World Baseball Classic is a for-profit baseball tourney--not a war.--Davidoff

(Newsday, Ken Davidoff): Before the 2006 WBC, Davidoff was against it and thought "...that it would cause more injuries. I was outraged by the

• WBC organizers' arrogance regarding
• the injuries

• (Bud Selig repeatedly referred to the issue as
• "bogus") and

• by their finger-wagging toward those who dared to skip the event.

After covering it, I thought it was a really fun event. Much more exciting than I anticipated. And after the '06 regular season concluded, it seemed that some WBC players did suffer, but not dramatically enough to neutralize the WBC's success.

Now that we're amping up toward another WBC, however, I see certain patterns repeating themselves.

• One is that disapproval toward players who don't want to play.

• When Ryan Howard announced that he wouldn't play for Team USA, the
• Philadelphia Daily News' Bill Conlin responded by mocking Howard.

I don't get it. Is there some higher call of duty that requires players to participate in this?

• It's not war. It's a for-profit baseball tournament.

Here is the only "excuse" that players should need to skip the event: "I appreciate the invitation, but I feel that it would hinder my preparation for the 2009 championship season." Crisp and clean, no caffeine.

• Both Selig and Players Association COO Gene Orza have been guilty of demonizing players who dare not participate.

• It's nothing short of disgraceful, this idea that the players are obligated to do this."...12/25/08

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