(Another great baseball tip from guest blogger Jon Doyle of www.baseballtrainingsecrets.com)

With Major League Baseball in full swing I think it is important to learn the nuances of the game as you watch.

If you are a young player watch how the pros go about their business.

If you are a parent or coach this is your chance to get across points you have been trying to make. Now, you will have the support of the Major Leaguers your kids look up to!

For instance, if you are teaching how to get in front of a ground ball, simply have them watch Derek Jeter. He is textbook on almost every play.

It is also a great way to get across that even the pros aren't perfect. I think this is important to teach the kids how the pros simply shake it off and get back to playing the game they love.

The possibilities are endless. Watching the games together (or assigning "homework" - This will be the best homework they have ever done) will allow everyone to get more out of each game.

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Jon Doyle is a former NCAA All-American baseball player who now works as a strength and conditioning specialist. For more baseball tips check out [www.baseballtrainingsecrets.com|http://www.baseballtraining

(A great baseball tip from guest blogger Jon Doyle)

Wood bats can make you a better baseball player. All my athletes use wood bats instead of metal bats exclusively during practice with metal bats being used only during pre-game batting practice and actual game play.

Sure you may break a bat or two, but start off with a $15 or $20 bat found at the local sporting good store and the expense won't be so bad. Using a wood bat develops many wonderful skills for the hitter such as bat speed, power and control. Wood bats automatically teach the hitter important things like how to make contact with the sweet part of the bat, the proper hand path to the ball and a shorter swing. This will all lead to more hits, more home runs and more confidence.

I love to tell my younger players that because they have been such a great kid I am going to "let them use the bats that the pros (insert the kid's favorite player) use." Once you say that they will never want to use metal again! The entire experience will be more enjoyable, memorable and effective.

(Jon Doyle is a former NCAA All-American baseball player who now works as a strength and conditioning specialist. For more baseball tips check out [www.baseballtrainingsecrets.com|http://www.baseballtraining

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Went to the WBC semi-finals this weekend in San Diego. It was totally awesome. I was sad to see the USA get bounced from the tournament early but that���s what happens when you don���t make a clutch two-out basehit. (I���m talking to you Vernon Wells.) Here���s a few things I noticed���.

• Political feelings aside Cuba might be the best story of the World Baseball Classic. They play a National League style of baseball involving speed, defense, and moving runners over. And yet���

• They have the worst baseball uniforms I���ve ever seen. And I should know���cos I���m a Padres fan and I remember the softball uniforms they wore in the early 80���s.

• The Dominican team losing proves that a collection of free-swinging all-stars will always get beat by a team that has a collective idea of what it wants to do at the plate.

• Cuban pitcher Pedro Lazo could pitch RIGHT NOW for any Major League team.

• Adrian Beltre is still overrated.

• This tournament was important to every country EXCEPT for the USA. The coolest part of the games were the fans waving their flags and banging on their large drums. (Yes, drums.)

• Korean fans HATE Ichiro.

• For six innings the Korea/Japan game was about the most fundamentally sound game of baseball you will ever see. And then Byung Hyun Kim came in to pitch. 
  Click here to give your reaction to the WBC games. Don���t forget to also check out the baseball and softball message boards to see what other members of the eteamz community are talking ab

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In all the craziness that is Barry Bonds and cattle steroids���no joke���it might have been overlooked that during the World Baseball Classic on Wednesday Team USA lost to Canada. Let me repeat that: Team USA LOST to Canada.

This is no slight to our neighbors to the North but this is the biggest upset since the New York Knicks beat���well���anybody. It put Team USA perilously close to getting bounced from the WBC and put that team of MLB All-Stars on notice that they can���t walk their way to the finals.

But does anybody care about the WBC? In Asia and Latin America they got huge crowds but in this country enthusiasm seems rather lukewarm? If Team USA does not make the finals will anybody in this country actually watch the games?

Go here to tell us what you think about Team USA and the WBC. Also check out the baseball and softball message boards to see what other eteamz folks think.

Don���t forget to check out the latest camps that might interest you.

(Photo Courtesy of Jed Jacobsohn

The crime of the century has nothing to do with Enron���but instead lies with the injustice done to former Negro Leagues player Buck O���Neill. Last week the Hall of Fame inducted 17 players from the Negro leagues and pre-Negro leagues era yet this list DID NOT include O���Neill���who hit .288 lifetime and was the first black coach in the major leagues. Nobody has done more to promote, celebrate, and keep alive the oral history of the Negro Leagues than Buck O���Neill.

The decision provoked angry reactions from not only hall of famers, like Ernie Banks and Hank Aaron, but also members of congress who threatened to cancel legislation that would have celebrated the inductees. Most surprising is the fact that all of these ballots are kept secret and the identity of the voters remains a mystery. The full article on Yahoo News can be found here.

This story brings up two questions. Should the identity and voting records of secret ballots for things like the hall of fame be revealed to the public? And should the baseball hall of fame take into account more than just statistics���but also factor in one���s overall contribution to a sport?

Click here to comment on the issue of Buck O���Neill and the hall of fame. Also check out our softball and[ baseball |http://eteamz.active.com/baseball/boards/baseball/message.cfm?id=1527650]message boards to see what other members of the eteamz communi