Every New Beginning Comes From Some Other Beginning's End

Did I just quote Semisonic? Did it get your attention? Good.

Well, it's over. The USA did what it really should've done in the first round: folded. Mexico was not going to play the part of a South African patsy just their to round out the number of contestant countries. They were there to win, and win they did in a close game.

Is this a sad thing? Yes, of course it is. As an American, I was definitely pulling for the team. It's nice to be able to root for you country, club allegiances be damned.

Is it a bad thing? No, not really. This means that the WBC is going to do what it was meant to do: attract global attention to the sport. Can you imagine a final with Korea playing Cuba? It would be amazing! This may just be what baseball needs, this kick in the ass to get it started again. Maybe next time we won't have players complaining about being out of shape. Maybe next time we can go in and just play ball to win, not to promote things (we all know that's why Martinez was the manager.) Why not get Joe Torre to skipper the next one? Chances are he'll be retired anyways. Next time we can use our brains and not our marketing execs to pick the 60-man provisional roster. Dontrelle Willis? Great guy, fun to watch, but not good out of the gate without some serious practice. Three days of team practice before the first game? Not really a good idea, is it?

Now Uncle George can stop bitching and moaning about his poor players, and we can go back to baseball the way we know it. But just think of the things we know now:

1. Yulieski Gourriel (CUBA): SICK. He's got the tools, all five of them. Should we start the jumper pool now, or later?

2. Seung Yeop Lee (KOREA): Youngest player EVER, ANYWHERE to hit 300 home runs... he's 27. When I'm 27 I'll be lucky if I can get hits of the super-fast pitch batting cages.

3. Jorge Cantu (MEXICO), and David Ortiz (DOMINICAN REPUBLIC): They really are as good as we thought they were. It's not Fenway, folks. It's his bat.

So sure, cry a litte, have a few beers, get yourself ready for St. Patrick's Day. Get ready for World Cup Soccer, where we're the underdogs and the big guns look ripe for the picking (just ask Clint Dempsey). In the WBC, the Americans will be back, and 2009 will be a whole new ballgame.

(Geez, worst ending ever to an article headed by Semisonic. It's time for bed.)