PEORIA, Ariz. — It lingers over everything that Mel Stottlemyre does or plans for his pitchers. No matter how much he would love to ignore it or hope it would suddenly be canceled, the World Baseball Classic is going to happen this spring. And as pitching coach, Stottlemyre is dealing with the ramifications of having his No. 1 and No. 5 starter, his closer and possibly his No. 4 starter all leaving camp at some point to pitch for their respective countries.
“It’s chaotic,” he said. “You have to balance everything. You have to know their time schedule and when they have to get their stuff done.