Good for a laugh?

Okay - So Billy Crystal paid his fees and got a chance to play in a major league exhibition game. Wow, are there mixed opinions about this, and I have to admit I can easily argue both sides. But one point keeps coming to my mind. How many young AAA players would give everything they have for the same opportunity? I bet quite a few would love the chance to play in even one exhibition game. They are legitimate players with at least the chance of having the skills necessary. And they work hard every day hoping to earn the chance. One game to them is a chance to be seen, to prove that they have what it takes or something special to offer. It could be just one game, or the beginning of a dream major league career.

Hawkey said today that Crystal actually went to college on a baseball scholarship. I did not verify that. But even if true, he had no legit chance of doing well. He is 60 years old and over weight, and I am assuming that he hasn't played for years.

So what is our message? That if you have enough money and power you too can play on a major league team? This isn't the first time that a star has been allowed to play, nor will it be the last.

My personal thought? I think it is disrespectful in a way to the other team (especially the pitcher), sends a wrong message to those players who are working hard to get there the real way, but in the long run, as long as it only happens once or twice per preseason (imagine the chaos if it happened every game) it isn't really a huge deal.

If we have to watch stars play, can we at least choose someone young and sexy?

Happy Birthday Dad!!!

Today is my Dad's birthday... so taking a second to wish him a happy one!

This week has been crazy (tax season ya know), but I will be back in a couple days.

So while I am gone... wanna weigh in on Livan? What are your thoughts/hopes/concerns about what we have seen so far?

Quote of the week

Thank you Carlos Gomez for what has to be the best quote of the week, possibly the entire season!

Tom Powers of the Pioneer Press quoted him when asked about becoming an impact player as saying, "They don't have no speed like me. I know I can help this team. Especially when I hit ahead of Morneau and the catcher and the other guy." Mike Morris and the guys at KFAN were having a great time playing with the "get to know em" campaign. Maybe he missed the team introductions... Hi, my name is ________ and my favorite color is _______. Ok - I have a hard time believing that he honestly does not know Mauer or Cuddyer's names.

While I love this quote and got a hearty laugh from it, I have to give the guy an out. He is only 22 and has become the focus of a lot of attention only because of being a part of the Santana trade. Had he not been a part of that trade, we would hear of the guy, but he would not be the focus of so much media attention. I will write it off to being nervous of having every word you speak and every move you make being analyzed to determine whether or not you should have been included as a part of the trade, if you are worth it. That is a ton of pressure for a young man.

Everything I hear about this guy is that he is very likable, confident to the extreme, but still maintaining his appeal. The other quote from the article was when asked if he thought it would be difficult to play center field in the dome he said, "If Torii Hunter can catch the ball there, why can't I catch it there?"

The reviews are that at 6'4" this guy is FAST! They also all seem to agree that he is a little overly aggressive at bat and if he can't back off a little he will strike out a lot. Probably a factor of his self-confidence. My thought is that if they can tone him down a notch without losing his enthusiasm, this kid could be a great asset!

Let's just hope that he can live up to his own expectations...

Not quite enough...

This is my first year of actually following Spring Training. Past years I have only known what is going on thanks to whatever sound bites actually made the 10pm news, and that was only if I took the time to watch the news. The amount of reporting always depends so much on what the expectations are for the team, or more accurately, the expectations according to the particular sports reporter. And to be honest, in past years the sound bites were enough. I did not know that I could listen to the games, only that they were not televised. So there was no desire for more, or feeling like I was missing anything.

This is such a different experience. I am listening to KFAN (except game times of course) all the time (which spends more time on football than baseball during my listening hours - so next year maybe it will be a new Vikes blog!), reading the blogs, reading the sports pages, and listening to games that I can barely hear and understand since it is almost impossible to get AM stations in the building I work at. The one frustration I have is not being able to actually WATCH the players and games. This year I know all the names, the possibilities and yet can't put a face to the name, or a style to the position. I would also love to watch some of the nonroster invitees (a term I never heard till this year - which are all the players that are invited to camp, but are not a part of the 40 man roster.) There are I think 21 nonrostered players and a few of them have made great plays in the games I have been able to hear. Again - something that never would have been a concern to me in past years, until they moved up someone from AAA.

Last game I watched on gameday's f/x (is that what you call the gameday screen where it shows all the pitches and tracks where they go and the results?), and while it is interesting during the season once I know the pitchers and players, it felt a little dry for the pitchers I don't know. But all the Spring games on gameday are offered live, and I of course need to earn a living and can't watch them.

So this year I join the ranks of the devotees who rely only on stats, the news, and other peoples points of view for an entire month. My imagination is in full gear, and I can't wait to compare it to reality. This year I know what I am missing and it is just making the craving for being able to watch a game so much more intense. I am hooked and loving it!

I am curious... what do you do to feel more in touch with the team during the preseason?

Brain Freeze...

No other way to describe the feeling of being completely overwhelmed by information today. I spent most of the day recovering from being sick this week, and then being dumb enough to go and play hockey last night (yes, that's right... I play on a women's hockey team). Exhausted, I took the recovery time to read blog after blog after blog... I feel dizzy!

There is so much out there! I would look at one blog and then there would be links to other blogs, and so on, and so on... I read blogs rating the AQ (Adorable Quotient)of the players, technical blogs that spoke of stats that I had never ever heard of, blogs that theorized about where players will be placed and how they will do, and blogs that created humorous poems. I even read a blog that posted a hilarious youtube video of Ellen doing an interview in a Hawaiian chair (the seat moves like you are doing a hula) even though at this point I have no clue how I ended up on that site!

I will be adding many of them to the links later, but I have to go back through them again and figure out which ones are the best.

Here is what I learned more about... The grapefruit and cactus leagues and the history behind them, the farm system and that we have SIX teams (and what all the levels are), who the fans are expecting to play at each position and why, and more about the strategy behind the lineup and how they choose the players for each role.

Many discussed the first three games. I was actually able to listen to the first game at work (even though it sounded as if there were a B52 hovering in the headphone, I could make out most of the game) and today's game (in perfect AM sound). Here is my take from the blogs and the two games I heard...

• The pitchers that were expected to do well are.
• Skinny Boof looks pretty good.
• We are still short on offense, but hopes are high for a better offense than last year's.
• Lamb might just be my favorite newbie this year. He has a really sarcastic, self deprecating sense of humor that is right up my alley! Sooo many newbies to learn about that I haven't solidified him as this year's choice, but so far, he is in the lead!

Pardon today's blog for lacking in substance, but I just had to share that I am too overwhelmed to choose a topic to write about. But I am looking and learning and will write something once the brain has thawed a tiny bit!