The most wonderful time...

...of the year is coming upon on. Pitchers and Catchers have started to report. However, spring training will offer less than it's normal appeal this year as Bud Selig has force fed the World Baseball Classic down the throats of...well...every major league team AND the rest of the world. The idea in and of itself is good, but it could really have an impact on the economies of Florida and Arizona as fans may not flock en masse to their favorite teams complexes when the superstars they want to cheer for and get autographs from are not even around.

Oh, and the fact that no one cares about the WBC is bad for baseball and spring training also. Hockey has figured out the right plan - Olympics every four years - give your players two weeks off to attend and let the best fight it out, and then get back to work. This interrupting spring training to bring together players who are just working themselves into game shape risks injuries while not allowing teams to bring their A competition.

The WBC is good for baseball, don't get me wrong. But it's NOT good for baseball when it happens currently. Fix that, and we could add some legitimacy to whichever team wins it all this year.