It is Opening Day and the fat lady is warming up...

The Boyfriend and I were at Sullivan’s one day, a swank place with live music in the bar and sports on TV.  My attention turned to a sports analyst's dissection of a boxing match on the closest set, complete with animations,  electronic chalk and men spit-sprayin'-passionate about the sport.

"I think boxing is like opera," I said to Joe.  "There are some people who get it and love it and see all the little details in it that make them appreciate the skill. The rest of us just thinks it's  barbaric, stupid and incredibly painful to watch."

He looked at me and said, "That sounds like baseball. "

I think the Boyfriend is onto something.

Think about it. Opera has the great opera houses around the world. The Metropolitan in New York. The soaring Sidney Opera House and the Bolshoi in Moscow.  Baseball has its own domes of drama, Fenway,  Yankee Stadium, Wrigley Field. Miller Park. (You don't think that the sausages running around the bases in Milwaukee aren't yelling at each other in the language of Puccini and Wagner? The bratwurst huffing in German and the Italian sausage emoting in language of Isabella Rossellini? If we listen close enough, we might hear Chorizo sounding uncannily like Rolando Villazon, the famous Mexican tenor.)

Yogi Berra (quoted 90 percent of the time for half of the things he actually said) said "it ain't over 'til the fat lady sings." He is, of course, referring to the Nordic women of Wagner’s Ring Triology with their thick braids and metal breastplates.   But he could have easily been thinking about the protective gear of umpires, especially the old National League which

made them look like Helga with five o’clock shadow. Kommen Sie Heraus! You are outta here!

Operas feature folks with grand egos and are filled with drama.  You can even be a prima donna who is not particularly likable but as long as you can hit a high note and hold it until the rafter shakes and the audience is in tears, then all is forgiven.  Same in baseball. If you are good and can deliver, you still got fans. Think Barry Bonds and Manny Rameriez. Ty Cobb and  Alex Rodriguez.

Tickets are starting to be about the same price for both performances, though they don't let you bring nacho boats into the concert hall.  You do get to preorder your drinks for the intermission at the opera company in my town which I find very civilized, They put your glass of chardonnay out on a cloth covered table with your name written neatly on your receipt. And no one steals it because if you paid that much for a ticket, you can afford your own glass of $8 Chardonnay .  Though I imagine if baseball fans could only order beers between innings and only out in the lobby it would be a madhouse.  We would be back to the boxing match play by play.  I guess my analogy breaks down at some point.

In the old days, opera was really theater for everyone, including the commoners . Like in baseball,  the poorer folks were in the cheap seats shouting "you bum!"  at the big fat guy who really had no chance with the mezzo-soprano but was pouring his heart out anyway.   Audience participation was part of the fun.

Mozart, who wrote the Magic Flute and Don Giovanni, wrote his operas for the common people.  I have to think that if Mozart was alive and a baseball fan, he would be the resident  organist at Wrigley Field. Mozart died without seeing much success in his life, so I have to think he could relate to the Chicago Cubs. Requiem in Nine Innings. Take me out to the ball game and die a slow noisy death.

Because we know that in opera, (SPOILER ALERT) someone always dies.  In Tosca, there are firing squads, betrayal, knifings and a spectacular leap over the side of the castle wall at the end of the performance. Look at last year's season with the Mariners and tell me that all of those things didn't happen? (Well, maybe not the knifing.)  Someone always wins and someone always loses at a baseball game.  If you are a committed fan and your team loses, sometimes it feels like you are the one who fell on the knife, who drank the poison, who got shot through the heart by one you adored but who betrayed you.  And late in the season, you may be tempted to make Faustian deal with the devil to have at least one World Series Championship under your team's belt.

I guess these are acquired tastes that you absorb by being born onto an opera loving family or hanging out with passionate fans who tell you what you are obviously missing.  Baseball, like opera, when it is good, it is very, very good. It leaves you satisfied and contented with the satisfaction of seeing talented people perform a thing of beauty. When opera is bad, it is really, really bad.   When baseball is bad, well, there is always another game  (weather permitting. ) 

Oh, you ask, does The Boyfriend like opera as much as I do?  Barbaric, stupid and incredibly painful to listen to. I did not come up with those words myself.

It is Opening Day. Let the curtain rise and the games begin. Bravo!

True to the Blue-- the Mariner Commercials

The Seattle Mariners promotional commercials are out for 2014.  "True to the Blue" is the theme and the commercials are a fun way to promote the home team.   Check them out at http://m.mlb.com/sea/video/topic/42606920/ and get your Blue on.

