Ah, the first day of Spring Training. On this day, every team (except maybe the Pirates) has hopes and dreams of winning a World Series. For Red Sox fans, it used to feel different. It used to be a feeling of cautious optimism, a cursed team wondering; could this be the year? Well now that we’ve had our year (twice), Spring Training feels entirely different. Yes, Sox fans are still optimistic, but there is more of an air of confidence and expectation. We expect to win now, instead of dreading the inevitability of losing. And for better or for worse, I think it takes some of the fun out of Spring Training.
I used to care about Spring Training. How does Pedro look? Will Manny show up? What kind of shenanigans are Big Papi, Kevin Millar, and Johnny Damon going to pull? Now, the first day of Spring Training is just a reminder that real baseball is still a month and a half away. This current Red Sox team is all business-like, and lacks a lot of the personality that past teams have had. And there are different problems to deal with: Will Adrian Beltre, Mike Cameron, Bill Hall, etc. be able to produce, or should we have just kept Jason Bay? After the Red Sox have made it clear that they don’t want Mike Lowell, will it be awkward that he’s still around? Will Victor Martinez get a contract extension? Will Dice-K (who has said that he plans to be more forthcoming with his injuries this year, which is exactly what we want to hear from a $100 million man, right?) get over his early back issues, and become the pitcher we were told he was?
I don’t know. Maybe I’m living in the past, but these new Spring Training issues don’t seem as fun. At least we usually have some insane controversy swirling around the Yankees to entertain us, but even that’s not happening this year. Don’t get me wrong. I’m excited about this Red Sox team. Our rotation has the chance to be downright filthy, and I think we’ll be there in the end. But just get me to Opening Day, where the real baseball starts.
Agree? Disagree? Feel free to comment below.