Spring is Here

Pitchers and catchers reported last week and position players are coming into camp now. Spring training has begun.
Spring training is the time of year when every team is in the same spot in the standings and has an equal chance to win the pennant. Once we get about a week into the regular season, Pittsburgh and Kansas City are out. By May 1, about 10 teams are effectively eliminated. That's why the first days of spring are so much fun.
Often, it is the first time we see new players in their new uniforms. Yes, the Yankees had a size that fit C.C. Sabathia.
Still, we hear some familiar story lines: Boston's J.D. Drew is already nursing an injury.
We usually find out a few young players falsified documents and aren't really so young. The Department of Homeland Security is helping clean up baseball!
Spring training usually brings speculation as to which managers are going to be fired early in the season. Imagine going to your job just after New Years and the whole company is e-mailing about whether you will make it to Valentine's Day.
This year, there are a few notable absences from Spring training. Manny Ramirez still does not have a contract. It seems ever more likely that he is going back to the Dodgers. His only other option may be joining Joaquin Phoenix's' hip hop band. The problem is the Dodgers, at first, seemed up for two more years of Manny, now their tolerance and payroll will only support one. Ouch.
Also absent is Barry Bonds. Yes, he was absent last year but he has not officially retired. He does have that little legal matter in federal court, so his spring may be spoken for. Frankly, playing on the prison softball team seems more likely than his being in a major league lineup.
Perhaps one of the most surprising absences is Mike Mussina. In this day and age, when winning nine to twelve games commands an $8-10 million dollar salary for a starting pitcher, Mussina won twenty last year. Then he retired. He walked away from $20-$30 million dollars. Too many players hang on too long, but not Mussina...something to think about Pedro Martinez?
The spring is fun because all of the young players are in camp. The Dodgers and Angels of three or four years from now put on the major league uniform (usually wearing a number like 87 on their jersey) and play with the big guys. It is a tantalizing glimpse of what will be.
Spring training has arrived. Forget about the contracts, the arbitration hearings, the grand jury hearings, the congressional hearings (is it me or is baseball involved in a lot of hearings these days?) and, as our beloved Dodger announcer Vin Scully says "pull up a chair" and let's see what the 2009 season might bring.