Dammit, It's Almost Spring

Warm, gray, and rainy here in New York as the Giants get their parade, and with that, the football season officially comes to a close (the Pro Bowl, while fun in the same way as the All-Star Game, doesn't count). With that, we can now turn our attention back to baseball, and when one of my friends pointed out to me yesterday that the Rockies' pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training in 10 days, it was like water to a man (woman) coming out of the desert. 10 days?! That's all?! Position players in two weeks?! AMEN. Thank ye Jeebus, the offseason is long, football is great, but baseball is still supreme, and it feels like damn-well forever since we had a little action on the diamond instead of the gridiron. Very soon, the trucks will be rolling into Arizona (and Florida), there will be workouts under a spring sun, bats and balls, green grass and palm trees, and the world will be right again.

Still not much news on the Rockies front, as the team has taken the tact of "do nothing except sign some filler pieces" as the beginnings of their NL Champs defense (I will never get tired of writing that). For the first time in a very long while, they will take the field with expectations, and even if due only to Tulo, losing will not be acceptable. Should be fun.

The team is in negotiations with Garrett Atkins, Brad Hawpe, and Brian Fuentes (good geebus) on arbitration-year contracts (for the former two) and a possible extension (for the third). Why we are so dead-set on keeping Fuentes I don't know, as we'll have plenty of bombs in the bullpen if (gulp) any one of the terrible triumvirate of Wells, Redman, and Towers end up in there, let alone two or more. (Please be ready for the fifth-starter job, Franklin Morales). All-Star lefty.... um, All-Star selections are completely meaningless, as Fuentes went (or didn't, since he was injured) to the Midsummer Classic exactly a week after shitting all over four straight save opportunities. He doesn't have the greatest mental makeup either, as far as I can tell, but maybe the less-intense role of setup man will take some of the pressure off him. Thankfully, Hurdle has seen the light and has announced that it will not be a competition for the closer's role -- that job is Manny Corpas' to keep. Good.

Once Spring Training starts, I'll be writing previews -- maybe I'll give the NL a crack, since I got all the AL and none of the NL done last year -- and doing Around the Horn position featurettes for the Rockies. And guess what? It's still not here. The few weeks in between the Super Bowl and spring training are a sadistic wasteland.

AAAAAH.....