Baseball is back
Swinging for the Fences
Matt Watson
Issue date: 2/16/09 Section: Sports
It's finally that time again.
No, not time to study up for mid-term exams.
Not daylight savings time, not halftime, not rhyme time or hammer time.
And guys, it's probably not quite time to reconcile with your girlfriend if you broke up with her before Saturday to avoid spending all your time - and money - on her for Valentine's Day.
I'm getting off track.
It's baseball time.
Major League pitchers and catchers reported to camp Saturday. Everyone else hits the field in the next couple of days. The first Spring Training games are nine days away, and the second edition of the World Baseball Classic kicks off the first week of March.
And the Diamond Hogs, with two weeks of practice behind them already, are preparing for Opening Day on Friday afternoon.
It's time for America's pastime, and true happiness, to come out of hibernation. Not a minute too soon.
Baseball had a really tough winter. MLB's Winter Meetings, usually the highlight of the Hot Stove, became another casualty of the depressed U.S. economy. Baseball's offseason was dominated not by stars trading places or depth-chart filling, but arbitration cases and free agency futility.
To compound the problem, the steroids saga bit baseball once again. The least popular person on the planet, Alex Rodriguez, was outed by Sports Illustrated, Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds are still popping up on ESPN each week, and it looks like Jose Canseco is the only one telling the truth around here.
The last few months have cast quite the shadow over the start of the 2009 baseball season, but nothing MLB hasn't seen before - at least there is no strike, no pending Congressional hearing and no pain in Chris Carpenter's shoulder or elbow.
And things are a hundred times more optimistic here on the Hill.
Arkansas landed at No. 22 in the Baseball America preseason poll, an impressive feat considering last year's College World Series champion, Fresno State, didn't even crack the pre-season top 25. (The lowest-ranked team to ever win an NCAA title in any sport, the Bulldogs (No. 89 RPI last year) lost their entire rotation and closer from last season).
No, not time to study up for mid-term exams.
Not daylight savings time, not halftime, not rhyme time or hammer time.
And guys, it's probably not quite time to reconcile with your girlfriend if you broke up with her before Saturday to avoid spending all your time - and money - on her for Valentine's Day.
I'm getting off track.
It's baseball time.
Major League pitchers and catchers reported to camp Saturday. Everyone else hits the field in the next couple of days. The first Spring Training games are nine days away, and the second edition of the World Baseball Classic kicks off the first week of March.
And the Diamond Hogs, with two weeks of practice behind them already, are preparing for Opening Day on Friday afternoon.
It's time for America's pastime, and true happiness, to come out of hibernation. Not a minute too soon.
Baseball had a really tough winter. MLB's Winter Meetings, usually the highlight of the Hot Stove, became another casualty of the depressed U.S. economy. Baseball's offseason was dominated not by stars trading places or depth-chart filling, but arbitration cases and free agency futility.
To compound the problem, the steroids saga bit baseball once again. The least popular person on the planet, Alex Rodriguez, was outed by Sports Illustrated, Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds are still popping up on ESPN each week, and it looks like Jose Canseco is the only one telling the truth around here.
The last few months have cast quite the shadow over the start of the 2009 baseball season, but nothing MLB hasn't seen before - at least there is no strike, no pending Congressional hearing and no pain in Chris Carpenter's shoulder or elbow.
And things are a hundred times more optimistic here on the Hill.
Arkansas landed at No. 22 in the Baseball America preseason poll, an impressive feat considering last year's College World Series champion, Fresno State, didn't even crack the pre-season top 25. (The lowest-ranked team to ever win an NCAA title in any sport, the Bulldogs (No. 89 RPI last year) lost their entire rotation and closer from last season).
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