I don't know how you felt about it, but I really enjoyed watching the first World Baseball Classic a few years ago. For me, the months between October and March are the longest ones on the calendar because I have no baseball to watch, and my 2005 World Series DVDs can only entertain me for so long before they just start to depress me. So any chance to watch actual baseball being played is one I take advantage of, which is why I'm looking forward to this spring's second World Baseball Classic.Unfortunately it seems that a lot of players aren't looking forward to it as much as I am. There have been quite a few who have decided they aren't going to play for the United States this spring, and it looks like we can add the 2008 AL Cy Young winner's name to the growing list.
American League Cy Young winner Cliff Lee turned down an invitation to pitch for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic in March because he threw a career-high number of innings last year and he didn't want to rearrange his training routine.
"Cliff gave it a lot of thought," said [Lee's agent Darek] Braunecker, "but he's coming off the biggest workload of his career. He wanted to stay on track. If, as anticipated, the Indians are a contender this year, he could pitch even more innings."
Lee now joins CC Sabathia and Josh Beckett as American-born pitchers who won't be on the team this season, and though it hurts the United States' chances of winning the tournament, it's pretty hard to blame any of them for declining the invitation.
Sabathia just signed an eleventy billion contract with the Yankees this winter, and doesn't want to risk getting hurt before taking the mound in Yankee pinstripes. Beckett was hurt last year, and would probably be better off getting all the rest he can before the season starts, and now Lee is concerned about his arm after logging so many innings last season.
Which is why MLB should probably consider changing the WBC's schedule the next time they hold the tournament. I think there would be a lot more players willing to participate if they held the Classic during the winter instead of right before spring training. After all, a lot of major leaguers are already playing in winter leagues in the Caribbean and South America, so it wouldn't affect their schedules as much.
Plus, it would have the added benefit of giving baseball fans something to tune into during the long cold months of December and January.
