Baseball is Dead: Do the Yankees hate America?

The crew from the Baseball is Dead podcast is none too happy that the Yankees appear to be neglecting their patriotic duty by begging out of the upcoming World Baseball Classic.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This podcast contains adult language. Viewer discretion is advised.

Joey jumped in hot at the fact people were talking about Gerrit Cole’s Spring Training start for the Yankees while he is not on the Team USA roster. He even went so far as to say it’s embarrassing that Cole is striking out dudes in meaningless Spring Training games instead of playing in the WBC for his country.

Jared asks how could you watch the last WBC and if you’re in your prime and eligible and not be chomping at the bit to be a part of the tournament. Jared then busts out his best Kermit impression to give what he imagines Cole’s excuses to be, but argues that he would actually better prepare for the season by facing better competition in the World Baseball Classic.

Dallas thinks that, especially for pitchers, once you’ve gotten a WBC under your belt, you’re less likely to sign up again because you have a program in place and you want to stick to it. He thinks that with Cole’s contact comes a level of responsibility and accountability to the Yankees. Dallas also says, from a business perspective, the World Baseball Classic is only an opportunity for the player’s business relationship with their team to go unfulfilled — you’re literally playing free baseball for someone else. However, Dallas does say that if he were asked he would definitely go represent his country, despite the inherent risk any time you take the mound.

Jared isn’t afraid to go after Cole for not being willing to make some sacrifices for his country ...

Joey makes the point it’s not just Cole, but rather the Yankees in general, with Aaron Judge and Nestor Cortes also not participating. It leads him to one, logicial conclusion — the Yankees hate America.

Joey isn’t going to take it lying down though. Instead, he’s going to rally the troops ...

SHOW BREAKDOWN

Pitch Clock Madness

• The World Baseball Classic is underway! In today’s episode we’re taking a look at the WBC pools and picking which teams we think will advance out of the pool stage. We’re looking at the DraftKings Sportsbook to compare odds between the tournament’s three heavyweight favorites, and deciding which of the underdogs has a chance to make some noise. Jared and Joey are ripping the Yankees for not showing up for their country to pitch for Team USA. We’re also ranking the four greatest Texas Rangers players of all time in our Rangers Mount Rushmore segment. Enjoy!

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