The Groundhog Days of Winter

In just a few days, Major League pitchers and catchers will be starting to report to their team's spring training camps in Arizona and Florida, despite the minus-zero wind chills here in Maryland and the seven feet of snow in New England.  The first spring training game is just two weeks away, which is beyond exciting for baseball nerds like myself.  I did keep my baseball feet wet during the off-season though, going with my husband and son to NatsFest in December and attending the annual meeting of our local SABR chapter just 2 weeks ago.

NatsFest, which was held in the DC convention center, was full of Nationals players available for photo ops.  We met manager Matt Williams and relief pitcher Drew Storen, as well as TV and radio personalities.  The rich people were able to get autographs from several players while the rest of us watched a Q&A with some of the players.  It was a nice event, though I would have liked more free stuff (don't give us a big plastic bag when we get there and not give us free stuff to put in it!  Haven't you ever been to a fitness expo where the Bic pens and the lanyards are free for the taking?).

The SABR conference was a completely different experience.  Members of the Society for American Baseball Research are (believe it or not!) nerdier than I am.  These people can rattle off statistics that the normal person would never consider to be a statistic.  Did you know that Tony LaRussa managed a total of 647 players?  No, I didn't either.  How about the fact that on two occasions, a team scored 13 runs with all RBIs coming from home runs (the Yankees and the Reds)?  Nope, I didn't know that either.  Also interesting to note was that at a game in April of last year, every Orioles starter scored a run.  Yep, that's what these people do all day - try to out-do each other with interesting but unusual statistics.  If these people used their nerdiness for good, we would have a cure for cancer, vision loss in humans could be restored, and colonoscopy preparation wouldn't be such a nightmare.  But hey, I got Jayson Werth and Manny Machado bobble heads in one of their drawings, and a very good lunch was included with the price of our registration. 

So now what?  Now we wait for the players to start trickling in and for the predictors to do their predicting for the upcoming season.  As I read all the projections, the one thing that makes me happy is that neither the Yankees nor the Braves appear on any of the "Top 10 teams" lists.  Most experts put the Nationals on top, with the Dodgers and Cardinals close behind.  I would actually like to see the Seattle Mariners do well this season.  They have Robinson Canó and Nelson Cruz offensively, and one of the best arms in Felix Hernandez.  And the Royals did so well last year that it would be nice to see them do well this season too, especially with their good run production. 

As far as my Nationals are concerned, they have six good arms in their starting rotation.  That's right - most teams have five starters and the Nationals have six since they signed Max Scherzer.  Rumor has it that Tanner Roark will be moved to the bullpen, :-( and some are even saying that Stephen Strasburg could be traded (!).  All I know is that Bryce Harper needs to grow up and step up, Jayson Werth served his 5 days in jail for driving too fast (though he probably won't start the season because he is recovering from off-season shoulder surgery), and Ryan Zimmerman is being moved from third base to first base.  And by gosh, Wilson Ramos, can you stay healthy for one full season?  So let's wait and see if the predictors and experts and SABR analysts are right about the Nationals - only six weeks left until Opening Day!

In the meantime, you should know that Gary Sheffield played in 51 different ballparks.  Yep!  Now you can go back to shoveling snow...

Don't Let the Door Hit You on the Way Out, Koby!

Whoever said there wasn't much going on in baseball during the off-season certainly hasn't been reading the newspapers lately - the Gold Glove awards were handed out, some teams have already made some trades (the Atlanta Braves traded drinkin' and cheatin' Derek Lowe to the Cleveland Indians for a minor-leaguer), and some teams have started courting high-priced free agents.  I will address some of these things in a minute, but first let me fill you in on what had me at the edge of my seat for two days last week - the kidnapping and successful rescue of Nationals' catcher Wilson Ramos.

Wilson Ramos had a very good rookie season with the Nats, learning the ropes from veteran Iván Rodriguez (sorry, I just had to mention "Pudge"!).  Ramos ended the season with a batting average of .267, which included 22 doubles and 15 home runs.  Ramos was playing winter ball in his home country of Venezuela and was kidnapped last Wednesday in his parents' home.  Luckily Ramos was rescued only two days later, and he seems to be physically fine though he says the psychological wounds will take a long time to heal.  (Thanks to my pal John for breaking the good news about the rescue to me via Facebook!).  Now if I were Ramos, I would go play winter baseball somewhere else far from my hometown, like, say, Puerto Rico!

