# Hallelujah! (Cuba and the WBC) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 20, 2006, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-cuba-and-the-wbc/340836 "2006-01-20T16:23:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-cuba-and-the-wbc/340836/1 "2006-01-20T16:23:07Z")
[Sports Illustrated](http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/baseball/mlb/wires/01/20/2010.ap.bbi.classic.cuba.0108/) is reporting that the U.S. Treasury Department has, as of about 30 minutes ago, approved MLB’s request for a license to allow Cuba to play in the World Baseball Classic. It’s on now, folks. And I couldn’t be happier. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-cuba-and-the-wbc/340836/2 "2006-01-20T16:25:40Z")
I think that this is great news. I’ll like it even better if one of the defectors ends up on the Dodgers. ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-cuba-and-the-wbc/340836/3 "2006-01-20T16:29:29Z")
Oh good. Because if they’d lost the sanction and cancelled the effing games, I’d have been pissed. I had concert tickets I refunded so that I could go to the game instead! ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-cuba-and-the-wbc/340836/4 "2006-01-20T16:30:22Z")
Darnit, you had me thinking that Phred was gonna protest in Cuba. I’d be hallelujah’ing too right now if that were true. ---
**Author:** ![TheBoneyKingofNowhere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@TheBoneyKingofNowhere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBoneyKingofNowhere)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-cuba-and-the-wbc/340836/5 "2006-01-20T16:31:14Z")
Great news! ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-cuba-and-the-wbc/340836/6 "2006-01-20T18:17:49Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Darnit, you had me thinking that Phred was gonna protest in Cuba. I’d be hallelujah’ing too right now if that were true. Heh. Sorry about that, but I don’t think it would have fit any other way. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-cuba-and-the-wbc/340836/7 "2006-01-20T18:21:47Z")
I hate it when someone comes into a thread just to say “meh”. But I’ll do it anyway. Meh. I’m not a fan of the whole idea. I couldn’t care less who wins. I think it will have a bad effect on spring training and on each team’s ability to build a team in a short amount of time. The shit will really hit the fan if a star gets hurt during this meaningless tournament. I am hoping for mass Cuban defections though. Any more Hernandez brothers? ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-cuba-and-the-wbc/340836/8 "2006-01-20T18:29:46Z")
**Loach** , not to pick on you specifically or anything, but I don’t get the apathy about this tournament that I’ve heard from a lot of people. I can only attribute it to what one of the ESPN guys said the other day: the U.S. has never really had a natural baseball rivalry, so it’s not as big as it is in Latin America or Asia. I think that’ll change after this year, though, especially if the final is U.S. vs. Dominican Republic like we’re all hoping. And actually, several teams are looking at this as a good thing because while they may be losing some superstars for a few weeks (and, God forbid, longer if there’s an injury) they get a much better look at the marginal guys who get invites to camp. ---
**Author:** ![JimSox5](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5a626/32.png) [@JimSox5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimSox5)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-cuba-and-the-wbc/340836/9 "2006-01-20T18:33:52Z")
Yay! I’m excited! This, of course, should have been resolved much sooner, I believe, but at least it’s done. When are the games supposed to start? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-cuba-and-the-wbc/340836/10 "2006-01-20T18:37:04Z")
> [@brianjedi](#): > > **Loach** , not to pick on you specifically or anything, but I don’t get the apathy about this tournament that I’ve heard from a lot of people. I can only attribute it to what one of the ESPN guys said the other day: the U.S. has never really had a natural baseball rivalry, so it’s not as big as it is in Latin America or Asia. I think that’ll change after this year, though, especially if the final is U.S. vs. Dominican Republic like we’re all hoping. > > And actually, several teams are looking at this as a good thing because while they may be losing some superstars for a few weeks (and, God forbid, longer if there’s an injury) they get a much better look at the marginal guys who get invites to camp. The apathy comes from the fact that we are not looking at any real rivalries. Instead it is a bunch of players from American teams going to play a meaningless exihibtion tourney and then coming back to their real teams. That’s were the real rivalry is. I may check out some of the games just because I love baseball but I will be about as emotionally involved in it as I would when watching a preseason game. That is, not at all. I would rather watch a Yankee /Red Sox game in April than the final of the tounament. ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-cuba-and-the-wbc/340836/11 "2006-01-20T18:48:14Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > The apathy comes from the fact that we are not looking at any real rivalries. Instead it is a bunch of players from American teams going to play a meaningless exihibtion tourney and then coming back to their real teams. That’s were the real rivalry is. I may check out some of the games just because I love baseball but I will be about as emotionally involved in it as I would when watching a preseason game. That is, not at all. I would rather watch a Yankee /Red Sox game in April than the final of the tounament. There are some serious rivalries in this tournament. Japan-South Korea, the Dominican versus EVERY Central American and Caribbean team and Puerto Rico versus most of the Caribbean are heated. The Caribbean Series is a huge deal, and that’s going to transfer to the WBC. ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-cuba-and-the-wbc/340836/12 "2006-01-20T19:17:37Z")
> [@JimSox5](#): > > Yay! I’m excited! This, of course, should have been resolved much sooner, I believe, but at least it’s done. When are the games supposed to start? Pool A (Asia) starts March 3, and the other three pools start the next week.