Baseball and politics

It sticks in my craw that the Phillies are moving my baseball team to Allentown. The Red barons website recaps Phillies assistant general manager Mike Arbuckle's press conference:

The most plausible is that the Phillies, after nearly two decades, finally got tired of dealing with county ownership. Arbuckle said Wednesday that, at times, trying to deal with the Lackawanna County commissioners and the stadium authority on issues got "confusing" and that "we weren't sure who to talk to, quite frankly" because they'd receive calls from both sides.

Way to go boys, I hope people remember this when the commissioners are up for re-election. The good news in the intersecting worlds of baseball and politics is that Cuba will be allowed to participate in the World Baseball Classic.

U.S. relents and will allow Castro's club to play in tournament

The U.S. government reversed course yesterday and issued the special license necessary for the communist nation to play in the 16-team tournament. Baseball's first application was denied last month in the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, but the commissioner's office and the players' association reapplied Dec. 22 after Cuba said it would donate any profits it receives to victims of Hurricane Katrina. "The president wanted to see it resolved in a positive way," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said in an e-mail to the Associated Press. "Our concerns were centered on making sure that no money was going to the Castro regime and that the World Baseball Classic would not be misused by the regime for spying. We believe the concerns have been addressed."

Not having the Olympic Gold Medal winner in the tournament would make it meaningless. So Castro will donate the proceeds and the U.S. government is satisified that bat boys will not be taking pictures of air force bases. Let the games begin.