World Series Hangover? Or World Series Do-over?

OPENING GAME: Monday, March 31 at Baltimore Orioles

OPENING GAME AT HOME: Friday, April 4 vs. Milwaukee Brewers

Scouting Report from The Sister Turned Red Sox Fanatic

Will the Red Sox avoid the dreaded “World Series Hangover?”

Fans and critics are both anxiously watching as to whether the Red Sox will avoid the dreaded fall from grace that followed them in 2005 and 2008 after winning World Series titles. I don’t think the season will be a disaster by a long shot. I also think they have their work cut out for them. 
 

Clearly one of the biggest concerns is whether the starting pitching rotation can stay healthy.  At spring training, Clay Buchholz, Jon Lester, and Peavy looked strong while John Lackey who is in the best physical shape ever cannot find his groove.  Doubront is uneven but when he’s on, he’s excellent.  Chris Capuano offers the team promise as a starter but might also play an important role as a relief pitcher depending on what happens in the bull pen.  Andrew Miller and  Rubby (pronounced “ruby”)De La Rosa look strong as relief pitchers .  The big question is what will happen for Koji Uehara this year.  At 38 coming off a near impossible to believe season, it would be a miracle for him to repeat his phenomenal World Series win but he appears to have picked up just where he left off.  Let’s hope!

 

A.J. Pierzynski offers the Red Sox great hope as both a solid catcher and a strong hitter although it is hard to see that just yet.  David Ross, a club and fan favorite, offers less flash and a bit more substance in catching but not in hitting.  Both are 37 and need to stay healthy.  Rumors abound that Ryan Larvarnway will be traded to make way for Christian Vasquez or Blake Swihart from the minors.  Whoever comes up, he needs to be young!

Dustin Pedroia (2B), Will Middlebrooks (3B) and Mike Napoli (1B) all look terrific and I think we will see them as great infielders and strong batters. However, the Red Sox are missing a reliable back-up for Napoli at first base. If Napoli who has been plagued by hip injuries gets hurt again, the team will be scrambling. However, good thing is that with so many strong outfielders (too many actually), Mike Carp (LF) or Daniel Nava (LF) could play first. Xander Bogaerts (SS) has been exciting to watch and I predict he becomes a major fan favorite.  Prepare to see a crop of baby boys named Xander now that the Jasons, Jacobys, and Justins are gone. The Sox will miss Jacoby Ellsbury more for his speed and spirit but I think the Yankees bought an expensive “maybe” for the upcoming season. 

Despite his talents, Mike Carp is rumored to be on the list to be traded if difficult decisions need to be made about the outfield. Grady Sizemore’s triumphant return combined with Jackie Bradley, Jr.’s backup give the Sox solid support in center field.  Jonny Gomes who is unbelievably “hot” without the beard seems confident in left field while Shane Victorino (when he has played in spring training) is high-energy and fun to watch. 

I think the Red Sox have an excellent chance of taking the American League East and I suspect it will be Tampa Bay they struggle with, rather than the Yankees. But I also believe that it will take a dozen games or more before we know whether the World Series Hangover will veer its ugly head.  The Sox won’t win if they aren’t hungry—2013 was a great example of what good talent but great spirit can produce! Play ball!

 

NOTE:   This was a serious scouting report. Check out the Sister's Report from Spring Training in the Grapefruit League.

So what’s the hype about spring training?

A Report From Boston Red Sox Spring Training

--Submitted by The Sister Turned Red Sox Fanatic

My husband and I just returned from Boston Red Sox Spring Training at JetBlue Park in Ft. Myers, Florida, USA. I felt like I should add U.S.A because it totally felt like an other-world experience. Going to spring training at least once appears on (almost) every Red Sox fan’s “bucket list. So is it worth the hype? Absolutely.  And then some.  It’s magic!
 

Let me make one thing clear up front—going to spring training is only a tiny bit about baseball.  Actually, the seven games we saw in two weeks were probably some of the lamest baseball, I have ever seen.  The first four innings might offer a hint of what will happen in the season ahead as at least some of the big leaguers show up early in the game. The starting pitchers rotate in and out like divas. The infielders spend a lot of time man-hugging their buds from opposing teams. The outfielders turn their faces into the warm Florida rays like sunflowers until the crowd noises suggest that someone hit the ball and they snap back into action. The umpires strut just because that’s what they do. Their “protective equipment” is probably a bit snug after a winter of whatever. Instant replays this year in MLB will make them pay a bit more attention.  And no one spits.

