Everyone plays make-believe for 'Bud' Selig

"Nevertheless, there remains tension between the WBC promoters (central baseball and the Players Association) and the actual teams. Many teams think the WBC detracts from their primary goal of winning the World Series.

• "It does not help you get ready for the season," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said Monday. "So there are some logistical nightmares, and there's a reason you want spring training. You want your guys to be together
• and you certainly worry about the pitchers, because
• they are not ready to compete yet, and it makes all of us nervous."

The commissioner's office and Players Association maintain the stance that players are no more likely to get hurt in the WBC than they are in an exhibition game during spring training,

• which is of course laughable.

We're not saying the end doesn't justify the means for the WBC. We just wish the WBC organizers would be more honest and less defensive about the means."

• (From the Odds and Ends Dept.):

(Davidoff): "Former catcher Josh Paul -- perhaps you remember him from an odd play in the 2005 playoffs involving A.J. Pierzynski -- will manage the Yankees' Class A affiliate at Staten Island."

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