Haines will pitch for U.S. in World Cup

Cape Girardeau native Talley Haines won't officially complete his eighth professional baseball season -- much to his delight.

Haines, a relief pitcher for the Chicago Cubs' Class AAA affiliate in Des Moines, Iowa, was recently informed that he has been selected to be a part of the minor-league team that will represent the United States at the 2005 IBAF World Cup, set for Sept. 2-17 in The Netherlands.

Haines, a 1995 Central High School graduate, will depart the Des Moines Cubs following their game tonight. He'll return to Southeast Missouri to spend a few days with his family, then fly to New Jersey for some training this weekend before heading to The Netherlands.

"I'm really excited about it," Haines said. "They called me up and asked me if I wanted to play. I took a night to sleep on it, but I'm really looking forward to it."

Making Haines' decision pretty easy, he said, is that because he is not a member of the Cubs' 40-man roster, he was told by Chicago officials that there was virtually no chance he would be called up when major league rosters are allowed to be expanded Sept. 1.

"They told me I didn't have much of a chance [of getting called up]," Haines said. "They've got three or four other guys in Des Moines who were pitching pretty good and are on the 40-man roster, so they'll call those guys up before they call up a nonroster guy."

Haines, in his first year with the Cubs organization, is 2-1 with a 1.82 earned-run average at Des Moines, which finishes its season Sept. 5. The right-hander has primarily been used in middle relief.

Haines has put up consistently impressive numbers during his eight-year minor league career, with several strong stints in Class AAA. But he has yet to appear in the majors.

"It's definitely frustrating, but you can't really think about it or you'll get miserable," Haines said.

Anyway, the 28-year-old Haines is too fired up about playing in the World Cup to be disappointed about not getting called up.

"It's exciting," he said. "Sometimes in the minors leagues you're not always playing to win, teams are playing to develop players, but it will be nice to get over there and play for something."

Top minor league players not on 40-man rosters were selected for the U.S. team, although the 24-player squad has not yet been officially announced.

Davey Johnson, who managed the New York Mets to a World Series title in 1986, is the U.S. manager. The Americans begin World Cup play Sept. 4 vs. Colombia.

Cuba is the eight-time defending World Cup champion. The event, being contested for the 36th time, was last held in 2003, when the U.S. finished fifth. The Americans have not won the title since 1974.