WBC ... So It Begins

Not gonna lie to you ... I'm getting excited twitches about the World Baseball Classic. Despite that, as predicted, some of the big names (Pedro, Wagner, Vladdy, Manny) are retreating to the comfort of Spring Training (probably a good thing for the fantasy league - less chance for injuries to marquee players), I am officially "into" this tournament. And to start things off, we have a monstrous matchup tonight between South Korea and Chinese Taipei. This game is so big, that Stephen Elessseressrer of MLB.com (via Padres.com) is reporting that, according to Chan Ho Park, Chan Ho Park was up late last night scouting the Chinese Taipei lineup.

Park also said that he had been up late the night before studying film of Chinese Taipei, hinting that regardless of what [manager In-Sik Kim] may say, Park is planning to see some action Friday.

(Relax, I can joke about Chan Ho because he is one of the venerable old, er, veteran group of starters - along with Shawn Estes, Woody Williams, and Andy Ashby - competing for three spots in the Padres rotation. And I am one of the vast group of Padre fans hoping against hope that he, along with the others, gets his act together this season and pitches as well as he used to with the Dadgers).

But with all due respect for Chan Ho, I am more interested to watch another Park, who comes with rave reviews from MLB's World Baseball Classic homepage:

Keep an eye on: Yong-Taik Park. One of the best total-package center fielders in Korea, Park also has speed and some power. He led the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] with 90 runs scored and 43 stolen bases in 2005, and the young All-Star will be a scoring threat with Seung-Yeop Lee and [Hee Sop] Choi hitting behind him.

Once I have a chance to review the fantasy league's complex drafting and waiver rules to see if Yong-Taik will be available in our upcoming draft, this game may even take on more meaning than it already has.

So let's get this thing rolling. First pitch is in less than an hour.