Let me begin by saying that I prefer the World Baseball Classic over spring training games any day of the week.
That said, this is a competition in need of some tweaking.
Now I realize that the WBC is not designed for my enjoyment. Or yours.
It’s designed to get kids in China, Italy and Holland to pick up a baseball glove. And it’s probably doing a good job in that regard.
But if you want it to pull in good TV ratings and hold the interest of your core audience (read: Americans), here’s what needs to happen:
1. Move it to November – I don’t want my World Series games lingering past October, but I’d have no issue with the WBC running in November. Having it in March causes conflict with spring training camps, which gives players too much to think about. It would also help us…
2. Eliminate pitch limits – In November, it wouldn’t be necessary to have these ridiculous pitch limits. And ditch the extra-inning rule that puts two runners on in the 13th. What is this? Little League?
3. Make it mandatory – I know that this will never happen, but MLB.com’s Seth Everett had a great idea. Put a personal services clause in every contract that makes participation mandatory. If it’s in November and the games are being played either someplace warm or under a dome, I want the best players there. It’s hard for me to take this event seriously when Joel Hanrahan is taking the ball for Team USA.
Tags: world baseball classic
The Sports Page 
March 12, 2009 at 2:45 pm |
Hanrahan of the Marion Swamp Foxes?
March 13, 2009 at 1:40 pm |
He’s good enough to play for me, just not Team USA material…
March 16, 2009 at 1:26 pm |
Our position players come close to being our best, but our pitching staff is not even close. Lincecum, Lidge, Papelbon, Lee, Hamels, Halladay, and Sabathia all jump out as being missing. Some starters and closers would have to pitch the middle innings but they do it in the all-star game so it shouldn’t be a problem.
The timing is terrible for major league pitchers because they are just beginning to build their arm strength and regain their command as witnessed by Peavy and Oswalt’s struggles. To be fair to all countries the timing of it would have to flucuate because I heard them say yesterday that Cuba is at the mid-point of their season.
Another issue is that we aren’t committed to winning. Peavy got shelled and he was left in until he got in the number of pitches prescribed for his preseason regimen. Any other country would have yanked his butt long before then. Schmidt coaching third has looked like a circus at times. Being able to plat third doesn’t make you able to coach it. Roberts should have easily scored on a passed ball last night but was caught flatfooted.
I would like to see our best, in midseason form, play a 7-game series against Japan who, because of the depth of their pitching staff, looks like the favorite to win it again.
March 17, 2009 at 5:08 pm |
Your prediction for tonight, redemption or expulsion?
March 19, 2009 at 10:55 am |
Well, I would have said expulson, so I would have been wrong.
The injuries are piling up.
I can’t imagine who we’ll have on the roster for the semis…
March 23, 2009 at 10:46 am |
[…] a few more ideas about how to fix the WBC, go to Randy Capps’ blog; this post from March 12 is awesome (with some Flagan help, […]