Ah The World Baseball Classic ……….
Well this quadrennial event much like the Miss America and Miss Universe pageants. When it comes creating a hullabaloo this may well be the one sporting event that by its very own creation may well be about as relevant as the pageants mentioned themselves.

The only thing is whereby the participants of the pageants seek something of relevance at the end of the day . The World Baseball Classic only seeks to apportion some sort of credibility to a game that as of late has shot itself in the foot more times than one would care to mention.

And it certainly hasn’t bode well for the game domestically that its hierarchy has been about as proactive in dealing with many of its problems about as much as the Federal government has been in dealing with the current economic crisis. The game’s most prominent star domestically is under a cloud of suspicion and his actions as of late have been deplorable. And now comes word that he’s curtailed his availability for his national side, the Dominican Republic. What makes Alex Rodriguez’s actions even more suspicious at this juncture is his every move thus far has been orchestrated in order to amass degree of sympathy from the public. Hip injury or not and with allegations still surrounding and his steroid use. Could it be that this might’ve been borne out of his of the illecit substances ?

As to the event itself if it is to be the showcase that Major League Baseball anticipates and that of the game’s international governing body. Then the game’s major stars who are representing the various international concerns will have to step up to the plate and make sure that this event is a memorable one to say the very least.

The event itself has already started and we’ve already witnessed a surprise with the Netherlands defeating the Dominican Republic 3-2. They were viewed as the presumptive favorites to win the competition outright. But then again the US team was also viewed as a presumptive favorite at the Classic’s inception. And we can all remember how badly the competition went for the team can’t we ?

The United States’ team makes its formal entry today with a game against Canada. And it’s being viewed with a great deal of expectancy. Its roster is filled with a litany of All Stars and they’re expected to overcome the play of the northern counterparts with some ease. But as we’ve already seen anything can happen and will. We’ve already had a number of players saying that “ they’re playing with and for the pride of their country” . It’s not something that ought to be undermined but in reality for many of these players it’ll be the only opportunity that they’ll ever get to play at this level and infront of a viewership on this grand a scale.
