The 2023 World Baseball Classic got underway this week, as Cuba played the Netherlands to open up Group A pool play and two White Sox players had bad showings in their first game. Yoan Moncada went 0-for-3, with a walk, but it was Luis Robert Jr. who drew the ire of fans watching along late Tuesday night.

It is still only March and as most fans will say, none of what happens now really matters. That's true when it comes to spring training games in Arizona and Florida, and games during the World Baseball Classic. That being said, we are still watching our favorite players on the field and want to see good things when they are playing, and boy were some White Sox fans not pleased with Robert's first three at-bats against the Netherlands.

Again, you can argue if it matters at all, but there's no denying that Robert looked bad. In his first three at-bats, he saw 12 pitches, two fastballs and 10 sliders. Robert swung at five of the 10 sliders and whiffed on all of them, leading to three strikeouts.

Some of these pitches aren't even close.

Maybe Robert was just a little anxious out there and wanted to do something big playing for his home country of Cuba. That's fair. We see emotions get the best of athletes from time to time.

Speaking of emotions, fans ride those like a rollercoaster no matter the circumstance.

Robert has a career .808 OPS with the White Sox, slashing .289/.334/.474, in 222 games since making his MLB debut in the shortened 2020 season. While it is true that Robert chasing sliders that are in the left-handed batter's box looks bad, it also shouldn't come as a surprise. That's what Robert has done throughout his career and despite that flaw he's posted good offensive numbers, recording a 122 wRC+ through three seasons.

However, I do think it is fair to criticize a player who seemingly hasn't improved on their weaknesses. Robert has been hyped up to superstar status ever since his rookie season and while he's been solid when healthy, he hasn't taken that next step to get better.

But again, despite Robert not being able to lay off that slider and being a free-swinger at the plate, it's not like he strikes out at an alarming level. In his career, Robert has a 22.8 percent strikeout rate, which is right about at league average from the 2022 season.

Going back to freaking out about Robert's first game with Cuba in the WBC, and when he comes back to play in spring training, the main thing to keep track of is his health. He still does have star potential, but injuries have been the biggest reasons that have slowed him down.

Because even when Robert looks bad at the plate, he can still be dangerous on any pitch, in any count.

So yeah, it's fine to get a little mad now because you do want to see guys not look atrocious and maybe actually get better, but with Luis Robert Jr., he can swing as much as he wants, whiff as much as he does, and still be good. Just you know, stay on the field!

But maybe hold off on completely going nuts on Robert for chasing sliders until it's in the regular season and the results do actually matter for the White Sox.

We'll talk more about the World Baseball Classic, spring training observations, what we think matters and doesn't with some of the players competing for roster spots and more on the Pinwheels And Ivy Podcast, streaming live Wednesday night at 8 p.m. CST, on YouTube.

Once the Pinwheels And Ivy Podcast reaches 1,000 subscribers on YouTube, we will give away two tickets to a White Sox home game located behind their dugout!

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wq0DkKzvOBY