The United States' showing was pathetic. Granted, it was much improved from the 2006 showing, and I'm glad we made it to the semi-finals, but in some ways I am also glad we lost. We do not deserve to be champions of this tournament, and we were out-played in every facet of the game by a superior Japan squad. Despite this, American baseball commentators, analysts, and players still don't seem to get the big picture. ESPN's own Joe Morgan, a respected player in his day and perhaps even more respected as an analyst, dismissed the Americans' lack of commitment saying that they are more focused on the season ahead.
The truth is, the Americans need get off their fucking pedestal and start appraoching this tournament like USA Basketball did the 2008 Olympics. Granted, this is only the second edition of the tournament, so it is very young and not as prestigious quite yet, but USA Baseball seriously needs to re-evaluate its approach. Many of the players--in particular Brian Roberts, Ryan Braun, and David Wright--showed the kind of attitude and commitment that the American team needs going forward, and that is country first above all else.
I know that the MLB teams are paying the bills for these guys, but you know what, most of the other teams are stacked with big league players as well and you don't see them whining about injuries or complaining about lack of 'work'. If you wanted work--I'm looking particularly at you Jeremy Guthrie and Kevin Youkilis--then stay in goddamn spring training. I admire Davey Johnson for the way he handled his players, but I think its time for a manager to step forward that really embraces what it means to represent the United States of America. I think players need a multiple-year commitment to train and work out together during the winter, especially in the months before the WBC. That'll cut down on injuries and make this much more of a team. If it takes leaving out MLB players that arn't totally committed, so be it. Bring in some prospects that really wanna be there; they will be the future of the majors anyway. We need more David Wrights and Ryan Brauns that want to be there, play for the country, and play through injuries just like they would in October. And lets set this straight right now-- the World Baseball Classic should be more important to these guys than the MLB Postseason. Again, the tournament is still young, but its growing incredibly fast and you already see what happens when a country is fully committed above all else (Japan, and even Korea and the Netherlands).
I'm tired of people talking about it like its a bunch of exihibition games. You don't see people saying that about the world cup. As much flak as David Beckham has been getting for shuffling his club committments, his priority above all else is the way he represents his England on the pitch, not Galaxy, not Milan, not Madrid, not whoever. He is proud of what he is playing for; we need a roster of those people on "Team USA". I wish I could take over the program, because the Americans really arn't taking advantage of this incredible thing which they had a huge part in establishing. One last note again goes back to what Joe Morgan said about the preparation for the MLB season being more important than performance in the WBC. He said these players were more concerned winning a "World Championship" in October. Sorry Joe, but while I've agreed in the past that the name fits the MLB championship because the best international players still play here, with the emergence of the WBC, it has been made moot. THIS is the world championship. THIS is where the best players in the world represent their countries and fight tooth and nail to be crowned the best. Except for in America, because we are too concerned with ourselves.
The rest of the world isn't just catching up, they are starting to fly past us, and we need to get our shit together. Though I do not want to discount the prestige that comes from winning a World Series and all the hard work that goes into that, ultimately it happens every year and is the culmination of club goals, not patriotism and being proud of a country. We, as a country, should be ashamed.
Congratulations to Japan for proudly representing their country and being able to preserve their title as the only World Champion to win the World Baseball Classic.
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