The Feed: We'll Make You A Deal - You Stop Supporting The Sudanese Government And We'll Bring The Pirates Home

Pirates

China's got a pretty sizable population. You probably knew that already. So does Major League Baseball. They've seen how much headway the NBA has made on the good side of the Great Wall since Yao Ming made the jump to Houston and want a chunk of yuan for themselves. The Yankees have already established their own working relationship with China baseball and this week a delegation from the league has been touring the country as part of an effort to grow the sport. One of the ideas is to play some exhibition games at Chinese ballparks, according to MLB exec Bob DuPuy.

"I think there is an excellent chance we will have some games next spring, and there are lots of teams who are interested in coming," DuPuy said. "There is certainly no shortage of teams who are interested in being the first to play in China."

DePuy is on the trip with three executives from teams who would likely qualify as interested parties. Larry Lucchino of the Red Sox is there and so is Sandy Alderson of the Padres. So is Kevin McClatchy, CEO of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and therin lies the diplomatic problem. The only way sending the Pirates to China qualifies as a good way to sell the game is if the idea is to try and show the Chinese how quickly they can be at a competitive level. One can easily imagine Chinese bureaucrats watching Ronny Paulino at the plate or Tony Armas on the mound and saying to themselves how easy it will be to conquer the United States. One look at Chris Duffy would probably be enough to unify even the Iraqis behind a common goal of baseball greatness.

The Chinese already have us running scared thanks to tariffs and other governmental gobbledygook. Can we really risk our national pastime with such a misguided attempt at goodwill?

November 2007