The four sweetest words

It's never quite so dark and cold, and visions of sunshine and green grass aren't quite so far off*, on the day you can utter these words: "Pitchers and catchers report."

In honor of pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training today, and moreover in the spirit of a new spring's endless possibilities, I have reinstated the Cubs' link on the right. This is still probationary, though. If those a-holes pull any of the same shit that happened last year, i.e. playing like a bunch of languid fourth graders, that link is coming right back off. I got real sick by last June of someone pitching their ass off, giving up just a couple of runs over seven innings, just to have the offense blow every opportunity and lose 3-1. The thing is, though, I don't know where any offense is going to come from this year. Lee and Ramirez are the only legitimate threats, and an outfield of Matt Murton, Juan Pierre, and Jacque Jones isn't exactly going to put the fear of God into anyone, offensively or defensively.

But this isn't the time to worry about those small details! At this point, nobody can question my reasoning or sanity if I say, the starting pitching is going to be excellent (especially if Wood stays healthy), a bullpen by committee will work for three innings a game, and there's enough speed-and-average guys to get on base and be in scoring position for the couple of big guns, plus we can always trade for another slugger, and if that all comes together, this could be the year! Just 47 days til Opening Day!

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*Granted, this winter has been fairly sunny and mild on its own, and I wouldn't trade that for the alternative. But I grew up in northwest Indiana, where winter lasts about five months. There's snow, there's ice, there's sub-zero temperatures, there's a wind chill factor, it gets dark around 3 pm, and spring can never arrive soon enough.