Believe it or not there are places in the world right now that are riveted by the WBC. Last year's championship between Japan and Cuba was as big in those respected nations as a Red Sox vs. Yankees playoff series is in Boston and New York. The players on those teams care just as much as well.
However this kind of competition isn't without problems. How can it be taken seriously when pitchers are held to pitch counts and many of the best players aren't partaking. Certainly team USA would be better with Roy Halladay, Jonathan Papelbon, Tim Lincecum, Cole Hamels, and C.C. Sabbathia on the pitching staff. Venezuela would be a far better team with Johan Santana and Carlos Zambrano as well. And imagine the already potent Dominican Republic lineup if it added Manny Ramirez and Albert Pujols?
These roster issues come from both the players themselves not caring (see Manny), and concern on part of the Major League teams (see Pujols). Most the players, especially non-USA players, will say that they take great pride in representing their country. Jose Reyes recently told WFAN's Mike Francesa (who says the WBC is not real competition) that to him the WBC is the same as playing in October. It's hard to believe that this is really the case, that MLB players with eight-digit salaries really take this March tournament in which they participate for free that seriously.
Whether or not the players care for the WBC, GMs and Managers certainly disdain it. Managers role their eyes when talking about the lack of time they get to spend with their entire team during spring training. This could be especially detrimental to developing pitcher-catcher relations or infield chemistry. Upper management cringes at the thought of a high priced player getting hurt, which in short is why Pujols isn't taking part. Venezuela manager Luis Sojo complained that he was given specific guidelines on how to use Felix Hernandez, which is why he had to throw him in relief against the pathetic Italian team because it was his day to pitch instead of using him in a 15-6 loss to USA.
On his blog, Curt Schilling trashed the WBC, "Without a season of conditioning you are tasked with ‘ramping it up’ at a time when slow methodical preparation is the norm," he said.
The bottom line is that the WBC is really an exhibition. The Major League pitchers are not at the top of their game and its hard to really take a game with a pitch count limit as seriously as Major League competition. However it is more fun to watch than spring training and for that I am a fan of it. Clearly for teams made up of non-Major League talent it means a lot more than for teams like the Dominican Republic and the USA. It offers a chance for unknown foreign talent to strut what they have. Before the fervor caused by the secret bidding for the rights to negotiate with Daisuke Matsuzaka a couple years ago, he came out as an international figure in leading Japan to its WBC title. This year look for Japan's 22-year-old ace Yu Darvish to cause a stir. Tickets are on sale for the final in L.A. on March 23 and I'd bet the house that Japan will be there. Prices start at $55. There is no way I'd throw down the cash to be there, but I'll certainly watch it on T.V.
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Well put. WBC definitely trumps watching half of your team trounce the local college team. I watched the US beat Canada, not really expecting more than a glorified exhibition, but there it was 9th inning, tying run on second, 2 outs, full count. I don't care if its october in Boston or march in Toronto, that was a great game. Did you see the 6'7 Quebecoise (Aumont) with a curveball that spun like a spiral? I don't know about you, but I usually don't follow Seattle's AA team. And Nederland beating the Dominican? Ugly, but still riveting to watch them hold on against the Yankees of the Caribbean. One complaint, when was the last time Randall Simon was spotted in the Hague?
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