No WBC For Alax Gonzalez. And That's Good.

From the Globe blog, just this minute...."Red Sox shortstop Alex Gonzalez pulled out of the World Baseball Classic today, and is on his way back to the Red Sox from the Venezuelan camp in Clearwater, Fla.

Gonzalez, who starred for Venezuela in the Caribbean World Series a few weeks ago, was slated to play for his home country in the WBC as well. The Red Sox don’t have any details as to why Gonzalez chose to pull out, but the prevailing thought is that it was because he wouldn’t get enough playing time. Carlos Guillen and Omar Vizquel are also on the Venezuelan team."

Peter here. You know why it's a good thing. The answer is obvious. The more he plays with his infield mates, and the rest, the smoother those double plays will be recorded. The subtle timing it takes to become a cog in a championship infield does not happen in a week. So good choice Alex. You wouldn't have played much and it's far better for you to be with the team. Let's hope that is indeed the reason for pulling out. For anything else would have to be bad, and Foulkie's right knee is enough to worry about right now, this early, too early in a season for anything catastophic to happen (think Papelbon and left ankle).