Pleasing Bud

World Baseball Classic? What the hell is the World Baseball classic? This tournament was baseballs attempt to the IOC Olympic committee telling them to shove it for eliminating baseball and softball in the Olympics.

Now I am a pretty big baseball fan but what the hell is the baseball classic. I mean kids grow dreaming of winning the World Series not the World baseball classic.

I watch sports, I bet on sports and I even attempt to play sports but am I really desperate enough to watch this marketing ploy. I mean I am not one of those pathetic losers that try to capture my youth or cling onto a dream that I never had a chance or ability to play in. I live in reality and clinging on to my last stands of hair or playing a game that I really have no use playing is one of the saddest things ever. If I ever become of those people just take me out to the back of Beaver Brook Farms (my friend’s barn) and shoot me.

I mean kids dream about game 7 World Series or going to play baseball for a NCAA colleges like Arizona or UCLA not the baseball classic.

Ever since Bud Selig first announced that baseball would hold its own version of the world Cup, the professional skeptics who are the baseball writers, have dedicated forests to blasting the notion.

If Bud Selig wants to highlight baseball, maybe start by cleaning up the drugs in baseball or making you athletes more accessible. Out of all the major sports baseball players are the most arrogant and non-accommodating. MLB should look at the NHL or NACAR driver.

I mean Bud Selig is one step from looking like Skeletor. This guy is so blind to the real problems of baseball he has to create this made up pseudo tournament.

First off – anything Uncle Bud comes up with deserves intense scrutiny considering his almost perfectly consistent inconsistency. Also, baseball – a North American invention – was clearly attempting to mimic soccer’s international success. That’s even after North American fans have demonstrated again and again that they would rather be kicked in the head than embrace anything to do with soccer.

Then there was the timing, March, when baseball players are supposed to be in training. As in, the hitters won’t be very good – and the pitchers won’t be able to last longer than an inning. This tournament is non competitive as the pitchers have pitch count they can not exceed.
Another kick at the tournament is who wasn’t going. The likes of Vladamir Guerrero, Manny Ramirez, Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling, Billy Wagner, Mark Prior, Mark Mulder, Jose Vidro, Tim Hudson, Melvin Mora, Barry Zito, Roy Halladay, Hideki Matsui, Gary Sheffield, CC Sabathia and John Smoltz, are all in absentia.

Not all teams are embracing Selig’s international adventure either. The Yankees posted a sign at their spring training facility apologizing to their snowbird fans for the absence of stars including Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon. Hey, I wonder if George Steinbrenner will post an apology at Yankees stadium for not winning a World Series in five seasons – despite having spent more than half a billion dollars in the attempt?

Yet Selig insisted this marketing ploy to grow the game globally would work. A few days in – he may just be right

Even though I can’t even look at Selig (I might turn into stone) this is working.
Combine those three after a long hard winter, and falling just after the Olympics, where nationalism reigned supreme and we fans long for another taste for it, even Selig would be hard pressed to blow it. The ticket sales are surprisingly good and those who are going to the games appear to be having a blast.

Seeing 30,000 Mexican’s going nuts over their team after they lost a close one to the heavily favored American’s was one. I mean after that game I went to “run for the boarder” Another was South Africa almost taking out Canada. And just yesterday there was the “Miracle on Grass” (sorry Lake Placid) as Canada beat the mighty Americans.

The next scheduled “Classic” is set for 2009.

Maybe you should start thinking about booking your tickets now as I am hooked
Maybe we all have to get on our knee and have go to town on Bud cause this man as a genius and whatever Bud wants he seems to get