Spring Training

Spring training is by far one of the best times of the year.  If any of you have ever had the privilege to attend a spring training game, you have probably walked away feeling better about the game of baseball than when you arrived.

There is just something special about spring training.  Get to the park early in the morning, and watch the team go through their drills.  Mingling with the players, coaches, and fellow fans. 

Here are the lineups:

YANKEES
Derek Jeter SS
Johnny Damon LF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Hideki Matsui DH
Jorge Posada C
Robinson Cano 2B
Xavier Nady RF
Cody Ransom 3B
Brett Gardner CF

On Tuesday, Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks announced his intentions to sell off as much as 49 percent of his investments in the Texas Rangers.

Hicks purchased the team on Jan. 7, 1998, from a group headed by the soon-to-be President of the United States George W. Bush. At the time Hicks bought the team for $250 million, and this past April's Forbes Magazine valued the team now at $412 million, ranking 16th out of the 30 Major League Baseball teams.

Not only did Michael Young have to spend his Spring Training learning an entirely new position, but now he is dealing with a left quadriceps injury that continues to nag him.

This past weekend he missed back-to-back games after feeling some tightness in his left quad.  On Tuesday he returned to the lineup, but was only able to last one inning.

After singling in the top part of the first inning and then playing the field in the bottom part, he was pulled from the game. 

Even in a meaningless Spring Training game, the greatest rivalry in the history of sports provided an exciting match-up on Tuesday night. The New York Yankees edged their arch-rivals, the Boston Red Sox, by a score of 7-1.

As the waning weeks of spring training come to a close, we are reminded of the troubles that Philadelphia Phillies have trying to fill openings in the starting rotation, and bullpen.

A lot of players' major league lives are on the line. A bad outing here, a blown game there, and the next thing you know your back to triple-A trying to figure out what exactly went wrong, and how to fix it.

Here are the lineups:

YANKEES
Johnny Damon LF
Derek Jeter SS (welcome back)
Mark Teixeira 1B
Hideki Matsui DH
Jorge Posada C
Robinson Cano 2B
Xavier Nady RF

The Yankees acquired catcher Chris Stewart from the Chicago White Sox for a player to be named later earlier this week, and it has created lots of speculation as to what exactly that means for the team and its minor league affiliates.

At the major league level, the Yankees have Jorge Posada and Jose Molina, but obvious questions remain regarding Posada’s shoulder.