Netherlands Stuns Dominican Republic

The Dutch beat the mighty Dominicans in the WBC. People have been harping on the significance of this upset all morning. In the US, however, this is not the equivalent of Buster Douglas or the 1980 Olympic hockey team. In my opinion this is more akin to Boston College beating the Red Sox in a spring training exhibition game.

Sure the victory meant a lot to the Dutch players but don't you think Boston College players would be similarly pumped if they beat the Red Sox in an exhibition? If you don't think this was an exhibition then explain to me why the Dominican Republic did not have Vlad Guerrero, Francisco Liriano, Albert Pujols, Manny Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano not to mention Alex Rodriguez on the roster. Sure A-Rod started off on the roster but took himself off to have surgery on his hip. If this was truly the championship of the world and not a glorified exhibition - don't you think A-Rod could have put surgery off for a week or two?

The two real lessons to take away from the Dutch victory is confirmation of the cliche that there is no such thing as a sure thing and secondly - never, ever bet on exhibition baseball no matter how much it gussies itself up as legitimate competition.