It's Not A Classic. Yet.

The World Baseball Classic is set to begin in less than a week. However, without a single pitch being thrown the international tournament is being met with yawns and complaints. I completely understand where the negativity is coming from, a large portion of the concern is justified, but I just can't by into it.

On the heels of the Winter Olympics, I understand that the average American sports fan probably isn't going to be in the mood for another international event. I can even comprehend why the average baseball fan isn't embracing the WBC. Baseball just doesn't have much international history to build on. (We all have fond memories of Ben Sheets stirring Olympic performance, don't we?) What little it does have is confined to amateur baseball which few people watch. In light of that, the collective apathy on display here in the United States is perfectly understandable.

The doomsayers, and there are plenty, have points of merit, as well. Could a player be seriously injured? Of course. Could losing a star cost a team it's chance at a World Series? Yes. Do all the players really want to play? Do they even want participate that much in a normal Spring Training environment? Of course, not. Is the event diminished because pitchers will be on pitch counts? Yes, it does.

Could the event be held at a better time of the year? Absolutely. I think between Thanksgiving and Christmas would be my first choice--marketing opportunities abound between the holidays (sell those Netherlands jerseys) and with college football winding down there is television time available. Are the rules regarding eligibility fuzzy to the point of being absurd? Yeah, probably, but does anyone think those Olympic downhill skiers from tropical locales are really living on an island most of the year?

Could Major League Baseball's initial foray into international competition been better constructed? Certainly, but to paraphrase a famous sailorman, the WBC is what it is. It's the inaugural event. It's a trial run. It's, hopefully, a warm-up for a bigger, better event down the road. It is, as many have accurately pointed out, much closer to an exhibition series. Again, the WBC is what it is--a Spring Training game.

After spending four paragraphs reviewing a partial list of objections, and agreeing with them, why do I still like this event? I like baseball. That's fairly well document around here. I like international events, too. Canada Cup hockey. World Cup soccer. Olympics--summer and winter. I watch them all. Put baseball and international competition together? What's not to like?

Oh, I admit there is a less positive side, but some of it's overblown. Players can get hurt, but they get hurt all the time. Some are injured falling down stairs or fishing. Would I like to see the eligibility rules more clearly defined? I guess so, but Steve Yzerman could have played for Canada in the Olympics if he chose to. Mr. Yzerman is now a United States citizen. Yet, I would not have lost sleep over Stevie Y. playing with a Maple Leaf on his jersey anymore than I am offended at Mike Piazza donning an Italy cap.

There are problems without a doubt. Yet, I think we are getting the cart before the horse. This isn't on the level of World Cup soccer by any means. Yeah, MLB's marketing arm is trying to shove it down our throats to a point, but let's keep this first one in perspective. Let's see what happens, both good and bad, and then draw some conclusions. I have limited expectations from this years WBC, but from my vantage point, I still see this tournament becoming significant.

All this event needs is history behind it. Rivalries need to be formed. Games need to be won in miraculous fashion and painful, perhaps, controversial losses need to occur. What the WBC needs most is passion. Right now, fans in the States just don't have an emotional investment. That kind of intensity, one which fuels debate over team selection and drives up television ratings, can only be built over time. This first WBC is just the platform on which that emotion will be built.

Now, you are probably still not willing to jump on board. That's fine. I expect to take this voyage alone. Baseball fans have over one hundred years of club baseball in their bloodstream. I don't expect you to suddenly toss your baseball priorities to your favorite MLB team to the curb, grab the old Stars and Stripes and embrace something that's in it's infancy. Of course, there are some folks who are more than warming up to WBC I.

Other nations, perhaps, all other nations in this tournament are geeked up about this. No, I don't mean their players. (Although, I suspect some of the players are, too.) I mean their fans. I've read where a number of foreign players are being pressured into playing. Fans in those countries embrace baseball, international competition and a chance at knocking off the U.S.A. at its own game. They expect their biggest stars to play. While they can continue to back-out, that strategy will only help them if their countrymen succeed. Fail, and those that took a pass might be under a bit more pressure next time around.

If you can't get behind some simple patriotism/jingoism (your choice), then, perhaps, I can get you to root for the success of the WBC for another reason. For all the things Bud Selig has done to annoy even the most casual baseball observer, in starting the WBC, he's done the right thing. Why? Because baseball really is an international sport. I've grown weary of hearing that it's not.

Just because Europeans are quite at the same level as Latin or Asian countries doesn't mean the Euros don't play or the sport isn't global. This isn't 1940. Participants are no longer limited to people living east of the Mississippi River and west of the Atlantic Ocean. I find this downplaying of baseball global appeal just a bit condescending. It's not global if the Europeans aren't good at it? No, it isn't as widely played as soccer, but baseball has reached beyond the U.S. Far beyond.

Another good reason to get behind this idea is that it takes money out of the pockets of the International Olympic Committee. It also annoys them (which delights me). The IOC wants baseball, but only if MLB stops it's regular season and plays during the Summer Games. They've been trying to blackmail Selig and USA Baseball for years--no MLB players, no baseball in the Olympics.

Sure enough, when a comprise wasn't reached, and the WBC appeared to be a reality, the IOC kicked baseball aside. To make matters worse, the IOC got so mad at MLB for denying the Olympic's superiority that they tossed out softball from the games, too. Why hurt the women because MLB players won't go? Because they are a spiteful, greedy lot. That's why.

So, while you might not like the timing of the WBC, remember it could be mid-July in China. The IOC could be making the money, too. Thanks to Selig's refusal to backdown from the IOC, we get the WBC. That alone should make everyone wish for the event to prosper.

All I ask is that you enter this event with an open mind. Don't raise your expectations beyond a reasonable level. Yes, pitchers will be on short leash. Yes, somebody may get injured. However, we might get some fairly entertaining baseball and the beginnings of something much better. It may not deserve the Classic tag, yet, but let's give it time.