Spring: The Season of New Life, New Hope, Dreams and Wishful Thinking for Baseball Fans

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Spring officially began March 21. However, for baseball fans the world over, and I myself am one of those, it actually began when pitchers and catchers reported to major league camps at the end of February. The 4 weeks of Spring Training are a great time for true red-blooded American baseball fans to delude themselves into believing their teams have a chance to win it all this year. Okay, if you are a cookie cutter Yankee or Red Sox fan, you don't really count anymore.

But the rest of us, we see hope in the arm of a 32-year journeyman pitcher who is now joining his 6th team in 8 years and has had 3 good outings against the 'B' teams in early March. We hope for the improbable, we have faith in those who have let us down before, and we can dream bigger than Walt Disney.

Personally, I grew up as a Phillies fan from 1974 to present. There were no teams in FL back then, and some clown named Ted Turner owned the Braves. Eventually the Braves grew respectable, but the other major impact in my life came when baseball arrived in my hometown of Saint Petersburg, FL (where the Rays actually play). So, a new co-favorite emerged. Last year I had the honor and privilege of seeing my two all-time favorite teams meet in the World Series. I got to share this thrill with my father and my son, making it even more special.

So, what does this year hold? I can just about bet the farm in Vegas it won't be the same two teams in the Series, in fact that has not happened since 1978. I can also bet I will NOT win my fantasy baseball leagues, I have won 3 times in 18 seasons. However, in the interest of just putting something into this brief blog, I will first invite ANYONE INTERESTED IN PLAYING FANTASY BASEBALL this year to email me this week before we draft. We will do an open to the world live draft soon on ESPN.com.

Secondly, I have decided to share my idiocy in predicting baseball's post-season participants for 2009. How much reading, research and effort have I put into this? Less than 4 hours. :-) Seriously. But, I have as much chance of being correct as a monkey in the San Diego Zoo.

AL East - Boston
AL Central - Minnesota
AL West - LA Angels
AL Wild Card - Tampa Bay Rays (hey I can be a homer if I want to be)

NL East - Philadelphia
NL Central - Chicago
NL West - Arizona
NL Wild Card - New York Mets

World Series - Boston vs. Philadelphia (Still Dreaming)
Winner - Boston (I even placed such a bet in Vegas this past trip) ;-)

I will close with a brief note it is also the season for re-watching great baseball movies. I have already seen a few and plan to watch a few more. My Favorites to appear in a Top 5 List soon. But, I will also include them here, heh: Field Of Dreams, Bull Durham (not for the kids), For The Love Of The Game, Pride Of The Yankees, The Natural, Major League (getting a bit dated), A League Of Their Own, Mr. Baseball and The Bad News Bears.

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