Baseball

By: Eddie Dice

(www.sportscappingpros.com)

Baseball Season has sprung upon us and optimism is spread all over camp. The 0-0 Washington Nationals are zero games back of the dominant Phillies and the upstart Atlanta Braves. This is what makes opening day special and keeps fans all across the nation glued to the TV all summer long.

For years the NL East has been dominated by one team. In the '90s, it was the Braves, and with a three-year reign the Fightin' Phillies are now the beasts of the East.

Phillies

As the smell of Grapefruit and Cactus exits the collective nostrils of Baseball fans across America it can only mean one thing: Time to play ball. And as the San Francisco Giants break camp and head north to the city by the bay they do so with the best record in the Majors through spring training and more wins than any other team.

This article is the third installment of a six-part series in which I analyze each division in baseball and tell you exactly how I believe things are going to shake out this season.

I am by no means a credible source—merely a casual fan who knows a little about baseball and would like to share his observations and thoughts.

Today we take a look at the NL East, the home of the reigning league champs for two years running.

NL East

Spring has sprung, and with it come spring training and the return of baseball.

Pitchers stretch and play catch on the fresh, green, and manicured lawns. Hitters work the cages, exchange trade secrets, and work out the kinks spawned from an idle winter.

The temperature is rising, the sun is shining, and optimism permeates throughout. For it is hard to be pessimistic during spring training—unless you're from Philadelphia.

For us, it is just too easy.

The Baltimore Orioles made what is probably the team’s final transaction before the regular season kicks off by acquiring veteran utility man Julio Lugo from the St. Louis Cardinals this morning.

The Orioles seemingly got him for nothing, as they will send the Cards either cash or the ever-so-specific "player to be named later."

Cactus League action is winding down and the final roster is set. That means we can all forget about the exhibition season and focus on the games that do count.

Five days separate the Chicago Cubs from the season opener against the Atlanta Braves, and players, coaches, and fans are eager for that first pitch.

It's time to throw out those spring stats. They don’t really mean anything, do they?

Sorry, Tyler Colvin. Your team-leading .449 average and 17 RBIs no longer matter.

Congrats, Derrek Lee. Your .176 average doesn’t matter, either.

The sport of baseball has always been tightly coupled with pranks and practical jokes.

Maybe it's because players spend 162 games together, live in close quarters for nearly half a year, or that the flow of the game allows for the shenanigans of the clown.

Regardless of why it happens, baseball lends itself very well to the offbeat characters and tomfoolery of jokesters. Rookies are always subjected to pranks. The veterans describe it as earning your way to the big leagues.

The Yankees have been pretty lucky as far as injuries are concerned in that nothing major has happened, but that doesn’t mean that a few of the players haven’t been banged up quite a bit.

When is a 9.88 a good thing?

When you're taking a test out of 10 points. When you're an Olympic ice skater. When it's your 100-meter dash time.

When is it a bad thing?

It's certainly a bad thing if we are talking about ERA.

The 9.88 ERA belongs to Cincinnati Reds "ace" Aaron Harang—the same guy who will be tying an all-time Reds record for Opening Day starts on Monday with five.

The season hasn't even started, and I'm already hitting the panic button on Harang.