ON THE MARK.

A CANADIAN OF CONVENIENCE.

For those who believe that all Canadians are created equal, you haven't been paying attention to the sports news.  Oh, when it comes to representing Canada in hockey, we have no problem getting the best of the best.  Mind you, the NHL season is rarely interrupted by a world tournament, which means our best players are usually available.   Not so for basketball, and certainly not for baseball.   This spring, Canada will play in the World Baseball Championships, or WBC.  In 2006, they got in two games before being eliminated by Mexico.   In 2009, they lost their only two games, one of them to Italy.   And this year, they have a weak roster that was supposed to have Toronto-born Russell Martin playing catcher, but he has opted out at the last minute, and that has a lot of folks waving the Canadian flag, accusing Martin of being unpatriotic.
     Let's get one thing straight.  Just because a guy was born in Canada doesn't necessarily mean he'll embrace everything Canadian.  Russell Martin spent more time in France and the United States during his 30 years on this earth than he did in Canada.  The only reason he's desirable to this country is because he can play baseball.   Yes, he has family here, but unlike a Canadian born hockey player who toils for a U.S. team, Martin doesn't come back to Canada and wave the flag during his off-season.   Besides, last November, he said he'd be happy to play for Canada, but he wanted to play shortstop.   We all had a good laugh over that one, but the reality is, Martin CAN play the position and since Canada has no experienced shortstop on it's roster, why not Martin?  
      When it seemed apparent that Baseball Canada wouldn't go for that, and the likelihood that Martin's new team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, didn't like the idea either, Martin removed himself from the Canadian roster, just like he did in 2006, when he initially committed to the WBC, but later opted to go to spring training with the Dodgers instead.   Let's face it, the WBC isn't that big a deal for Martin and dozens of other major leaguers.  It's unlikely that Joey Votto will play for Canada.  Ryan Dempster has already said "no".  Same for pitchers Jeff Francis, Rich Harden and Scott Diamond, all of whom have major league experience.  Catcher George Kottaras declined to play for Canada.  So too did outfielder Jason Bay.  Granted, none of them committed to the team and then changed their minds at a late date, but Russell Martin had already said he wanted to play shortstop.  The fact that he wasn't taken seriously, and  was EXPECTED to put on the tools of ignorance and climb behind the plate illustrates one of the problems facing Baseball Canada.  If G.M. Greg Hamilton KNEW Martin wouldn't catch, why didn't he make alternative arrangements?    And besides, what's wrong with Martin playing short instead of Cale Iorg, who hit below the Mendoza line last year in AAA?
     Martin is a parttime Canadian at best.  He happened to be born here, but doesn't embrace his Canuck roots the way others do.   He just happens to be a major league catcher, and Canada needed a catcher for the WBC, so they penciled Martin in.   If you ask me, Canada Baseball was using Martin, and I guess he didn't want to be used that way.  Squatting behind the plate for a living is one thing.  Squatting behind the plate for a country that you have no feeling for is ridiculous.    Having said that, I expect Martin will get plenty of boos from Canadians who feel he is spitting on the Maple Leaf by refusing to represent his (former) country.    Maybe he should talk to Greg Rusedski or Lennox Lewis.   They know what it's like to be snubbed by their former compatriots.