March 8, 2023

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

MESA, Az. _ Why oh why on earth would Team Canada start its best -- and only established major league starter -- in Game 1 of the World Baseball Classic?

Why not save him to start against Pool C favorite Team USA?

Or against Mexico — a club with over 20 current major leaguers on its roster?

Canada has played Great Britain once in the WBC qualifier in 2012 at Regensburg, Germany, with the Canucks winning 11-1. The score did not tell the real story. Canada led 3-1 before scoring eight in the eighth to beat coach Sam Dempster (Oshawa, Ont.) team of imported Brits.

Manager Ernie Whitt will start right-hander Cal Quantrill Sunday afternoon against Great Britain, considered the weakest team in the pool.

Why? Well, people learn.

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Probable pitchers:

Sunday _ Canada (Cal Quantrill, Cleveland, 15-5, 3.38) vs Great Britain

Monday _ Canada (Mitch Bratt, class-A Down East, Ranger 5-5, 2.45) vs United States

Tuesday _ Canada (Noah Skirrow, triple-A Lehigh Valley, double-A Reading, Phillies) 5-9, 4.36) vs Colombia

Wednesday _ Canada (Rob Zastryzny, Mets/Angels 0-0, 6.75, triple-A Salt Lake, triple-A Syracuse, 1-5, 6.75) vs. Mexico.

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“We learned from our mistakes,” said Whitt, sitting in the first base dugout on a back diamond at Sloan Park, the Chicago Cubs spring complex. “We have to win the first game. It’s as simple as that. We don’t know the British team. Over 162 games we may be better ... but in this tournament, it’s like I told our players earlier: Anything can happen in one game.

“If we start someone else and lose ... then we leave ourselves open to criticism -- ‘why didn’t you start your best pitcher?’ I wish we had all the Canadian pitchers we could have.”

Would the mistake have anything to do with the 2009 WBC at the Rogers Centre when Canada’s best that year was Scott Richmond never pitched. That year Mike Johnson (Sherwood Park, Alta.) pitched well in its opener, a one-run loss to Team USA, with the tying run stranded on second with one out in the ninth.

Canada started right-hander Vince Perkins (Victoria, BC) against Italy. Perkins allowed three runs -- two earned -- on three hits and four walks. Perkins faced 13 hitters retiring six and departed down 3-0.

“Starting Vince was my mistake, I don’t think he wanted to be in that situation,” Whitt said. “I don’t want to say we strong-armed him, but we were pretty insistent he pitch for us.

“That’s why if there is any hesitation from players at all, we’d rather see them stay with their own organization.”

Canada didn’t hit in Perkins’ start, managing only seven hits: two doubles by Justin Morneau (New Westminster, BC), one each by Joey Votto (Etobicoke, Ont.) and Jason Bay (Trail, BC), plus two singles by Morneau in the 6-2 loss.

That year it was a double elimination format. And so Richmond (North Vancouver, BC), who had been saved to win the third game, returned to Dunedin and Toronto Blue Jays camp rested as if he had been on a five-day holiday in the Musokas. Fresh as a daisy.

“Look at Freddie Freeman, a possible Hall of Famer,” said Whitt, watching the Los Angeles Dodger take infield. “He could have pulled after he played with us for the first time four years ago and didn’t win a game in Miami. But he liked the culture. He liked the staff.”

Originally it was not supposed to be this way. Originally, Canada had commits from Jameson Taillon, whose parents are from Ontario, and Nick Pivetta (Victoria, BC). It would have been the first time in five events Canada had five established starters ... but Taillon signed a free-agent deal with the Chicago Cubs and Pivetta was sidelined by COVID-19. He is pitching again, but is behind.

“We can’t sit and worry what could have happened,” said Freddie Freeman, who as always spoke eloquently about his late mother and father. “Sure it would be good if Mike Soroka wasn’t injured, if James Paxton was healthy and if Nick Pivetta had not got ill.

“We have to live in the present with the guys that are here.”

And Quantrill is here, after pitching three innings at Cleveland’s minor league complex Tuesday.

On the season, Quantrill was 15-5 with a 3.38 ERA in 32 starts. He fanned 128 in 186 1/3 innings. Quantrill and New York Yankee Vic Raschi (1947-55) are the only players in big-league history to win 14 games without a loss at a single venue.

