Monday, January 23, 2017

America first? Not when it's in Selig's fake tournament

In March of 2013, playing for his country rather than his team, Mark Teixeira tore his wrist like a sheet of typing paper. Tex was competing in the World Baseball Classic, one of former commissioner Bud Selig's great enduring failures. (Bud's plan to put logos for Spider-Man 2 on the bases was never implemented.) That year, Tex played in 15 Yankee games, batting .151. Our regular 1B became Lyle Overbay. We finished third in the AL East, 12 games behind Boston. And good-hearted, patriotic Tex, at age 33, would never be the same. (In 2014, he hit .216.) Now, at age 36 - three years younger than Carlos Beltran - he's out of baseball.

Would Tex have shredded his wrist during a regular, lazy, lollygagging, stoner spring training, while banging around Tampa with Hulk Hogan and Bubba the Love Sponge? We'll never know. He went off to fight for Selig's fraudulently nationalistic marketing scheme, and now he's a case study in how to wreck a Hall of Fame career - and also one of the many gifts Selig gave New York City in the commissioner's quest to make his family's Milwaukee Brewers the norm for MLB franchises.

Yesterday, Masahiro Tanaka decided not to pitch for Japan in Selig's World Cup, which starts March 5. Thank God! As Japan's ace, Tanaka's fragile, partially-torn elbow would have carried the weight of national pride, when sold for profit. You can imagine him throwing seven innings in a meaningless March contest, walking off the mound with a throbbing elbow, and his 2017 season - along with the opt-clause next winter, which will cement his family's finances forever - swirling down the drain.

We now have one Yankee committed to the games. Dellin Betances will pitch for the Dominican Republic, unless - as I hope - Cashman talks him out of it in the upcoming arbitration hearings. Fingers crossed. We've given our share. Talk about fake news? This is a fake tournament. Why should we subject any of our key players to a 15-hour plane ride to South Korea - part of the plan - or to a super-heated spring schedule drawn up to stoke foreign profits?

By the way, none of the fabled Four Horsemen of the Redsock Apocalypse - Sale, Price, Porcello and Whazzisname - plan to pitch in the World Cup. They'll stay home and sit in the spa. Right now, the Redsock '17 Hall of Fame Superteam of Destiny (TM) will send Hanley Ramirez and Xander Bogaertes, though here's an alternative fact: Pablo Sanduval - aka Slenderman - is said to be pondering such a move.

We should pull the plug on this event. We gave our country Mark Teixeira. Does anybody even remember who won the thing in 2013? Or the last time it was held? No more. Nothing. Nada. Yankees, go home.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I COULD NEVER UNDERSTAND THE WBC......RISKING INJURIES, IN A MINI TOURNAMENT, BEFORE THE NEVER ENDING USA BASEBALL SEASON??? .... THE CRAZY PART OF IT , IS IT IS SUPER COMPETITIVE!...... I STILL CAN'T GET OUT OF MY HEAD WHEN JOGGIE CANO KNOCKED IN A RUN FOR "HIS" COUNTRY, AND WHILE STANDING ON FIRST BASE, HE CLAPPED HARD, AND WILDLY, AND SHOWED PASSION THAT I HAD NOT SEEN ONCE, PLAYING FOR HIS "EMPLOYERS" (WHO GAVE HIM MILLIONS), OUR BELOVED NEW YORK YANKEES...... DON'T GO DELLIN...(BUT HE WILL).....SELIG WAS A DUNCE.

DutchFan said...

The only time Americans get hard when it comes to national teams, it is the Olympics. The vastness of the country, it's cities and what have you makes local teams about more important than anything else. It's named World Series right, not American Championship.
For every other country is a ball. We get a chance to see "our" players like Didi play ........ for us! And that is why Xander Bogaerts is not really an obnoxious Sock - he is Dutch.
Anyway, every baseball fan in the world loves it. And I totally understand the reluctance in the States.
And now for some Dutch humor (you should try it once in your life: our bid to become second, after America first.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-xxis7hDOE after Dutch introduction, action starts at 0.39. Have fun.

Alphonso said...

This is like sending Bettance's National Guard unit over to Iraq after all the US troops have pulled out. All to fulfill some US politician's pledge to the Iraq's President, who needed a personal escort.to safeguard the transportation of his money to another location.

But Brian Cashman will never do what you suggest.

The unthinkable will happen. Dellin will, loyally, go and he will be maimed.

KD said...

That was pretty funny, DutchFan!

Anonymous said...

THIS SITE IS GETTING CRAZIER AND CRAZIER....LOL

Isiyku Abdulahi said...


I really want the world to know about this great man who brought back happiness into my life again after my husband left me and the kids 3 years ago for another women online when i contacted Dr Believe he cast a love spell for me within 48 hours my ex husband start calling me and begging for forgiveness for everything that have happened between us. I was so happy to have my family back together with love again here is the email of Dr Believe via believelovespelltemple@gmail.com a man with the great powers you can also call him or add him on Whats-app: +2348156148821
God bless you
I am very grateful for your help in my marriage.