Tagged: Boston

Good Look at the Future

Spring Training doesn’t matter- so they say. Players get back into the swing of things, pitchers shake off the rust, and players fight for spots on the rosters. But on March 31st or April 1st numbers posted by players are wiped off and it’s a clean slate. Both good and bad springs no longer matter and it’s time to move on to “real ball”.

Let’s consider the majority of Spring Training invitees that won’t start opening day with their club. Spring Training is really the only time fans can do some “scouting” from the comfort of their very own home. You get to check out the farm system, and even more importantly, check out who will help shape up your favourite team in years to come.

If you’ve listened or watched some games this year you will have realized that line-ups aren’t filled with the guys starting Opening Day. Sure you have the big leaguers (who will likely be pulled part way through) but you also have a lot of guys who spent last year in AAA, AA, and even A ball. I mean, let’s be realistic; most of these guys don’t have a real shot being called up until September- if they’re lucky. But the myth of “Spring Training doesn’t matter” couldn’t be less true especially for these guys.

Like I said, yeah it does kind of matter for the big league players but the guys who will spend the year in the minors need to take the opportunity to impress. This is really the only time of the season where us fans really get to see who will be part of the team in years to come. You get to see prospects that some of our favourite players were traded for, guys anticipated to make the club next year, guys who tore up the minors last year, and maybe even some guys you will never hear of again. And even if these guys tear up ST, they still might not make the team because there simply isn’t room for them.

To me, it’s a good to have a sense what is happening down in the farm system and how players are developing. A lot of guys won’t be mentioned through the duration of the season if they are playing mediocrely but you can see, and make opinions, first hand during this part of the season. You kind of have those moments when you think: wow I’ve never even heard of this guy but he has some skill over there at first. Hey we might need a first baseman next year, for example. You also get to see that GMs know what they’re doing and don’t always need to sign free agents or trade for big name guys when you have perfectly good player suited to fill holes down in the minors.

So yes I suppose it is fair to say that the standing don’t matter because most of the starting guys don’t start, but Spring Training really does matter. It may not be the most interesting but it is the first impression for a lot of minor league guys and they really get to show their potential to their club and to the fans. Will we see most of them this season? Of course not. But will we see them in years to come? Yes. Players will retire, they’ll be traded, they’ll sign somewhere else in free agency, and maybe the team will go through rebuilding. A lot of answers can be looked for down in the farm system and it all kind of starts with Spring Training. They get experience playing against big league players and are a part of the atmosphere of what it’s like up in the majors.

Don’t get me wrong, I think a lot of big baseball fans realize the importance of Spring Training. And people who think it doesn’t matter may not really have interest in players that aren’t in the MLB. But the statement is pretty broad. Yes, they might be referring to the standings not really accurately foreshadowing how the end of the season’s standings will be but I think the “importance” is seen by people who really are passionate, have a real sense for the game and really get into it- in general.

So keep a tab on these minor league guys, because you just may see them again somewhere. And when you see them, remember it was thanks to Spring Training. All great players started at the bottom and ST is an important way to try and make the club or make a good impression in case the club needs a call up. You never know, your farm system just might be carrying the next Roy Halladay…

“Realizing that if you dream hard enough, you really are part of the team.”

-Sydney

Question of the Day: Which prospect has impressed you the most this Spring Training?

Love to Hate Them

     The New York Yankees: arguably the most popular team in all of baseball. But to many baseball fans, the most hated combination of letters. Yet there are Yank fans everywhere; all around the world, in all fifty states of America, and every one of the ten provinces and three territories of Canada.
     Try walking down the street of a MLB city without seeing the oh so popular logo of the Yankees on a hat. Well if you have become a fan of New York in the past five years or so, I’d question your reasoning for your recent love for the Yanks. Your favourite player is either A-Rod or Jeter too right? Because reality is, if you asked a Yankee hater who their least favourite player is, they’d say A-Rod or Jeter without blinking. Any non-Yankee fan surely has at least a little respect for the careers of Rodriguez and Jeter but would prefer the players who stay out of the limelight and refrain from bringing the drama to the field.
    Face it, most people who truly like Mr. Rodriguez are Yankee fans. And you know why that is? Because Yankee fans do not care how they win as long as they do. And if that means dishonestly hitting 600+ homeruns thanks to the juice- So be it.
     But the real question is, why not like the Yankees? I mean it would be so easy to. Go ask that group of Yank bandwagon jumping fans that rebel from the hometown MLB team. It’s the simple fact that every year you can count upon New York to be near the top of the American League East. And to Boston, Tampa, Baltimore and Toronto fans, just pray that the Yanks have an off year. But who has been consistently in the playoff for the past decade? You got it. I mean a playoff without the Yankees is pretty much a baseball travesty. People love being fans of teams that constantly win; I guess it makes them feel like winners themselves instead of bandwagon jumpers real baseball fans don’t care for. So I guess when the Mariners begin to dethrone the Yankees every year we’ll all see those New York hats replaced with the Mariner’s compass. I wouldn’t be surprised.
     But let’s not forget the most popular reason to hate the Yankees-their love of blowing their budget and trading for every other team’s marquee players. Well at least fans can sleep easy not having to guess where the highly coveted free agents at the end of the season will go. Did anyone really think Jeter and Rivera would sign with any other team?
     And apparently they have one of the best farm systems in the league. Like anyone would ever know considering all the prospects will probably never get the opportunity to throw on a Yankee jersey but only to be shipped off to a team in rebuilding mode for their best players. That’s how they got Curtis Granderson from the Tigers after all.
     At the end of the day, we love to hate the Yankees. Or rather, we hate to love the Yankees. But no baseball fan would ever admit to love the Yankees. But they resemble and help create the best part of baseball. I mean what’s baseball without rivalries and who is the ultimate rival for just about any team? New York.
     But today we won’t confess our inner love; we’ll just continue to blame the Yankees for anything unfortunate that happens to our favourite teams. We’ll blame them for every win, blame them for every loss, blame them for every free agent signing, blame them for every marquee trade, blame them when our team misses the playoffs, blame them for every conniving way they find to win, blame them for every non sell-out, blame them for every black out, blame them for this, blame them for that, might as well blame them for rain delays. We can blame and hate them all we want but the reality is, they’ll just continue to win.

“If you dream hard enough, you really are part of the team”

-Sydney