By the fifth inning, sooner if the manager deems, Red Sox wannabes rotate into the game; the roster can go to complete unknowns in seconds. Lots of Bryces and Brooks and Bretts coming up, I see.   Then the chaos begins. I saw innings with 5 errors, six walks prior to the first out, rookies knocking over anyone near home plate on the slide in, and spectacular bobbles in the outfield. And the crowd, so not Fenway. 

Missing were the beer-soaked four-sport fans from Boston who bad- mouth the players and the managers because they can (so not Fenway). The vendors actually sell beer in the cheap seats (so not Fenway).  Fans from other teams with training facilities in Florida just come to the game because it’s fun (that is so like Fenway). Even Yankee fans were pretty tolerable, so not Fenway (ok, we all drank a lot of beer).

So what’s the hype?  Just approaching JetBlue Park amidst the fluttering flags declaring “Fenway South”, the oversize banner proclaiming the Boston Red Sox as champions of the universe (took some literary liberty there) and a replica of the Ted Williams statue at Fenway were emotionally overwhelming. You aren’t even in the park yet and you are bleeding Red Sox proud!  When you enter the park, you are struck by the eerie familiarity of the Green Monster and the Pesky Pole. Sitting in a game at Spring Training drinking a beer when it’s 85 degrees makes you believe that despite arguably the longest winter in history, that summer will come again and with it the promise that all things are possible (or possible again in the case of the Red Sox). Hearing the familiar “play ball!” and the national anthem, and Sweet Caroline, and “Get Your Beer Here!” made me very emotional (ok, I sobbed). 

Generations of Red Sox fans from newborns in “B” emblazed onesies to wizened retirees (half of New England retires in Florida) offer a collective embrace of the new season. The intimacy of the park with only 11,000 seats encourages spontaneous conversation and free flowing opinions about “their chances” this year. Lots of high fives are exchanged as well as occasional bemoaning about who deserted the Red Sox for more money. There is predictably, enthusiastic cheering when the scoreboard shows the Yankees losing to anyone. So as the experience is so not Fenway, it is so Fenway. It is such a wonderful illustration of the paradox that is baseball in New England.  As fans we want everthing to be different but we don’t want anything to change. 

Yes, spring training is definitely worth the hype! 

The Scouting Report for the Tribe

OPENING GAME:  Monday, March 31 at Oakland

OPENING GAME AT HOME: Friday, April 4 vs. Minnesota Twins

Scouting Report from The Baseball Buddy

Looks like another typical strong-hitting, weak-pitching Cleveland team this year. The Indians have the bats with three switch-hitters, Cabrera, Santana, and Swisher in the lineup but both the starting pitching rotation and the bullpen are lacking. If the Tribe's pitchers somehow rise above expectations, they can easily make the playoffs -- if not, they will probably be runners-up again to the Tigers who have the strongest AL Central Division team.

High Hopes, High Anxiety: Scouting Report from the Softball Diva

OPENING GAME: Tuesday, April 1.  N.Y. Yankees at Houston Astros

OPENING GAME AT HOME, Monday April 7. Baltimore Orioles at N.Y. Yankees
 

Report from the Softball Diva and Terminal Yankees Fan

NEW YORK, NY - Oh, yeah, sure, the Yankees totally scrapped the idea of getting their payroll under $189 million this year when the various big cheeses realized zillions of dollars were being lost with lower attendance and fewer eyeballs on YES (Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network).    Amazingly, the Yankees played meaningful games until the last two weeks of the season last year, and that was done with a team ravaged by major injuries.    The only bright spot was the adulation and adoration that greeted Mariano Rivera on his farewell tour.   He was greeted at every stadium like a rock star.   In fact, some big rock stars, Metallica, were instrumental in rocking the Stadium on Mariano Rivera Day in the Bronx.  And now Mo’s gone off into the sunset leaving die-hard Yankee fans with wonderful, poignant memories of the sweet man who was the greatest closer ever.   Sigh.   But I digress.

So, yeah, 2013 was a year of not making the playoffs for only the second time since 1995.  Yep, we Yankee fans are spoiled.   It obviously became time to open up the wallets, and Hal Steinbrenner and his crew did just that.    Oh, it was sweet, just like the days when the old man, THE BOSS, bought every super star he could and then demanded a championship.  Maybe Hal is a chip off the old block.  The Yanks went out and got a great, and I mean great new catcher from the Atlanta Braves ……Brian McCann.   He is a lefty, and he is going to love the short porch in right field where he might hit, say, 30 home runs, and he is supposed to be excellent with the pitching staff.   He’s a tough guy, too, and he is already being compared to  Thurmon Munson, a very beloved Yankee catcher.   

