Winter's Last Gasp

Last night the wind blew hard all night and the temperature was only in the 20s. I woke up almost every hour in part because it was hard to believe it could blow that hard for that long. But it did and this morning, just before dawn, the power went out. And now a cold, grey day with gusts of 50 mph out here in the country.

Luckily, the power came back on quickly and the reports from spring training were bland. No one confessed to taking drugs, swapping wives or disliking the health care reform bill. No one was seriously hurt during the first workouts and harmony and confidence ruled on every team. General managers expressed optimism and managers couldn’t remember when the players looked so ready to play. While the chatter was par for the season, reports were that the weather in Florida was unseasonably cold.

And then the mail came and a glimmer of sunshine here in the battered mid-Atlantic. My tickets arrived. In two weeks, I hope to be in Phoenix watching the Athletics in row four, complaining about the heat.

The Artful Dodger Returns

The Artful Dodger could barely wait until pitchers and catchers reported to resume the blog. With the forty inches of snow on the ground here in northern Virginia, it helped to buy tickets and plan a trip to Arizona for spring training. After a winter like this, the games can’t begin soon enough.

But while I may be looking forward to the season, a few players arrived in camp and immediately started talking about their future after the 2010 season. On his first day, Manny Ramirez announced that this is his last year with the Dodgers. Now that was appropriate. In the Astros camp, Lance Berkman contemplated his status in 2011. Could we maybe play a few games before leaping to the next season, guys? Or is it always and forever all about you all the time?

And then there are the injuries. Josh Hamilton managed to bruise his shoulder on day one. Brian Roberts arrived at Orioles camp with a herniated disc. And one bright young prospect sustained some sort of injury making a TV commercial. Ah, bring on the MRIs. And the games.