Early Spring

Ahh, early spring training. The words "pitchers and catchers report" get everyone psyched beyond belief, but then nothing really happens for a few days. I mean, the pitchers are throwing and people are talking, but other than that there's not much going on. On the bright side, Peter Diana at the Post Gazette snagged this fantastic, John Wayne-esque picture of John Russell for today's Spring rundown article:

Seeing the manager standing in foul territory, watching his players warm up with a bat and glove evokes a ton of memories and really gets my psyched to watch some baseball.

The other good part about this early part of the spring is just hearing the players talk after a long winter off. I had been told by a Mets fan that Doug Mientkiewicz was always a great quote when he was in New York and I don't think he was lying. When asked by Dejan about what he was doing to increase his chances of making the club, this is how he responded (in the same article linked above):

I've seen a lot of average to below-average outfielders turn into first basemen. It's worth giving the other way a try.

With him and Rich Donnelly around, at least camp will be a little more fun. The same article even includes some early spring humor from Matt Morris It's always worth remembering that even though the Pirates acquiring a certain player may drive us nuts, it doesn't mean that player is a bad guy.