Carlos the closer
Carlos Marmol said Friday he may not pitch for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, saying he wants to focus on getting ready for the upcoming season with the Cubs. “I want to be the closer here,” Marmol said. He was to speak with Dominican manager Felipe Alou and expected to announce a decision on Saturday.
– Carrie Muskat
mlblogsmuskat1
It is great to see other teams from all over the world compete, but without the players from the mlb. The World Baseball Classic is more of a chance to see some of the younger players that people have not already seen play. It is an opportunity for fans to see players compete that are not from a Major League Baseball team. Like Yu Darvish from Japan (see nytimes article on “Rising Pitching Star).” It makes it more interesting to see these players who may someday get an opportunity to play in the Major Leagues.
Marmol and any of other mlb players have the right to be part of the Classic and it doesn’t seem fair to a mlb player to pass on the opportunity to play, if that is their decision.
But, Marmol really doesn’t need to compete in the Classic and he would be making a good move if he was to pass on it.