July 20, 200421 yr Now you can definitely root for us. Australia released its preliminary Olympic roster, following Canada's lead with a club heavy on minor leaguers and veterans of international competition. Former big leaguers such as lefthanders Graeme Lloyd and Jeff Williams and catcher Dave Nilsson head the roster, which also includes 17 active minor leaguers. Former Braves bonus baby Glenn Williams, in his third season at Triple-A Syracuse at age 27, is having the best season of any Aussie player this year, hitting .265-21-65 while playing third base. The top prospects included on the roster include Mets catcher Justin Huber, outfielders Thomas Brice (White Sox) and Trent Oeltjen (Twins), and righthander Chris Oxspring (Padres). With a 4-3, 3.88 record at Triple-A Portland, Oxspring isn't far from reaching the major leagues, and he struggled with the decision of whether or not to play for his country. "That's why choosing to play in the Olympics was such a hard decision," Oxspring told BA correspondent John Maffei of the North County (Calif.) Times. "Kids dream of representing their country, but when you're at Triple-A, you're so close to the major leagues. I talked to the Padres and asked about my immediate future. They said if I go to Athens, it won't change their opinion of me. That gave me piece of mind." The complete Australia roster: Pitchers: Craig Anderson (Mariners), Adrian Burnside (Tigers), Graeme Lloyd, Wayne Ough (Mets), Chris Oxspring (Padres), Ryan Rowland-Smith (Mariners), John Stephens (Red Sox), Richard Thompson (Padres), Jeff Williams. Catchers: Justin Huber (Mets), David Nilsson. Infielders: Trent Durrington (Brewers), Gavin Fingleson, Brendan Kingman, Craig Lewis, Rodney van Buizen (Dodgers), Brett Tamburrino (Twins), Glenn Williams (Blue Jays). Outfielders: Thomas Brice (White Sox), Paul Gonzalez, Nick Kimpton (Angels), Trent Oeltjen (Twins), Brett Roneberg (Red Sox).
July 20, 200421 yr Two Bingo Mets are on the team, thats gonna hurt a little but good to see. And with Brice there I can root for players but not necessarily the team
July 20, 200421 yr Oh I so called it DBAHO! He's going to be so overmatched lol. That's ok though, he has been showing signs of improvement for the Warthogs. Average is up to .224.
July 21, 200421 yr Author Oh I so called it DBAHO! He's going to be so overmatched lol. That's ok though, he has been showing signs of improvement for the Warthogs. Average is up to .224. You did, I'll giv props to ya for that. Look forward to watching him hit some sweet line drives in Athens though.
July 21, 200421 yr That should be really cool. I'm assuming the Sox will let him go. Are these games going to be televised, cause this will be a great opportunity to see Brice play. He's a pretty big guy.
July 21, 200421 yr Author That should be really cool. I'm assuming the Sox will let him go. Are these games going to be televised, cause this will be a great opportunity to see Brice play. He's a pretty big guy. I'm not sure what the TV situation is over there regarding the Olympics, but usually down here they show highlights of Australia in the Baseball, especially if they do well.
July 21, 200421 yr I don't even remember baseball getting any coverage in the Olympics. Then again we have NBC showing the Olympics, they suck.
July 21, 200421 yr NBC, CNBC and some other station are gonna have lots of coverage between them, almost round the clock, so i'd bet we see at least parts of some Australian baseball game
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