February 2, 200917 yr BASEBALL and MARLINS SEASON IS BACK BABY!! :wave :wave :wave :wave :wave :bouncy :bouncy :bouncy :bouncy :bouncy :gofishb :gofisht :gofish :dancing :dancing :dancing :dancing :dancing :dancing :dancing :super :super :skippy :skippy :marlins :jump :jump :elefant :elefant :elefant :elefant :drunks :coolman :cheers :beer :bandit :arms Dozen sure signs that spring is near Baseball set to take center stage as football season ends By Mark Newman / MLB.com 1. February: Thanksgiving was nice. The holidays were nice. New Year's Eve, we had a blast. But let's be honest: We have been waiting for the month that starts with an "F," and the countdown clock on the MLB.com homepage says it is now about 10 days until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training. We can see it in the sky: sunrise and sunset this Monday at 7:05 a.m. and 5:15 p.m. ET, respectively; one week later at 6:57 and 5:24. The days are longer, and we long for the days. 2. Trucks on the highway: Friday was the much-anticipated annual Truck Day for the Indians, just one of the happy departures you see these days as equipment trucks fill up and leave regular-season ballparks for Spring Training camps. Indians publicist Bart Swain called it "the surest sign that spring is near" in spreading the word to his team's media and fans. Somewhere out there are unmarked big rigs on a four-day journey from Progressive Field to Goodyear, Ariz. Your team's might be on the road now, too. 3. MLB.TV subscriptions go on sale. This will happen any day now, so keep a close eye here. Major League Baseball became the first professional sports league to stream live video of its games way back in late 2002, and since then it has become an annual tradition for millions of fans as a way to see every one of your favorite team's out-of-market games. Once you see the launch, jump all over it. Nothing makes the winter blues go away faster than connecting yourself that way to the season. 4. Fantasy Drafts: You know what Fantasy owners are thinking right now. Glory. Retribution. Genius. Some drafts already have happened and countless more are on the way. It's that time of year when so many sports fans feel that football void and get together for round-by-round picks. It also means the much-anticipated launch of 2009 MLB.com Fantasy Baseball, the bible of value for so many fantasy owners. Look for it any day now, complete with every ranking for every player by position. 5. Ticket frenzies: Nothing breaks the winter blues better than ordering tickets to Spring Training and the regular season. The Red Sox are in the midst of the longest consecutive sellout streak in the history of baseball, and the moment finally just arrived for so many of The Nation's fans when they could get their hands on single-game tickets. Fans across the Majors are generally finding new value for their ticket dollar, with unique package pricing such as six-packs featuring an extra free game, or "variable" pricing such as they have in Detroit. Trips are being booked and tickets are being bought. 6. Super Bowl handoff: Thank you as always to the NFL for calling our play. Sometimes it is a pitch to the outside and we take it and race down the length of the sideline into the end zone. Sometimes it is a handoff to a fullback who busts through up the middle, shrugging off tackles to go all the way. We are baseball. We are unstoppable. It is our turn. One big, happy football party gives way to nearly a full year of nirvana. 7. Caravans, Conventions, FanFests and Winter Warmups: One of the greatest signs of Major League Baseball's soaring popularity in this decade has been the annual first real connections between fans and team. You can see examples of this everywhere. The Twins just drew 31,004 for their Twins FanFest, one of their three-largest draws in club history. The Cardinals Winter Warmup was sold out as usual, with long lines for autographs. The Rangers FanFest continued to grow larger and larger, with autographs, player/coach clinics and Select-a-Seat opportunities. The Astros Winter Caravan just wrapped up another successful tour Thursday with stops in McAllen and Laredo, Texas. The final two stops brought the total number of cities visited by the Caravan to 21, over the course of 13 days. Whenever people ask you why this is so often called the "golden era" of baseball popularity, it is always good to remind them of events such as these. Baseball's presence as the fabric of a nation is constant, both on and far from the field. "The Astros' annual Caravan is something we look forward to every year, as it provides wonderful opportunities for personal, one-on-one interaction with our fans across the region," said Astros chairman and CEO Drayton McLane. "We have two missions, to be a champion and to make a positive difference in the community, and the Caravan is a great way to further extend our community outreach efforts." 8. New blogs: Anyone can look on the MLBlogs homepage and see the increased pace of MLBlog startups in the Most Recently Active list. You also see a lot of past MLBloggers coming back from inactivity and re-introducing themselves. The number of new MLBlogs increased five-fold the past year over the previous year, and a bigger and bigger chunk of the overall baseball fan population is now doing this. It is a great way to start previewing your favorite team, blogging about fantasy, rankings, and ranting about signings. 