I See Ball People...

So, there's something to be said for the start of spring training. There's something to be said for the hope it inspires; warm weather is on the way, cook outs, something to watch on television EVERY night that isn't on Cinemax after 11pm, and of course, fantasy baseball.

What is not to be said about spring training, is that baseball is back. Baseball is not back. Yes, people are playing catch, swinging bats, and adjusting their wedding tackle, but this is like me sticking feathers up my butt, and then clucking like a chicken...

Quick name the most exciting thing from Spring Training last year... If you said the melee between the Yankees and the G Rays, then you would be correct? So, if Spring Training really were a good indicator of things to come, then these two teams should have been at each other's throats throughout the season, right? Oh, but wasn't it the Red Sox that were brawling with the G Rays come mid-season?

My point is that the only thing "important" about Spring Training last season was the people that got injured (Boof Bonser is already down! Just give up now, Twins!) and the people that fought. Last year, Lastings Milledge had a HUGE spring. Then he went on to bat .268 in the regular season. So, how good someone performs in Spring Training does not really mean anything (except that maybe you draft them in the 9th round of your fantasy draft instead of Xavier Nady, only to drop them 5 weeks later... When Xavier Nady has already been gobbled up).

Really what I am getting at here is that the next time I am at a bar and some baseball "fan" refuses to change the station from the Red Sox-Twins split squad showdown live from Ft. Alzheimer's, to college basketball, I reserve the right not only to smash his face, but also the right to smash the brand new LCD television that is airing said snoozefest (If you are not going to use it right, then you shouldn't be using it at all). Dude, you're not missing anything. Oh and there will be 162 other games this season that you can feast upon all while trying to figure out the philosophical virtues of "small ball." This will also be the same guy who refuses to watch pre-season football because it's... "boring." You're right, I don't see a contradiction either.

No matter the the competition, if a game or match is being broadcasted and the result actually matters, then you should always take that over the alternative. This is the point of sport. It's not to have fun, it's to have a result. I sure as shit didn't hang onto my Pre-SAT scores, just like I sure as shit am not going to harp on Ian Kinsler's .250 pre-season batting average. Because it doesn't mean anything and your ability to enjoy the arbitrary ends when fate is at stake and we happen to be sharing a bar top. Good day!