Japan wins the WBC, again

So, how long until Nippon Professional baseball is considered a third major league?

They are two for two when it comes to World Baseball Classics. The first one seemed like a fluke, but this year they dominated, losing only a couple games to Korea along the way.

I am not so sure that us Americans can hide behind the old "not all our best players played" routine anymore. We had Jimmy Rollins at shortstop and David Wright at third, Ryan Braun and Adam Dunn in the outfield. It woulda been nice if Pedroia and Youkilis would've stayed healthy; and sure, I would've rather had Texeiria at first - but I don't know if those guys make any difference between Daisuke Matsuzaka shutting us down while Roy Oswalt gets shelled. The fact is, that USA roster looked thin to begin with, especially the starting rotation, and I'm not sure there's that many American-born major leaguers out there that would've made a difference.