9. Wearing team colors: Fans loaded up at the MLB.com Shop over the holidays, and they are breaking out the goods. From now through 11:59 p.m. ET on Tuesday, you can take 25 percent off Cooperstown Therma Base Tech Fleeces -- great for this time of year. One of those MLBloggers, Scott at The Good of the Game, writes: "Now, maybe I'm a little biased because my team just won the World Series, but I still wear my MLB Playoffs sweatshirt and NLCS Champions Cap wherever I go. No matter where I am, I am reminded of baseball and my favorite team." 10. Trading cards: It's that time when many people are looking for the new set, the new wax packs. While you are scouring that new box of Upper Deck 2009 SPX Baseball Trading Cards looking for the four jersey cards, be sure to look for that Topps 2009 World Baseball Classic Boxed Set. 11. Hot Stove goes from big deals to wait and see: Once long ago we were talking about CC Sabathia, Francisco Rodriguez and the dazzling acquisitions. Now our hearts start to go out for some of these guys. Look, Omar Vizquel hooked on with the Rangers for a Minor League deal! Look, Jason Varitek gets to come back with the Red Sox! Will Pudge Rodriguez still play? Manny Ramirez has no takers yet, and when that has gone on this long, you know it's about time for some baseball. 12. W-2 Forms, Valentine's Day ads, baseball books and another Bruce Springsteen album: Every day there is a reminder of where we have been before and how close we are to the first loud thuds of a fastball into a catcher's mitt. Into many lives some more snow might fall, but the winter is giving way now as surely as football is to baseball, and nothing cures the icy blues more than the national pastime. You can hear people talking about it. You can smell the new Rawlings gloves and the freshly burned inscription of a player's name into a Louisville Slugger. You can see something happening to your team the way it did last October for Cole Hamels, Jimmy Rollins and the Phillies. Our time is almost here. The signs are everywhere.
February 2, 200917 yr In the words of my home dog Pittbul "Let's Ride" Can't wit for the season to start i feel so lonely without Marlins Baseball win or Lose i love me my Fishies Lets win us a World Series Boys and break some more records baby!
February 2, 200917 yr Ill probably be going to the orioles game on the 28th when the play the fish. Man I can't wait.
February 2, 200917 yr I honestly had no idea what you were talking about... lol. I kinda think of opening night for the whole "its here" thing haha.
February 2, 200917 yr I dare anyone to come up with one reason denying how April cannot be the greatest month ever invented...
February 2, 200917 yr I dare anyone to come up with one reason denying how April cannot be the greatest month ever invented... April is a females name. Thats the best I got.
February 2, 200917 yr I dare anyone to come up with one reason denying how April cannot be the greatest month ever invented... If the Marlins are playing in mid to late October...then I would say that is a better month then April :thumbup
February 2, 200917 yr If the Marlins are in downtown Miami celebrating with a World Series parade in November, then I'd say it was the best month
February 2, 200917 yr I dare anyone to come up with one reason denying how April cannot be the greatest month ever invented... My allergies to pollen and other stuff peak in April.......
February 2, 200917 yr I hate this period between the NFL and MLB seasons. I will occasionally watch some hockey, but it doesnt come close to the excitement of watching the Marlins every night. I detest March in that the Spring Training games tease u that baseball is back, however it isnt quite since the games are meaningless
February 2, 200917 yr They may be meaningless in the standings and I know what you mean, there's no argument there, but for thousands of ballplayers they hardly are. Ask Gaby Sanchez if he thinks baseball in Jupiter is meaningless. Nothing he's done to date is as important as what he does in February and March 2009. Sometimes the drama of spring training is as riveting as the regular (real) season. It can also be great baseball to go and watch, most of the time $10-12 and you're sitting right on top of every play. It's baseball. I'll take it in whatever form over any other sport around.
February 2, 200917 yr I dare anyone to come up with one reason denying how April cannot be the greatest month ever invented... April is a females name. Thats the best I got. Let it be known, Dr Beinfest doesn't want to be in something with a female name. (Yeah, the joke was sophomoric, I know. But I felt compelled.)
February 2, 200917 yr They may be meaningless in the standings and I know what you mean, there's no argument there, but for thousands of ballplayers they hardly are. Ask Gaby Sanchez if he thinks baseball in Jupiter is meaningless. Nothing he's done to date is as important as what he does in February and March 2009. Sometimes the drama of spring training is as riveting as the regular (real) season. It can also be great baseball to go and watch, most of the time $10-12 and you're sitting right on top of every play. It's baseball. I'll take it in whatever form over any other sport around. Pretty much why i love it and the reasons you mentioned before that. Also if you go to ST games toward the end of ST most of the starters will play the majority of the game.
February 3, 200917 yr Same here^ Now that the Superbowl is done and over with we can focus on the baseball season.
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