"Let us go forth a while, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms...
The game of ball is glorious."

--Walt Whitman

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Anticipation

To be honest, TBL just hasn't been feeling the excitement. Sure, pitchers and catchers reported last week. But that passed in a blur of being food poisoned. And sure, spring training games start this week, but it has been passing in a blur of doing all the things one neglects while puking one's guts up, like going to work. Still, TBL might have worked up some vague feeling of anticipation if the offseason hadn't passed in a blur of...nothing.

Honestly, what does the team pay their scouts and office-type folks for? Their biggest pre-Spring-Training move was signing R.A. Dickey. No, TBL had never heard of him before, either, and a gander at his stats does not inspire glee. The best year of his career was 2003, when he posted a 5.09 ERA. Be still TBL's beating heart.

Sometimes TBL thinks they do it just to taunt her.

And now, they've gone and signed Joe "Single-Handedly Keeping the Chiropractic Profession Afloat Through the Recession" Crede. Sure, if he can stay healthy, it could be brilliant, fantastic, wonderful. But given the Twins' longstanding history of luck and health, it is far more probable that we have just paid Mr. Crede $2.5 million for the pleasure of watching him sustain some horrible, season-ending injury in the third inning of the home opener. We could have paid Corey Koskie half that to keep Brian Buscher's spot on the field warm for a few days before leaving in an ambulance, and TBL would have had the additional pleasure of dusting off her old jersey, too.

While TBL was checking the news wire for the exact amount the team's insurance will have to pony up to cover that salary, up came the news that Boof's shoulder is in much worse shape than they thought and he will be joining Pat Neshek on the "See Ya in the New Ballpark" list. Yes, sirree, luck and health. That's Minnesota for you. (Though whether or not that was actually unlucky is debatable, in light of Bonser's last year or two...)

However, on the way home from the salt mines work, TBL chanced to see, through the window of a downtown bar, a few seconds of someone's spring training game on TV. And something stirred deep within her disgruntled breast. Not hope--that would be asking entirely too much right now--but yearning. For the crack of the bat and the roar of the crowd, for the recording of Bob Casey's voice before the game and the blur of Gomez rounding second in the late innings. For scoresheets and stale popcorn and the betting pool on how many games until Gardy's first ejection.

Opening Day will come whether the Twins are ready or not (TBL thinks "not"), and there will be baseball. Baseball, Mom, apple pie and kvetching. It really doesn't get much better than that!

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