Then the Yanks spent more money on Jacoby Ellsbury, former superstar center fielder from the Red Sox.   Great speed and great hitting and great fielding if…..and it’s the first of many “ifs”…..if he can stay healthy.   Carlos Beltran always wanted to play for the Yankees.    They wrapped him up, too, with a lucrative contract.    He’s a switch hitter, and he, along with Mark Texiera, another prolific switch hitter back from missing almost all of last year, should make the lineup much, much stronger IF they both stay healthy.  

To top it all off, the Yanks went out and outbid everyone for Masahiro Tanaka, the Japanese phenom who was 24-0 last year.   He’s never pitched in the big leagues, but the Yanks have scouted him for years, and most people in the biz think he is the real deal.   Yanks Ace CC Sabathia had a very subpar year last year, but he is back feeling stronger than ever, and he shed 40 lbs.    That may be good or bad.    He seemed to have a lot more success when his waistline expanded.   We shall see IF he regains his form that has made him such a stud in the past.   And just maybe after two years of never even playing in a game for the Yankees, Michael Pineda will be ready to contribute …..or at least compete for the fifth spot in the rotation  IF he recovers fully from the shoulder surgery that knocked him out for two years.   The Yankees will have Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, Tanaka, Ivan Nova, and whoever wins the fifth spot.   It will be a much improved rotation, again IF…..everyone stays healthy…..tired of hearing it?   

The Yankees have spent about $450 million for 4 players…..and oh, yeah, lots of money was freed up when A-Rod decided to take a sabbatical to ponder the mysteries of life and how he could better serve the universe.   That sounded almost believable, right? 

So there really is a lot to be excited about.   Of course there is a lot to be worried about, too.   Texiera may still have lingering wrist issues.   CC might continue to underperform.   Ellsbury and Beltran are injury prone…so is Brian Roberts, our new 36-year-old second baseman who has the unenviable task of taking the place of Robinson Cano.   Gulp!   Tanaka could find the rigors of pitching every 5 days and working with a bigger baseball than they had in Japan and the specter of facing major league ball players quite overwhelming.   I doubt it, but he could really stink in his first year in the majors.   And Kelly Johnson (who?) might not handle third base very well.   (Not that anyone is missing Alex Rodriguez at the hot corner.)  David Robertson, our excellent 8^th inning bullpen guy from last year is going to now be our closer.   No one can replace Mo, but Robertson’s going to try.   If he is a bust, there aren’t others lined up to move into that spot.   In simple terms, there is a lot that can go wrong.

In fact, the more I think about it…..oh, brother.     Where is my Prozac?   But wait…..just wait a minute.   DEREK JETER…..the Captain, the face of the franchise, one of the best Yankees ever, has said that this 2014 season will be his last.   Oh, the pain, the inevitable truth that Father Time wins all the battles in the end.   Jeter only played 17 games last year after a broken ankle suffered in the first game of the American League Championship Series in 2012.  He went down in agony, and the Yanks went down swiftly losing four games to the Detroit Tigers.   It seemed the Yanks never recovered from Jeter’s injury all through the 2013 season, but he is back for one final season.    He tells us that his ankle is fine, fully recovered and he expects to play well, very well, up to his usual standards of excellence.  

Of course Jeter will be 40 in June.   No team has ever won a World Series with an everyday shortstop over 36…..and yes, he might break down.   More Prozac, please!

But no one wants to see him fail, and he wants to win more than anything.   His desire should fuel not only himself, but his teammates.   Everyone wants him to do well.   He just wants to win.   It’s really the only thing that matters in the Yankee Universe.

In conclusion, I will boldly state on the record that Jeter and the Yanks go deep, very deep into October.  Furthermore, Jeter gets his sixth ring; the Yanks will win their 28^th Championship!     It most definitely could happen.    Lots of high hopes…..as far as the anxiety, a couple cold ones will help.   No need for Prozac for this fan.

 

GO YANKEEEEEEEEEEES!!!!!!

Scouting Reports

You know, we just got hit with another 12 inches of snow yesterday. And the Midwest is supposed to get hit by yet another snowstorm.  You would think that instead of the L.A. Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks playing their Opening Day game in Australia, it should be the Minnesota Twins and Boston Red Sox, or the Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago Cubs.

