Why We Love USA Baseball

By Chad Hollingsworth
Love of Sports Correspondent

When baseball kicks off its competition at the Olympic Games on August 13th, the United States might be playing with a chip on its shoulder.

Sure, they won the gold medal in 2000. I recall Ben Sheets pitching a complete game shutout in the final against Cuba and Tommy Lasorda downing a delicious Ultra Slim Fast shake in the dugout in celebration.

Why should the U.S. team be motivated this year?

Well, because they actually qualified!

Yes, the Boys of Summer, who are talented enough to play “America’s Pastime,” were unable to field a team for the 2004 Olympics. However, they’re back with a vengeance now, and not a moment too soon, considering that baseball’s been voted out of the 2012 Games (which befuddles me beyond comprehension, but that’s a whole different story).

Now, what does this team have to counter the world’s best this time around? Start with a bunch of hungry minor leaguers on the cusp of being called up to their major league teams. As a matter of fact, don’t be surprised to see many of these kids called up when the major league rosters expand in September.

Remember the crown jewel of the Brewers/Indians trade involving CC Sabathia? His name is Matt LaPorta. This guy’s a home run/RBI machine and will be on display for the Olympic team before he eventually plays Cleveland in the outfield next to Grady Sizemore. He’s had a slow start in the minor leagues, but it’s only a matter of time before he finds the groove that led to his numbers in Milwaukee’s Double-A affiliate (.288 average, 20 home runs in 84 games).

Also keep an eye on Taylor Teagarden, a catcher from the Texas Rangers system. He’s part of the catching surplus the Rangers have, so numerous general managers will likely have their eyes on him as well. Why would they want to trade him, though? He’s showed plenty of power in his minor league stints and even has a home run in a very brief callup this season for the big club.

What other players on the team have shown flashes of talent in major league stints? Nate Schierholtz batted .304 in 39 games in 2007 for the Giants, and Jayson Nix was recently sent back down to the minors by the Rockies in order for him to be able to play for the U.S. team. These are just a couple of players almost ready to contribute further to their major ballclubs.

And let’s not forget about the pitchers who can become the next Ben Sheets for this team. Most notably, keep an eye on Stephen Strasburg. He’s only a sophomore at San Diego State and recorded a 23-strikeout game in April.

That’s right. Read that last sentence again.

Now, whether he’s used as a starter or reliever is U.S. manager Davey Johnson’s guess (Strasburg was a reliever in his freshman season), but major league teams are already salivating over the thought of drafting him.

Outside of Strasburg, other notable pitchers you’ll see will be Casey Weathers from the Rockies and Trevor Cahill of the A’s. Both these guys will definitely log some very important innings for the U.S.

As talented as the U.S. team is, it definitely faces an uphill battle. Cuba has to be the favorite, having earned three gold medals in the last four Olympics. Japan easily won the Asian region to qualify and also won the World Baseball Classic in 2006. If the United States wants to earn a gold medal, the team needs to be on top of its game.

However, what a great story it would be to watch a team of burgeoning young stars capture the gold medal before the sport’s removed from competition. I can’t possibly think of a better good-bye for the sport.

That’s why I’m giving some love to our United States Olympic baseball team. And somewhere, I imagine Tommy Lasorda is too.