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THE ADJUSTMENT

26 Jun

It’s Wednesday, June 26th. It’s been almost a week since I arrived here in Israel.  I am getting used to it, I think.  To use a baseball term, I am making the adjustment.  Here are 5 things I have learned so far.

1. Israelis love the Doors.

Most people would concern themselves with things considered more practical, but my two biggest fears moving here were that there wasn’t Wash-N-Fold, and the radio would be bad.  Not sure about Wash-N-Fold, yet, but my worst FM nightmares have come true right before my ears.  It’s all Israeli folk music and minimal European techno and a strange mix of American pop music including the Doors and…

2. Israelis love Depeche Mode.

I have not figured out the particular commonality between all this music that appeals to Israelis.  But in addition to to Depeche Mode and the Doors, they seem to like anything that loosely refers to revolution.  I have heard the Beatles’, “Come Together”, and Stevie Wonder’s “Master Blaster” multiple times, and some Bob Marley, thank goodness.

3. The roads are well designed.

I have always heard Israelis are bad drivers, and they are, don’t get me wrong, but the roads are nice at least.  And they’re not as bad as New Yorkers…

4. The country is FULL of bad sculpture.

I have know this for a while, from previous trips.  It’s everywhere, unavoidable.  Around every corner there is another giant steal monster staring down at you, twisted metal shoulders, eyeballs of recycled weapons, barb-wire feet, chicken-wire arms.

5. It’s hot.

It’s hot as hell here.  And getting hotter in July and August.  We are, and I have to remind myself of this, in the desserts and oases of the Middle East.

But that’s enough music and art talk, for now.  This blog is about baseball, damnit.  Eventually it will even be about all the amazing people here in Israel that make playing baseball in a non-baseball playing country possible, but for now, and this is the danger of blogging, it is about me.

Each morning, I wake up, and go for coffee here…

my cafe

the cafe

When I need food, I go here.

the store

the store

I live here, for now.

home

home

This is my plate and glass and pot and pan and 2 cups.

IMG_0201

We had a meeting last night.  There is a lot to do.  Practice tonight with the Juniors. People to meet.  Camps.  Games.  And I am focused on my divined duties as the sovereign ruler of the Kingdom of Jewish Baseball.  But I must tell you, Ladies and Geese, it can be lonely being a King of Jewish Baseball.  So, for now, and for always, you are my friend, and I am yours.  And this is life.

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THE KINGDOM OF JEWISH BASEBALL

22 Jun

Ladies and Geetles, faithful readers, the wait is over!   After a long, hard flight through -52 degree temperatures, 10,000 feet in air, no less, using just the marvel of modern technology known as an airplane, and a store bought cape and crown, of course, I,  King of All Jewish Baseball, have landed in Israel, and, following a thorough examination at Ben Gurion Airport– paperwork, IDs, photos, cavity search, and an archery test, have even magically been reborn a real Israeli citizen.

boom

boom

Tomorrow we have elections for the Board of Directors of the IAB, my collective boss moving forward.  And we have games Monday.  The Senior National Team and the Junior National Team are scrimmaging at Baptist Village.  At the ripe young age of 33, I begin my career with the last team I imagine I will play for, the Israeli Senior National Team.

I have not played in a game since the WBC last summer.

As you must know, after a year of faithful readership, I am coaching the USA Junior National Team for the upcoming Maccabi Games, THE GREAT CELEBRATION OF JEWISH SPORTSMANSHIP AND PAGEANTRY TO BE OBSERVED IN ISRAEL ON THE 3RD MOON OF JULY EVERY 4TH YEAR, aka the Jewish Olympics.  And the Israeli Junior National Team is also in the tournament.  So, Monday, I will be playing against the kids I will be coaching against in three weeks which conveniently provides me the opportunity to talk a little smack, I’M COMING FOR YOU GUYS.

I probably owe you an explanation of what the “Baptist Village” is, for one cannot casually drop such a phrase in conversation and expect the listener, or reader, to understand what a Baptist Village may be, but there’s no time for that.  The answers shall come, slowly.  And there will be lots of video to help.

For this moment, my life is unknown and simple.  I am sitting in front of 5 open suitcases with everything I own in them, and a laptop.   I just ate for dinner the same thing I ate for lunch, a turkey and hummus sandwich.  It reminds me of when I was playing in Germany, living in the mental hospital next to the field, preparing meals with Paulino, washing our one pan and one dish each.  I am suited for this.  Despite currently wearing thousands of dollars of fake gold jewelry, I do not need anything fancy.

