During the 2002 soccer World Cup, I had a debate with a British neighbor about the validity of the term "World Series" to crown the best team in the world. My limey friend passionately argued that the WS isn't true to its name, since teams from Japan and elsewhere don't participate. I argued that the best players in the world come to MLB, and thus the WS is the championship for the teams with the best players in the world.

No matter who wins this year's World Baseball Classic, the event does bring to the forefront the fact that national teams are competitive. It's debatable whether the structure of the WBC is fair enough to determine the truly better teams, but given the competitiveness of the event in 2009 I think it's worth asking the question, "Should the World Series be renamed?"