World Baseball Classic

I just want to state, before I begin, for all the meteorologists out there reading this post, please know that you should stop overreacting to weather reports. If you go on a rant about how we are about to get a giant blizzard that will dump at least 7-14 inches of snow and essentially knock out everything in town, you better be damn sure we get at least those 7 inches of snow and I have at least have one cancelled class. You've been warned.

Now on to the actual column…
“Why does [the World Baseball Classic] exist? The players and fans (for the most part) aren't interested…all the tournament does is screw up spring training and throw players off their normal preseason routine.”

That is a direct quote from me circa 10 days ago. Turns out I’m an idiot (but you probably already knew that.)

The fact is I have underestimated the World Baseball Classic. The games I have watched have actually been entertaining, and the teams seem to be legitimately interested in winning.

The reason for this is simple. Teams, instead of concerning themselves with building the best team statistically, are building around players that buy into the team concept. People seem to think the “elite” players aren’t taking part, but the reality is they are. It’s just that the “elite” players are also “gamers.”

Now I know I am throwing out a lot of "terms," but my point is, the key to winning this tournament isn’t putting together a team of superstars. It is putting together a team of players who actually care. Obviously talent matters, but having an interested David Wright is far better than having an apathetic A-Rod (if he were healthy. Also, Apathetic A-Rod should be the name of a band, if it isn’t already).

The fact is, creating a winning team is different than creating the best team statistically.

Real baseball isn’t the same as fantasy baseball.

Here, for example, is what my United States starting lineup would look like in a perfect world (assuming all parties were healthy):

C: Joe Mauer (Yes, this is a complete homer pick.)
1B: Kevin Youkilis
2B: Chase Utley
3B: David Wright
SS: Jimmy Rollins
LF: Ryan Braun
CF: Grady Sizemore
RF: Josh Hamilton
DH: Adam Dunn

Now, before you jump on the Adam Dunn pick, realize three things:
1. He is underrated.
2. He seems legitimately excited to be playing in the WBC.
3. He is a prototypical DH in that he is suspect defensively, and all he does is hit home runs.

As for the rest of the lineup, guess how many from my list aren’t on the actual roster. Only four.
1. Joe Mauer
2. Chase Utley
3. Grady Sizemore
4. Josh Hamilton

Of those four players, two were, in fact, on the original roster (Mauer and Sizemore) but dropped out due to injury, one had off season surgery (Utley), and one is basically living in the body of a 75 year old because of all the crack he did (Hamilton).

(Not to make fun of Hamilton, but after all the years of drug abuse it is hard to imagine what kind of shape his body is in internally. Point being, you can't blame the man for saving himself for the regular season.)

Everyone is making the argument that team USA isn't bringing the best players, and citing this as the reason the WBC will never work, but the reality is team USA is bringing the best players for this tournament. The 2006 team included players like Roger Clemens and Alex Rodriguez. That is like unleashing a throng of high class hookers with syphilis on the clubhouse and hoping the rest of the team doesn’t get infected. It’s not going to happen.

Now things do get a little dicey when you look at the United States pitching (No Hamels, Webb, Halladay, or Tim “Line-of-cum”?) but with the way pitchers are babied nowadays, you can’t blame them for passing on the WBC. They have to get their work in and get “stretched out” for the season. Now, whether this is a valid excuse is a whole other debate, but in the current baseball culture you can’t blame the pitchers for buying into this philosophy.

Now obviously the WBC isn’t perfect, and I’m not saying I am 100% on board with the concept, but I have enjoyed the games – more than I would be enjoying random spring training games, as I previously stated – and, the fact is, this really is the best time of year to hold the tournament. Plus the players seem legitimately excited.

This doesn’t mean I’m intensely rooting for team USA, or becoming a rabid fan of the WBC, but it is nice to watch relatively meaningful games in March. And, the fact of the matter is, people who claim the USA isn’t fielding a top notch roster, need to reevaluate what exactly “top-notch” means.

I know, because that is exactly what I did.

-Juice

[UPDATE: Watch the highlights of the Dominican Republic Vs. Netherlands and then tell me teams don't care. Yeah, that's what I thought.]