Well Spring was fun while it lasted. No not the snow, the WBC.
15 Mets out of camp. Fifteen.
No small names. OverReyes (always good to put him in a show-off environment), Wright, Delgado, and Beltran.
Wondering if Alex Cora can push Castillo? You’ll have to wait. Cora’s out of camp.
Wondering if Jerry can craft a bullpen? So is Jerry, but he’ll have to do it without K-Rod, Putz, Feliciano and Figueroa.
I don’t get it. Nobody cares about this thing, why have it?
www.metspolice.com
To say that *nobody* cares about this thing is not quite true. As a baseball fan from the UK, I find that the first thing people say when you bring up the sport is 'oh, that's an American thing. Why would you care about that?' It's as if you are betraying cricket or something!
Matt Smith writes for the Baseball GB Blog and summarizes quite well why the WBC is important internationally:
http://www.baseballgb.co.uk/?p=1825
What is good for baseball around the world will in the long run be good for MLB (since all players of any quality gravitate to the States.)
Take the two players signed by the Pirates last year from India:
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090220&content_id=3854160&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
With over a billion people, promoting baseball in India could see more new talent make its way to the majors. I think the WBC is integral to that effort, especially now that baseball is no longer an Olympic sport.
I agree that it could be held at a better time than during spring training, but that still wouldn't resolve the problems of franchise fans worrying about the potential injuries their players could sustain playing for their country. Nevertheless, I think the benefits of the WBC outway the disadvantages.