I Can Almost Hear It Now
I KNOW…I KNOW. WE ARE STILL IN WINTER. There is snow on the ground and the first Robin of Spring is still frozen solid, but I just gotta talk about Baseball.
Spring Training is underway as players descend on Florida and Arizona to get into condition and to fight for their jobs against up and coming youngsters and newly acquired veterans holding on for dear life.
Thus has it ever been in the world of Baseball.
My team – not actually my team. I don’t own a piece of that expensive pie. – the San Francisco
Giants are going to strive to make this coming season an improvement over last year.
Oh, the Horror!
Last year was the worst in decades for my team. They lost 99 games out of the 162 played. They finished so far behind the top team (The hated Dodgers) that they were in danger of being sold for a 12 pack of Dr. Pepper and a Ham Sandwich. It was embarrassing. Plagued by injuries and just plain poor performance and questionable dugout decisions the Giants were so bad that the team picture was a group Mug Shot.
But what about the upcoming season?
My Magic 8-Ball prognosticator of all things important has said that this year will be much better.
In the off-season the Giants have made some moves that bode well. Some players who should have retired last year have finally done so and some others were traded, sold, or have mysteriously disappeared. Some young prospects have shown a readiness to move up to “The Show” and a couple of Free Agent high quality players have signed on the dotted line.
Spring Training is where this collection of players will have to become a Team.
There have been two major additions to the roster heading for Arizona. A highly successful player traded from the Pittsburgh Pirates, Andrew McCutcheon and a powerful veteran player from the Tampa Rays team, Evan Longoria, will hopefully bring some heavy duty lumber to the Giants lineup. Both of these players are “Stars”
who have had great careers and, we hope, will add to their Hall of Fame potential resumes while wearing the Orange and Black.
There are no questions about these two beyond “How healthy will they be?” That, of course remains to be seen. Baseball is a game where careers can end in an instant. Only time and the fickle gods of Baseball will tell.
Actually, there is one question about Evan Longoria. There are some people who think that we got the wrong Longoria. Those people think that we should have pursued Eva Longoria instead. That question does have some merit, but there is doubt about her ability to hit a Curveball. But the trade is made and any speculation is pointless and can only serve as a distraction.
As I write this it is two degrees above zero in Terre Haute (That’s French for “It is 72 degrees in Phoenix.”) and my brain is struggling to think warm thoughts. Thinking about Baseball is how I do it. I picture the green grass of the outfield and the balletic moves of a smoothly executed 4 to 6 to 3 double play. I hear the roar of the crowd and the Pop! of a Fastball hitting the pocket of the Catcher’s mitt.
I can hardly wait. The shiver I’m feeling is not only because of the cold.
Down the Hall on Your Left 