MLB

Well, they're here—the carrots at the end of the stick, the Three Gorillas in the American League East.

The Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees, and Boston Red Sox look like enormous, rampaging beasts who will run roughshod through the rest of Major League Baseball while recovering from titanic clashes with each other.

Baseball rarely shakes down according to specs, but it's really tough to see how the mere mortals of the MLB world can deal with these guys on a daily basis.  Even if you make every effort to see the gaps in armor and soft underbellies.

1. Jake Peavy

Miraculously, the Padres did not trade Jake Peavy this offseason. A Peavy trade seemed inevitable, but thankfully, GM Kevin Towers came to his senses. Or better yet, Towers did not find an offer good enough for Peavy.

Walking into the Busch Stadium hours before the actual ballgame started, I ran into home run territory with my younger brother to witness greatness.

The year was 1998 and Mark McGwire was the show.

Crack after crack, baseballs soared into the air, falling into us: a sea of ecstatic fans. Thousands of fans congregated to see the spectacle, even at just batting practice.

Batting practice. Less people attended Montreal Expo games.

I was only 10 years old, but I knew this was something special. Something I could relate to future generations.

Alright, everybody, just calm down a bit. I've been reading posts on some web sites such as ESPN.com saying how "embarrassed" the USA should be because we got defeated 11-1 in the World Baseball Classic on Saturday.

And to that I reply with a great big, resounding YAWN.

Mercy me. Regardless of whether you enjoy the WBC or not, and I admit it has grown on me somewhat, you need to understand one basic fact.

The results are basically meaningless.

That's right. And the reason is two-fold.

The World Baseball Classic seems to be trudging into the championship rounds with a mixed level of enthusiasm. This week, teams from Puerto Rico, USA, Mexico, Cuba, Japan, Korea, Venezuela, and the Netherlands stagger to the finish line playing before thousands of fans disguised as empty seats.

Stories about the classic are all too abundant as writers speak of the event's unpopularity, while MLB officials try to spin the event as a rousing success in bringing a global sport to the globe.

Team Puerto Rico absolutely destroyed the star-packed Team USA with a score of 11-1 Saturday evening in Miami.

The game actually ended as a result of the Mercy Rule, which I personally found a bit amusing. The Mercy Rule occurs when a game ends early when one team has a very large and presumably insurmountable lead over the other team. In the case of the WBC, the rule is 10 runs. 

Here are the lineups:

Yankees

*From Protect the Plate

The Kansas City Royals have been far from the national spotlight for what seems like forever, and are coming off their fifth-straight losing season. The franchise had its best run from 1976-85, making seven playoff appearances, capped off by a World Series championship in 1985.

The Royals haven't made the playoffs since, and while a postseason birth may be out of reach again this year, there is reason for increased expectations in KC this season.

On Thursday I mentioned that Jim Kaat would be returning to the broadcast booth with MLB Network for a few games this year, including the home opener at the New Yankee Stadium. But now we find out from Bob Raissman that he wanted to return to YES.

Now that I've had a few days to unwind from my spring training travels, I thought I would share one of my better stories from my trip.

Last Monday, at the Orioles vs. Mets spring training game, my brother, Evan, left Tradition Field with a pair of Carlos Delgado's game-worn pants.