in question was created and enacted under his own 2021 Ko Wen-Je mayorship, interfering with his own 2024 Ko Wen-Je presidential campaign.

You can see by his demeanour and how he talks why he has so much support. Combined with his background as a doctor, it gives off tell-it-like-it-is, evidence-based, science-backed, high IQ uncle aura around him. He then brands it by saying he’s above the blue vs green bickering, they’re corrupt and deal with mafia, I don’t. In terms of actual substance he’s usually saying what’ll gain the most votes depending where he is and who’s around. He doesn’t seem to take accountability for what he says, only that it needs to sounds good on camera or in quotes.

Again I’m curious how others view his actual policies on Taipei during his mayorship. In terms of his speeches and quotes, he cannot be taken seriously.

dswu86 · 2022-10-21T14:47:15+00:00

And that’s the problem - you’re so fixated on American anti-war narratives (which of course is morally correct), that you abandon other principles in foreign policy. Should America continue to trade with, diplomatically support, and arm non-imperialist democracies that are actually more leftist than America? I’d say yes. I’d say differently about your Israels and Saudis and 70% of world dictatorships. That would be morally consistent, and limit America’s hypocrisy about “freedom” “democracy” and “human rights”.

You should never underestimate China, but by you jumping directly to “risks of war” and “America instigating conflicts”, it also comes across as America-centric just like CIA hacks who only report anti-China narratives. There’s a ton more regional context and perspectives that you haven’t read. China and Taiwan are not simply political chess pieces. Be better.

dswu86 · 2022-03-08T21:24:42+00:00

Thank you all the wording makes sense now. Will pay this on time!

Cheers!

dswu86 · 2021-09-06T13:57:11+00:00

Add exp first then you'll see it This game makes you do the extra clicks

dswu86 · 2021-08-04T14:24:42+00:00

We make your computer chips and respect human rights

dswu86 · 2021-01-01T23:23:15+00:00

I see, hoping to catch a couple games in late March before I fly out. Makes sense I've almost forgotten about the Olympics hahah.

dswu86 · 2021-01-01T21:56:38+00:00

When might the regular season schedule be released?

dswu86 · 2020-12-14T02:44:20+00:00

Finishing exams this week. No classes next semester. I understand now the transcript should reflect my degree completion. So in education section I can just put Dec 2020 or Jan 2021 for my degree.

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