Getting in the spring swing

There is a part of me on this January day that feels like I just watched Jonathan Papelbon blow fastballs by the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field to wrap up the world championship for the Boston Red Sox. That part of me still wants to saturate myself in what the Colorado Rockies were able to accomplish in 2007 and the run that the Red Sox are on. I want to think about how anybody, as of today, can think any other team is as good as Boston on paper. They are indeed beginning to embark on what we like to refer to as a "dynasty", and that notion will be solidified if they bring home the title in 2008.

The other part of me is getting real excited when I realize that we are about a month away from the best time of winter: when pitchers and catches report. We are a month away from writing stories about the ageless wonders getting ready for a new season. I love the spring for many reasons, but mostly because Spring Training is a bottomless well of baseball information. It is easy to get excited for Spring Training because you can pretty much talk about anything.

Every team has at least something to look forward to and that is what excites baseball fans. There are times during the winter where transactions are slow and the news is monotonous. The spring feels like a time where a writer can close his eyes, throw a dart at his "topic board", and then open his eyes to see what his new column will be. That is how great Spring Training is.

I am not sure why I love watching baseball players run through simple fielding drills over and over and over, but I could do it for days. Some would call this a sickness, which might not be too far from the truth. But for me, there is something about the process that is just as intriguing as the product. I love watching major league baseball players play during the games, but I equally enjoy watching them prepare. Everything about the spring months scream professional.

I am completely absorbed by the nature of baseball that I find a lot of joy in seeing what goes in to having a great season. I love the details of the game, and the fact that players must come to the park everyday and compete for such a long season. Those things are unique about baseball, and they all start when football is still being played.

It is amazing to see the game's best hitters hit their peak in the postseason much like Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz did in Boston last year. October is when the most important games are played, and there is no bigger stage than the World Series. That is the end product of what was an exceptionally long haul. But to see the start of that haul is to truly appreciate it.

I enjoy seeing the sweat that goes into being one of the best. I love watching the best hitters go through their drills everyday and then take the swing mechanics they worked on into the cage for batting practice. Baseball is a journey, much more than any other sport. You have to enjoy what it takes to get to October just as much as you enjoy October itself to really get the full affect of baseball and to appreciate what it takes to be great at this game.

There is something refreshing about the continuation of competition and the renewal of rivalries, all of which begins in March. I cannot say how many days I have spent in March, when there was a day off from school, where I awoke and turned on the tv in the morning to find the Braves or Yankees or Dodgers playing a 10 AM game against whoever. Those were the best!

The first five or six innings are naturally the most entertaining because that is when we get to see the regulars. But I am a baseball nut and that is why I enjoy those last three innings as well. I love to see the kids up from the minors trying to make an impression on the big league personnel. Those players are the future of the organization and what better ammunition to have for a debate with your buddy than the studs your team has coming up in the next year or so?

All in all, the best thing about the spring is that there are fans coming out to ballparks and baseball is being played on fields everywhere. It is the perfect time to get the juices flowing again, and prepare yourself for the daily grind that is a baseball season. We are allowed the luxury of getting that hated blood brewing in our veins and looking down the road to the matchups of rivals. Spring is when the sun shines again and the baseball season is born. It can never come too soon.