I live in the Fort Myers, Florida area, spring training home of the Boston Red Sox. 

Ever since I've been here, I've been amazed at the fact that chowd fans camp out overnight for...SPRING TRAINING TICKETS.  Are you kidding me?  This isn't camping out for a hot concert ticket like Beyonce...you know what you get with her, but to watch a game where the stars may play 3 innings, and I bet that you won't know the roster by the time the game is winding down. 

This year is no exception.  The first fan, Brian Griffiths, according to a story in the Bonita Daily News (www.bonitanews.com), started camping out Thursday.  Tickets went on sale today.  That's two days parking your can outside a ticket window for games that don't count.  What am I missing here?  I don't get it.  Is it passion, or do you chowd fans not have a life?  Mr. Griffiths wasn't the only one.  Reportedly, there are dozens of you pathetic no life Chowd fans just waiting for the chance to see one Manny Ramirez at bat, Jonathan Papelbon pitch one inning, or Jacoby Ellsbury make a play in center field. 

One fan was quoted as saying this is no different than those who waited all night for Harry Potter books.  He's right...they're just as pathetic. 

A firiend of mine told me this week that this is as exciting as the baseball season.  I have to agree.  Rumors flying around like snowflakes in a blizzard, and things you don't see coming hit you like a ton of bricks.

For example, did anyone know that the Tigers would land BOTH Cabrera and Dontrelle from the Marlins?  WOW.  It's no surprise that they traded both of them, but to the same team.  I give a lot of credit to the Tigers front office for pulling this coup off.  For their sake, I hope the Dontrelle of a couple of years ago is the Dontrelle they get, not the Dontrelle of last year.  As a Mets fan, I'm glad to see Dontrelle out of the NL East.  He's a Mets killer...

Now for the big prize in Johan Santana.  It appears that this is now a one-team race with the self imposed Hank deadline come and gone, but those deadlines don't mean anything...just ask Pay-Rod.  What I don't understand is why Boston is going so hard after Santana.  The package rumored including Jacoby Ellsbury, Clay Bucholz, Jon Lester, Coco Crisp and others for a luxury more than a need.  The rotation is still very solid.  Beckett may be the best in the game right now, Schilling is very crafty, Dice-K and the two young arms I mentioned earlier provide a very good rotation.  Both NY teams need Santana far worse than the Sox do.  The Mets need to make a harder push for Johan, although they may not have all the chips the Twins want.  The Yankees need him badly as well.  Assuming the pinstripes hold steady, and the rocket stays on the launchpad, include Wang, Pettite, Hughes, Joba (assuming he starts) and Kennedy?  Maybe I'm missing something, but I'm not all that impressed, although the back end has potential, and I think Pettite is very overrated.  Just another aging overpaid ballplayer in the Yankee rotation.

The Mets also lack any depth in the rotation.  As of now, the boys from Shea are looking at Pedro, El Duque, Maine, Perez and either Pelfrey or Humber.  Two you can't count on for a full season for health reasons, Perez has issues finding the strike zone, and the 5th spot would be going to a pretty young guy.  As it sits now, this rotation won't win any pennants, and didn't win an NL East crown this year.  Omar Minaya must find a way to get a front line starter, whether it's Santana, Bedard or Haren.

Boston showed how pitching wins...and having a stud at the front of the rotation is a huge advantage.  The Mets need to make this move.