Opinion

The first signs of Spring Training arrived last week when pitchers and catchers took to the fields. It is that time of year when ‘hope springs eternal.’

Play will begin in the Grapefruit and Cactus leagues, and soon enough we will all be outside enjoying peanuts, cracker jacks, and baseball.

During an appearance on the Scott Garceau show on MASN and 105.7 RM, the Fan, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman had some nice words to say for the usually pathetic division rivals the Baltimore Orioles and their GM Andy MacPhail.

“Andy is doing exactly what Andy does best,” Cashman said. “He is as sharp as they come. Patience is the biggest key. He made such an astute trade with Seattle and now he has a collection of talent. Getting Adam Jones to play with Markakis was remarkable. Now he has one of the bright young outfields.

In my profile, I state that Willie Mays was a greater player than Babe Ruth was, because Mays played at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

The wind at Candlestick can be so nasty as to blow homeruns back into the park, while Hank Aaron would eventually play in a hitter-friendly park where the wind would "assist" in a home-run.

My dad and uncle still talk about the Giants from the 1960s.  My uncle does so affectionately; my dad, not so much.

Ah, Spring Training. The ball hitting the catcher's mitt, the swing of the bat, the smell of cracker jack and hot dogs in the air.

Since the late 1990's dynasty years, and well before high walk totals and high on base percentages were fashionable, the New York Yankees lineup was known as a patient group, working the pitcher to drive pitch counts up and getting to the opponents bullpen early.

Often they would get to the bullpen by the fifth, sixth, or seventh innings.  And when it became a battle of the bullpens, the Yankees always had the advantage with hurlers like John Wetteland, Mariano Rivera, and Jeff Nelson.

The Boston Red Sox have done a wonderful job of overhauling their roster this winter. After being swept out of the playoffs by the Angels, GM Theo Epstein knew major changes needed to be made, and he did just that.

John Lackey, the top free agent pitcher, was added to provide depth to the rotation as well as give a wealth of big-game experience to the staff.  Adrian Beltre and Marco Scutaro were brought in to retool the left side of the infield.

MLBTradeRumors.com is reporting the New York Mets have come to a contract agreement with free agent catcher Rod Barajas. Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com was the first to tweet about this deal.

The agreement is reportedly a one year deal with a base of $1 million. It will also include up to $1 million in incentives, which apparently seem easy to attain.

The end of last season was a disappointing one, but also one filled with hope – hope that next year small ball would finally be balanced with big bats, and we could go into 2010 with the enthusiasm of Rex Hudler.

No, I guess not.

Something happened to the Angels this off season, and it wasn’t pretty. Obviously, the death of Rory Markus is a tragedy that stands alone, and none of the other events are even in the same sentence.

The Philadelphia Phillies Five Keys to the 2010 Season  (Part Two of a Five Part Series)

A significant factor in Ruben Amaro's decision to trade Cliff Lee relates to his "leap of faith" that this season's version of Cole Hamels will look a lot like the 2008 model.