Late last night, Team Japan beat Team Cuba 10-5 in the finals of the World Baseball Classic. Although the lopsided score doesn't seem so close, the game was actually really competitive and exciting.
The international teams were very impressive, and the determination of the teams, and intensity of the competition rivaled the MLB post-season. The games were definitely more exciting than spring training games!
Even though the tournament was exciting, there are certainly some things to improve on for next time:
*Change the venue, or adjust the start times. The final two teams, Japan and Cuba ended up playing in the middle of the night in Cuba, and during the work day in Japan. Add that to the fact that the game ended after midnight in the Eastern and Central time zones on a Monday night, they're just begging for low ratings.
If it were up to me, I would adjust the start times of the games to match the viewing habits and time zones of the participating countries. It would seem to me that if the games were held in Florida, Georgia, Texas, or the Carolinas, the games would be accessable to a greater number of fans.
*The US television schedule was horrible. It seemed that half of the games were played on tape delay after midnight. There were times when I wanted to watch a live game, and they're showing pocket billiards (or something like that) on ESPN 2. Assuming that the games are played at a decent hour, they should all be played live.
*International Umpires: There were some awful blown calls in the US's favor. That doesn't look good.
*Change the composition of team USA. How could the American fans get behind Team USA? They were shown up as a team of lazy, pampered hot-dogs. Hopefully whoever manages the next team will be able to put together a cohesive unit of the most humble players he can find.
If Team USA were to use more younger players and minor leaguers, they might get more support. Who wants to root for guys in a tournament that we'd root against during the regular season? I'd think that the American fans would love to get behind a team of underdogs on the big stage.
Otherwise, it was all fun and exciting.