classic

Today I got my first healthy dose of the World Baseball Classic--also my first healthy dose of baseball since the end of last season. I've seen bits and pieces of the WBC here and there, but the first round was on at all weird hours it seemed, and I never was in front of a TV when the games were going on. I wasn't one of the many under the impression that this tournament is a dumb idea. Quite the contrary. Spring Training games are boring as piss, and, being a foaming at the mouth consumer of all things baseball, the thought of having a couple extra weeks of real, competitive games made me kinda tingly in my unmentionables.

First off, haters better recognize. If you think this tourney is bullshit, you haven't been watching the games. If you think the players are dogging it out there and not giving it their all, you're sadly mistaken. And the fans are ultra stoked. The game between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic wasn't close, but the stadium (Hiram Bithorn in San Juan) was rocking, and any time you can see Big Papi Ortiz and Albert Pujols bat back to back, you're seeing something special. And I was happy to see my boy Beltran smack a homer.

After that, I watched Mexico v. Korea, which was one hell of a game. Korea won 2-1 thanks to Seong Yeop Lee's first inning lazer beam of a two-run homer. I really enjoyed watching players I've never seen before and also watching those who aren't featured prominently in the bigs anymore (like Korean pitcher Chan Ho Park) get some time in the spotlight. I found it hard to choose which team to cheer for because I want to retire to Mexico one day, and if it were up to me, I'd be taking my Korean Bride with me. I ended up opting for Korea, because I like a lot of their movies and I'd heard of fewer of their players. I hope that still entitles me to burritos.

The game went down to the wire and though there wasn't much hitting, there were tons of web gems, especially by Mexico, and personally, I love a good pitching battle. I was bummed, however, that I missed the Japan v. USA game earlier today. USA won thanks to an Alex Rodriguez single in the ninth inning and what had to be the worst call in the WBC's history (granted, it's on the first year). Personally, I think the fix is in. The US team's been playing like shit the whole tournament. They even lost to Canada. And I'm sure the powers that be have told the umps to go easy on them. This is where I'm in a bit of a conundrum with the WBC. While I'm all gung ho for the US when it comes to the Olympics, seeing as I only give a shit about snow boarding or discus throwing once every four years, I have a much more vested interest in our nation's pastime. That being said, there are players on the US team that I have issues with: Chipper Jones can go fuck himself; Roger Clemmens is a shit eating hick, and the only person I ever wished injury on; A-Rod and Derek Jeter are bitch-ass Yankees, which automatically only puts them one small step lower than Adolph Hitler and, well, Chipper Jones and Roger Clemmens, on the people I despise list. How can I chant "USA!" when Chipper Jones is at the plate when really all I want is for the pitcher, any pitcher, to hit him upside the mouth with a fastball? Therefore, though it kinda pains me to do so, it looks like it's Korea (and/or Mexico) all the way. Maybe next time they'll consult me before they put together our national team.