WBC causing teams concern.

Major League Baseball seems to be feeling the after-effects of the World Baseball Classic after a number of players have failed to perform in the early season and a number of stars have been placed on the disabled list(DL).

The latest star to land on the DL is Boston Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka who is suffering from what the club is calling ‘shoulder fatigue’ an injury which could put the Japanese' season in jeopardy.

Matsuzaka was named most valuable player of the tournament posting a 3-0 record with a 2.45 ERA in the tournament, winning all three of his starts, including his victory over the United States in the semi-finals.

Matsuzaka follows his international teammate Ichiro Suzuki to the DL, who went on the disabled list for the first time in his eight year Major League career with a bleeding ulcer.

Boston’s starting pitcher is not the only pitcher who is suffering, Roy Oswalt of the Houston Astros who started for team USA has yet to win a single decision this season and has some scouts wondering if the veteran fireballer is suffering from an injury due to the WBC.

During the tournament American League MVP Dustin Pedroia was one of several players to be injured along with Chipper Jones and Florida Marlins closer Matt Lindstrom, who after coming back from injury is struggling to return to form posting a 10.80 ERA.

However despite the number of injuries sustained in the WBC, MLB released figures stating that there were 69 players on disabled lists at the start of the season, down from 106 last year and 97 in 2007.

And despite these figures the WBC still comes in for some criticism especially with regards to its timing. Played before the start of the season some believe that it is the wrong time of year to be hosting such a major tournament and that it would be better suited to the end of the season like the World Cup in football.

One option is to start the WBC after the end of spring training, giving players a chance to be fully game ready and reduce the risk of injury, but problems could occur when the season would be forced to move two weeks further in the year and with the World Series being played in October weather could cause considerable problems for the event.

It remains clear that the Classic remains a work in progress and as long as the players want to take part then we will keep seeing the WBC return, but until the US takes the tournament seriously and a new time slot is found the Classic will fail to become a priority for fans and athletes alike.