With pitchers, catchers warming up, we're on the lookout
Posted: Friday February 01, 2002 12:15 PM
Updated: Friday February 01, 2002 9:16 PM
Not that anyone is counting, apparently, but there are now just two weeks before baseball's spring training is supposed to start.
That's two weeks to get the fields ready and the popcorn popped and the ice machines fixed. Two weeks to make sure ticket takers are trained and the scoreboard lights are working and everything is just as it should be when the big guys roll into the couple of dozen warm-weather burghs that make up spring training in Florida and Arizona.
Two quick weeks. Or, depending on Bud Selig and a few others, maybe not.
Pitchers and catchers are scheduled to start reporting around Feb. 14, but baseball's offseason of uncertainty makes even that seemingly standard rite of spring a tad iffy. Still, the exhibition schedules have been released. Opening Day is March 31. We know some things. Kind of.
Just in case something more goes haywire, though, here are a few things we should look for (or look out for) in spring training 2002:
Jeff Torborg -- The Expos skipper has been tossed around more than Skipper on the S.S. Minnow. Will he be managing the Expos and guys like Vladimir Guerrero and Jose Vidro? Or will he be in charge of the Florida Marlins, and guys like Cliff Floyd and Charles Johnson (if Expos' owner Jeff Loria's bid for the Marlins finally goes through)? Does he at least get paid time and a half?
The Expos -- Well, they'll be in Jupiter, Fla., for spring training. If they're being at all, that is. Who their manager is, who's going to run the team … we'll have to get back to you on that. The Delicious Irony: They're scheduled to open their regular season in Montreal on April 2 -- against the Marlins. Somebody may have to show Torborg which dugout to sit in.
An Expos manager -- See Torborg and The Expos, above. And see Hall of Famer Frank Robinson possibly take the most thankless job this side of an Expos cheerleader.
The Marlins -- This poor franchise has been built up and torn down more often than John Travolta's career. Now, with the Marlins' sale in limbo and a shell of a front-office staff that has been decimated by other teams, they are, simply, in a mess.
The Twins -- Because Minnesotans would not let their team contract quietly into that good night, the Twins are still kicking, and most people figure it's too late to off them now. But baseball exec Sandy Alderson told USA Today earlier this week that baseball hasn't given up on contraction -- and that the powers who wield the final decision on that may not make up their minds until somewhere around Opening Day. Sheesh.
The Yankees -- Offseason uncertainty? What offseason uncertainty? The Yankees do what the Yankees do. Spend money and win.
Pokey Reese -- The one-time untradeable second baseman bounced from Cincinnati to Colorado to Boston and, finally, to Pittsburgh. That's a roundabout way to drop four games in the standings.
Gary Sheffield -- He whined long and hard last spring training to get out of Dodgers blue, so this offseason they finally shipped the recalcitrant right-handed slugger to Atlanta. Is it an "If" or a "When" on Sheff whining again?
Selig -- You always have to watch this guy.
A David Wells handshake -- Even if you spot one of these things, it clearly doesn't mean a thing.
Texas pitching -- Last spring, it was AWOL. This spring, it's loaded with free-agent mercenaries ( Chan Ho Park, Dave Burba, Todd Van Poppel, Jay Powell, John Rocker ) that could make the Rangers a threat in the West.
The Rangers -- If you're looking for those pitchers this spring, look on the Gulf Coast of Florida, way, way down in Port Charlotte. Next spring, follow the scent of green to Arizona. Even spring training is all about the money.
John Henry -- From owner of the financially struggling Marlins to part owner of the Red Sox, one of the biggest moneymakers in the business. Who gave this guy the Get Out of Jail Free Card? Still stadium problems, though.
Finally, maybe the hardest thing to spot in spring training, but maybe the most valuable, given this uncertain offseason: A hotel that won't charge you for a late check-in.
A good thing to keep in mind. Just in case.
John Donovan is a senior writer for CNNSI.com. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.
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