We may have a fresh coat of snow on the ground here in Frederick, Maryland (9 inches, to be exact), but in Florida and Arizona, Major League Baseball's Spring Training is in full swing (pun intended!). I sat by the warm fire in my living room fireplace in my fleece, velour, and fuzzy socks watching the Dodgers and White Sox yesterday, where the crowd was all in tank tops and shorts. Oh to be in a warm climate enjoying ballpark hot dogs and watching the badass Clayton Kershaw pitch two shutout innings!
Actually, I should not be allowed to watch any Spring Training games at all. They just give me anxiety and make me want the real season to start tomorrow. I'm too damn competitive for these "pretend" games that don't count - why did Max Scherzer allow a home run in the second inning of the Nationals' game against the Mets? That's inexcusable! The Nationals paid seven gazillion dollars for him; he needs to be perfect! Why didn't any of the Nationals' regulars get any hits in today's 5-4 victory? Aren't they supposed to be the best lineup in baseball? I don't think I can take it this month - they need to start playing for real right now (never mind the fact that there are three feet of snow in Fenway Park)!
Spring Training is a time for previously-injured players to get back into the swing of things (there's that pun again!), like the Orioles' Manny Machado and Matt Weiters, and for veterans like Ryan Zimmerman to get used to playing new positions (he's making the move from third base to first). But they also have regular nine-inning games, so how can they expect us to not get excited when we've spent the last four months wondering if Peyton Manning is going to retire and trying to figure out if that dress on the Internet is blue and black or white and gold? We are ready for some real excitement!
Instead we need to stop, take a step back, and chill just a little, hard as it may be. We need to let the baseball players get into their routines, practice their batting stances, and get their uniforms dirty. We've waited this long, so we can wait a few more weeks for the regular season to start, right? I guess. Players still need to be cut, umpires need to brush up on their skills, and groundskeepers have to get the ballparks ready for opening day a month away. And some of us have big decisions to make: Do we get tickets to "Jayson Werth Chia Pet Night," or "Anthony Rendón Garden Gnome Night?" So let me try to practice what I preach and not take Spring Training so seriously - something very hard for a competitive Puerto Rican like me to do! This is when I take a deep cleansing breath, go outside to shovel some snow, and bake some cookies... while taking a peek at MLB Network coverage of Spring Training. Sorry; I just can't resist!
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