Pitchers and Catchers: Reported!

During my fantastic adventure in New York yesterday, I remembered that I was actually adventuring on a holiday! That holiday? Pitchers and catchers reporting day. By all accounts, they're all accounted for. Some of them, such as Lackey and Dice, rolled in looking better than they have in past years. Other players, like Beckett, know they have a lot of making-up to do. Maybe because of how bad this winter has been, or maybe just because we have so many new reasons to be hopeful, this spring training is a highly anticipated event. To see Munchkin and Youk back on the diamond, to watch fastballs buzzing by, to see the heirarchy of the bullpen take shape, and to just get a glimpse of baseball... man. It's been such a long time coming, and reporting day means we are again one step closer. February has a lot of unofficial holidays for the baseball crazed.

So knowing that the boys were in camp made being in New York tolerable. I generally dislike the city. The smell of NYC has actually given me sinus infections in the past, so I try not to spend too much time there. However, American Idiot was on Broadway, and Billie Joe Armstrong was playing the role of St. Jimmy, so it's not something I could really skip. If you love Green Day, or Broadway, the play is absolutely worth it. It was nice to see American Idiot the way it was meant to be seen.

Now I'm all hyped up about seeing the show, and about the promise of seeing Jason Varitek back in his catcher's gear very, very soon! What more could I ask for on Valentine's Day than the promise of imminent baseball season? It's been a long time coming.

It's time, boys. Time to gear up, find those corners, and figure out what the gyroball is. Time to work the kinks out of your curves and time to slow down your changeup. Sharpen the fastballs, and get your game face out of hibernation. It's time to start putting some exclamation points behind all the promises of winter. Soon, all the baseballlessness of the last four months will be a distant memory. It's spring training, hooray!