Captain America

Derek Jeter and manager Davey Johnson held a press conference in Las Vegas today promoting the World Baseball Classic.

Unlike Alex Rodriguez, Jeter, the captain of America's most popular team, is a true American.

“I think when the W.B.C. started there was a lot of skepticism on the behalf of the players, to be honest,” Jeter said. “They didn’t know if they wanted to play or if it would take away from the season.”

But, Jeter said, “every player to a man was excited to represent their country.” He added that enthusiasm has been building among players since the first tournament, in 2006.

With baseball being removed from the Olympics, this is really the only chance baseball players have at representing their countries. And it's certainly the only chance for highly-paid ones to do so.

Regarding CC Sabathia: “You know how it is, until it’s done you don’t want to say anything for sure,” he said. “But he would be a great addition. We need pitching. … He’s a No. 1 and (Chien-Ming) Wang is a No. 1.” (Via Peter Abraham)
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