Opinion

Spring has sprung, and with it come spring training and the return of baseball.

Pitchers stretch and play catch on the fresh, green, and manicured lawns. Hitters work the cages, exchange trade secrets, and work out the kinks spawned from an idle winter.

The temperature is rising, the sun is shining, and optimism permeates throughout. For it is hard to be pessimistic during spring training—unless you're from Philadelphia.

For us, it is just too easy.

The Baltimore Orioles made what is probably the team’s final transaction before the regular season kicks off by acquiring veteran utility man Julio Lugo from the St. Louis Cardinals this morning.

The Orioles seemingly got him for nothing, as they will send the Cards either cash or the ever-so-specific "player to be named later."

Cactus League action is winding down and the final roster is set. That means we can all forget about the exhibition season and focus on the games that do count.

Five days separate the Chicago Cubs from the season opener against the Atlanta Braves, and players, coaches, and fans are eager for that first pitch.

It's time to throw out those spring stats. They don’t really mean anything, do they?

Sorry, Tyler Colvin. Your team-leading .449 average and 17 RBIs no longer matter.

Congrats, Derrek Lee. Your .176 average doesn’t matter, either.

When is a 9.88 a good thing?

When you're taking a test out of 10 points. When you're an Olympic ice skater. When it's your 100-meter dash time.

When is it a bad thing?

It's certainly a bad thing if we are talking about ERA.

The 9.88 ERA belongs to Cincinnati Reds "ace" Aaron Harang—the same guy who will be tying an all-time Reds record for Opening Day starts on Monday with five.

The season hasn't even started, and I'm already hitting the panic button on Harang. 

They say nobody's perfect.

That may be true, but that won't stop me from trying to create the perfect baseball player.

In this article I will combine players with specific talents to create the perfect baseball player.

P.S.: I want to apologize to Mo Vaughn in advance (you'll find out why momentarily).

Begin Slideshow

Drafted: 18th Round, 2006 (Carmichael, CA)

Height: 6′4″

Weight: 215 lbs

Born: September 25, 1987

Anderson was scheduled to attend college and play ball at U-Cal, Berkeley after starring for TEAM USA during the 2005 PanAm Championships and leading California high schoolers in home runs in 2006.

While he had the talent to be a first round or first round supplemental pick in the ‘06 draft, the commitment to Berkeley caused many teams to shy away.

The sun is shining and the birds are chirping.  The 2010 baseball season is right around the corner.  In less than a week, our favorite teams will finally be playing meaningful games again. 

This is the time of year where every baseball fan is optimistic for their team.  Every team starts off with the same record.  Some teams may have more promise than others, but every team deserves some optimism. 

Every year right before baseball season starts we come up with a list of the worst major league ballparks still in operation. Each year this article gets harder and harder to write because of all the beautiful new venues that have replaced the decrepit stadiums. This year is no exception as the last year's 3rd worst ballpark, the Metrodome, hosted it's last Twins game. In 2009 we got to say good bye the Shea Stadium which fell victim to the wrecking ball. Crummy ballparks are almost a thing of the past.

Sorry about the updates being so late in the day today. I had a bit of running around to do this morning.

Just four days until the season starts—who’s excited? I am.

On to the news:

Nelson Figueroa got his final tune-up of the spring on Wednesday against the Florida Marlins, as he took the mound to fight for his big league career.

Figueroa—his start against the Marlins five days ago aside—has looked very strong this spring, but he indicated that he may head across to Japan should he not make the 25-man roster.