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. 

BASEBALL 101: Part One, The Ball

So the season has begun and we’ve established that April is a time for spring training for the fans. Let’s go back to basics and learn more about the very basic tools about baseball. Baseball is played in many different parts of the world from the big luxury stadiums designed for Major League Baseball in the United States all the way down to the sandlots and backyards and city streets where a bunch of kids make it up as they go along. But there are some basics that everyone uses. Bats, balls, sometimes gloves, and something that designates bases. So as you are learning your team rosters and trying to match new names to new faces (or enjoying having the old faces back) let’s talk about Baseball 101. Let’s start with the ball.

You already know that a ball has 108 red stitches around a ball of white (the same number of beads that are in a rosary Annie swears in Bull Durham.) Here’s a couple other interesting things to impress your friends.

Delaware River Mud

11 dozen

Puerto Rico

Holstein Cows

Let’s start by getting our hands dirty. It surprised me to find out that in the Major League Games, those baseballs that looks so pristine and white on TV or at the ball field are all rubbed with mud before the game. Not just any mud, but Delaware River Mud, or more accurately Lena Blackburne Rubbing Mud. You see, those bright white balls are more easily seen by the batter. One website claims you can see a clean white ball from an airplane flying over a field. That puts the pitcher at a big disadvantage, though how anyone can see a 95 mph fast ball is beyond me anyway but I guess the whiter it is, the easier it is to see. Also, a shiny ball is harder to get a grip on for the pitcher. So to even up the score in the Big Leagues, the balls get rubbed with mud. Before 1939, seems like any old mud, or tobacco juice or shoe polish was good enough but a man named Lena Blackburne discovered a special kind of mud in the Delaware River that didn’t ruin the leather cover like some mud did or scratch up the surface. Now that’s the preferred mud that is used and it’s exact location of where the mud is harvested from is kept secret but it is know that it is somewhere on the Delaware River and in New Jersey. The mud is so famous that it was enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 1969. (Now, there’s baseball trivia for you!)

Sometimes it’s the umpire or an umpire’s assistant that gets the dirty duty and sometimes it is a special person assigned the task. It is an important task. You got to get it on even and in the seams.

(Note: a great present for a baseball fan friend is the "Got Mud?" tee shirt sold on the Lena Blackburne Rubbing Mud website. The Boyfriend wrote a great mandolin song called Delaware River Mud on his cd of original mandolin tunes called Alaska Mando.)

Used to be that just one ball would be used during the game until it was too damaged to use. Like other sports, such as football and soccer, if the ball went up into the stands, the fans either threw it back or an employee went up into the stands to retrieve it. But a batter named Ray Chapman got beaned in the head during a twilight game and it was thought it was because he couldn’t see the ball. So the switch to clean white balls began.

There’s another reason as well. Balls need to be clean and new (Blackburne’s mud notwithstanding) because a scuff or a scratch or a tear can change the projectory of the ball and that gives the advantage to the pitcher. One baseball guide said, “A scuff, scratch or tear on the ball will affect its flight, creating greater aerodynamic drag on one side of the ball … the ball will curve toward the scuffed side of the ball.” Remember those stories about pitchers keeping sandpaper in their pockets? That’s a big no-no, and gets you kicked out of the game. So if balls are scuffed, or damaged in any way, you’ll see the catcher hand the ball to the umpire who may inspect it and take it out of play. But it’s not thrown away. Balls not used in for major league play are used for batting practice the next day, or in some cases may even get sent to the Minor Leagues. In the Minors, they use balls until they fall apart.

In the Major Leagues, on average about six dozen balls are used during a game, though during a hard hitting games or a game with a fast ball pitcher and lots of fouls, up 11 dozen balls might be used in a single game. You know who I’m talking about. Those great batters with good eyes who will run the count up to 3 balls, 2 strikes, then proceed to foul off the ball for another four or five swings. So if you are watching the game and you get one of those batters up, slip in your trivia. Some might be fouled off into the stands, some go out of the park on a home run, some are taken out of play due to scuffing or dirt. Or if you are a lucky fan, an outfielder or one of the Seattle Mariner ball girls will toss a catch up to you.

All the balls used in Major League baseball are made to exact specifications by one manufacturer. The balls used in play are made by Rawlings and all have been manufactured in Puerto Rico since 1990. Si, es verdad! And before 1974, horsehide was used in making baseballs, but I guess a shortage of available horses caused a switch to cowhide. Best cows for making baseballs? Yep, Midwestern Holstein cows because they have clean, smooth hides. That one goes out to all the Milwaukee Brewer fans back in my home state of Wisconsin. Eat some deep fried cheese curds in my honor, okay?

We All Go To Spring Training

This week is Opening Day at a stadium near you. A new season of baseball begins. And I’m still a noodle.

