Is there any better way to get stars to play in the WBC?

Max Scherzer was genuinely excited to pitch for his country in the World Baseball Classic this spring. For all his career accomplishments to date, the Nationals right-hander has not been part of a big international competition like this before, so when Team USA manager Jim Leyland came calling earlier this offseason, Scherzer jumped at the opportunity.

"I have so much respect for Jim Leyland," Scherzer said last month, "that when he asks me to play, you don't say no."

On Monday, though, Scherzer had to say no. He pulled out of the WBC because of a stress fracture in the knuckle on his right ring finger, an injury the pitcher revealed was sustained last August and still needs more time to heal.

Scherzer and the Nationals insist he'll be fine for spring training and will prepare for the regular season with no issues. But he'll spend the entire spring with the club in West Palm Beach, Fla., not with Team USA in Miami and potentially in California after that.

"I am undergoing treatment and am on pace to return before Spring Training," Scherzer wrote in a message released on Twitter. "However, I am no longer in a position to compete in the World Baseball Classic. I am disappointed that I will not get to reunite with Jim Leyland and Jeff Jones, but I'm excited to see how Team USA performs this spring."

So add another big name ballplayer to the list of big names who once again aren't playing in the WBC.

You can't fault Scherzer or the Nationals for taking the cautious route here. There's no good reason to risk a long-term problem by having him pitch in competitive games before he needs to, in a non-controlled environment like the international tournament.

But this underscores the biggest problem with the WBC: It's just not viewed as a big deal by enough people to become the kind of major event former commissioner Bud Selig and other supporters believed it would be when they created it in 2006.

On paper, the WBC is a great idea. Baseball talent is spread throughout so many corners of the world now; an international tournament pitting nations versus nations is a really compelling notion.

But the WBC is destined to be doomed by its poor placement on the calendar. By holding the event in March, it guarantees the exclusion of many big leaguers who feel it's more important to prepare for their team's regular season, and it guarantees those who do participate are doing so with at least some emphasis on staying healthy versus giving everything they've got to try to win.

Is there a better time of year to do this?

If they wait until after the major league season, they're asking pitchers to extend beyond the 200-plus innings they've already thrown. That's not going to go over well with anybody.

What about midseason? How about an extended All-Star break - say, one full week - while eight international teams hold a quick tournament? That might work. It would sort of be like the NHL's Olympics break every four years, though that league now appears to be done sending its stars to the Winter Games despite the event's popularity.

There's just no perfect way to hold the WBC. Which is a shame. Because it really could be a great event, if everyone bought into it and treated it like a big deal.

That seems unlikely, though. Major league clubs are spending way too much money on their players, and those players have way too much to lose if they get hurt in anything other than the big league season, to take the chance.

So Scherzer will be left watching the watered-down WBC on television with most everyone else, his right ring finger protected from further injury, his focus on the Nationals instead of the national team.