 Javier Lopez represents! Photo taken by Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.net. Used with permission. |
Pardon me for going all girly for a moment, but after watching a few of the WBC games, I’ve determined that Puerto Rico has the best looking players in the Classic on their team. So even if they lose it all, they win. Nice work, Puerto Rico. Way to populate the Earth with handsomeness. Special shout-out to Javier Lopez who has been boosting the handsome quota on the Red Sox for a few years and now is helping out Team Puerto Rico. Well done.
Incidentally, if you didn’t watch the Puerto Rico/Netherlands game tonight on the MLB Network, you missed one hell of a baseball game. With the total hotness of the Puerto Rican team as icing, it was the most exciting 1-0 game I’ve seen (1-0 being the score through 8 innings, not the final score). Puerto Rico just lost so many chances thanks to LOBsters, not being able to bunt (Ivan Rodriguez, did you forget how to bunt? Did you ever KNOW how to bunt?) and just bonehead plays (Michael Aviles, I point my finger at you and ask “WHY? Why didn’t you run home when the bases were loaded and a wild pitch was thrown??”). In spite of the lost opportunities (well, because of what those opportunities represented) there was a tension to the game that compelled me to not only watch, but to choose a team and root.
And because of the fabulous pitching coming from their bullpen (and because of how young so many of their players are), I was rooting for the Netherlands. Which, of course, means you can figure out which team won the game. I blame myself. Puerto Rico won 3-1. How how can I root for them in the next round? I don’t want to put the jinx on them too. (The Netherlands team has to play the Dominican Republic tomorrow night so they have no time to wallow.)
I hesitantly admit that Spring Training baseball doesn’t do much for me. I’ve been paying more attention to Kyle Snyder’s stats than I have how many games the Sox have won thus far. Games that don’t have any meaning truly don’t hold my interest all that much. If that makes me a bad fan, so be it. I’ve really tried to get passionate about it, and I was off to a good start, but I just couldn’t sustain it. So thank goodness for the WBC. This is baseball I have been a little surprised to admit I’m enjoying immensely.
WBC games are being shown on both ESPN and MLBN. Find one and watch it if you are craving good, exciting baseball. I’m getting ready to watch Mexico v South Africa on MLBN in an elimination game. Good stuff up ahead.