Things will get more complicated, I am sure, beginning, well, tomorrow.

I now attempt my greatest trick, using only the power of the internet and a new camera and the brain of a baby genius, I will paint for you a beautiful picture of the Kingdom of Jewish Baseball.

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NEW YORK

15 Jun

It’s Saturday, June 15th.  I leave in 5 days.  I am in my room, delaying packing, staring at empty cardboard boxes.

off to a bad start.

off to a bad start.

I must apologize, again, for not writing lately.  I haven’t posted in over a month, the longest break since my triumphant return to the Kingdom of Jewish Baseball.  Life in New York has taken over.  Today I am going to Baby LyLy’s 1st birthday party, the gallery at 4, and a goodbye dinner tonight.  I have a new camera, new spikes, speakers, everything I need for Israel.  I have three big suit cases, and everything else is going in storage.  I am taking inventory.

It’s been 10 years to the month since I moved to New York, and I seem to be suffering some premature nostalgia syndrome.  I send long, emotional e-mails to friends.  Coffee.  Parties.  As is always the case, now that I am leaving, life here has never been better.

But I am, after all, the King of Jewish Baseball, and I must honorably and dutifully fulfill my obligation to the people!

So prepare yourselfs, Ladies and Geetle Beans, for a frenzy of blogging the likes of which the world has not witnessed since, since– has never witnessed.  There will be video, photo, the written word, iphone drones, helmet cams, go pros, collage, minimalist sculpture, stethoscopes, submersibles, fish-eye lenses, printing and scanning, and improper use of all technologies not yet imagined.

To everyone in Tel Aviv, see you in 5 days.

To everyone in New York, see you tonight.

I love you.

—-

http://www.frank151.com/news/the-king-of-dabbling-nate-fish-interview.html#.UbyWM2T700M

THE FUTURE IS COMING

29 Apr

I am sorry for not writing lately.  It is baseball season, and I, King of All Jewish Baseball, am, after all, a baseball coach.  I have been on the field every day due to a lack of rain, and general foresight, and I have not had the time required to compose yet another genius blog post.

With the arrival of spring each year, like the whole world around us– birds, flowers, badgers – me and my fellow BASEBALL MEN OF THE WORLD go through a physical transformation, we re-adjust to our natural habitat, the ball field, where there is no shade, and less sympathy.  We awaken from our bear-like slumber, soft and new, we burst from our cocoons as beautiful butterflies, and then we turn into hoarse-voiced, dehydrated, sun-burned, chapped-lipped, weathered, gruff, old men, surviving, just barely, after an off-season of careful diet and exercise, on coffee and cheap meals between practices and games and meetings and conversations about why Harold batted 13th.   Ah yes, behold, the natural cycles of the universe.

Become one with the Earth! Every Big Leaguer knows, the key to success is warming up in bare feet.

Become one with the Earth! Every Big Leaguer knows the key to success is warming up in bare feet.

Something occurred to me today… I AM MOVING TO ISRAEL IN 7 WEEKS, 52 days, to be exact, but who’s counting.

I’ve known it all along, that I am moving to Israel, but today, for the first time, I knew it was real.  One of the many super-powers that comes with being a  neighborhood hero magician baseball genius, is a well-tested, highly developed inability to understand that the future is real, and that it is in fact going to eventually become the present, and even the past, if I remain lucky, that is to say, alive.  I am convinced, and this assumes, of course, maybe falsely, that all readers of this blog are human beings, and assumes, also maybe falsely, though I suspect not, that, as humans, our emotional and intellectual palets are 99.9% similar to one another (and 68.7% similar to an Oreo Cookie), that we all suffer from this.  I am also convinced I have a particularly nasty case.  It is a defense mechanism, it must be, right, right?  For if we were truly able to imagine the future in all is realness and vastness, we would be paralyzed to experience the present, we would be nervous wrecks – I believe we have a medical term for this condition, it is called “Being Jewish”, if I am not mistaken.  If I were truly able to comprehend that to move to Israel I had to actually move to Israel, prior to today, that is, I surely wouldn’t have been able to commit to it.  I committed to an idea, a hypothetical scenario that places me on June 20th, 2013, in Israel, 7,000 miles from where my life currently takes place.

There is so much to do…

Bills, phone plans, bank accounts, insurance, jewelry, leases, shipping, storage, sub-lets, silk head-wraps, flights, white gloves, ensuing apartment hunts, medical, electric, feathers, internet.  I need new speakers.  I need sheets.  Do they have sheets in Israel? – An air mattress for guests.  Are there air mattresses there?  IS THERE AIR? What do I bring?  What do I store?  What do I do with 3,000 records and 6 tons of painted rocks?

