Oh well, we still have football

Chicks dig the long ball, the saying goes. So do MLB general managers. So do U.S. companies paying big bucks for spokesmen.

So American baseball players swing from the heels. And Japanese baseball players win the World Baseball Classic.

The Japanese won the recent WBC, in part, because they are more fundamentally sound, American Jimmy Rollins said.

“They took advantage of mistakes, didn't worry about trying to drive the ball out of the ballpark,” said the Philadelphia Phillies shortstop. “And when you put the ball in play, you can find some holes . . .

Japanese hitters are taught to keep their hands back longer (note the hands of Ichiro Suzuki, above). Which means they hit fewer home runs, but also means they strike out far less.

Added American Mark DeRosa: “You know what, if you have that approach (to hit the ball) up the middle (or) the other way, you give yourself a chance all the time and that's what they did. They got a lot of big two-out knocks. They kept rallies going.”

Maybe in Japan, chicks dig the short ball. Or maybe they just dig winning.