Spring Training

A couple summers ago, I thought I'd score some big points with my step son, Dakota. I promised him I'd build him and the neighborhood kids a fort in our back yard. I slaved for literally hours. I sat down and drew out plans. I used a T square and a triangle and designed a mansion that looked like it came from Newport, RI.

As the Tribe officially moves out of their home away from home in Goodyear and on to two meaningless paid exhibition games with the Houston Astros, it is time to take a look back on the long adventure that was Cleveland Indians spring training.

With the second installment of the WBC this season, the Cactus League was extended by two weeks and many, many games. The pitchers "got their work in." The position players "took it a day at a time." And manager Eric Wedge used countless other analogies to describe baseball games in March that don't count.

The Toronto Blue Jays had more then a few questions heading into Spring Training this February.

Which two pitchers will fill the rotation? Will the bullpen remain the same as last year? Who will the Jays take for their bench? Who is going to be the backup catcher?

Well, with just five days remaining until the Jays first game against the Detroit Tigers at the Rogers Center, all these questions have finally been answered.

After today’s game against the Red Legs, Chris Johnson was informed that he will be sent down to AAA Round Rock following the Astros contest against the Corpus Christi Hooks.

We have entered the Twilight Zone of spring training.

This is the time where most of the players still getting time on the fields are just looking not to get injured before the season starts while still getting enough work in to earn their paychecks when the games finally start to matter.

Since we have arrived at this most agonizing of hours when Opening Day can be seen on the horizon, but five days still await the first pitch, it's about time for an official, dyn-o-mite 2009 preview of yours, mine, and our Colorado Rockies.

Seven days. You have seven days.

Don't worry, there's no unmarked videotape. There's not a girl in a well waiting to crawl out of your television. 

In fact, in seven days, you should be glued to your television/radio/computer. In seven days, you will be watching Giants baseball. It will be early in the game against the Milwaukee Brewers, and Tim Lincecum will be striking out Ryan Braun to end the inning.

I can't wait until the spring training games are over. I'm ready for the season. The Yankees know who they want at certain positions and it's time to play.

A+: Joba Chamberlain

He gave up two earned runs in 5.1 innings, but his velocity was great and he struck out 6 batters. Great joba by him. Get it? Great joba?

A+: Phil Coke

He pitched one perfect inning and struck out two batters. Coke is it.

A+: Melky Cabrera

Dewayne Wise is officially the Chicago White Sox opening day center fielder and leadoff man. This news is bittersweet to Jerry Owens, who has yet again failed to secure a job that was all but his for the second consecutive spring.

The hope was that Owens would be able to secure and add some much needed speed to the top of the lineup, but it has faded away with Owens being placed on waivers as of Monday.

It was a bad day on the mound today for the Astros. From astros.com:

'Stros at the plate: “Kazuo Matsui went 3-for-3 with a double,a run scored, and an RBI, and Hunter Pence went 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Edwin Maysonet hit a solo home run to left field off of right-hander Chad Durbin in the sixth inning.”

I'm hoping this spring means something and that all these Yankee wins could help build momentum for when the regular season starts. We know that these games don't prove much, but I'll take what I saw.

I have Andy Pettitte as one of my bench pitchers in fantasy baseball and I'm wondering if I should make him a starter.

A+: Andy Pettitte

Total domination. He reached his pitch count and then came out of the game with only one earned run against him. I guess you can say he's ready for the season.

A+: Mark Teixeira