A few days ago Rich posted a compelling write-up focused on the joys of the World Baseball Classic. His writing got me to take a glance at a couple games, something I hadn’t done previously.

I’d never been staunchly anti-WBC, but it seemed to me as though the timing of the event made the games nothing more than glorified exhibitions with some semblance of national pride supposedly on the line.

I won’t go as far as some have in calling the tournament a farce and a “World Baseball Money Grab by the Joke of a Commissioner.” But I do think there is at least one thing someone is going to have to address if this tournament is going to be the Classic it is billed as being: Injuries.

The main concern I’ve heard teams voice through the media about the WBC is their legitimate worry about players who are just starting their spring trainings going out in a highly-competitive atmosphere before they are ready and getting themselves hurt. And it’s playing out so far this spring.

David Wright got kneed in the head Sunday night, which made him woozy, according to the New York Times. He stayed in the game. But he’s just one of a laundry list for the U.S. alone.

Chipper Jones, Dustin Pedroia, Matt Lindstrom and Ryan Braun have also had injuries – including situations where Pedroia (abdominal muscle) and Lindstrom (elbow) acknowledged that they played on after getting hurt without telling the coaching staff.

Not that what Pedroia and Lindstrom did is out of character for athletes – they’re asked and told they have to play through pain constantly. It’s a badge of courage. But by doing so at the WBC they’re also playing into the fears that teams have in allowing those players to go in the first place.

Adding to the woes the Florida Marlins must be feeling about possibly losing their closer into the beginning of the season, versatile utility player Alfredo Amezaga is expected to be out three to five weeks with a sprained knee earned while playing with Mexico. Stud shortstop Hanley Ramirez was also dinged, though his aches and pains aren’t expected to sideline him into the season.

Sure, critics of this viewpoint can point to Julio Lugo’s torn meniscus, suffered not during the WBC, but during typical spring training activities. But these injuries aren’t an anomaly either. In the piece linked to above, the New York Times cites a site called Baseball-Injury-report.com that says those who played in the World Baseball Classic two years ago spent an average of 15 days on the disabled list during that Major League season.

U.S. manager Davey Johnson had to use backup catcher Brian McCann in left field Sunday as the injuries stacked up. He told the media afterward that if his two catchers got hurt he’d risk elimination and forfeit the game rather than take a chance on injuring a player who was unfamiliar with being behind the plate.

As much as that probably goes against the competitive fibers of Johnson and every player on the team it’s probably the right call to make. Teams have too much money invested in their star players to risk losing them for the regular season, which starts in about three weeks.

As Rich wrote the other day, the World Baseball Classic does not suck. I’ve checked out bits of a couple games and I’ve been impressed with the quality of play and the clear desire the teams are showing to win for their homelands.

But whether it means expanding the rosters and treating the games more like spring training contests, moving the tournament to the All-Star Break or finding some other way to stanch the flow of injuries, something has to be done if Major League Baseball executives are going to continue allowing their stars to get in game shape while representing their respective countries.

Dollar signs will see to that.