I was sitting in the Cubs spring training ball park of HoHoKam Park in Mesa, Arizona just a few weeks ago on a March (yes, March!) day, 80 degrees and hot and seated three rows above the Cubs dugout. Chicago's Alfonso Sorriano was up at bat and hit a fierce foul ball in my direction. I impulsively ducked, and didn’t come up until I heard it hit the tin roof above the fans and watched it roll backwards into the parking lot.

I learned something about baseball as I was sitting on that glorious day in those glorious seats beginning my baseball season. Right handed batters are more likely to pop up foul balls more toward the area behind the first base side of the field, and lefties pop up more to the third base side. And there I was in foul territory without a cafeteria tray in sight. “Keep sharp,” the Boyfriend warned. “We are sitting in the danger zone.” I decided to depend on the rabidity of the Cubs fans surrounded me to beat me to the ball and looked around at my defenders.

No problem, I decided quickly. The three red headed little boys in the front row wearing Lee, Zambrano and Soriano Cubs jerseys had it covered, as well as the very large Hispanic man in a Chicago Bulls jersey sitting next to me, and the tan, trim sixties something man in front of me with his baseball glove in his lap. I just needed to get out of their way.

Hey girlfriend, baseball season is here again! This spring, by mere chance, I found myself in Arizona during late March, which means that I found myself in spring training heaven and seated next to the Boyfriend during a Cubs versus Mariners game. I was wearing Mariner fan colors, blue and white (and a deep shade of pink from the very hot Arizona sun after a long Alaskan winter. Even number 30 sunblock only delays the inevitable for folks like me who are the color of fish belly white after winter.) Spring training games don’t count toward final stats, so the sea of blue and red Cubs fans who surrounded me were tolerant of my cheering and spontaneous clapping after a Seattle double play which sent two Cubbies trotting back to the dugout.

But there it all was. All the things I love about a live game. The 11-year-old singing the Star Spangled Banner (look for her on American Idol, she had the “work the crowd moves” down pat), the invitation to the kids to run the bases after the games (“Just like the major leaguers do, kids!”) the crack of the bat, the bark of the beer vendors walking up and down the stadium aisles (icy beer really does taste better in hot sunshine), the Cubs tradition of throwing the opponents homerun ball (this one hit by Chris Woodward) back on to the field rather than keeping it. The Mariners lost the game, but it didn’t matter. We called Steve, the Hopeful and Hopeless Cubs Fan from the field and rubbed it in that we were there and he wasn’t, and all of it was in good fun.

Ah, but my little bag of salted peanuts, you are saying to yourself, “Mariners vs. Cubs? That doesn’t make sense! One is a National League team and the other is an American League. ” But during spring training it does. And I’m proud of you for noticing the difference.

Spring training for the baseball players starts in February and gives everyone a chance to get back in shape, audition for the teams and also gives the starved fans a chance to get a jump on the season by watching the exhibition games between teams who may not play regularly against each other in the regular season. Down in Arizona, teams such as the Mariners, Cubs, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Milwaukee Brewers, Cleveland Indians and Kansas City Royals have their spring training camps. It’s called The Cactus League, as opposed to The Grapefruit League which of course are all the teams that go to Florida, including those pesky Yankees and Red Sox.

Don’t think going to a spring training game was all fun and games, however. Baseball is serious business. The Boyfriend came back after an absence (kindly carrying two ice cold beers in hand) and asked, “What did I miss?” There is was. The test. I’m a fairly new convert to baseball so the words don’t yet come easily. I had to reach back to last season and remember the right terminology. I tried to say as casually as I knew how, “A line drive, stand up double by Derrick Lee. “

“Oh, “ he said and handed me my beer without giving me a double take as he settled back into his stadium seat. Inside, my inner peanut gallery let loose a cheer. I avoided the “stink eye”!

You see, when baseball returns, we all have to go to spring training. We all have to get back into the groove of a nine (or more) inning game, and pace ourselves with the nacho boats and the beverages, and remember what the lingo is, and once again, review the infield fly rule once again, just in case someone asks us. We have to get to know our teams again because they’ve been traded, injured, retired and banished since last October and the new guys are unfamiliar and unproven. We mourn the loss of favored players and sometimes have to get used to seeing them in new uniforms, and new positions and sometimes even new leagues.

This is a disconcerting time because maybe you grew to love your team last year, and now, well, they’ve changed. You don’t know who these fresh faced players are who look like they are ten years old and skinny as a whip. Can you ever feel that passionate about your team, ever again? Will baseball ever be as fun as it was last year? Well, sometimes yes, sometimes no. But remember, the more you know, the more you will enjoy it. So like the players do, start with the basics. Pick a team, get a copy of the roster before the games, learn the new names and faces, and get back into shape. Re-read some of the old entries of this blog if you have to in order to remember the difference between a change up and fast ball and what the box scores in the newspaper mean.

Because the truth is, March is spring training for the players, but April is spring training for the fans. And spring training starts somewhere in your neighborhood on Opening Day, April 6. You are welcomed to sit in my row and watch the game with me. But stay sharp! We are sitting in the danger zone.