For now, I have to go, it’s 6pm, and I have a 7pm practice with the Yeshiva girls.  So, as the sun sets on my already burned neck and arms, I at least will not have to think about the list, or the future, or anything, I will simply yell many of the same instructions I yell every day, my phone will ring in my bag, my inner dialogue will quiet, and I will be where I belong, where I have spent most of my life, on the ball field.

TOKYO

17 Apr

As you, ravenous follower of this blog, already know, I was in Tokyo over the weekend for the International Baseball Federation’s World Congress.  72-hours in Japan.  Planes, trains, automobiles, and time machines.

IBAF World Congress

IBAF World Congress

The saying goes, “The fastest way from point A to point B is… the L train to the 2/3, the 2/3 uptown to Penn Station, transfer to the New Jersey Transit to Newark Airport, take the AirTran to your terminal, go to ticketing and through security remembering, of course, to remove all gold jewelry, sit at the gate, take a 16-hours flight over Canada and the East Coast of Russia to Japan, go through emigration and customs, and hop a 90-minute bus ride from Narita Airport to the Grand Prince Hotel New Takanawa, Tokyo.”  So that’s what I did.

The Bering Sea and Earth's horizon

The Bering Sea and Earth’s horizon

I have slept little to none of the last 4, or 5, days, so forgive me if my mind slips, more than usual, for things that used to be fixed– time and space, mostly, have abstracted, and I am not sure where or what I am, a living version of relativity, a human physics experiment. I left Tokyo Monday at 4:40pm, and landed Monday, the same day, in New York, at 4:25pm, after a 13-hour flight, 15-minutes before take-off.  Despite having traveled into a worm-hole, Ladies and Shtetl-Boys, I, without further circling, Representative Fish of Israel, King of All Jewish Baseball, professional blogger, amateur exaggerator – despite fatigue and legal insanity, will now dutifully tell you what happened in Japan.

74 countries were represented the IBAF conference in total.  Meet some of them, the Kings and Queens of International Baseball…

Brasil

Brasil

Bulgaria

Bulgaria

P1050790

India

For the win, Indonesia

For the win, Indonesia

Nigeria

Nigeria

Italy

Italy

Holland

Holland

Norway

Norway

Unites States of America

Unites States of America

Camaroon

Camaroon

Mario from Malta

Mario from Malta

Canada

Canada

Israel! No suit, or traditional garb. Rookie mistake.

Israel. No suit! No traditional garb!  Blew it… rookie mistake.

The conference, besides the election and re-election of the executive committee of IBAF,  was mostly about getting baseball and softball back into the Olympics.  To do that, IBAF and ISF (International Softball Federation) had to combine forces and create a new, 3rd federation, or confederation, in this case, the WBSC (World Baseball Softball Confederation).  There is only 1 open spot for 1 sport left for the 2020 Olympics.  Traditionally, baseball and softball have been 2 separate sports run by 2 separate federations played as 2 separate, simultaneous 16-day tournaments.  But now, to have any chance of getting back in the Olympics, the 2 sports and their federations must combine, and 2, 6-day tournaments will be played back-to-back, with 1 day between to convert the field– maybe, that is, if baseball/softball get back in at all.  In any case, to make the WBSC a real thing, we, the representatives of the national federations, had to vote to ratify the constitution of the new WBSC, which we did, unanimously.  And the WBSC was born.

WBSC press conference and new logo

PLAY BALL 2020 is the name of the campaign to get baseball and softball back in the Olympics.  It launched at 4pm the day of the vote.  Here’s the link…

http://playball2020.com/

The International Olympic Committee will meet in 5-weeks, at the end of May, in St. Petersburg, Russia, to discuss what sport[s] are in and which are out.  So go, now, join the fight, use your twitters and you muskets, your training and your facebooks, and help get baseball and softball back into the 2020 Olympics.

THE QUEENS OF JEWISH SOFTBALL

10 Apr

A miracle hath occurred!   That’s right, Ladies and Geetle Beans, an actual miracle, a wondrous and previously thought impossible event of biblical proportion and implication– THE YESHIVA UNIVERSITY LADY MACCABEE WOMEN’S SOFTBALL TEAM went to Sarah Lawrence University yesterday and won the first two games they played, ever.

The Yeshiva University Lady Maccabees.

