The Real Problem with the WBC

(Note: Somebody lit a fire under Young Sip's ass today, and what that means for you is he's written two articles. The first concerns the World Baseball Classic, the second the ongoing Larry Brown-Stephon Marbury saga. Enjoy.)

So I gotta admit it. Seeing Korea beat the Japanese, giving the US a chance to advance meant something to me. I followed the results along ESPN's bottom line; I was a fan. So when Korea won I was kind of happy. I'm pulling for the US despite their intense Yankeeness.

But still the WBC is pissing me off. Why?

Call me crazy or call me a fanatic, but Spring Training used to mean something to me, and to a lot of other baseball fans as well.

Me and my buddies used to get really fired up for Mets Spring Training baseball. I can remember back two years during my senior year of college. It was the first year of the Reyes-Matsui experiment at the top of the lineup. Goat, Kenny From Camp and I were all very excited.

Last year, I took a trip down to Port St Lucie, my first time down in lo these many years, to watch my favorite team, the Mets, and my second favorite team, the Indians, square off in a heated Spring Training showdown.

Just like this year, I projected those as my two World Series teams.

Beltran went ding dong on a 3-0 count and even Ramon Castro, the clubhouse clown and a dark horse for my top 5 favorite Mets, went yard.



The day was perfect and all the excitement that I had built up for the day was met.

But this year things have changed, and they have changed for one reason: The WBC.

All of a sudden Spring Training games are less than they used to be, when you would potentially catch 3-4 regulars a day. Now, the Mets, minus 6 regulars, look like the Old Mets aka, not a roster full of stars.

Spring Training is completely out of the mix. Clubhouse reports on SportsCenter have been replaced by WBC coverage. And so it is that there are times when I forget that the Jewish Christmas is just 3 weeks away.

So yes, I've been tuning into the WBC a bit of late, both for Team USA and my adopted home team, Republica Dominicana, but I remain dissatisfied.

March is the month for us to watch college basketball and get excited for the Major League season. This WBC is just interrupting.

Truth is, I'm enjoying it. The first round I thought was boring, but now that we are with the best teams, it is TV worthy (note: I consider reruns of Married With Children on FX Must See TV, so maybe other people wouldn't call me a proper arbiter of quality).

However, as most baseball fans seem to agree, this is an event that is meant to take place in November.

People will still be oozing baseball as opposed to feeling the need to get ready for it. After all, it is a long season and it takes preparation and discipline to be able to endure it.

So WBC in March, RIP. I'd much rather be watching Spring Training and Point Break on Encore.

Imagine, however, a November with basketball just starting, football on Sundays and the WBC featuring the best players in the world, with pitchers pitching on full pitch counts and every player in the game excited to participate.

All of a sudden, the Classic is a classic. That I'm buying.

VCD,

SM