USA tops Netherlands, 9-3

Posted on 15 Mar 2009 by Danielle

Jimmy Rollins went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and finished with four RBI and two runs scored, as the United States crushed the Netherlands, 9-3, and eliminated them from World Baseball Classic play.

Brian Roberts went 3-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored for the U.S., which snapped a two-game slide. Adam Dunn added a solo homer, while Kevin Youkilis, David Wright, and Brian McCann each drove in a run in the win.

It was announced prior to the game that Team USA third baseman Chipper Jones will miss the rest of the WBC with a strained oblique muscle.

Team USA will face the loser of the Venezuela-Puerto Rico matchup on Tuesday for the right to advance to the semifinals in Los Angeles.

Roy Oswalt (1-0) was stellar on the hill, lasting four innings and yielding five hits while fanning as many batters.

Bryan Engelhardt had a solo homer for the Netherlands. Yurendell de Caster and Sharlon Schoop drove in the other runs in defeat.

Rick VandenHurk (0-1) was tagged with the loss after giving up three runs -- one earned -- on four hits in two innings of work.

The bases were loaded with one out in the home half of the first, as Roberts singled and Derek Jeter and Youkilis drew walks. Wright then offered a sac fly to right field, and Team USA was up 1-0 before Dunn struck out on a foul tip to end the rally.

Rollins stroked a homer in the second inning that also scored Curtis Granderson to make it 3-0.

Chris Iannetta led off the bottom of the fourth with a walk and, after Granderson went down swinging, Rollins drove him in with a triple. Rollins came around to score as Roberts followed with a three-bagger. Michiel van Kampen then came on to replace Sulbaran and walked Jeter before Youkilis grounded out to plate Roberts. USA boasted a 6-0 lead after four frames.

Rollins' sac fly plated Ryan Braun in the fifth inning, as the Americans inflated their lead to 7-0.

It was 8-0 after the sixth inning, as Dunn chipped in a solo homer.

De Caster's double in the seventh off Brad Ziegler plated Schoop and cut the Netherlands' deficit to 8-1.

Engelhardt led off the eighth with a homer off Matt Lindstrom and Schoop offered a sac fly later in the frame to plate Danny Rombley, which made it 8-3 and chased Lindstrom in favor of John Grabow.

McCann's double scored Youkilis in the home eighth to give USA a 9-3 advantage.

Jonathan Broxton came in to pitch the ninth and got the Netherlands to go down in order.

David Wright was 1-3 in tonight's game, with an RBI sac fly and a single. He also had a spectacular play in the field. His average in the WBC is now .263.

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The WBC is here!

Posted on 14 Mar 2009 by Danielle

I'm officially in Florida, getting ready to head over to the games this afternoon and tonight!

Exciting, right?

Make sure to subscribe to Twitter (or at least keep checking back to the site) for live updates from the actual games with on-site reporting. This is not a play-by-play, it's live blogging!

Check out The Wright Stuff on Twitter... here.

Go, USA!

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DWF Fundraiser Update: Colors

Posted on 14 Mar 2009 by Danielle

More colors choices have been added to each style! Instead of the traditional white, black, and a few colors, there is a multitude of options to choose from.

Once again, these shirts are pretty low-priced, with the majority of our shirts for sale now range from 12.99 - 14.99, with only a few for sale from 17.99 - 19.99. The best part is... not a single tee-shirt is over TWENTY DOLLARS!

Hopefully, this will help us raise even more money to donate to the David Wright Foundation!

Check out The Wright Stuff's merch store... here.

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STACK Magazine Update

Posted on 11 Mar 2009 by Danielle

Thank you to Josh of Stack Magazine for providing us with more details on David Wright's feature in the magazine!

"The 6-page feature, which highlights David's relentless work ethic and pursuit of perfection, will run as our Apr/May cover feature. We will also have some great video content from an interview and training session with David. The issue lands in about 5-6 weeks, about the same time that the videos will be live on the web."

Check back in April for more details when the issue drops! We may even have a surprise or two here!

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3/9 - What Wright Said...

Posted on 09 Mar 2009 by Danielle

(About Manager, Davey Johnson)

"It's been great so far. He goes out there and lets us play, lets us prepare," said USA third baseman David Wright, who basically is a second-generation Davey Johnson protege inasmuch as he is a disciple of Howard Johnson, who was a Davey disciple.

Wright added: "Everybody I've talked to loves him. HoJo and other guys made it a point to come up to me before I left and said, 'Please say hello to Davey for me.' The guys love him, and I think that feeling is mutual."

Credit: Newsday

(On USA's performance thus-far)

"We've accomplished the first goal," said Wright, who was 3-for-5 with two runs scored. "I thought coming out and playing as well as we have the last two days, we've got a full head of steam going forward. ... We're having fun. It's something special."

(On seeing more playing time as a result of others' injuries)

David said he was ready to take on more playing time, if necessary. "I've got my legs under me," Wright said.

Credit: NY Daily News

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Home Runs Propel USA over Venezuela, into Miami

Posted on 09 Mar 2009 by Danielle

Kevin Youkilis hit a two-run homer, Adam Dunn and Ryan Braun added solo shots and the United States powered its way into the second round of the World Baseball Classic by beating Venezuela 15-6 on Sunday night.

Chris Iannetta and Mark DeRosa each had four RBIs for Team USA, which broke it open with an eight-run sixth inning and finished with 16 hits. Youkilis scored four times.

Every U.S. starter had at least one hit except for third baseman Chipper Jones, lifted in the sixth because of a mild strain on his side. Jones, who is 0-for-7 with five strikeouts in the WBC, will be evaluated again Monday.