Speaking of winter ball in Puerto Rico, Koby Clemens (son or Roger) was playing for the Mayaguez Indians, a baseball team with a long history of star players, championship seasons, and consistent development of up-and-coming talent.  Well because Wilson Ramos was kidnapped in another country that has NOTHING to do with Puerto Rico, Koby's daddy demanded that his son leave the island right away for fear of Koby's safety.  He said nothing to his teammates or to anyone else; just got on a plane and left for fear that he too would be kidnapped.  Now, I lived in Puerto Rico for over 17 years and never heard of a famous person being kidnapped for ransom, let alone a twenty-five-year-old who has spent 6 years in the minor leagues and is no Prince Fielder at first base.  So you know what, Roger?  Take your precious little boy and continue to raise him in a bubble - and if he's even half as much of an idiot as you are, I can guarantee you that I will dislike him as much as I dislike you!

(Big sigh!)  On another note... How about those Miami Marlins?  Yes, they officially changed their name yesterday from the Florida Marlins.  They will be opening a brand-new ballpark in the spring, they have a new manager in Ozzie Guillen, and they are woo-ing Albert Pujols like he's the Queen of England.  I have also heard that Guillen wants his team to sign the now-unemployed Iván Rodriguez, so the Marlins just might be an interesting team to watch next year.  Plus Guillen is one of those passionate managers who actually gets excited and worked up, which I always enjoy.  Just what Nationals' fans need - another team in the NL East to rain on their parade!  No one has signed anything yet though, so we'll just have to see what happens with Pujols, Fielder, and the other free agents who are floating around out there in baseball limbo.

"Lo mismo!"

Growing up in Puerto Rico, there used to be a TV commercial for a fast-food chain that featured identical hamburgers moving along a conveyor belt.  Throughout the commercial, they used the phrase "lo mismo," which means "the same old thing."  After studying yesterday's Nationals vs. Mets box score, the first thing that popped into my head was "Lo mismo!  Lo mismo!"  Why?  Because the game was a mirror-image of many of last year's games for the Nationals.  The starting pitching sucked, and the bullpen had to keep the team alive.  In 3 innings, Chad Gaudin allowed 5 hits and 2 earned runs, including a home run to the Mets' Angel Pagán, who is trying to take away the job of fellow Puerto Rican Carlos Beltrán (they're both from my island, so I don't really care who gets to start at center field at this point).  Luckily, the Nationals had plenty of offense, including 2 home runs by Michael Morse and 2 hits each from Ian Desmond, Roger Bernadina, and Wilson Ramos.  I must admit I don't like the fact that Wilson Ramos had a good game, because he's going to be sharing catcher duties with my man, Iván Rodriguez, and I don't want Ramos stealing the spotlight from the future hall-of-famer.  Yes, you're going to see a LOT of Iván in my blogs, because I think he is the best catcher ever (and yes, he's super handsome too!). 

So anyway...what else?  Oh, another game of note yesterday was the one between the Atlanta Braves and the Houston Astros.  The Braves won that one 13-3, thanks in part to multiple hits from Venezuelan shortstop Alex Gonzalez, first baseman Eric Hinske, and third baseman Brandon Hicks.  Could Hicks be the Braves' next Chipper Jones?  Oh, Larry Wayne Jones, Jr; how I will miss thee!  I remember back in 1999, halfway through the season, I predicted that Chipper would be the National League MVP.  And hey, I was right!  (Don't worry, I will also blog about many times in which my baseball predictions were wrong, like thinking the Texas Rangers would win last year's World Series).  But back to Chipper.  First of all, he's only 3 months younger than me, so he's NOT OLD!  Second, I think it's great that he didn't retire after his season-ending injury last year.  He, like Mike Schmidt, wants the fans to remember him as a good player, not as an injured one.  So hopefully he has rehabbed his knee appropriately over the winter and can be back at third base this season, even if at a limited capacity.

One last note from yesterday's action:  The Nationals' first round draft pick, 18-year-old Bryce Harper, had 2 at-bats and struck out both times.  Hah!  Have yourself a piece of humble pie, Bryce, and enjoy your time in the minors.  You're not going to move up in the ranks as fast as Strasburg did.  Wait a minute...Strasburg is still recovering from Tommy John surgery... sheesh!  Those Nationals have a lot of work ahead of them!