Game Thread: USA vs Mexico. Plus, Five Reasons I'm Enjoying the WBC

1) I'm happy to be watching "meaningful" baseball.

    I know that it's a manufactured tournament and that there are teams that have no business playing but, if you look at how happy the players are when they score or make a great play or win there can be no doubt that the games mean something.  Aaron Judge just gunned down a runner at third and his teammates and the crowd went wild. It matters.

Update: Judge goes the other way for a two run HR. Always great to watch. 

2) As opposed to watching more spring training games. 

    I tried to watch the Yankees/Pirates, Stanton hit a HR. Other things happened. I don't care.    They don't care. 

3) It's great to see other players from other teams and be able to root for them. 

     I'm fully prepared to hate Roman Anthony for the rest of his career. Just not today. He's VERY good BTW.  Plus, I get to see Paul Skenes, Turbal, even Bregman, and wish them well. 

Harper is up. Judge on deck. In another universe I've been rooting for that line-up for years. 

4) The Stories

    Contreras's kid at seventeen breaks Judge's bat and get him to ground out in a DP. The guy pitching for Mexico is old and just what you'd expect.  Crafty. 

Kids. Old men. People from England.... C'mon.

5) Baseball. 

    There's a lot to worry about these days. I need the three hours. 

Bonus:  You know to want the USA team to beat Japan and Othani and Yamamoto. If you say no... you are lying to yourself.