I'm sure very few people in the USA are watching the Classic as much as we are here in our home. But we love baseball! But anyway, just a few observations: The USA is the team to beat, the team all the others are gunning for. So, teams like Cuba, Panama, and Puerto Rico (who are in midseason form BTW) put in their very best all star teams. They are taking it very seriously. After all it's their chance to be seen by some pro scouts and possibly make it to "the show."

However, our team USA, is already full of MLB players. Therefore, their loss to Canada yesterday (8-6) was a shocker, a tragedy for USA, a triumph for Canada. Or was it? Does the US team have their best players out there? Nope....some like Damon, Jeter, Varitek, and Clemens, but the pitching could be much much better. And where the hell is Barry Bonds? He said he might play if they make it to the next round. Doesn't seem like too much pride and team spirit for Barry. And why do we have players on our team from teams that were not even playoff caliber teams last year? Michael Young, Holliday, and some long haired hippie pitcher........who? The mental errors and lack of hustle was quite evident yesterday. And why did we wait until the 8th to put Damon in? And took Jeter out of the game? Is this Little League, and we want to make sure everyone plays? Or do we want to win? I don't know if enough of our players have that kind of pride.