General Discussion

Elwood P Dowd

(11,453 posts)

32. There is a simple reason for that.

Tue Mar 22, 2016, 03:03 PM

Mar 2016

The best players in the US, Dominican Republic, Japan, etc. are in the middle of their Major League and Minor League seasons. The owners, executives, and coaches are simply not going to allow their best players to take a month off to play in the Olympics. There are millions of dollars at stake. Cuba doesn't have that problem, even though some of their best players have defected to Major League Baseball. That stupid early March world baseball tournament that is played every 4 years attracts very few of the best American players and some of the best foreign Major League players skip it.

For years we sent 18-22 year-old college kids to play baseball in the Olympics. Those are kids not good enough to be selected high in the Major League draft and were not even the best 18-22 year-olds available. Most of the best in that age group were playing in the Majors, Minors, under contract, and not available for the Olympics.

The NBA allows it because the Olympics are played weeks before the NBA season starts. The NHL works with the Olympics also.

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I'm watching the Cuba v the Tampa Bay Rays baseball game in Havana. They are awaiting Pres. Obama [View all] brush Mar 2016 OP

Thanks! Tuned in on ESPN. Land of Enchantment Mar 2016 #1

Appreciation towards the Castros? oberliner Mar 2016 #2

Most Cubans in Cuba do. Mika Mar 2016 #3

That is total BS oberliner Mar 2016 #5

You have this one wrong malaise Mar 2016 #7

You have no way of knowing that oberliner Mar 2016 #13

Then maybe you don't know the relationship between Cuba and Jamaica n/t malaise Mar 2016 #15

You have no way of knowing what you say. I lived in Cuba. Many of my family live there, I go often Mika Mar 2016 #33

I would guess that most *claim* to. trotsky Mar 2016 #17

What a bigoted and uninformed comment. Mika Mar 2016 #34

LMAO! trotsky Mar 2016 #36

HRW has no observers there. HRW's Cuba reports are based on stories fabricated by Cubanet employees. Mika Mar 2016 #38

Oh I get it. trotsky Mar 2016 #40

A lie goes around the world before truth can get its boots on. Mika Mar 2016 #41

Why don't they have human rights observers in Cuba? trotsky Mar 2016 #42

We go over this on the LatAm forum almost every time a Cuba related event comes up. Mika Mar 2016 #43

Yup, there's the forum. trotsky Mar 2016 #44

For overthrowing the dictator Batista brush Mar 2016 #4

If they don't appreciate it, they get arrested oberliner Mar 2016 #6

I'm talking intellectually, privately, historically do they wonder where Cuba would be . . . brush Mar 2016 #9

Maybe oberliner Mar 2016 #10

There's a lot of free speech in Cuba but one cannot speak badly of Fidel flamingdem Mar 2016 #31

WHAT? This is where we part ways. Mika Mar 2016 #35

Well maybe that's just folklore but I don't think so flamingdem Mar 2016 #39

Much as had happened during the Batista presidency LanternWaste Mar 2016 #20

Do you see Castro in the same light as those two right wing dictators that came before? brush Mar 2016 #25

It seems like that to you, maybe because you don't know. Mika Mar 2016 #37

Do you know why there is no baseball in the Olympics?? malaise Mar 2016 #8

No. Why do I get the feeling you're going to tell me? brush Mar 2016 #11

Is it because Cuba always wins? oberliner Mar 2016 #12

Correct n/t malaise Mar 2016 #16

There is a simple reason for that. Elwood P Dowd Mar 2016 #32

If they bring it back guess the World Baseball Congress event will dissolve brush Mar 2016 #26

Do you have a link? Are you watching on ESPN? flamingdem Mar 2016 #14

Sorry, no link. I'm watching it on ESPN brush Mar 2016 #18

They're about to interview Obama malaise Mar 2016 #19

In the middle of the game? flamingdem Mar 2016 #21

Yep - we're not seeing the game right now malaise Mar 2016 #22

Split screen every now and then malaise Mar 2016 #23

What I love most about Obama malaise Mar 2016 #24

I was thinking the same about his speech, he admitted to the faults of the USA flamingdem Mar 2016 #27

Said that on another thread malaise Mar 2016 #28

I see on twitter that the Cuban pitcher is/was chewing a toothpick flamingdem Mar 2016 #29

Very old school malaise Mar 2016 #30