tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132588.post4345975407922900268..comments2023-09-11T10:35:26.165-04:00Comments on The Flagrant Fan: The WBC - A DebriefingWilliam J. Taskerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02313204947130235560noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132588.post-52128771334103591002009-03-23T12:11:00.000-04:002009-03-23T12:11:00.000-04:00"Give credit to the Japanese, but unless a team is..."Give credit to the Japanese, but unless a team is all in, why compete?"<BR/><BR/>Exactly. Japan and Korea gear up for this. The U.S. does not. All you need to do is look at the pitching staff. Ted Lilly is a 3rd or 4th starter on most MLB teams. If the U.S. were serious about winning, they'd have the best of the best. The aces of the aces. The horses. The stoppers. And they'd be in mid-season form. Not still stretching their arms out and trying to locate their fastballs. <BR/><BR/>If the U.S. is going to half ass it with its roster and its preparation, there's really no sense in even playing. But at the same time, you can't force the Sabathias and the Sizemores to play if they don't want to. There's the rub.<BR/><BR/>The pressure on the manager about playing time is also a good point. Jeter made a costly error late in yesterday's game that Rollins would not have made. <BR/><BR/>"We already have a World Baseball Classic. It's called Major League Baseball and the world's best baseball players already compete there."<BR/><BR/>Well put.Josh Borensteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17418664151302692734noreply@blogger.com