WBC pitch restrictions allow Quantrill to throw 65 pitches in three innings, although Whitt is hopeful of getting to four, “if they are not stressful innings,” whose pop Paul is his pitching coach. Just like peewee days in Port Hope, Whitby and with the Terriers.

All Quantrill did this season was did was go undefeated at Progressive Field during the regular season with a 14-0 mark and a 2.88 ERA. It was the longest win streak in stadium history, ahead of Charles Nagy (13 outings in 1995-96).

“We have to beat Great Britain, Colombia and Mexico, we do that and there is nothing they can take away,” said Whitt, perhaps referring to 2006 when Canada lost out to Mexico and Team USA on run differential, as all finished 2-1. Mexico was plus 12, Team USA was plus 17 and Canada was minus three.

Starting Quantrill puts him a position to start the first round of the second game. That may be putting the stud hoss before the golf cart since Canada is 0-for-4 attempting to reach the second round. But as management learned in 2009 at Rogers Centre, there is no sense saving bullets if the target has left the building.

Quantrill finished the season on a career-high 11-game win streak at home, the longest streak by a Cleveland hurler since Cliff Lee did the same in 2008. He was the third Cleveland pitcher to go 11-0 or better in a 17-start span since Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry, who was 15-0 in 1974. (Johnny Allen was 14-0 an 1937).

So Bratt who has made 18 career starts — none above class-A — gets the Pool C powerhouse. Another page from 2006 when Adam Loewen who had career 55 starts — none above class-A — and pitched 3 2/3 scoreless against Team USA in 2006. Or in 2013 when Taillon, who had 39 starts — three at double-A -— worked four innings allowing two runs — one earned. Taillon was in good shape to pick up the win. Canada led 3-2 heading into the eighth. USA scored seven times off Jim Henderson (Calgary, Alta.) Scott Mathieson (Aldergorve, BC) and John Axford (Port Dover, Ont.), as a misplayed liner to centre opened the door..

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Canuck WBC starters over the years

2006 _ Erik Bedard, Adam Loewen, Jeff Francis

2009 _ Mike Johnson, Vince Perkins

2013 _ Shawn Hill, Chris Leroux, Taillon

2017 _ Ryan Dempster, Pivetta, Dempster

2023 _ Quantrill, Bratt, Skirrow, Zastryzny

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And the lineup looks like: Whitt will use Bo Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) behind the plate. Of course, Freeman will be at first, Edouard Julien (Quebec, Que.) will start at second, Abraham Toro (Longueuil, Que.) will be at third and Otto Lopez (Montreal, Que.) starts at shortstop. Whitt has decided on two of his outfield spots: two-time Gold Glover Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, BC) will be in centre and Jacob Robson (Windsor, Ont.), who spent the winter playing in Australia with the Melbourne Aces, will be in left.

Whitt will use the two exhibition games (Wednesday against the Cubs and Thursday facing the Seattle Mariners) to decide who plays right field. His choices are Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.), Owen Caissie (Burlington, Ont.) or Jared Young (Kelowna, BC), the only one who has had major league time. The DH spot will go to one of outfielders, who does not start.

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Previous meeting between the Colonies and the British Empire: Tyson Gillies (Langley, BC) had three hits while Shawn Hill (Georgetown, Ont.) allowed one run and struck out seven in the 11-1 win. Chris Robinson (Dorchester, Ont.) had two hits, and an RBI while Jimmy Van Ostrand (Richmond, BC) a two-run homer and had three RBIs. Skyler Stromsmoe (Etzikom, Alta.) added three runs on a double.

The game changed on Robinson’s RBI single in the seventh inning to start the eight-run barrage. Van Ostrand then homered. Adam Loewen (Surrey, BC) drove in Van Ostrand with a double to right field. Stromsmoe doubled and Gillies tripled to end the game by the 10-run mercy rule.

ESPN ratings: Canada is ranked ninth in the field of 20 teams in the WBC and reminds the world-wide leader of the 1982 Toronto Blue Jays. The 1982 Jays won 78 games under Bobby Cox, led by Dave Stieb, Jim Clancy and Luis Leal on the mound, and by 1B Willie Upshaw, LF Barry Bonnell and RF Jesse Barfield at the plate.