Team USA clearly “wants” to win judging from the pride and joy they’re displaying on the field. Off the field however, when the same players are making comments as if they would play through it if it were a midsummer, regular season game, then it proves that this apparent pride and joy they’re displaying is really only skin deep. Being that this is only the 2nd time this event takes place, each team still has to figure out how best to prepare and assemble their roster, there’s still a learning curve at play. I think it’s fair to say that Team USA is lagging far behind the opponents in their pre-tournament preparation and conditioning. There’s nothing stopping American players from playing winter ball in a Mexican or Caribbean league. There’s nothing stopping them from assembling the team in January and going on a barnstorming exhibition schedule a month prior to the tournament. I’m not saying they should do that, they’re just ideas, but we’re not seeing many ideas from Team USA. Sure, once that first pitch is thrown they want to win, but they don’t seem to be putting their time and effort into this tournament the way the others teams are.

Baseball players do work out all season long. That became a reality since the time Mickey Mantle retired! If there was an off-season exercise program Chipper could enter to avoid any and all muscle pulls then you can bet your bottom dollar he’d rush to do it!

Baseball is the type of sport that requires a spring training period to limber up. But it’s also a sport that wears the body down with its daily grind. You cannot play the sport year round, especially at Chipper’s age. Spring training is a purely controlled environment. Since the games don’t count the manager and pitching coach can play their stars sparingly to prevent injury.

In the WBC, the games carry prestige and the players do care. Therefore, they are busting it with greater vigor and effort at precisely the time they are supposed to be easing into the season in controlled and limited play.

The flaw with the WBC is that it is being played at the worst possible time for MLB players. It took a lot of arm-twisting from Selig to convince the owners and GM’s to go along with his marketing effort. The WBC is a great concept played at the wrong time.

Likely the best idea is to give up the first week of regular season, form the team after the end of spring training, and for the first two weeks of regular season play the entire WBC. Do it every four years like soccer’s World Cup. For those years only go from a 163 game schedule down to a 150 game schedule with the balance 13 games belonging to the WBC.

If you don’t like the event, then don’t watch it, I won’t try to talk you into watching if you won’t try to talk me out of watching. However, don’t give me this senseless argument that the games are meaningless when the ones you’re arguing in support of are 1/162nd of the final standings.

One last thought, is it any coincidence that the one country whose players DON’T play winter ball are the ones getting hurt? The Caribbean and Asian teams aren’t losing players left and right, they actually stayed in game shape instead of starting their spring workouts one week earlier. These players are buffoons if they think they can start practice a week ahead of the first game, and expect to be in fine enough game shape and have any realistic expectation to win. Don’t blame the games for Chipper or Pedroia getting hurt, blame those two for not working out all winter like their opponents.

Jeff: The female demographic of your readership — evidently a greater percentage than I expected — minces no words, takes no prisoners. Feisty grrls! Me likum that very much.