Finally!

I’m not a fan of the World Baseball Classic. I consider myself extremely patriotic-my daughter was in Afghanistan-and I never felt a twinge of American pride during the WBC. I didn’t watch one game, I’m not sure who won the tournament, and I don’t believe Cinderalla is frolicking in the Netherlands.

The WBC messes up spring training and makes it longer than necessary; or should I say even longer than necessary. It’s spring everywhere but in Minnesota, and it’s time for real ball games.

Spring training games-as one of baseball’s hundreds of cliches attest-are meaningless, except the ones played in the next few days. Managers finally begin tipping their hands to fantasy buffs. Ball club scrubs have been sent to the minors; lineups and batting orders in games are reflecting manager philosophies and intent. How many of you are surprised to learn Matt Kemp will be batting seventh next week?

We fantasy nuts can make final roster decisions along with our professional counterparts. More importantly, we can count down to Opening Day without using our toes. This season looks to be a great one in Minnesota, although the Twins lineup has more than a tad less appeal without little Joey Mauer in the three hole.

The MLB channel will come in handy this week; not only for knowledge seeking, but for the pure joy of catching a few innings of tempered, but serious baseball. The boys are ready for the real thing and that itchy feeling is taking hold, for them and their fans.

Fantasy baseball gyrations becoming sexier

Sometime in mid-January I began messing around with configuring a roster for the upcoming season of Fanball’s Diamond Challenge game. This year will be my twelfth, I believe, year of playing the game and I haven’t had a great deal of success.

I’m attracted to the Rotisserie format and the big-time money available if you can put together a winning team. The most I have won in any season is $1600. The grand prize kahuna wins in excess of $25,000. Hey, you never know!

There is a salary cap in this game: $30 million. Rosters consist of an active lineup of eighteen position players and ten pitchers, and a twelve player taxi squad. It’s the cap that creates all the preseason gyrations as one attempts to maximize the money angle to create the best team possible.

I’ve probably made over a hundred changes since day one, when I casually selected a team to get things rolling. The free transaction clock is running down to zero now; moves have to be finalized before the season begins and stats start to accumulate for real. Changes can be made as the season progresses, but they are limited and cost money. Having a quality team beginning opening day is a key to success.

I’ve narrowed my options. There are three or four openings on my team and I keep playing with them and researching alternative players, trying to come up with the best combination. Pressure is mounting, as is the excitement of the opening of “real” baseball.

This time of year reminds of Thanksgiving when I was a kid. I associated Thanksgiving with “a month before Christmas;” the day itself didn’t seem such a big deal to me. Well, here we are, a month before Opening Day. I can’t wait!

Hot stoves and phone booths?

Now that spring training is underway it’s time to reflect on the Hot Stove League. Wait! Was there such a thing or, a better question, is there such a thing? Has the offseason baseball rumour mill gone the way of phone booths? When was the last time you saw a phone booth?

I haven’t bothered to round up the detail of offseason transactions because I know there weren’t many, and few notable one’s other than the Yankees being the Yankees, and Manny being Scot Bor-ass. The Peavy thing was a charade of some sort and now Adam Dunn will hit 40. 17 home runs in Washington, and only a few fantasy-leaguers care about that one; maybe he’ll hit 41.25 because of the home field advantage.

Was it he economy stifling transactions? Are so many teams satisfied with their rosters that there wasn’t an urge to make changes? Has “the Twins way” infiltrated baseball to the extent that every organization is relying on their farm systems to elevate the quality of teams?

Whatever the reasons, they have burned the Hot Stove into virtual nonexistence. Now there is nothing to look forward too when this season ends. Winter will be longer and colder than ever and February of 2010, ugh! We must find a way to obliterate February from out lives or, more realistically, find a way to spend it in Arizona, waiting for spring training to begin.

This February is finally finished and the ides of baseball March are upon us. The Twinkies have won four-in-a-row and Delmon Young is pounding the crap out of the baseball. Oh no, what if he forces his way into being an everyday outfielder; what will the ball club do. No one likes the guy and our beloved Mikey Cuddyer HAS to play all the time, Denard Span had a great rookie season last year, Carlos Gomez is a Gardy “energy” favorite. So . . . what up Gardy?

And please, where are  J.J. Hardy and Jason Werth going to bat in the orders of the Brewers and Phillies. They are two of my “on the fence” fantasy baseball roster selections. Their salaries are relatively cheap compared to potential production, but if they’re batting sixth or seventh-do I want them?

Thank you, Lord, for spring training. Life can resume again, and baseball fans can lament the disappearance of the Hot Stove League some other day.