Well, not really of course. But as the WBC kicks off and many of the most talented players in the sport begin to disseminate, spring training definitely starts to feel like the secondary story.

However, before the real games begin and WBC teams can start playing for the sake of national pride, they will be focused on more local bragging rights.  For the next couple of days, the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues will host WBC teams in a number of exhibitions games.

Talk about fierce competition-competition fraught with inner conflict and tough decisions about personal loyalty.

Look at Albert Pujols and his choice to sit out the game that the Cardinals will play against the DR out of respect for his country.  Not an easy decision.  In fact, so not an easy decision that it didn’t even occur to anyone else to make such a decision.

More people should love their countries like Albert Pujols loves his country.

Today promises to be a particularly heated day as the Yanks take on Team USA at Legends Field.  Talk about conflict-Jeter, who will be sharing time as shortstop for Team USA, is practically the poster child for the Bombers.  I mean, the tension must just be eating him up inside, right?

Actually, no.

“If it was a real game, maybe,” he said. “I think it’ll seem like an intrasquad game…. The story’s as big as you write it, I guess.”

What is he, drugged?  Sure, that’s true-technically.  But why doesn’t anyone feel things with the same kind of intensity as Albert Pujols?

Despite the fact that Derek Jeter might be under some crazy illusion that today is just for fun, one thing’s for sure: he won’t be messing around when it comes time for the real competition to begin.  When Derek Jeter plays, he plays to win.  And according to Team USA manager Davey Johnson, their team is the “team to beat” this year.

Poor old Davey. I think he might want to look closely at all the rosters before he goes mortgaging the farm on that creative assertion.

Insurance people are just so persnickety sometimes.

Unable to play for his country, the Dominican Republic, Pujols felt like he needed to find some other way to channel his patriotism. A mind-numbingly stupid and overdramatic way if possible.  For he is a mind-numbingly stupid and overdramatic person.

Well, guess what? Mission accomplished.

Yesterday, Pujols announced that he won’t be playing in the exhibition game between the Domincan Republic and the Cardinals this coming Thursday out of “respect” for his compatriots.

And we all know that Pujols values nothing if not respect.

So, let me just clarify a point real quick, Pujols. During the regular season, do you just not try when you’re up at bat against Tony Pena?  Out of respect?  When you play the Royals during interleague play, do you just respectfully decline on account of the larger than average number of Dominican players on that particular team?

Seriously, Pujols. We’re talking about an exhibition game during the first week of March-the outcome of which is inconsequential in every way imaginable. No one’s making you play in a championship game against the DR for some deeply offensive team like, say, Team Australia.  Stop making us pay attention to you unnecessarily.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again:  With a name like that, you’re already working at such a crazy deficit.  Why make it so much harder than it already is to not make fun of you?