The competition is weakened by the absence of players who are either recovering from or fearing injuries. The perception of the tournament suffers, diminishing interest. The latest injury reports give the event's critics reason to say, "I told you so."

Team USA isn't an isolated case; Yankees officials did not sound pleased when second baseman Robinson Cano and reliever Damaso Marte rejoined the team in worse shape than when they left to play for the Dominican Republic.

Pedroia and Jones, in particular, could have suffered the same injuries if they had remained in spring training. But major league teams spend the WBC terrified that one of their multimillion dollar investments will be damaged, if not during the tournament, then later.

Players get hurt in spring training; see Vernon Wells, Ervin Santana and Justin Duchscherer, not to mention Alex Rodriguez, and as of Sunday — ahem — Manny Ramirez. Some players — Pedroia, for one — actually prefer the higher level of intensity in the WBC. But for high-velocity pitchers such as Lindstrom, in particular, the greater the effort, the greater the risk.

The Mets' J.J. Putz contends that relievers actually face less peril, saying, "Even in spring training, we're taught to give everything we can for that one inning." But Luis Ayala, pitching for Mexico, blew out his elbow in the first WBC. Imagine if the same thing happened to Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez, who is pitching with great emotion for Venezuela.