Pitchers & Catchers

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Every February I get a little excited watching professional baseball players have a catch in Florida and Arizona.

The garbage of football is behind us until they promote their draft endlessly in April.

(Will someone tell ESPN that they won't play another down of football for 7 months?)

By the way, what ever happened to the deflated football, or the NFL fixing their domestic violence problems?

They'll get back to us.

It's baseball's turn!!

Yet my excitement is tempered a bit this year.

First...because I'm frozen.

Second...Jeter isn't there playing catch.

I keep trying to imagine the Yankees taking the field without him coming to the plate.

Time waits for no one.

Ruth, DiMaggio, Mantle, Ford, Reggie, Guidry, Mattingly, Rivera, O'Neill, Pettite, Posada, Bernie...

...they all left.

Now Derek is gone.

Also, the Yankees are underdogs again.

That's what happens when your core of players gets old. It's tough to replace them on the fly.

Yet the sport can't afford for the Yankees not to be relevant...so they are trying to mix and match and find a way to compete.

I don't have a problem with any of that.

I trust that they'll be interesting.

And they will be interesting this spring for one reason...

...stupid A-Rod is still there.

I have no interest in his apologies...written, verbal, etched in stone or shouted from a mountain top.

He's out of chances to explain.

I wish he'd go away.

Most Yankee fans feel the same way.

But not my son, Sam.

"I'm rooting for him," Sam said. "Because everyone hates him so much. I hope he hits some 30 homers. I feel bad for him."

My son's compassion aside...

...at least they're playing catch.

Maybe there's still hope for a thaw.

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