The Yeshiva University Lady Maccabees

The final scores were 11-3, and 20-6.  We dominated.  We made plays.  We hit home runs.  We burned but were not consumed.  Not by might, and not by power, but by spirit alone, we did what no other team in YU history has done, that is, win the program’s first ever game [s].

I must say, it’s a well coached unit.

Congrats to the girls.

You will never forget this.

—

I do not have much time to write.  For tomorrow, as part of my duty as the King of All Jewish Baseball, I am flying to Tokyo for the International Baseball Federation Annual World Congress.  I am giving a presentation on the connection between proper base running techniques and shamanism.  In seriousness, I am going to place votes on behalf of Israel on several hot international baseball issues– reinstating baseball as an Olympic sport, how to grow the game in developing nations, and the merits of continental breakfast buffets.  And in ALL seriousness, I am going so I can write about it, which, ultimately, is why I do anything…

See you tomorrow in Tokyo!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KEEPING UP WITH TEAM ISRAEL

5 Apr

The Major League season started this week.  Spring training is over.  Rosters are set.  So, dutifully,  I can now provide you a complete Team Israel update.  So prepare yourselfs, Ladies and Geetles, as I, King of All Jewish Baseball, using only the power of the internet, and magic, of course, and copy and paste, and our statistically-minded friends over at http://www.milb.com/index.jsp, will now tell you where Team Israel wound up in 2013…

We got guys moving up.  We got guys moving down.  We got guys getting traded.  We got guys staying put.  We even got guys, well, a guy, in the BIGS.  So, before we begin, good luck to all Team Israel affiliates this season, from the King of Jewish Baseball, and all the TI fans out there…

Eric Berger   20 | P
Status: Active
MLB Parent Club: Cleveland
Berger, You are left handed, and Jewish.  Now go throw a god damn strike.
Richard Bleier   27 | P
Status: Disabled 7-Day
MLB Parent Club: Texas
Bleier, get your skinny Jewish  ass off the DL, we’re gonna need you to break some bats today.

—

David Colvin   27 | P
Status: Active
MLB Parent Club: Seattle
 Colvin, wipe that god damn smirk off your face and look like a ballplayer one time, please. Thank you.

—

Jeff Kaplan   34 | P
Status: Active
MLB Parent Club: NY Mets
 Kap, gimme a smile, one time, please.

—

David Kopp   33 | P
Status: Active
MLB Parent Club: Detroit
Wake up! Kopp, it’s baseball time,you son of a bitch.

—

Brett Lorin   35 | P
Status: Active
MLB Parent Club: Arizona
Lorin, I am gonna need your tall Jewish ass to have a great season. OK? Thanks.

—

Max Perlman P
Status: Active
MLB Parent Club: Oakland
Perl, Do me a favor, one-time, run a two-seemer up under someone’s hands and get some feet moving, please!

—

Justin Schumer P
Status: Active
MLB Parent Club: San Francisco
Schu, you Gregg Maddux looking son of a bitch, use the force, and some arm-side run, and go win a game one time.  Thank you!

—

Jeff Urlaub   28 | P
Status: Active
MLB Parent Club: Oakland
Urlaub, you freaky, freaky left-handed Jewish son of a bitch, would you please just go and pound the zone like it was a god damn chicken cutlet, please? Thank you.

—

Josh Zeid   26 | P
Status: Active
MLB Parent Club: Houston
 Zeid, you’ve got me all fired up over here.  Now take that Jewish lightning bolt in your pants and direct it to home plate, please.

—

Charles Cutler   37 | C
Status: Active
MLB Parent Club: Pittsburgh
 Cut, you clearly have forgotten to either grow or shave your mustache.I am gonna need you to hit a double.NOW!

—

Nick Rickles   9 | C
Status: Active
MLB Parent Club: Oakland
Rickles, you son of a bitch, get your ass out there and hit a ball over the trees next to the office building across the street.

—

Jake Lemmerman   23 | SS
Status: Active
MLB Parent Club: St. Louis
Schmecklestein, you happy Jewish son of a bitch! I am gonna need you to go ahead and handle the baseball today.

—

Jack Marder   3 | 2B
Status: Active
MLB Parent Club: Seattle
Marder, I am gonna need you to be the first Jew to hit .400 on the moon. K? Thanks.

—

Ben Orloff   9 | SS
Status: Active
MLB Parent Club: Houston
 Orloff, you cute-ass Jewish wizard, do me a favor and do something shocking. Lay out for a ball, something, god damnit.

