Coy deliberation? I'm surprised Alex Rodriguez's name is still connected to this thing. It's time for everybody who's been passive-aggressively trying to manipulate A-Rod into this ill-timed and logistically flawed exhibition tournament (even trying to strong-arm him into participating) to take A-rod's crystal clear hints(politely hostile indifference): he's not that into you. Move on, indeed. Please report to Yankees spring training, Mr. Rodriguez, the "World" will go on without you.

I'll take a pass today and not dis ARod today. ARod just play baseball, the real kind...not the pseudo game Bud Selig and his cohorts have made up in their dim witted heads. In my book, the World Baseball Classic takes place when Licey or Las Aguilas represents the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean World Series (http://www.latinobaseball.com/cwb-history.php).
I still remember Luis Polonia saying that "pressure is not playing against the Mets in the world series, pressure is playing in a game where Licey and Las Aguilas are playing against each other". At the time, when I heard that on the Spanish channels, I thought he was crazy. Baseball means a lot over, it seems that everyone (girls and boys) grow up with that passion. I see it from my own mom and when she remembers her youth there and rooting for Licey, who she still proudly follows - though it is from a distance.

I was skiing with my cousin and his best friend the other day and they were both raised and born in the Dominican Republic, and they still live there. They constantly kept making long distance calls from Vermont so they could find out how their team was doing in the divisional round. My cousin's best friend actually had the audacity to tell me that the player with the best bat control that he's ever seen is Jose Offerman - I believe he hit a 3 run homerun in the game they were calling about to tie the game in the 9th. Anyhow, when he said Offerman was so great I nearly fell off the lift - the entire time I was with him that was always the topic of conversation. He even said he'd take Offerman from a list of Pujols, Ortiz, and ARod. WOW!!! Anyhow, we spent countless hours going over the best games they've seen over there and comparing them to the best games I've seen here. We went through many bottles of Green Label and it was great because the wives were cooking and we were drinking and talking baseball….I've only been to one game over there and that was back in 85. I need to go back and experience a game between Licey and Las Aguilas. They kept telling me that it's more passionate than the Red Sox - Yankee rivalry. I guess I need to experience that myself. One other thing I got from them was how they follow the game - statistically speaking. I asked them: what stats do you guide yourself by? And they simply said, by what I see. To them, Willie Wilson was one of the best players that has ever played winter ball over there. I guess it's all a matter of where your from and where your at.

"Rodriguez's coy deliberation has become a bore."

I think it is a decision worth pondering, and a damned-if-you-do damned-if-you-dont choice. However.....

I have no problems with ARod. Its the flurry of (boring) writers, with nothing better to write about, who need to analyze the depth and timber of every one of ARod's farts.

I know Newspapers/Websites need to fill up space (especially in a quiet off-season), but shouldn't we hold writers to higher standards? Jeez.... ARod plays poker. ARod changes his mind. ARod has bowel movments. Let's shoot the guy.

If mainstream writers wrote as diversely and intelligently as Alex and Cliff, we wouldn't be subjected to all this ARod dribble!

Hello all... This is completely off-topic, but something that everyone should know. BronxBanter has been dominated for a "Best of Blogs" Award in the Best Sports Blog category. There is a prize involved, so stop by and show some love for your two favorite bloggers, Alex and Cliff. Here's the link:

http://www.thebestofblogs.com/vote-here/

You'll find them in the 8th category down.

ESPNews is reporting that Alex Rodriguez has been placed on the DR roster for the WBC. Who knows if this report is correct.

amen, singledd

It's bad enough that these people are so fixated on interpreting his character from afar; but then to accuse him of being a narcissist seems kind of ironic.

I think if he spent have as much time thinking about his image as his critics seem to, he'd never have the time left to... I dunno... win MVP awards.

This world baseball thing distracts from the game I follow. Spring trainig comes next for me. Don't mess it up with nationalism. As for A-Rod, not my favorite player.I do look for his daily on-the-field heroics. If he played in this classic/not, I would fear more that he would go down on the second play from scrimmage, than hope he would hit four homers in conseccutive at bats.

Like you, Alex, I say bring em on.

The only people engaging in "coy deliberations" are the reporters incessantly reporting on this. Does A-Rod have a press conference everday saying he will or won't play? I don't think so. Most of this story has come from members of the media reporting the same thing over and over again. While I'm not A-Rod lover, I think this thing has gone for way too long.

Hank,

Thanks for the link. BB got my vote.

29 days to pitchers and catchers . . . must. . . hold . . . on.

Who gives a rat's ass. I can't remember the last time A-Rod held a presser about this thing either, I think his next one will be his first. I don't know anyone who so much as even talks about this thing. It's an example of Bud and ESPN or who ever else will televise this cockamamie concoction wrapping themselves in the flag and spouting a little jingoistic nonsense. We're going to take a bath in this thing come spring time. I can't wait for all those breathless ESPN highlights showing us how South Korea squeezed one in during the bottom of the 7th to go up by 11 runs on the Dutch. This tournament won't tell us that we're better than Honduras and I really don't care if we are. I don't feel a need to vanquish Venezuela or pound on Panama and I'm sure not going to watch this crap.

We get pitchers and catchers reporting once a year. Its something we all look forward to. Anticipating the arrival of that glorious date is one of the great rites of the winter months. I don't want or need that detracted from with this thing. Christ we're not soccer fans, we don't need this thing to prove the relevance of our sport or our patriotic ardor. Why? Why? Why? Why? Please Bud, just go away.

wsporter:

Yea, what he said.

The WBC may be the only baseball series that I have no interest in seeing.

The timing of the games is incredibly stupid.

Simone, I read the info about Arod and posted
in on my blog at 2:08 this morning. It was in
a Dominican newspaper. They said they knew
he hadn't decided to play, but they did it
anyway. I think it was just something to do.

ESPNews is now reporting that "Agent: A-ROd will play for U.S. in WBC." Typical.

AP has the A-Rod story too and I posted the link up top on The Griddle.

Jayson Stark just gave his comments about A-Rod. Lucky thing A-Rod is so rich, he can afford all that therapy that he apparently needs lots of.

Long Island Sports Talk had Newsday's Jim Baumbach on talking about this. He said that ARod was not going, then mid-appearance, he got word that he was.

http://hosted.filefront.com/patchyfogg

Alex:

You should do a spot on that show.