Daily Jolt: Asian Domination at WBC

The Daily Jolt is a dose of baseball reality every weekday morning.

In the United States, the World Baseball Classic seems to have become little more than a nuisance to sports fans -- a not entirely welcome distraction from March Madness and a good way for some of America's best players (and some of its second-stringers) to embarrass themselves as they go through spring training in a strange uniform.

In the Far East, the Classic has become almost entirely about winning and to a similar extent about one of the better simmering international sports rivalries this side of a Brazil-Argentina World Cup qualifier.

By my count there are seven international baseball powers in a class all their own right now -- Cuba, Venezuela, Japan, South Korea, Puerto Rico, the United States and the Dominican Republic.

Those countries have monopolized the semifinal spots in the fledgling Classic's short history, with six of the seven powers earning a berth in the single-game elimination phase of the tournament in either 2006 or 2009. (Only Puerto Rico has failed to qualify for the semifinals thus far, and it was a sinking David Wright liner away from making it this year.)

However, even within that group, there seems to be an overclass of two forming. South Korea and Japan reached the semifinals in 2006 and 2009 -- the only two countries to reach the final four in both Classics -- and Monday night they will meet for the staggering eighth time in the WBC's brief existence, this time with a title on the line.

Oh, the South Koreans and Japanese have a few factors working in their favor. In both 2006 and 2009, they have been placed in an opening-round pool with China and Chinese Taipei. Having such weak baseball-playing nations as competition makes advancement to the second round a virtual foregone conclusion, especially compared to, say, the U.S., which had to grapple with a game, feisty Team Canada in its first game both times around.

Japanese players begin preparing for Nippon Professional Baseball season about two weeks earlier than major leaguers, so there's little doubt that they were in better game shape than the Americans they faced Sunday night.

But let's be realistic here and give credit where it's due.

Japan and South Korea seem to approach these tournaments with a different zeal certainly than Team USA, but also the other major international powers save Cuba. Look no further than the rabid fans who have cheered both teams from the Tokyo Dome to Petco Park to Dodger Stadium this weekend for proof. If that's not enough, witness Japanese manager Tatsunori Hara bringing in phenom Yu Darvish to close out the U.S. in the ninth inning Sunday -- a move right out of the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks' playbook.

Here in America, baseball is the national pastime, a part of the fabric of our modern history. Even though it is woven deep within our culture and ingrained in us from a young age, glory on the international stage has never been a part of that. Now, the game is part -- a very big part, but still a part -- of a vast sports landscape, and its place in that landscape may not be at the top (hello, NFL).

In the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and Cuba, there is no question that baseball is top dog. Those nations are rightly seen as keepers of game's flame, and international competition has always been a big deal because of things like the Caribbean Series. The WBC has served as a clear indication that Japan and South Korea should be spoken of in the same breath. (Given that Korean players fall largely off the major-league radar, they are especially deserving of appreciation here in the states.)

If that passion for international baseball isn't enough to get you to tune in for Monday night's final, then maybe a bitter rivalry will be.

Japan ousted South Korea from the 2006 Classic in the semifinals, and the South Koreans returned the favor in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, knocking the Japanese off twice on their way to the Olympic gold medal. There are political implications -- Japan invaded South Korea in World War II -- and even a bit of flair/disrespect. The Koreans have twice planted their flag on the mound after beating the Japanese in the Classic. It might as well be a one-fingered salute.

Will Japan get to return the favor? I can't wait to find out, and I can't think of a better way for the WBC to bid adieu for the next four years.