The start of spring

It’s the time of the year that us sports fans are forced take a little break. The NFL and all of its glory is behind us. So is college football and the endless BCS debates. We haven’t gotten into the playoff stretch of the NBA yet, and March Madness is still a month away. So how is a casual sports fan expected to get their fill of competitive athletics in the middle of February? And no, I’m not taking about watching the Daytona 500. It’s the four words that get people way too overly excited: Pitchers and catchers reporting.

Yes, it’s the start of spring training, the time of year when millions of Americans who are freezing their asses off get so pumped up because their favorite teams have migrated to Arizona or Florida for the next six weeks. It’s the time of the year where everybody has (WARNING: Serious cliché ahead. Please advance to following paragraph if you wish to avoid such material.) a blank slate, a 0-0 record, and an equal (in theory) chance to win the World Series. Plus as I mentioned, nothing else is going on in the world of sports right now, so pretty much by default, sports fans have to get excited about baseball starting up.

So how is a baseball fan supposed to properly appreciate the first appearance of pitchers and catchers of the new year? I’ve thought about this all week and come up with three solid ways to get yourself ready for the upcoming season without spending the thousands of dollars to actually go to spring training.


1) The worst possible thing you could do is not be ready for the ultimate in baseball events, which is opening day (April 2 for most teams). So start studying the rosters right now. If you’ve been paying attention over the winter, or even just been reading this blog, you know that former Washington Nationals outfielder Alfonso Soriano signed with the Cubs over the winter. But did you know that he will be moving from left field to center? How will he fare playing a new position for the second year in a row? And where will he bat in new manager Lou Pinella’s lineup? Some say leadoff, others think it will be in the three hole. Watching the spring training games, reading all the newspaper articles about the squad and constantly checking various baseball websites during the day are the best ways to get yourself acclimated to the 25-man family that you will be following for the next six (hopefully seven) months.

But just knowing the players and batting order and pitching rotation on your team is not good enough. Get familiar with the other squads in your division, since they will be going at it 18 times each. See which key players switched teams and who the new managers in the Major League’s are. Read the articles about who the young prospects that will be making an impact this season are. All of this information will be helpful once the umps yell ‘PLAY BALL’ for the first time in April.

2) If reading different newspapers and online articles isn’t really your style, or you want to learn about the players in a completive manner, nothing is better then signing up for fantasy baseball. This also will provide you with an alternative form of following the sport if your favorite team happens to be horrible. To win in fantasy baseball though, some homework needs to be done. Everybody knows that Alber Puljos, A-Rod, Big Papi and Jose Reyes are all great players. But in order to win the league, you will have to find some players that aren’t yet big stars but are poised to break out and have huge seasons. Last season I drafted Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard in the seventh round of my fantasy draft, after other 1B’s like Puljos, Teixeira, D-Lee, Ortiz, Delgado, Helton, Hafner, Sexon, and Konerko. Howard ended up doing better then all of them, winning National League MVP by hitting .313 with 58 homers and 149 runs batted in. And I won my league. This year Howard will be picked up in round one, so I’m going to have to find another sleeper that will lead my squad, the Vicious Vendors, to another fantasy title. And that means I have to do my fantasy homework.

3) This next way of getting ready for spring training won’t necessarily prepare you for this year of baseball as much as it will prepare you for the game in general. Either read a good baseball book or watch one of the many classic baseball movies. Here are three of each that I would suggest:

BOOKS
“Moneyball” by Michael Lewis---Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane continues to field good teams that compete for the World Series despite the fact his team has one of the lowest payrolls in baseball. But how? This book goes inside the mind of baseball’s most controversial GM and explains his theory for finding productive, healthy and of course cheap baseball players that will keep the A’s competitive for years to come.

“3 Nights in August” by Buzz Bissinger----Another behind the scenes book, but this time with St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa. The story centers on a three game series in August of 2003 between the Cardinals and Cubs, but focuses on the managers many decisions that need to be made during the course of a game. I learned a lot in the book, the most importantly that fellow managers see Dusty Baker as an idiot.

“Now I Can Die in Peace” by Bill Simmons---After the Boston Red Sox won the 2004 World Series, it seemed like hundreds of books were released on the team. My favorite of them was this collection of columns by ESPN.com’s best writer. Since 1999 Simmons had been writing about the Red Sox for either his own website or the Worldwide leader, and this book puts together the best and most important of those pieces. But to make it new and fresh, Simmons comments on his own work, kind of like watching a DVD with the directors commentary of your favorite movie. Any fan of the Red Sox or good writing should check this book out.

MOVIES
“Major League”---This may not have been the most realistic movie in terms of the baseball action, but it stands side by side with “Caddyshack” and “The Waterboy” as the funniest sports movies of all-time. The story focuses on the Cleveland Indians, who have been set up to fail by their owner, yet somehow succeed. Anybody that doesn’t laugh at Bob Uecker’s play-by-play obviously doesn’t have a funny bone.

“Field of Dreams”---I think it is a law that if you are going to make a list of the top baseball movies, “Field of Dreams” has to be included. It is in fact a great movie that deals with what the sport means to so many people, from an old-time writer in Boston to a farmer in Iowa. Add in the legend of Shoeless Joe Jackson and the crazy story of Moonlight Graham, and its no wonder this movie is a classic.

“Bull Durham”---You would think that Kevin Costner would be one of my favorite actors since two of his movies have appeared on this list (And I also really liked “The Untouchables”). But no, I really don’t think he’s that good. Anyways, no baseball movie has had more realistic dialogue and painted a better picture of life in the minor leagues then this one. The candle sticks meeting on the mound is one of the funniest conversations in a movie ever.

There they are, the three best ways to get ready for the baseball season. Better get started.