—

Josh Satin   8 | 1B
Status: Active
MLB Parent Club: NY Mets
Satin, you’re gonna need to step in the box and just hang out for a while.  Then, when the guys throws you the pitch, I am gonna need you to hit it over the right-center field fence.  Can you do that? OK.

—

Cody Decker   16 | 1B
Status: Active
MLB Parent Club: San Diego
 Deck, I am not sure what kind of PR stunt you think this is, but I am gonna ask you nicely right now to HIT A FUCKING HOME RUN.Thank you.

—

Adam Greenberg   10 | CF
Status: Free Agent
MLB Parent Club: LA Angels
Greenberg, stop running so god damn fast, slow down, get your fast Jewish ass over here, I have something to tell you… Go pinch run.

—

Ben Guez   22 | RF
Status: Active
MLB Parent Club: Detroit
Guez, you Jewish son of a bitch, I am gonna need you to play this game with your jersey unbuttoned and untucked.  OK?

—

Joc Pederson   29 | OF
Status: Active
MLB Parent Club: LA Dodgers
Holy Shit, Pederson. Look at that mug. Did someone forget to tell you you have a BASEBALL GAME today.  Get your ass out there and be as good as you wanna be.

—

Robbie Widlansky   12 | OF
Status: Active
MLB Parent Club: LA Angels
 Widlansky, Widlansky,Can I ask a favor of your Jewish ass?  Can you put together a competitive at-bat one time and GET A HIT?  Thank you.

—

images
Freiman, you gigantic son of a bitch, you listen to me, you think you’re special now cause you’re in the Big Leagues???  Huh?  Well I have some news for your 6 foot 8 Jewish Ass… We’re proud of you.  ALL OF YOU.  And we’re rooting for you.
Now I am gonna need you to go hit a ball over a fence one time!!! Thank you.
(Nate Freiman in the Bigs)

THE WBC: FINAL

20 Mar

In the words of the great prophet, politician, and poet laureate, Kool Keith, “It’s over now.”  That’s right, over.  The World Baseball Classic has come to an end.  We know who won, and who lost.  We can put our 2013 WBC musings and dreams behind us, finally, and look to 2016.

Last night, the best team in the tournament– in the world, The Dominican Republic, beat Puerto Rico, 3-1.  Their record was a perfect 8-0 in the tournament.  They dominated.  Congratulations to Team DR and their giant plantain!  You guys deserve it.  Here are the game highlights.

Team Dominicana vs Team Puerto Rico, Final

As King of All Jewish Baseball, to see how we can make baseball popular in Israel, a small country the size of New Jersey in the Middle East, let’s see how the Dominican Republic, an almost equally small country in the Caribbean, one half of the island, Hispaniola, became the greatest baseball playing country in all the world.

Facts, otherwise known as things that are true…

10 million people live in the Dominican.

7.5 million people Live in Israel.

The Dominican Republic is 18,000 square miles.

Israel is 8,000 square miles.

The Dominican Republic got independence in 1844 from Haiti and the islands previous European colonial powers France and Spain and was immediately and repeatedly attacked by Haiti, the nation they share the Island with.

Israel in got independence 1947 from previous European colonial power England and was immediately and repeatedly attacked by Palestine and other nations they share land with.

In the Dominican Republic, it is hot.

In Israel, it is hotter.

15% of Major League Baseball players come from the Dominican Republic.

0% of Major League Baseball Players come from Israel.

The Dominican Republic won the 2013 World Baseball Classic, handily.

Israel did not qualify for the 2013 World Baseball Classic.

So… how are two countries with so much in common so different when it comes to baseball?

Made up facts, otherwise known as things that might be true…

Well, let me tell you, here and now, Ladies and Geetle-Bugs, that I, the King of All Jewish Baseball, certified international baseball genius and card carrying magician, have no idea.  But I will make some things up as is my habit as a professional blogger and exaggerator.  And it, some of it, at least, may even turn out to be true. But we will not know for a long, long time, thankfully.

So, your answer…

Simply put, one country is full of Black Men with outrageous natural athletic ability who grow up with the sole intention of playing Major League Baseball in the name of helping their families out of poverty, and one is full of Jewish Men with varying levels of no athletic ability with the option of taking whatever worldly career path they’d like to explore.

Just kidding… sort of.  To take a more “academic”, more “environmental”, less “racist”, I believe it’s called, approach, allow me to keep making things up…

The real fake answer is 4 answers, really.

