My first reaction to this news is a pretty definitive, “Oy.”

As someone who loves Bernie, who cares about his well-being, it is important to me that he not play fast and loose with his dignity.  As it stands, Bernie will be remembered as a terrific ballplayer-the first to win a batting title, Gold Glove award, and a ring all in the same year.  (It was ’98, a magical year all around.)  I would hate to see him tarnish that legacy.

Bernie may have felt like he was in peak condition at the WBC, but he didn’t look it.  He was slower-things seemed more effortful.  Don’t get me wrong; he’s not what you would call a schlub.  But there is a world of difference between being a guy who’s in good shape for forty and being fit enough for major league play.

The best case scenario here is that the Yankees decide to bring him on for a tiny paycheck and in a limited capacity because they finally acknowledge that he’s someone we could really use in the clubhouse.  Hardly ideal, but the best case scenario nonetheless. And fairly implausible unless several people in the Yankees’ front office have personality transplants.

More likely, one of two definitively more embarrassing things will happen.

One, he gets signed to a measly deal for a team that isn’t the Yankees.  A catastrophe of unspeakable proportions.  I say this not just as a fanatical diehard Bombers fan who would be personally devastated to see Bernie suiting up to play in anything other than pinstripes. I also believe that, as Bernie gets older and looks back on his career, this is a move that he would sincerely regret.  There are some players who happen play to for a team and others who are its defining members.  Bernie is a Yankee.  In his soul, he is a Yankee. If he bows out once and for all, he’ll be remembered as a Yankee.  And only a Yankee.  Does he really want that addendum on the bottom of his Baseball Reference and Wikipedia pages about the one year he spent playing measly ball for the Reds?

Unfortunately, however, there is another still more embarrassing possibility-that nobody bites.  What could be a more tragic ending to a career such as Bernie’s as seeing him peddle himself on the open market without a bidder to be found?

When the Yanks released Bernie without ceremony or respect, I was the first to take umbrage.  When a crazy lady in a San Juan nightclub accused Bernie of attacking her, I leapt to his defense.  So, now, Bernie, I hope you know that it is only out of love and concern that I tell you that I think you’re riding a one-way train to total shame and humiliation.

I seriously advise you to reconsider and disembark.

No, that’s not a typo.  I didn’t mean to write Barry Bonds or Christian Bale.  It was Bernie Williams.

Supposedly.

Maybe I am just blinded by the sheer force of my love for Bernie, but I find this all very hard to believe.  And by very hard, I mean impossible.  And by impossible, I mean as likely as it ever was for Manny to get signed to a five-year deal.

The story goes that Bernie was in the nightclub to perform-if you will recall, he is a smooth jazz musician.  According to the woman in question, Bernie got mad when she took his picture.  So he broke her camera and smacked her in the face.

Sounds a lot like Bernie, right?

Let’s leave aside the most obvious red flag about this story, which is that, even if he was enraged, this would be insanely out of character for Number 51-a guy who has been around long enough for us to know a thing or two about his character.  The fact is that Bernie wasn’t at the club puttin’ on for his city, trying to just enjoy a night on the town.  He was there to play music.  So, it’s hard for me to imagine him getting so incensed about one of his fans wanting his photo when he was at this club in an effort to promote himself and his smooth jazz.  Unless, maybe, this particular fan happened to be threatening Bernie with a gun and calling his mother a whore at the same time that she was taking the picture.

All I know is this:  During his tenure as a Yankee, Bernie never displayed any signs of an anger issue or a tendency to be violent.  If anything, he seems to take an exceptionally laissez faire approach to conflict resolution-always opting for a nap at the slightest sign of any clubhouse drama.

So I stand with Bernie, who has never found anything other than a positive outlet for the expression of the salsa in him.

Maybe it’s that I sort of like nationalism when it’s being expressed by countries that aren’t international superpowers.  (Ever notice how it sounds festive and spirited for a group of people to chant, say, “Venezuela” whereas it seems aggressive and hostile when people chant, “USA?”  This is not to say I don’t love my country, but it’s an indisputable truth.)  Maybe I think that people’s sense of national pride is better expressed in the stadium than in other arenas.  Maybe I think it’s nice for countries that don’t often have a chance to showcase their talent to finally have such a forum.  Maybe I just love to feel like the whole world is playing and watching baseball.

Whatever the case, what can I say?  If you want to trick people into starting a new international tradition involving baseball, I guess I’m the target audience.

Last night, I went to see Puerto Rico play Panama in San Juan, and I got some affirmation as to just what it is that makes this such a good idea.  For starters, I have a truth bomb to drop on all you Yankee fans out there:  We aren’t the best fans in the world.  That is, assuming the quality of a group’s fanmanship can be determined by the amount of noise  that group is able to generate.  And let me just say that for a stadium that was probably a quarter the size of what we’ve got going on in the Bronx, the noise level was probably about five times as impressive.  There were horns, chants, sticks, trumpets, a sound effect for every on-field scenario, salsa music with dancers on top of the dugout in between innings.  It was a lot.  At times, arguably, too much.  But obviously there is not a universe that exists in which “Cotton-Eyed Joe” is ever a better idea than salsa dancing on top of a dugout.

Ultimately, the festive nature of the crowd was a reflection of what it is that I think makes the WBC so special.   It is a rare opportunity when the people of Puerto Rico get to cheer for Bernie Williams, Carlos Delgado, and Carlos Beltran as representatives of Puerto Rico rather than players for various MLB teams.  For the most part, players makes good and leave their countries of origin to come to the States.  I’m sure it’s nice if you’re from the Dominican Republic to have your guys come back home and rep you as a nation.

