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Spring Training is in full bloom and we are only a few weeks away from the start of the 2016 season. And I do admit to be happily surprised. The only catastrophic issues have been with the starting rotation, and with the overall depth that should sort itself out within a few weeks of the Opener. Sure, there are still lots of chances for the guys we are rolling the dice with to totally tank, but so far things don't look nearly as bad as predicted just 2 months ago.
So, for this weekend at least, have some Bright Side of Life Links:
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Everywhere In Baseball
K Cups: We keep tracking the miracles of Spring around here. Johnny Giavotella and Yunel Escobar remain the two Halos with a considerable amount of at-bats this Spring who have yet to strike out. On the other end of the spectrum, Ji-Man Choi has 10 strikeouts in 38 at-bats. Yeegads..........
Facts Change: It's time to change your mind. Baseball is getting flooded with new data. Shifts, exit velocity, injury data, etc. In our lifetime, it's going to be hard to keep up. And I predict that at least one stat considered of little value today will get some serious retooling with the updated information and become one of THE most hallowed data points of reference. I just hope that they don't end up calling it wZX*hh+ or something..........
Sneaky: Jake Cave, a prospect with the Reds, stepped out into a Spring game wearing a uniform void of any name OR number. That's when you know you are at the very back of the bus. One thing is for certain: if this is Cave's plan to increase his popularity among jersey sales, he is going about it all wrong..........
Back to Black: Bud Black is happy to be hanging around the arid halls of Tempe, surrounded again by looms of red. He spends his time applying his particular skills with pitching development, by working with the farm prospects called to camp. Ever the skillful communicator, Black is not one to reveal just how high is the mountain he is being tasked with climbing.............
Ballpark GastroDeath: Here is the next installment of this year's ballpark food outrageousness (there are certain to be many more over the next few weeks). This week is dedicated to everyone who stands in line while the game burns on, slowly making their way to the front and still unable to decide between multiple selections. Instead, while not pile all those choices into one plate? Included in this list is the Angels Stadium Helmet Nachos. Because serving ice cream in little plastic helmets is kids stuff...........
Green with Envy: The next time you are confronted by a Dodger "fan" who wants to demonstrate his or her ignorance of history, you can dogpile with this trick question: what were the Dodgers colors before the current royal blue? The answer is green. And here is the backstory..........
No He Di'n't!: Giancarlo Stanton has some things to say about some silly stories circulating that he was bested in a home run hitting contest by some 51-year old dude, even if that dude is named Barry Bonds. And those things can be summed up in a single word: nope...........
LaRoche Clips: Spring Training news is slowing down. No other way to explain how the retirement of a journeyman 1B/DH retiring continues to be so much news (tidbit - Mike Trout overwhelmed Adam LaRoche's career bWAR by the time Trout reached the All-Star break of his second full season). Not even ChiSox fans get it......The whole thing is stupid and everybody is wrong.......or..........nobody is wrong and this is very important.....take your pick............
Out Of Box: Here you go, Mr. Use Your Pitching Staff In Radical New Ways guy. Terry Collins is thinking about starting out the Mets season by using TWO starters in the same game. And if you want to talk not about starters, but about bullpens, well, I have something for you as well.............
Adventures in Left: After Ian Desmond played his cards extremely poorly and lost out on tens of millions of dollars worth of income, he found himself having to settle with a 1-year deal with a team that already has enough infielders. So Desmond will be parked in the left field region of Arlington. And this might not work out all too well for Desmond, or the Rangers..........
Adios: Umpire Tim Welke is retiring. And now he...won't...have...baseball...to...kick...around...anymore..........
Thawing Out: David Freese got back onto the field of play yesterday, Taking on a green uniform for the Pirates and going 1 for 3. Let's now wish him the best of luck and get back to our own third baseman, Yunel Escobar, who happens to be batting .333 with a .790 OPS..........
Baffled: Newly minted manager Scott Servais, fresh from the LAA front office and now heading up the revamped Seattle Mariners, found himself "disappointed" in his young pitching prospect James Paxton. I suspect that Servais may need to grab a cup of coffee and settle in, because he might be in for quite a bit of disappointment in his new gig............
Solid Gold: There is this thing in Baseball known as the Lifetime Pass. It entitles the bearer to admission into any game they ever care to attend, for life. It's earned through time served within MLB. But I have always wondered about these things. How do you get a seat? Can you flash that beast at ushers and security and cops and shoo them away?..........
Finally: Here is your rather uninspired 2016 World Series logo. I always wonder if they pay anybody real money to come up with these things?
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