Three years ago, the World Baseball Classic did nothing to excite me. I'm talking Rosie O'Donnell at an all-you-can-eat buffet kind of turn-off. Pitchers limited by pitch counts, players declining to invitations to participate and uninspiring games were the norm. That's not baseball. It was a glorified exhibition, no better than spring games going on at the same time. Actually, it made me long for spring games. But I should have expected to be disappointed since the idea came from the brain of Bud Selig, which is not exactly a pool of ideas. This time around, I expected less from the WBC. Wouldn't you know it, I was thoroughly disappointed again. The Mercy Rule Game was the last straw. If you missed it -- and chances are you did -- the United States lost to Puerto Rico 11-1 on Saturday. I wasn't disappointed by the loss. Heck, those type of games happen. No, the maddening moment was the mercy rule. The game was stopped in the seventh inning because Puerto Rico was a...
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