There is one thing that I've noticed about baseball fans. Baseball lovers often have a lot more fun talking about baseball than actually watching it.  So I've invited folks I know who love baseball to talk about it and give me a heads up what they think their teams are going to do this year. I am going to run some Scouting Reports over the next couple weeks.  If you have a report, bring it on. Talk to me.

I love the beginning of the baseball season.  Everyone starts out in the same place.  Everyone has a record of 0-0 (Zero Wins- Zero Losses.)  Everyone is tied for first.  When I was a pouty teenager, my dad would often tell me, "but life isn't fair."  But on the first day of baseball, it seems it can be. It feels like anything can happen.  Like the first days of spring.  The whole season is ahead. It is such a hopeful time of year.  We aren't there yet, but we can talk enthusiastically about it, can't we?  

So Girlfriends out there, if this is your year to try baseball,  pick a team. Just before Opening Day, take a look at the roster -that's the list of the team members and the positions they play. (You can do this. This will be fun-- just stick with me.)  If you are not sure who to follow,  start with the team closest to where you live or a team who is on your local television network the most. It doesn't really matter who you follow. If you follow a team, you will like the game more.  If you get to know a team, and recognize the guy at the plate, trust me, it gives you incentive to sit through nine (sometimes plus) innings.

Some people love the sport for the athletic skill. Some people love the stats. Some people only watch winning teams.  Me?  I like watching the players.  I like to see their faces as they bat, or pitch, or catch. I like to catch glimpses of the manager in the dugout and the pitching coaches eagle eyeing their students.  I like the exotic names of the players and their weird rituals.  I like to wonder about things like how many pound of sunflower seeds does a team go through each season? (Why sunflower seeds?  Why not circus peanuts? Walnuts? Animal crackers?)

If you can't figure out who to follow,  check out some of the scouting reports coming up in the next two weeks.  I have to let The Softball Diva and Terminal Yankees Fan go first.  I asked her for a scouting report and she had an extensive one done by the next day. After all those years of reporting for the Kenyon Softball Team, she has something to say about the Yankees this year.

It still burns me to see Ichiro Suzuki in a Yankees uniform. But I cheer him every time he steps up to the plate and does his zen pose just like he did in Seattle all those many years. I still clap (even if he is playing against the Mariners) when he garbage hits a ball and it appears to wimpily roll between first and second base, and he still races it out to first base.  You would get kicked out of Little League if you hit the ball that way. But it works.  Plus he is a Spiderman in the outfield.  I have to root for him. I can't help myself.  I like the players. And I'm going to look into that sunflower seed question...

Stay tuned for Scouting Reports.

Baseball is 4500 Miles and 2 1/2 Weeks Away

My Sister Turned Red Sox Fanatic is at spring training this year in Florida. She sends me messages like "Going to Game Six today! Super fun!"  and "We are sitting on the Green Monster today!"  and "Good thing I didn't forget my sunblock!" She is living a life of exclamation marks. I like that she includes me in the fun though I am still wearing gloves and hats, and warming up my car 4500 miles away.  I am almost tempted to open a beer and call her, rekindling an old tradition of the cocktail phone call. I asked her for a scouting report for the Boston Red Sox. They won the World Series last year but every year starts anew. I expect a thorough report. The Sox lost Jacoby Ellsbury this year and the Yankees found him.

My brother, who lives in Minnesota, was there, too, for a long weekend.  He and his lovely wife spent time at the game, soaking up sun and eating peanuts, and then they wisely headed to the beach. I can relate to him. We are "climate simpatico."  He sends me pictures like this:

I text him back,  "Go Twins."

Opening Day is so very close. For all the places in our country that had such a fierce winter this year, we know that winter isn't over yet.  But soon, my friends. Soon.

The Girlfriend's Guide to Baseball is back. I'll have that Scouting Report from the sister. The Softball Diva and Terminal Yankees Fan has already sent in her Scouting Report for the Yankees. I love her enthusiasm.   I discovered  The Drummer Dude who is a Detroit Tigers fan.  Hoping to hear from him about his thoughts for Motor City this year. I threw a crumb out to Steve, The Hopeless, Hopeful Cubbie’s Fan for the Chicago Cubs. I don't know. Maybe this is their year. I love his enthusiasm, too.

But for now, The Boyfriend is watching re-runs of baseball and a few spring training games and our back yard looks like my brother's backyard in Minnesota. We will get there soon. And Dreamy Guy Brian is writing a Seattle Mariners' report. Dare I hope for a stellar year? Talk to me.

I'm glad to be back.