Spring, Sweet Spring

Despite eight more inches of pure white powder dumped on Boston yesterday, it IS spring somewhere, and I know this because spring training is starting in one day, six hours, and eighteen minutes. Every year at this time in New England, the pasty-white faces and dark-circled eyes of a region are forced to gaze longingly on the bright greens and reds of the photos coming up from Ft. Meyers, Florida. It would be cruel, except that it means baseball is on its way up north in a few weeks, and that means summer, and that means we aren't all going to die locked away in ice after all. (Dramatic? Try living here for five years.)

This week's tales from Red Sox camp have our trusty bandits headed to the White House to meet Bush and perhaps service him orally while they are there, based on the bubbly effusiveness of the following quotes--

Say it ain't so, Trot Nixon:
"It's going to be exciting, and not only meeting President Bush, but hopefully we get to meet most of the party, the people behind the scenes. I look forward to just meeting President Bush. Obviously I'm not going to get a chance to talk that much to him. He's a busy man."

Et tu, Johnny?
"Oh, it's going to be great. I've always been a huge fan of his and also his father, "Damon said. "I always thought his father got a raw deal. He was never able to do the things he wanted to in office. George W. Bush, I think he's done a great job. I can't wait to meet him."

Even Mr. Jack Daniels has butterflies:
"Oh man, it's awesome," says Red Sox first baseman Keven Millar. "It will be a great time. You get a chance to get a picture of President Bush up on the wall, it will be a blast."

Ah well, this is why we love our players for what they do on the field, not on matters of public policy.

One person the Sox haven't been so loving toward is A-Rod, who has officially replaced Derek Jeter as the Yankee We Love to Hate. In fact, A-Rod is so pathetic (ALCS girly slap aside, did you SEE his Sports Illustrated swimsuit spread with his wife? Let's just say they were under a fountain) that he actually makes Jeter look kind of like a stand-up guy. I never thought I would say that. Especially after seeing Jeter in that argyle sweater at Saint. The zingers just keep flying out of both camps, ratcheting up the tension level of our April 11 home opener against New York (I think something else is planned for that day... some kind of ceremony? Oh yeah, they're passing out World Series rings) to new heights of animosity and passion. Good stuff.

Yankee-bashing or no, it should indeed be a good season on the field. You can check out other websites for pitching analysis, endless speculation about young Hanley Ramirez, and consideration of whether David Wells has finally stuffed himself too full of doughnuts to ever turn in a complete game again. But here at humble OhDidISay, I am happy to simply sigh gratefully in the knowledge that another year is crankin' up again. Let the games begin. One day, six hours, seven minutes.