Florida reliever Matt Lindstrom worked 1 1-3 perfect innings for the win before a crowd of 13,094.

Former Mets pitcher Victor Zambrano took the loss, allowing four runs and two hits in one inning.

Melvin Mora's RBI single gave Venezuela a 1-0 lead in the third but the U.S. answered with two in the fourth when DeRosa's two-out triple scored Youkilis and Dunn.

Venezuela reclaimed the lead in the bottom half against right-hander Roy Oswalt on Ramon Hernandez's RBI grounder and Gregor Blanco's run-scoring single.

The U.S. sixth began when Youkilis reached on a wild third strike. David Wright singled and Dunn walked to load the bases for DeRosa, who drove in a run with a walk. Left-hander Carlos Vasquez replaced Zambrano but Iannetta greeted him with a three-run double to right-center, taking third as the throw went to the plate.

Vasquez struck out Curtis Granderson and was replaced by right-hander Yoel Hernandez, who walked Derek Jeter and gave up a two-run double to Dustin Pedroia. Braun batted for Jones and grounded out, but Youkilis capped the inning with a homer to left, his second in two games.

Carlos Guillen hit a solo homer and Hernandez singled home Jose Lopez against right-hander Brad Ziegler in the sixth, but Dunn answered with a solo shot to right off Ivan Blanco in the seventh.

DeRosa hit a sacrifice fly and Iannetta and Granderson had RBI singles as the U.S. tacked on three more in the eighth against left-hander Jan Granado.

Oswalt allowed three runs and six hits in 3 2-3 innings, walking two and striking out one.

Venezuela starter Armando Galarraga yielded two runs and five hits in four innings. He walked one and struck out four.

Miguel Cabrera and Magglio Ordonez, Venezuela's 4-5 hitters, combined to go 0-for-9 with three strikeouts.

Venezuela will play an elimination game Tuesday against the winner of Monday's game between Canada and Italy. The winner on Tuesday advances to round two, and will face the U.S. on Wednesday night to decide first place in Group C.

Team USA will begin second-round play Saturday in Miami.

David Wright went 3-5 in last night's game, scoring twice on two singles and a walk. His average for the WBC is now .333.

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Announcing: New Fundraising Store AND CHEAPER PRICES!

Posted on 08 Mar 2009 by Danielle

The Wright Stuff is very happy to announce that we have opened a new store, which has allowed us to SEVERELY drop our prices. And that's a great thing!

In fact, the majority of our shirts for sale now range from 12.99 - 14.99, with few for sale from 17.99 - 19.99.

The best part is... not a single tee-shirt is over TWENTY DOLLARS!

Plus, the new store now features designs for kids too!

As a result, not only are the prices now much more reasonable, BUT they also enable us to raise more money for the foundation.

With opening day less than a month away, these shirts are the perfect and highly affordable choice to wear to a Mets game this year.

Check out The Wright Stuff's new merch store... here.

Danielle's note: I sincerely apologize to those of you who have already purchased a shirt through the Zazzle store. In an attempt to raise more money for the foundation, I was forced to look for an alternative company that would enable that goal in an economy such as this one. I apologize once again and if you ever decide to purchase another piece of merchandise through us, please contact me directly and I will discount you, as I have a list of customers.

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Team USA tops Canada 6-5!

Posted on 07 Mar 2009 by Danielle

Captain Derek Jeter went 2 for 3 in today's victory for Team USA, providing a spark in the lead-off position.

Joey Votto and Russell Martin each hit a solo homer for Canada, but it wasn't enough for the hosts to repeat their 8-6 win over the U.S. in the opening round of the 2006 tournament.

Votto, born and raised in suburban Toronto, went 4-for-5 with two RBIs before a lively crowd of 42,314.

The U.S. can advance to the second round with a victory in its next game, Sunday night against the winner of Saturday's late game between Italy and Venezuela. Canada will play the loser of the Italy-Venezuela game on Monday night, hoping to avoid elimination in Group C.

Jake Peavy lasted three innings, allowing two runs and two hits. He walked three and struck out four.

Canadian right-hander Mike Johnson gave up four runs and four hits in four innings. He walked three and struck out three.

Canada opened the scoring in the first when Russell Martin walked, went to third on Votto's single and scored on Justin Morneau's fielder's choice.

Jason Bay walked and Matt Stairs was hit by a pitch to load the bases, but Peavy struck out Mark Teahen to end the inning.

Votto homered into the second deck in right-center in the third, but Canada's lead was short-lived.

Kevin Youkilis tied it with a homer to right to begin the fourth. Adam Dunn followed with a walk and, one out later, Brian McCann drilled the first pitch he saw into the U.S. bullpen in right.

Canada got one back in the sixth when Bay scored on Joel Hanrahan's wild pitch, but Dunn answered in the bottom half with a two-run drive to left-center.

Martin homered off Scot Shields in the seventh, but Stairs struck out with runners at first and second to end the inning.

Jimmy Rollins pinch ran after Jeter's leadoff single in the fifth, but was later thrown out trying to steal second.

David Wright was 0-3 in today's game, but he will likely get the start again tomorrow when Team USA takes on Venezuela at 8pm.

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Wright Watching: David Wright on Letterman

Posted on 06 Mar 2009 by Danielle

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Fundraiser Update: Prices

Posted on 04 Mar 2009 by Danielle

Due to the economic difficulties being felt around the world, I've decided to investigate other sites to produce the shirts through.

At the moment, the profits being made on the shirts are minimal as a way to keep costs down. However, I think I've found a site to keep the prices in the $13-18 range, which would be much more cost-effective.

Stay tuned for a further update... as well as a new shirt this weekend. :-)

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