Tags throws down a blog post on what an awful idea it is for Roy to play for Team USA - and I happen to agree.
That's why I don't like the idea of Oswalt pitching in the WBC, and if I were the Astros I wouldn't like it either. General manager Ed Wade said he wouldn't stand in anyone's way of competing in the WBC, and that's understandable. But for me, the risk of winning a championship for the U.S. isn't worth the cost of a possible injury and hurting the Astros. I completely understand Oswalt's decision to play. I admire anyone who loves this country and wants to compete for it. Oswalt won a gold medal at the 2000 Olympics, so he's had a taste of what this is all about. But the WBC is certainly nowhere near the Olympics as far as prestige. Frankly, I hate the event and really don't care much about it.
Click here to read an Astros County post on USA's World Baseball Classic pitchers and their respective 2006 stats.
The World Baseball Classic is not the Olympics. It's definitely not the World Cup. If Roy gets hurt during the WBC I'm going to first blame Dusty Baker (just because), and then I'm going to crawl in bed and read all of my wife's "Lucky" magazines in protest.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith