Despite the ongoing battle over whether the World Baseball Classic “matters”, largely fueled by one national writer who absolutely must be on the WBC payroll, I’ve enjoyed it. It’s real (sort of, anyway) baseball during the middle of March when we’d otherwise have only endless spring training games on. I can’t say I put a lot of stock into it being any sort of indicator of the skill of a country — not when many squads are missing top players, not when pitch limits turn games into glorified scrimmages, not when players aren’t sure what country they play for days before games are to begin — but it’s fun nonetheless.

That said, I’m really ready for it to be over. I’m ready to see Hanley Ramirez back in Dodger camp, after weeks of playing with the Dominicans. It’s not just because he’s not playing shortstop there — and, as Bill Shaikin notes, he really hasn’t been — but because it’s time. Opening Day is less than two weeks away, and I can’t really say I care in the least whether the Dominicans beat Puerto Rico in the final tonight. It’s time for this fun to end and for the season to be the primary focus.

In response to the Shaikin story, Eric Stephen tweeted that any issue of the Dodgers being concerned that Ramirez is not playing shortstop is the biggest non-story of the spring. Perhaps that’s true, though I don’t really expect the Dodgers to be making public waves at this point by moaning and groaning over what Ramirez is doing in the WBC. Either way, I think it’d do us all some good to see Ramirez taking balls at short rather than Dee Gordon or Nick Punto, who starts there today.

I was going to put “or Justin Sellers” in that preceding sentence, but he’s unsurprisingly been optioned to the minors today along with Shawn Tolleson. In addition, catcher Jesus Flores has been reassigned to minor league camp, which all but officially gives Tim Federowicz the backup catching job, as we’d long assumed. As for Tolleson, he showed he belonged last year, but was always a long shot to make the club due to the numbers game and the fact that he has options remaining. He’ll almost certainly be back up during the season. That leaves the Dodgers with 40 players in camp; assuming one or two or more end up on the disabled list, we’ll still see another 12-14 cuts. The bell tolls for thee, Alfredo Amezaga, Stephen Fife, Elian Herrera, Peter Moylan, etc. (And, of course, Yasiel Puig as well.)

Today’s game against Oakland is another of the free dodgers.com webcasts, and while it’s good to see Carl Crawford & Puig in the lineup, many of the regulars are sitting this one out. That means no Matt Kemp, Adrian Gonzalez, Luis Cruz, or A.J. Ellis, and of course no Ramirez. Cruz will instead play in a minor league game to get some time in at shortstop, per David Young, though if he’s the starting third baseman, he’s not likely to move around. If he’s seeing time at shortstop, it probably means things have gone poorly for him at third.

Chris Capuano starts, to be followed by J.P. Howell, Brandon League, & Mark Lowe against Oakland’s Dan Straily.