Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!

Today is the biggest day of any year. Bigger than Flag Day. Bigger than Arbor Day. Even bigger than International Talk Like A Pirate Day! It’s the day you can tell that groundhog to stuff it. Spring is here! The trucks have left Fenway Park on their way to Spring Training!

OK. So maybe it’s more of a symbolic event, than something to actually get excited about. I still think it’s funny that every news outlet feels compelled to show pictures of people loading up a moving truck. It’s like there’s a state law or something. But, it does mean that we can seriously think about Red Sox baseball again. It means the season can’t be far away. Finally rosters are almost set, and discussion can begin. All we have to do is get through the mindless chatter of Spring Training itself, and Fenway Park will be open for business.

What exactly is in that truck anyway? Is it just bats, balls, pitching machines, that sort of thing? Don’t the Red Sox have that stuff in Florida already? Isn’t the Gulf Coast League Red Sox pretty well stocked with the essentials? Is it player belongings? Does Jason Varitek fly up from Atlanta to drop off his bags before flying to Florida? Seems like a lot of effort to go through to ship uniforms and shoes down. Couldn’t they just store everything in Fort Myers? Where’s Channel 7’s investigative reporting when you need it?

In any event, spring is on its way, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. Instead of wondering how players will pan out, we can start seeing them on an actual field. How heavy will David Ortiz be when he arrives? How about Josh Beckett? What will reporters talk about without Manny and Pedro showing up later than expected? What will reporters talk about ever? Get ready for it…Spring Training reporting is about to begin.

I can’t wait for the games.