Debbie Schlussel: Why There Are No Defections from Cuba's Baseball Team
A host of voices, from the Wall Street Journal to USA Today baseball columnist Hal Bodley, whined that America should let Cuba play in the inaugural World Baseball Classic. If there was an inkling of a chance that some players could defect, their whines might be slightly worthy.
After being rejected by the Treasury Department, the Bush Administration listened to the whiners and allowed the team representing the despotic Catroian dictatorship in. It was also a nod to billionaire Major League Baseball team owners, eager to find new Communist-bred talent. (Yeah, that's a reason to allow totalitarianism to have a team on our shores.
Cuba reached the finals of the Classic, but thankfully did not win. The Cuban team was bested by the Japanese team, last night.
But don't look for even a consolation prize of Cuban athletes defecting to freedom. Why?
Well, it might have something to do with the team's "trainer." His name: Antonio Castro Soto del Valle. Yes, he's a Castro, the son of the Cuban dictator, Fidel Castro, and is supposed to be an orthopedic surgeon.
Do you really think he's there to be a trainer or even team doctor? Me, neither. More like an enforcer. Watch for all the Cubans to return home . . . but not of their own accord.
Would hate to see what happens to them for coming in second to a free, capitalist democracy.
Posted by Debbie on March 21, 2006 02:25 PM to Debbie Schlussel