I envoked my own mercy rule before the WBC even started and opted not to pay it much attention other than serving as an occasional late night distraction.

By the way, who else besides the US and Venezuela are still in this thing?

I suspect that the pitch caps and rules about pitching consecutive days is a compromise made to MLB team owners so ensure them that their pitchers will not be abused because they happen to have the hot hand this early in the season.

I think the fact that any player working on the MLB season schedule is ill-prepared for competitive play this early in the spring is the biggest problem with the quality of play overall. Pitchers are still finding the strike zone, hitters still trying to get their plate approaches ready. No one outside of the Cuban and Japanese leagues are full prepared for this thing, and that has been obvious watching the games.

I personally believe the WBC would be far better off if it took place in early November with players on playoff bound teams being ineligible. We would lose some stars that way but everyone would be better prepared for playing, fans teams who don’t make the playoffs would get a last look at their best players and minor injuries would be less of an issue.

Oh…and you can apparently be suspended for PED’s in the MLB and that doesn’t carry over to the WBC.  But they DO test for the WBC, too.  They just don’t use the results from an organization as untrustworthy as MLB. 
Or is that not what we’re supposed to read into this?