Also, after 2023, the narrative was that the US needed better pitchers to go with the all time lineup. That year, Merrill Kelly started the final and Kyle Freeland pitched in that game. Both times, they lost 3-2.

bulverdeaggie93 said:

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many keep saying the best team ever assembled… really??… byron buxton??… bryce turang?.. maybe others declined, but i can easily think of 20+ other OFers who would have been better than buxton

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I'd like to hear them. 2025 Buxton had a 5-war season, sleected an all-star, won a silver slugger, and finished 11th in the MVP.

Middle relief wasn't great but overall, pitching wasn't the problem.

With that lineup, you should be able to spot your opponent 3 runs and win over 90% of your games.

Bad offense, definitely. Suspect defense, yes. Uninspired play and managing, probably. One game, winner-take-all, likely.

Farmer1906 said:

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bulverdeaggie93 said:

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many keep saying the best team ever assembled… really??… byron buxton??… bryce turang?.. maybe others declined, but i can easily think of 20+ other OFers who would have been better than buxton

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I'd like to hear them. 2025 Buxton had a 5-war season, sleected an all-star, won a silver slugger, and finished 11th in the MVP.

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The blame shifting on this thread is crazy. Bottom line is that elite MLB guys were not elite when it mattered. Players go through periods all the time when they can't hit their way out of a paper bag.

10andBOUNCE said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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bulverdeaggie93 said:

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many keep saying the best team ever assembled… really??… byron buxton??… bryce turang?.. maybe others declined, but i can easily think of 20+ other OFers who would have been better than buxton

---

I'd like to hear them. 2025 Buxton had a 5-war season, sleected an all-star, won a silver slugger, and finished 11th in the MVP.

---

The blame shifting on this thread is crazy. Bottom line is that elite MLB guys were not elite when it mattered. Players go through periods all the time when they can't hit their way out of a paper bag.

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Farmer1906 said:

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10andBOUNCE said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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bulverdeaggie93 said:

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many keep saying the best team ever assembled… really??… byron buxton??… bryce turang?.. maybe others declined, but i can easily think of 20+ other OFers who would have been better than buxton

---

I'd like to hear them. 2025 Buxton had a 5-war season, sleected an all-star, won a silver slugger, and finished 11th in the MVP.

---

The blame shifting on this thread is crazy. Bottom line is that elite MLB guys were not elite when it mattered. Players go through periods all the time when they can't hit their way out of a paper bag.

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Thats the way baseball go

Quote:

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Even if you had spelled BRICE Turang's name right… you'd be wrong there too. He won the Platinum glove in 2024. He's probably the best defensive second baseman in the league.

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Sorry I cannot let this one slide. While Turang is a great player and a thorn in my side as a Cubs fan, Nico Hoerner is the best defensive 2B in the game today. Gold glove in 2023 and 2025. Perhaps one of the most underrated players in the game last year with total 6.2 WAR which was only slightly above Turang at 5.6.

Last year the advanced defensive stats all show Nico is the best and it ain't even close.
DRS....Nico had 17 vs Turang 7
rPM...Nico had 14 vs Turang 6
OAA...Nico had 14 vs Turang -2
FRV...Nico had 12 vs Turang 0

I will wait for you to recant your heretical statement about Turang as the best defensive 2B in the league.

Additionally, I would say this USA team desperately needed someone like Nico on the roster, someone who boasted only a 7.6% K rate last year. Hard to be mad at Turang's performance though, he was the least of poor performers.

What if Nico didn't want to play? I find that difficult to believe but some players aren't "invited" because they say no.

I certainly think there were some mis-steps with this roster. We wasted a spot on Goldschmidt. 2017 and or 2023 would have been his year, not 2026.

Fuzzy Dunlop said:

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What if Nico didn't want to play? I find that difficult to believe but some players aren't "invited" because they say no.

I certainly think there were some mis-steps with this roster. We wasted a spot on Goldschmidt. 2017 and or 2023 would have been his year, not 2026.

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Certainly is possible.

I get this vibe from DeRosa there was some boys club he had going that had the priority of who got an invite but that's complete speculation. That being said, the roster was stacked and hard to come up with a better starting 9. Carroll would have been a nice one to have though and sucks he got hurt, although Anthony really was a bright spot. 1B most definitely could have been improved especially after a down year by Harper (Alonso, Kurtz, Olson, Freeman). 3B is a pretty rough position across the league and even more so from a USA perspective. Mookie Betts was someone that jumped out to me and who I would have wanted on my team.

I can also appreciate the fact that if you are not a starter then you very well may not play much and prefer to get ready for your normal season.

10andBOUNCE said:

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Quote:

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Even if you had spelled BRICE Turang's name right… you'd be wrong there too. He won the Platinum glove in 2024. He's probably the best defensive second baseman in the league.

---

Sorry I cannot let this one slide. While Turang is a great player and a thorn in my side as a Cubs fan, Nico Hoerner is the best defensive 2B in the game today. Gold glove in 2023 and 2025. Perhaps one of the most underrated players in the game last year with total 6.2 WAR which was only slightly above Turang at 5.6.

Last year the advanced defensive stats all show Nico is the best and it ain't even close.
DRS....Nico had 17 vs Turang 7
rPM...Nico had 14 vs Turang 6
OAA...Nico had 14 vs Turang -2
FRV...Nico had 12 vs Turang 0

I will wait for you to recant your heretical statement about Turang as the best defensive 2B in the league.

Additionally, I would say this USA team desperately needed someone like Nico on the roster, someone who boasted only a 7.6% K rate last year. Hard to be mad at Turang's performance though, he was the least of poor performers.

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Mr. Mauricio Dubon has an argument as well.

"But Farmer, Hoerner's FRV is 12 to Dubon 7 at 2nd base." I know, i know. Hoenrer had 1,326 innings at 2B. Dubon only 318 innings.

0.022 FRV/inning >>> 0.0090 FRV/inning

Dubon was ridiculous last season. He probably had an argument for the platinum glove.

FRV
+2 in the OF
+2 at 3B
+6 at SS
+7 at 2B
0 at 1B (only 13 innings, but was +1 last season in 93 innings)

Derail complete. Back to WBC. It was awesome. America wasn't as awesome and still finished runner-up.

10andBOUNCE said:

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Quote:

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Even if you had spelled BRICE Turang's name right… you'd be wrong there too. He won the Platinum glove in 2024. He's probably the best defensive second baseman in the league.

---

Sorry I cannot let this one slide. While Turang is a great player and a thorn in my side as a Cubs fan, Nico Hoerner is the best defensive 2B in the game today. Gold glove in 2023 and 2025. Perhaps one of the most underrated players in the game last year with total 6.2 WAR which was only slightly above Turang at 5.6.

Last year the advanced defensive stats all show Nico is the best and it ain't even close.
DRS....Nico had 17 vs Turang 7
rPM...Nico had 14 vs Turang 6
OAA...Nico had 14 vs Turang -2
FRV...Nico had 12 vs Turang 0

I will wait for you to recant your heretical statement about Turang as the best defensive 2B in the league.

Additionally, I would say this USA team desperately needed someone like Nico on the roster, someone who boasted only a 7.6% K rate last year. Hard to be mad at Turang's performance though, he was the least of poor performers.

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So sorry lol. One of…. The best defensive second basemen. Kinda missing the point here aren't we? Brice Turang being on the roster wasn't some insane decision. Dude is very good.

I agree