Hope springs eternal, yes even here in Tampa Bay where this is some excitement about the upcoming season. Usually we enjoy a great month of April. Not a great winning month, but still being less than 10 games out.
There's optimism because we're a little older and a little smarter. Kazmir is a little better pitcher, Delmon Young hopefully can take a pitch or two, and all of these young guys we traded for will finaly pay off. I myself am looking forward to the new season. Here's a few things I'm not looking forward to.
1. Plenty of Yankee and Red Sox fans in the seats again. I'll complain about this year after year. The Rays/Yankees spring training game was completely sold out. You could hear all the Yankfans cheering for their team on our home turf. It'll be the same with the Sox.
2. Jumping off point 2, the love affair that the media has with the Yankees and Red Sox. Jeter and A-Rod, not getting along? are you kidding me? What a complete joke! You think you'll ever hear sportscenter lead off with "Ty Wiggington and Jorge Cantu are not as close as they once were!" I don't even watch the sports networks anymore. It's too boring! I don't care about Yankee news. If you're a big market ballclub, suddenly you get all the attention. I also will have to suffer through Dayn Perry's love affair with the Yankees as well.
3. I'm really going to try writing everyday. I died about a few weeks in, and I like the obligation of writing everyday. It does get awfully hard when your team is losing to come back here and report on the game.
Our starting pitchers so far are getting pretty good innings in the first few spring games. I hope to see Kazmir bounce back, and for management to stop babying him. Along with most other Devil Rays fans, I'm tired of waiting for the future. I want to win now. I can't believe Crawford and Baldelli haven't echoed my sentiments. It seems like they have been waiting to be a winner for a long time.
I'll try to get back after March 18, the fam is going to see the Rays vs. the Tigers in Lakeland.
Here's my take on the A-Rod/Jeter loss of love. It's press fabricated. I have seen no proof of it and they are quoted as saying it's non-existant. I don't care for A-Rod personally, and I would have rather held onto Sorianno myself, but the over-blown A-Rod slump was press fabricated as well. Try and step up to the plate when every news media in the world is saying you suck. Not easy. Everyone has a slump. And slumps are easier to overcome without being plastered about it. But, that's just my opinion.
I agree with you about the network coverage. I've got nothing against the BoSox or Yankees, but I really want to hear more about ALL the different teams & players. Especially at this time of the year. All the prospects, the injuries, etc. Talking about an A-Rod/Jeter riff is a waste of time with all the baseball stories out there. Would love to see more focus on the game itself.
Interested to see how Kazmir produces this year. Crawford is quietly developing into one of the league's best players, and Baldelli should make a big impact if he can stay healthy. The Rays should be an exciting team to watch, a lot of youngsters on the verge of becoming stars.
