...people get all up in arms about players participating in the WBC.
Don't get me wrong - I didn't just fall off the ol' turnip truck, I understand that there is a real risk of injury that comes with playing in the tournament. But the WBC is a unique experience that any player should be thrilled to be a part of and it's no wonder so many of them do anything they can to get on their country's roster. This is an opportunity to play on a world stage, against the best of the best from all corners of the Earth (believe it or not, the USA is not the only country in the world and MLB players are not the only guys that can play baseball). While it may sound cheese-tastic there's no denying the fact that there's something special about seeing all these different countries uniting to show off their skills. Plus, the players play with passion and heart, having fun in a way we don't see often enough - particularly as Yankees fans!
The rosters were announced this evening, and several Yanks (and Bernie!) are playing for a wide variety of teams:
Cano, Robinson DOM
Cervelli, Francisco ITA
Jeter, Derek USA
Liu, Kai CHN
Marte, Damaso DOM
Ramirez, Edwar DOM
Rodriguez, Alex DOM
Vazquez, Jorge MEX
Veras, Jose DOM
Zhang, Zhenwang CHN
Of course it would crush me to see my dear A-Roid or the Jeet get injured, and I certainly understand why guys like AJ Burnett would choose to opt out of the Classic in favor of the tried-and-true ST regimine. For those that want to play, though, they deserve our support! I'm looking at you, Girardi - quit your bitching, buy a WBC hat, and get in the spirit.
Well, scratch Ramirez off the list due to shoulder soreness. (bursitis I think) Scratch Veras too, but for much better reasons; "I just want to be here working for my spot and do my best to give the team a chance to win the game..." I'm guessing the Cash-Stein loved that one.
ReplyDeleteKUDOS Brett Gardner!!!! Lead off homer to start spring right, and the competition begins. I love the Melk Man but I am pulling for Gardner on this one. As any who knows me or has read anything I've written knows I think we need pure speed in the line up.
It is interesting to note that one of the main objective of the WBC is to promote baseball to the rest of the world by having it played internationally.
ReplyDeleteIt probably isn't going to work. cricket had been having high level international matches for ages. And it never expanded beyond the few commonwealth countries who are obsessed with it.
I think that the best the WBC could achieve in the long run is heightening baseball popularity in the countries where it is already popular, including the United States.
This is true because there is competitive balance at the international level with baseball, while there a complete lack of in basketball and American football.
The WBC, another idiotic idea by Bud Selig, right there with having the All-Star game decide home field advantage for the World Series. If one of our key players suffers a season-ending injury in this bs of a tournament I'm going to be absolutely livid.
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