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It's hard to find pitchers willing and able to participate in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, thanks to widespread suspicion among potential Team USA roster members and their employers that there's a terminal illness called Daisuke Matsuzaka's disease, but America managed to add a reliever on Thursday when Mitchell Boggs of the St. Louis Cardinals was announced as a member of the provisional roster. Boggs is the ideal WBC candidate: He's a big guy who seems a little too sturdy to be a relief pitcher, and he's not a star.
He's also an excellent pitcher, who rode his fastball-slider repertoire to a 2.21 ERA across 73 innings in 2012. A warning to America, from a Cardinals fan: Mitchell Boggs will not strike out as many batters as you think he ought to, especially the first time you see someone swing through that slider. And Mitchell Boggs's control isn't quite as bad as you think it is, especially the first time you see him throw that slider into the dirt.
Like seemingly all Cardinals system-members, he is at heart—despite all the flamethrower trappings, despite everything your senses will tell you about him—another groundball specialist. But he's a good one. For more WBC roster news, stay tuned to this storystream.