And there's Bud Selig's problem. The Major League Baseball commissioner has a nifty international product to sell, a true World Series, but a market won't open again for four years. His local supplier, MLB (which holds a monopoly), isn't interested in competition and doesn't provide the necessary parts to make Team USA competitive and boost the TV ratings.

"We need everybody's best players. We can't settle for any less," Selig said on ESPN Monday night. "They've all got to make a sacrifice."

But the only sacrificing going on was by the Japanese and Korean players, who showed Americans how the game ought to be played: running out every hit, charging grounders, laying down bunts, hitting the cut-off man and comepting with intensity and focus.

Riddled with injuries and lacking versatility, Team USA lumbered through the Classic until it was put out of its misery by Japan in the semi-final round. Manager Davey Johnson did what he could, but was forced to play the game as an All-Star contest, making sure everyone got a chance to compete and nobody got their feelings hurt.

With the WBC, Selig is onto something great. But the man is moving at a glacial pace usually found on an MLB diamond.

If he wants to succeed, he needs to alter the rules, and not in time for 2013. He should convene a panel that includes guys who have international experience, like Johnson and Bobby Valentine, to figure out a way for Team USA to compete without hurting the hometown product.

Bring the WBC back in 2011, a year before the Olympics, which cut baseball loose. Shorten the tournament by a week to two weeks and replace the bloated, meaningless All-Star break with the WBC. Or have Team USA's starting squad consist of the MLB's best players and back them up with a platoon of Triple-A substitutes.

But don't nibble around the corners, Bud. Throw strikes.