Great game last night

I don't think there is any doubt the WBC was a huge success. You could instantly tell last night this wasn't a spring training game. Players were really into the game, and even hearing the announcers voices made you realize this wasn't the M's playing the Padres. This was the real thing.

It was fun to see the Japanese and Cuban players... the names were great. My parents chose "Tom" when "Yoandy" was still on the table?? What's up with that? (remind me to talk to Mom about this one)

So yeah, Bud Selig was right to try to make this happen. He was right about the Wild Card, and he's right about this one. There's plenty of other things he whiffed on (steroids), but you can't ignore the good things, especially when they are as significant as this.

Of course now that the WBC is over, we have to get back to our regularly scheduled programming, Spring training. A bit of a bore in comparison... but the Borchard thing as least brings some interest.

As far as the M's are concerned, what's left to decide? We all knew the starting rotation since Christmas. The bullpen is largely set. The only real interest seems to be 2nd base, but I'm 90% certain it will be Lopez.

For Bloggers the next two weeks are going to be time to really define our expectations for this team. Is .500 a realistic option? Can this team get out of the cellar of the AL West?

While we ponder these age old questions, congrats to Japan. You have the best team in baseball.