DUNEDIN,
Fla. - The theory that there's no such thing as bad publicity would
certainly seem to apply to the World Baseball Classic.
The third edition of the WBC, which has battled to establish relevance in the USA, had a watershed moment of sorts Saturday night when a brawl between Mexico and Canada marred the conclusion of the Canadians' 9-3 victory. Suddenly, the brainchild of Bud Selig was at the forefront of social media and highlight shows.
Even still, Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista said Sunday morning, the fisticuffs were not worth the bump in attention.
"A fight for this tournament is not good," Bautista said Sunday morning. "No matter who it is, and no matter what it was about. You never want to see guys get into fights because the possibility of injury exists."
But the melee - which actually included punches thrown and not mere grandstanding - and today's loser-go-home match pitting Canada against Team USA served to highlight both the upside and flaws of the WBC.
The passion often seen in pools involving clubs from Latin America was on full display at Phoenix's Chase Field for Mexico-Canada.
But one of the possible underlying reasons for the brawl - a desire for Team Canada to improve its run differential due to a possible tiebreaker with Team USA - ran afoul of the game's unwritten rules. The brawl was precipitated by Canadian catcher Chris Robinson's bunt single in the ninth inning of a 9-3 game already chippy thanks to Robinson's hard slides at second base.
The WBC announced there would be no disciplinary action for the fight.
"I thought it was uncalled for what he did," Bautista said of Robinson's bunt. "Especially after having two bad slides at second base."
And even today's highly anticipated USA-Canada game is tempered by the competitive realities of staging the event in spring training.
"I hate to sound like sour grapes, but you know for a fact the (pitchers) starting for the United States are not ready to be at their optimal (shape)," said veteran utilityman Mark DeRosa, a member of Team USA in the 2009 WBC. "When I played in '09, you had Jake Peavy and Roy Oswalt, two of the game's greats, not throwing the ball above 90 mph at the time. That's just the way it is, in spring training.
"You
know what you're getting from them April to October, but spring
training, it's kind of tough to ask a guy to temper the adrenaline he'll
feel pitching in an environment like that."
Said Bautista: "I'm not one to make the rules, but I think everybody would agree - players, and organizers - that something is not working. They'll sit down and figure it out and come up with a better way to set up the tournament, whether that's the timing, the length, whatever it is. But everybody would be in agreement, I think, because of all the comments and things floating around that things aren't perfect."
After Saturday's brawl, today's Canada-USA game could serve as another pivotal moment for the North American end of the event.
Sunday morning, the brawl was the lead story on the Toronto Star's web site, trumping the Maple Leafs' game result. Canada thumping the U.S. at its national pastime would be similarly huge, says Blue Jays starter Ricky Romero.
Romero is uniquely equipped to lend perspective to the event; he's played in Toronto for four seasons, was raised in Los Angeles and is Mexican-American. He was disappointed to turn down an invite to play for Team Mexico because of injury reasons.
He also knows today's result may set Canada atwitter.
"In a country where hockey is dominant, and it's the No. 1 sport, I feel like all eyes will be on that game today," he said. "Especially since it's against the USA, and what's at stake, to go to the next round. It will be a fun game to watch for both countries."
Bautista agrees. Several Blue Jays were chattering about when and where to watch the game, a departure from the WBC's usual spot in the pecking order of clubhouse relevance.
"It's a game that's going to bring a number of rivalries out," he said. "Canada and the U.S. have had an number of rivalries that go back years in a broad number of sports, even beyond sports.
"I'm sure everybody will have that competitive edge. I'll be wanting to watch it, for sure."
The third edition of the WBC, which has battled to establish relevance in the USA, had a watershed moment of sorts Saturday night when a brawl between Mexico and Canada marred the conclusion of the Canadians' 9-3 victory. Suddenly, the brainchild of Bud Selig was at the forefront of social media and highlight shows.
Even still, Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista said Sunday morning, the fisticuffs were not worth the bump in attention.
"A fight for this tournament is not good," Bautista said Sunday morning. "No matter who it is, and no matter what it was about. You never want to see guys get into fights because the possibility of injury exists."
But the melee - which actually included punches thrown and not mere grandstanding - and today's loser-go-home match pitting Canada against Team USA served to highlight both the upside and flaws of the WBC.
The passion often seen in pools involving clubs from Latin America was on full display at Phoenix's Chase Field for Mexico-Canada.
But one of the possible underlying reasons for the brawl - a desire for Team Canada to improve its run differential due to a possible tiebreaker with Team USA - ran afoul of the game's unwritten rules. The brawl was precipitated by Canadian catcher Chris Robinson's bunt single in the ninth inning of a 9-3 game already chippy thanks to Robinson's hard slides at second base.
The WBC announced there would be no disciplinary action for the fight.
"I thought it was uncalled for what he did," Bautista said of Robinson's bunt. "Especially after having two bad slides at second base."
And even today's highly anticipated USA-Canada game is tempered by the competitive realities of staging the event in spring training.
"I hate to sound like sour grapes, but you know for a fact the (pitchers) starting for the United States are not ready to be at their optimal (shape)," said veteran utilityman Mark DeRosa, a member of Team USA in the 2009 WBC. "When I played in '09, you had Jake Peavy and Roy Oswalt, two of the game's greats, not throwing the ball above 90 mph at the time. That's just the way it is, in spring training.
Said Bautista: "I'm not one to make the rules, but I think everybody would agree - players, and organizers - that something is not working. They'll sit down and figure it out and come up with a better way to set up the tournament, whether that's the timing, the length, whatever it is. But everybody would be in agreement, I think, because of all the comments and things floating around that things aren't perfect."
After Saturday's brawl, today's Canada-USA game could serve as another pivotal moment for the North American end of the event.
Sunday morning, the brawl was the lead story on the Toronto Star's web site, trumping the Maple Leafs' game result. Canada thumping the U.S. at its national pastime would be similarly huge, says Blue Jays starter Ricky Romero.
Romero is uniquely equipped to lend perspective to the event; he's played in Toronto for four seasons, was raised in Los Angeles and is Mexican-American. He was disappointed to turn down an invite to play for Team Mexico because of injury reasons.
"In a country where hockey is dominant, and it's the No. 1 sport, I feel like all eyes will be on that game today," he said. "Especially since it's against the USA, and what's at stake, to go to the next round. It will be a fun game to watch for both countries."
Bautista agrees. Several Blue Jays were chattering about when and where to watch the game, a departure from the WBC's usual spot in the pecking order of clubhouse relevance.
"It's a game that's going to bring a number of rivalries out," he said. "Canada and the U.S. have had an number of rivalries that go back years in a broad number of sports, even beyond sports.
"I'm sure everybody will have that competitive edge. I'll be wanting to watch it, for sure."
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