World Baseball Classic update: Brandon Crawford is hot, and Buster Posey hit a dinger

Before Brandon Crawford went to play for the United States in the World Baseball Classic, he was cold. He was 2-for-17 in the Cactus League, which means as much as 17 March at-bats usually means, but that doesn’t mean it was easy to watch.

Crawford is easy to watch again. He’s hot. Also, he’s playing good baseball again, and you’d better believe that I get to use that joke twice in the same post. He’s 5-for-11 so far in the WBC, and he’s roping doubles all over the park. Three of them, to be exact.

This means about as much as 11 exhibition at-bats usually means, but if there are some Giants having fun in the WBC, that seems like mirth worth sharing.

Mirth! And while this video is of dubious quality, at least we can enjoy the title and account:

I’d make fun, but I applied for a job at all sporst NEWS, and I haven’t heard back. I just love the way they cover sporst, and they hit the news so hard, it needs to be in all-caps.

Buster Posey isn’t exactly annihilating the rest of the world just yet, as he’s just 2-for-8. Which means about as much as ... well, you get the drift. But if we’re going to get excited about anything that happens in the WBC, this is it:

Oh, if that Posey could show up for the Giants in the 2017 season. Oh, if they could get 24-homer Posey back, the guy who had such easy, surprising power to center field. He’s a valuable player without that kind of power, but of all the realistic ways that the Giants’ offense could improve over last season, a return to Posey’s dingering ways would be one of the most satisfying.

Other quick WBC notes:

• Johnny Cueto is leaning against playing, even though he very much wants to. This is a good thing.
• Jeff Samardzija and Mark Melancon are going to be alternates for the WBC, and they can be added to the roster between rounds or in the event of injury. I’m entirely fine with the idea of relievers on the roster — heck, take the whole bullpen and make it a political statement — because they’re usually limited to one inning, and the workload is basically what they’d handle in spring training, too. I’m hoping Samardzija just hangs out on the alternate list, though.
• Sergio Romo got Miguel Cabrera out in Sunday’s Mexico/Venezuela game. It was put in play, though! The ball was put in play.
• Andrew Miller has given up four earned runs in two-thirds of an inning, so this is the perfect time to make a buy-low offer to the Indians.
• Nolan Arenado is hitting .091, so this is the perfect time to make a buy-low offer to the Rockies.
• Angel Pagan is playing, and he’s still looking for a job. I feel bad for the guy, and I hope he gets six hits in his next seven at-bats.

Mostly, though, I wanted to share the Posey homer. The season is coming up quickly, and I have high hopes for him in his age-30 season. His whomping a homer to dead-center in a pitcher’s park is a delightful, comforting development.