This Is The Problem
Andy detailed his complaints with the WBC the other day because the Red Sox got Dustin Pedroia back hurt from the tournament. The Yankees also had two injured players, Robinson Cano and Damaso Marte. The good news is the injuries don't sound serious. The thing that bothers me is quotes like this one from Cano:
"The good thing is that it's only a few days. This is about your country. It's not about just going to play and have fun. I don't want to be one of those guys that they say, 'We needed you and you didn't want to play.' The good thing is that this didn't get worse. It's still the same and I'll be ready for Friday."
Now, I don't blame Cano for feeling that way. Wanting to represent your country and taking pride in doing so are admirable emotions, but the problem is that this tournament conflicts with Cano's regular job- playing second for the Yankees.
So, how do you reconcile the players' emotions and the needs of the clubs? First thing I would do is stop the WBC from happening in March. March is when players are getting ready for the season and it is not the time to play big pressure games. Pitchers are especially vulnerable as they are asked to ramp up and pitch big inninngs before they have really worked their arms into shape.
Ideally, the tournament would take place in October or November, but you can't ramp up after the season ended and you wouldn't want to compete with the World Series. If the owners really want this thing to work I think they need to do it midseason, maybe shortening the regular season to 154 games in WBC years. Instead of the All-Star Game hold the WBC and close MLB for a week. Cut down on the number of teams (Is Italy a real hotbed for baseball? Australia?) and play it out. It will never happen, but that is probably the way to do it.
What is not the way to do it is the way they are now. I want to get into this tournament but it is hard when you know that the best players are not all there. The box says the attendance at last night's U.S. game was 11,000, but I would be amazed if there were more than 3,000 people in the stands. Fans aren't stupid and they are not going to spend their money on a half-assed idea. MLB needs to either go all in on this or get out of this tournament entirely. It's a good idea that is poorly executed and we can only hope that a team doesn't lose a player to injury because of it.
