A new international baseball tournament called the Premier 12 will be held this November with "preliminary games in Taiwan and medal round in Japan," but the fact that MLB and the MLBPA are not participating in it casts "serious doubt on what type of players the Premier 12 will draw," according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSPORTS.com. It actually is unclear whether any MLBers "will be allowed to play in the Premier 12," which is being organized by the World Baseball Softball Confederation and Nippon Professional Baseball. Neither MLB nor the MLBPA "has publicly authorized big leaguers to participate," and league officials claim they need "a lot more information from the WBSC before clearing any player under contract." With "tens of millions of dollars in player contracts potentially at stake, MLB is right to ask detailed questions of the Premier 12 organizers and demand a constant flow of communication from the WBSC and NPB." Yet, MLB and the MLBPA "should make a good-faith effort to allow at least some big leaguers and high-profile young players to participate." It would "reflect poorly on MLB and the MLBPA if they ask the world’s best players to participate in the WBC -- the tournament they organize and from which they derive profits -- and then block them from representing their countries in an offseason event arranged by other baseball entities" (FOXSPORTS.com, 1/28).
SHIFTING TOPICS: Talk about the state of MLB continues to come in with Rob Manfred taking over for Bud Selig as Commissioner, and Braves Chair & CEO Terry McGuirk said the game is "predominately healthy." McGuirk: "Certainly, pace of game is something that we're looking at. The games inexplicably have gotten longer. We'd like to cut them back down. There's too much wasted time, and I have no doubt Rob will be successful" ("Squawk Box," CNBC, 1/28). MLB Network's Ken Rosenthal said, "I don’t believe Rob Manfred is prepared to rush into anything. He was asked in an interview this week about radical changes that he might suggest, and that is when he suggested eliminating shifts." Rosenthal: "It’s not that Bud Selig was close-minded, but Rob Manfred has opened some new ideas. We have some new problems in the game that didn’t necessarily exist for most of Selig’s tenure. So let’s go, let’s hear all of these ideas" (“MLB Now,” MLB Network, 1/28). Denver Post columnist Woody Paige said, “If you want more offense, let’s speed the game up.” ESPN’s Pablo Torre: “My entertainment value with baseball is actually increased when you have weird shifts. It's like chess. … But I understand if no one else in America feels that way." ESPN’s J.A. Adande said, “I like Rob Manfred already. Get rid of the shift. It's an abomination. It doesn't look like baseball” (“Around The Horn,” ESPN, 1/27). But in St. Louis, Jeff Gordon wondered why Manfred is "even thinking about" banning shifts. Gordon: "Rather than tinker with fundamental rules of the game, the commissioner’s office should let the players sort it out on the field. Baseball already has enough gimmicks, like the designated hitter, the exploding bat prank and an All-Star Game that 'matters.' There is no reason to mimic the NBA’s illegal defense rule" (STLTODAY.com, 1/28).