1) Proximity to the USA

2) The passage of time

3) Farming

4) War

1) Proximity.  All the places baseball has become popular are close to the USA, where the game was “invented”, and where it is still played most– The Caribbean and the Caribbean Coast of South America, Japan and East Coast of Asia, Mexico and the rest of Central America, Canada, and, somewhat less, Australia.  The USA is like a baseball fire, and all these other countries are trying to keep their hands warm.  Africa, Europe, and Israel, as I will soon see, are all far away.

2) Time.  Baseball came to the DR in 1870 when Cuban farmers fled the Spanish in the Ten Years War.  So 143 years have passed since baseball was introduced there.  The IAB, on the other hand, was founded in 1986, just 27 years ago.

The example “farmers” fleeing “war” segways nicely…

3) Farming.  Flat ground, big fields, and tobacco – all needed to play baseball.  Not to mention the similar pace of farm-life and baseball-life.  Life in israel, from what I know of it, is many things.  “Slow”… is not one of them.

4) War.  There is though, unfortunately, plenty of war in Israel.   It is commonly thought that baseball pops-up (pardon the pun) wherever American soldiers are fighting.  The soldiers build fields, then the natives use them when they leave.  This, like everything, is both true and untrue.  Yes, baseball, and baseball fields, often spread with American conquest, but what, and this is the thing we are really searching for, is the magical quality that then attracts people to use the abandoned fields, or not use them???

Your fake guess is as good as mine.

This blog post is dedicated to all my former Dominican teammates and all the ballplayers in the Republica Dominicana… You guys are the CHAMPS!

TEAM DR!!!

Team Dominicana celebrates!!!

THE WBC: ROUND 2

12 Mar

And so the quest for supreme incontrovertible international and interplanetary baseball domination continues in the form of round 2 of the World Baseball Classic.  Only 8 teams remain.

In POOL 1, as it’s referred to by experts like myself, being played in Tokyo, Japan– Japan, Chinese Tapei, Cuba, and the Netherlands will be competing in traditional Mongolian Wrestling Challenges and the Scandinavian Barrel Toss.  Winner advances.

And in POOL 2, held in exotic Miami, Florida, Team USA, Italy, Puerto Rico, and the Domincan Republic will be put through various rites of passage ceremonies if they wish to be welcomed into adulthood including spending two weeks in solitude in the gator infested swamps of South Florida, and, in the Jewish version, nearly as deadly, they will each deliver the week’s Torah portion according to the Mayan calendar.

And then, AND ONLY THEN, they will play baseball.

If the 2nd round is at all like the 1st, we will see highlights only the Wild World of International Tournament Baseball can provide.  And, finally, the scientific community, the elderly, all babies, most animals, and the conservative right will unify if for a brief moment in awe and support of this wondrous event.

So far, we have seen…

fights…

Canada vs. Mexico fight

Walk-offs, upsets, and sac flies, all in one…

Dutch Walk It Off

And lots of home-runs– even Grand Slams…

Wright Grand Slam

So join me on this wild-ride through the untamed final frontier of international baseball where Americans, Italians, Dominicans, Japanese, the Dutch, and squirrels everywhere battle for the right to call themselves… the Kings of International Baseball.

The 2013 WBC.

Boom!

THE WBC

4 Mar

imgres-1

And so that glorious quadra-annual spring tradition is upon us– no, it is not what you were thinking, if you were thinking leap year, it’s… THE WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC.

At first, my approach to dealing with the WBC was to not deal with it at all, to ignore it, which, as every mental health professional will tell you, is the proper way of handling anything that potentially causes you discomfort.  I was not going to watch, not going to write about, comment on, or indulge in the games whatsoever, knowing it would just recall the disappointment of losing the qualifier.  But I cannot hide from the fact that the WBC started Friday night.  Honestly, I am too interested to stay away.

Japan beat Brazil (5-2) in the tournament opener in Fukuoka, Japan.  4 games have been played so far.  There are 4 brackets with 4 teams in each.  The championship round will be played March 17-19 in San Francisco at AT&T Park.  Here are the brackets…

2013 WBC Brackets

As the Executive Director of the IAB, and, of course, as the King of All Jewish Baseball, I have been offered two tickets to the finals in San Fran.  But will not be attending due to an inability to transport myself the 3,000 miles without disrupting the delicate financial flow of the universe.  But I will do exactly what I previously promised myself I would not– I will check box scores, highlights, I will watch games, I will report to you and other rabid KOJB fans my most expert opinions on the games, and I will generally participate in this rare and magical planetary phenomenon known in the scientific community as the 2013 World Baseball Classic.

Good luck to all the teams…

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