In a move of uncommon stupidity, even for the Bush Administration, the Cuban National Baseball Team, was denied admittance to next spring's inaugural World Baseball Classic. Even moderate publications like Scripps Howard are running editorials:
...At the worst, the ban on Cuba, if it stands, might cause other countries, Venezuela possibly, to boycott the tournament. At the best, the tournament would have to be redrawn so that Cuba plays its rounds outside the United States. We could be treated to the spectacle of the United States being unable to host the international championship game of its own national pastime.
The only problem with allowing a Cuban team into the country is that its players might defect, but that's really Cuba's problem, not ours. Castro will undoubtedly tell the Cuban people that the U.S. ban on their team was not out of principle but out of fear we'll be beaten.
To the rest of the world, the ban makes the United States look mean, petty and small-minded. Let the Cubans play (emphasis mine).
As Minnie Minoso comes up for consideration for the Baseball Hall of Fame, how inappropriate that we celebrate this great Cuban's contribution to the game by reminding everyone that there are still North Americans who have not outgrown the racism, inexcusable trumped up fear of Communism, bigotry, and self-righteous indignation of the 1950s.
We trade with repressive and dictatorial China, we send millions to corrupt right wing dictators in South America, and we prop up barbaric regimes in the Middle East, but we are afraid of a baseball team from one of the smallest nations in the world. A damn island at that.
Major League Baseball should send a clear message to Bush: Let the Cubans play in the United States or the World Baseball Classic is gone. The problem is that most of those owners have no balls.