Last season I remember chatting a question to Rob Neyer during one of his ESPN chat sessions. I asked him how cool a world wide baseball tournament would be and he responded with indifference. I remember it distinctly because it was the first question I'd ever asked in one of those chats that actually got answerd, and also because I was a little bit surprised that he wasn't as excited about the idea as I was.
I'll admit, I was partly excited because of the spectacle of it all and the fact that the games would most likely be played near San Diego. You've got Petco, Qualcomm, Edison, the Coliseum and Dodger Stadium all well within 150 miles of each other. Petco, Edison and Dodger stadium covers the current baseball park spectrum rather nicely, and Qualcomm and the Coliseum can dust off the bleachers for some baseball as well.
I'll further admit that I was excited about the uniforms and caps that they'd have to come up with. I'm a sucker for a cool logo. I must have a little bit of the queer eye.
Well, things are finally getting set for next March. And lo and behold the second round and probably the final four will be held in California. I'm so excited, though people I talk to don't seem all that interested. They figure the U.S. team to take it easily. I think the U.S. will take it, but not necessarily easily for all the reasons Jayson Stark covers.
However, if I was in charge, and I really wanted to make it interesting, I would divvy up the U.S. team into Eastern and Western. Just draw a line right down the middle and let players play for whichever region covers their place of birth or prep school. See that would be interesting. More teams. Heat up a little rivalry. Or send an NL and an AL team. You don't have to dilute the U.S. team that much to make it more fun to watch.
When do we get tickets? I gotta get me some tickets...
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