Countdown to Opening Day

[Oklahawg]

A few curiosities or whatever as I countdown the days to Opening Day.

1. I'm still struggling to figure out the D-Rays concept of player development. BJ Upton called up last year but spent less than half his time at SS. Rather than send him to developmental ball last fall to learn 3B (a whole in the D-Rays' system) or OF (where they have more than enough talent) they...do nothing. They ink a journeyman 3B for no apparent reason. They sign Alomar, effectively blocking Cantu. Alomar retires, fortunately for me--I own Cantu in a roti auction league. Bautista is signed blocking either Gomes, Gaithwright or Young. Well, effectively all 3. Bautista retires...and they sign Alex Sanchez. Sanchez was waived by the Tigers, for god's sake.

2. What is going on in Milwaukee at SS? Is JJ Hardy really ready to be handed the job? Bill Hall isn't exactly Cal Ripken or Ozzie Smith but he's serviceable for half the season while Hardy learns at AAA. If Hardy gets 450 ABs this year what kind of stats can he produce? I'm thinking .260-12-45-8. I have him in a roti auction league, but at $1.5 (from last year's minor league draft) and there's no way he's worth that, is there?

3. I don't remember hearing a ballplayer sound like a call to 911 was quite so necessary as sitting and hearing Barry Bonds feel sorry for himself. He's done. Its mental, at this point.

4. All the babble about steroids but no one talks about the 2001 season being the juiced-ball year, with everyone hitting a ton of HR. No one talks about the effect of the new ballparks being so hitter friendly. No one talks about the technology used to make Bonds' bats (its a new thing, I believe). No one talks about the effect of expansion on the various weak-sister pitching staffs. No one talks about how could Aaron hit 755, Ruth hit 714, Mays hit 660 (with military service in the middle)...how could that happen without the player being juiced?

5. Will Troy Glaus be the monster again for Arizona? He claims he's healthy and he's hitting a ton this spring. I figure .250-45-110-2 is reasonable but I also wonder if he's really healthy.

6. What happens if all 4 Reds OFs are healthy and productive this year? Griffey Jr., Dunn, Kearns and Pena are all potential MVPs. Sean Casey is a solid 1B but Dunn can play 1B too. Can they get 500 ABs for all 5 guys? I absolutely love watching Adam Dunn hit, second only to Jim Thome. Thome darn near snaps his back in half on every swing. The man will play slow-pitch softball for a long time.

7. What happens if the Padres, Brewers or Pirates suddenly start playing .550 ball? All 3 have players to trade to make a run. Nah, not gonna happen but gee wouldn't that be cool? The Nationals don't have anyone to trade, but they could still flirt with .500.  Now, only one of these teams will actually have a good season and I'm betting Padres first and Pirates second, but I don't know. Thoughts?

8. A buddy called and mentioned George Arias, who just got sent to minor league camp with the Nationals. Talk about a deep, deep, deep sleeper pick. Arias was the next big thing with the Padres about 10 years ago. Turns out that hole in his swing was large enough to allow Dom DeLuise to lounge with a plate of Krispy Kremes. And not get hit.

9. What happens if one of these days pitchers are suddenly caught up with hitters and we return to 3-2 and 2-1 as the norm in the boxscores? Some teams sure do line up some impressive staffs. Then, you encounter teams like the Tigers (yes, yes, Bonderman, Maroth, Johnson, Robertson, and Ledezma are all potentially solid but do you really think all 5 will be solid?). What about the Orioles with Chen and Cabrera in the rotation? Yikes.

[Razorback Jedi]

ahhhh...the beauty of baseball!

[Oklahawg]

Does anyone have special traditions for Opening Day? Prior to marriage I considered it the single most sacred day of the spring. Somehow, Mrs. Oklahawg was able to successfully lobby for Easter.

I used to take the day off to watch the triple-header on TV but I don't do that any longer. My classroom has a TV with cable and the TV is ON from the first pitch, even if the volume is off and the screen facing away from the classroom.

When I take off for my roti draft (in Dallas) I declare that I'm heading to a men's spiritual conference in Dallas and use personal days. We have to declar why we are using the days (silly and not totally legal in OK, but I digress) but no one argues with me. Hey, both leagues are all male, and I consider the start of the season, spring, the greening and warming of Mother Earth...all of it is sacred on at least one level, so the "spiritual" part of the description isn't completely wrong. Hey, "god" and "jesus" are mentioned often (as in, "jesus, what was I thinking?").