(Of course, Puerto Rico is not technically its own country, but that’s another story.)

The highlight of the game was obviously when Bernie Williams came in to pinch hit in the 6^th.  Sadly, the Panamanians intentionally walked him, which prompted some awesome Spanish song from the crowd-something presumably mean and directed towards the pitcher.

I have to learn that song.

Bernie was immediately replaced with a pinch runner, despite Puerto Rico’s four-run lead.  An unnecessary precaution in my mind.   It was great to see him on the field again under any circumstances, but I would have loved to see some heroics.  Or a second at-bat.  Or, at the very least, a pitch he could have hit in the one at-bat he did have.  But standing ten feet away and getting a chance to be part of that crowd going crazy as he took the field, well, it was good enough for me.

In the end, Puerto Rico smoked Panama 7-0, thanks in part to Pudge Rodriguez.  He went 4-for-4 with 4 RBIs and two dingers.  Not a bad game for a guy still looking for a job. For the record, in Puerto Rico, no one calls Pudge “Pudge.”  Nor do they call him “Gordo.”  It’s just Ivan.  Which is nicer, I think.

As for the rest of it, my Korean boys are still standing strong.  They humiliated China 14-0.  In so doing, they advance to the second round.  Our boys in red, white and blue beat the Canadians, just barely-6-5.  Venezuela beat Italy 7-0.  I know; you’re all shocked to find out the Venezuelans play better baseball than the Italians.

But for a real surprise, how about this? The Dominican Republic lost to the Dutch-3-2. I know.   And if you think you’re confused, you’re not.  The Dominican Republic is, in fact, the team with David Ortiz, Jose Reyes, Robinson Cano, Hanley Ramirez, and Miguel Tejada.  The Dutch team is the team that tried to trick Dan Haren into thinking he was Dutch so that he’d play for them.  Apparently, the win was thanks in large part to the Arubian Knight, who’s also looking for work these days.

So, apparently those Dutch mean business.  And when they end up walking away with the whole thing, don’t forget who told you they were the dark horse to win this competition.

As one might expect, there will be quite a delegation from the New York teams.  Most notably, the Yanks will be sending A-Roid, Robbie and Demaso Marte, all on behalf of the DR.  Jeet will be playing for Team USA.  As for the Mets, their spring training camp will be more than a little empty in the coming weeks.  They’ll be playing their exhibition games without the assistance of Jose Reyes  (DR), Ollie Perez (Mexico),  K-Rod (Venezuela),  Dee Dubs, Putz (both Team USA), Delgado, Beltran, Alex Cora and Pedro Feliciano (all Puerto Rico).

You can go here for a detailed look at all the major leaguers included on the various rosters.

For the record, I’m for team Puerto Rico.  Who knows if and when I’ll ever have the chance to cheer for Bernie Williams again.   Not to mention that there are plenty of other Puertoriqueño ballplayers worth getting behind-Aexis Rios, Carlos Delgado, Yadier Molina. I’ve always been a fan of all things Molina.

PR did a lot worse than expected in 2006, and they haven’t wont a Caribbean Series since 2000.  But who knows? They could be due.  And they certainly have the star-studded cast to make it happen.  But Pool D does offer some pretty fierce competition.  The DR is no joke.  Not to mention the Netherlands.

Yeah, you laugh.  But the Netherlands may just be the dark horse to win this competition.

A word to the wise: Never underestimate the Dutch.

Not soon enough for my taste.

For a team whose players are drawn to tawdry, salacious storylines like Curt Schilling is drawn to Nazi paraphernalia, there’s something to be said for having a guy in the clubhouse who can always summon the exhaustion for a nap-no matter what’s going on.  A guy who embodies the essence of what it means to be a Yankee.  A guy who can’t help but remind people of the glory days in the Bronx.

It should also be noted that Bernie brought music to the clubhouse, infusing it with a much needed sense of cultural refinement.  And by cultural refinement I, of course, mean smooth jazz.

Is it just me or is this the kind of player we could have used on our roster-I don’t know-maybe a couple of years ago?

Bernie initially requested to train at the Yankees’ minor league complex.  The Yanks, however, wouldn’t hear of it and invited him to come, instead, to Legends Field.  Mark your calendars.  This may be the first time anyone in the Yankees’ front office has revealed anything resembling something like class. Ever.

I hope this gesture constitutes the beginning of a renewed relationship between the Bombers and Bernie, who vanished from our lives without a trace after he was let go rather unceremoniously in 2007.  Maybe, just maybe, this olive branch will help him forget old wounds and inspire him to come around more often-in whatever capacity.  I’m sure our overwhelming expression of love and devotion at the All-Star game helped move us in that direction.

Of course, technically, Bernie, who is 40, has never officially retired.  He says that if all goes well at the WBC, it’s possible that he will try to reignite his career.  But unlike some deranged, sociopathic football players who refuse to acknowledge when it’s time to go, Bernie does have the awareness that his fantasy of coming back may be more of a pipe dream than a feasible goal.  He commented, “There’s always going to be this small kid in me who’s going to say, ‘You can still do this, man, you can still do this.’  But I think I could be 70 and that kid’s still going to be there.”

The nice thing for Bernie is that he always has his music.  If you haven’t already, do yourself a favor and listen to his breakout album, “The Journey Within.”  Personally, I’m a fan of the track “La Salsa En Mi.”

It is truly a reflection of the salsa in him.