Respect Your Elders!

Opening Day for Major League Baseball is just a few days away (though the Seattle Mariners and Oakland A's have started their season already with a series of games in Japan earlier this week).  For all the teams, that basically means they have just a few days to make their final cuts to achieve their 25-player rosters; the grounds crews of all the ball parks are scrambling to get their parks looking pretty; and my kids are rolling their eyes at the realization that "American Idol" will be replaced by baseball games on our one-television household.

This is also a time to catch up (if you haven't done so already) on which veteran players are back for another year, and which ones did not succeed at free agency and had to accept retirement.  Yankees catcher Jorge Posada announced his retirement during the off-season - he was not very happy last year being relegated to the designated hitter position and batting in the bottom of the batting order.  He had an excellent career but can now focus on spending time with his family and working on his Foundation, which helps children with special needs.

Also possibly retiring (though it's not official yet) is 38-year-old right fielder for the Detroit Tigers, Magglio Ordoñez.  Magglio is a free agent who has only been made minor-league offers, so he has said that he will more than likely retire if nothing better comes along.  I mean, really - you had a great career in the Majors and they want you to go down to the minors to try out?  No thanks!

In the same boat (and you knew I couldn't blog without mentioning him) is Iván Rodriguez, who still wants to play, still wants to reach 3,000 hits, and still continues to work out and practice rigorously in hopes that his phone will ring.  The Kansas City Royals were supposedly interested at one point, but no offer has been made.  Poor "Pudge" - who wouldn't want a 40-year-old catcher who has been plagued with injuries in the last 2 seasons?  I know, I'm not doing a good job selling him.  It may just be time for Iván to call it quits.  :-(

But hey, there are several old guys returning to the Majors this year, so it's not all bad news.  49-year-old lefty pitcher Jamie Moyer (yes, I said 49!) is expected to make the starting rotation for the Colorado Rockies this year.  He's older than my husband, made his debut with the Chicago Cubs when I was a freshman in high school, and has played for 8 teams in his 24-year career.  I'm rooting for Jamie - I hope he makes it into the starting rotation and has a solid year - as long as the games don't go too late into the evening so he doesn't have to stay up past his bedtime.

Also returning this year will be shortstop Omar Vizquel, who earned himself a spot with the Toronto Blue Jays.  Vizquel will be 45 at the end of April, and he can still field a ball like a hall-of-famer.  Do you want to start up a really good debate with a die-hard baseball fan?  Ask him or her to pick between Vizquel and Ozzie Smith for the title of "Best Shortstop Ever" and you'll get 50 valid reasons to support one over the other.  Personally, I prefer Vizquel mainly because I watched him play more - Ozzie was a little before my baseball-game-watching time.  We'll see if everyone else agrees with me when Vizquel retires and is eligible for Hall of Fame voting.

You know who else is back?  Yankees lefty Andy Pettitte (39) and righty closer Mariano Rivera (42).  Pettitte just came out of retirement and has been pitching quite adequately in Spring Training, and Rivera, well, he just doesn't get old!  They are both two Yankee greats that even Yankee haters respect - let's just hope they're not great enough this year to get into the post-season!

Finally, I can't end a blog about geriatric players without mentioning Jim Thome.  Thome is 41, and thanks to Ryan Howard's torn Achilles tendon, is being given the chance to play first base for the Philadelphia Phillies.  Thome spent most of his career with the Cleveland Indians (where he played along with Vizquel), and is just one of those guys everyone loves.  Again, let's hope he has a good season individually; we don't need the Phillies in the playoffs again this season!

What a Long, Strange Month it's Been!

Hello, my friends!  It's been quite a while since I've blogged to you all - it's been a crazy month of March trying to juggle my jobs, my family responsibilities, and my other blogs.  I'm still blogging for http://www.prosportsblogging.com/, but I have also picked up a gig with our local paper, http://www.fredericknewspost.com/ (click on BLOGS and mine is the "Nationals Inquirier").  I am strictly a Washington Nationals blogger for both sites, so I'm glad I still have this space to myself, where I can bash, I mean, write, about anything baseball, not just Nationals-related topics.

So what's been going on in baseball land?  Spring Training is winding down, and some teams are giddy with excitement over their new acquisitions.  The Detroit Tigers are tearing up the Grapefruit League with a 13-3 record, and they like to brag about now having Prince Fielder on their team.  The Los Angeles Angels are happy with their acquisition of Albert Pujols, and the New York Yankees have welcomed pitcher Andy Pettite out of retirement.
And how about players who return to last year's teams?  Matt Holliday has been tearing it up this year, batting .484 with a nice little 10-game hitting streak to his name.  Us Cardinals dis-likers hope that he's peaking too soon.

And what's a Mudville Mom post without a comment about the Phillies?  They're struggling so far this year with injuries and they lost some players during the off-season - it seems like Roy Halliday is the only guy who wants to play this season.  Let's hope they stink this year - I need a reason to trash-talk with Phillies fans!

In all seriousness, the headline that caught my eye this week was Atlanta Braves' third baseman Chipper Jones announcing his retirement at the end of the 2012 season.  I have always liked Larry Wayne Jones - he is the quintessential franchise player who gave his all every day, and when people thought he was done after his 2010 and 2011 injuries, he insisted on not ending his career because of an injury.  He will be in the Hall of Fame someday, along with all those other Braves greats like Dale Murphy, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, and Greg Maddux.

And in case you're wondering what's up with my dear Iván Rodriguez (what's a blog post without my mention of "Pudge!"), he's still technically a free agent, but no one seems to be interested in signing a 40-year-old catcher.  The Kansas City Royals had shown some interest, but the last thing I read was that he was contemplating retirement.  Poor guy - he just wanted the opportunity to try for 3000 hits, so he could share the honor with fellow Puerto Rican Roberto Clemente, but it doesn't look like it's going to be.  If he doesn't get signed and does end up retiring, I guess we can make our reservations for his 2017 enshrinement in Cooperstown.

So the start of the 2012 season is less than two weeks away, and I'm getting excited.  We have tickets for 4 Nationals games this year, including the home opener against Cincinnati and an inter-league game against the Yankees - I know, I've said before that I don't like inter-league play during the regular season, but who can turn down the opportunity to see Robinson Canó?  Stay tuned for my insight as the season begins, and thank you as always for your support of my blog!  :-)