Major league baseball (MLB) season starts April 2. I don’t think I have watched a whole regular season MLB game in 10 years. I find the games boring and the season too long (162 games).
I may watch a game during the world series. I had to do some research to find out the Chicago White Sox were the champions last year.
Ironically, the Yankees have not won the world series since 2000. The Chicago Cubs have not won it since 1908.
The most interesting thing going on now in MLB is the steroids issue. I like the new rules, but unless Barry Bonds is busted with a positive test for a banned substance, leave him alone. There’s a lot of speculation about him and other players using something illegal. Innocent until proven guilty.
I don’t think you’ll see too many posts from me about MLB this season.
The Western Word 
<>Baseball holds no interest for you; I sense itnever did. It is ironic I feel that while I onceimmersed my life in the sport I too have now grownquite apathetic to the course it has taken.In the days of Dave McNally and a bit later Les Rohrbaseball was grand. In those days participants heldan earnest love for the game itself.Back in the days before the designated hitter, free agency,interleague play and a half dozen other maladies sappedthe integrity of the sport a player could do performleast four fundamental skills well. He could hit, throw,catch and bunt. He may not be fast on his feet buthe knew how to run the bases with an economy of stepsandcould hook slide in or out or pop up as the situation demanded.He could gather in fly balls in the outfield without grandstandingand trying to make a semi difficult catch appear as a sensationalcatch by diving for it when he could have run under it with onemore stride. Todays center fielders are featured on TV almostevery night getting hit on the head or letting ball pop outof glove or maybe throwing home with no chance to get runnerbut correct choice would have held single to a single ratherthan allowing runner to move into scoring position on the nochance throw home. Infielders are the same. Brooks Robinsoncould really “pick it” and when he dived for a ball he speared itwith 100% body extension unlike those today who attempt to makeevery play look much more difficult than it is so they canseemingly have a bit of excuse if they muff it. Robinson usedlearned skills to compensate for natural gifts he didn’t possess.While all on the team could probably beat him in a foot race he honedhis reflexs and cheated a half step deeper to snare many scorchedshots down the line which would have been doubles if almost any otherinfielder were playing the position.With the expanded leagues of today and their new cities being added nearly every four years or so we witness a distinct lack of fundamentalskills in many of those making it to the bigs. It is truly an adventureto watch many of todays outfielders trying to rein in a fly ballthat they have to run very far to gather in. A few well known teams todaywith the luxury of top notch pitching and fair hitting are no better than1 in 5 chance to win anything in the playoffs because their fieldingleaks like a sieve.I recall with great fondness the joy of trying to compete against the teamsdeveloped by Mcbain and Welton. The stiffest test I would get all yearcame at the hands of these men and their fundamentally sound teams. One errorgenerally or certainly two, would ensure defeat.My final game against them found me pitching in the final stanzatrying to protect a 2-1 lead. An infield hit. a chink dump just out of reachof my second sacker gave Billings two on with two out. I was still feeling strong and confident. I can’t even remember which Billings hitter it wasanymore but he hit a high lofty fly ball into fairly deep center field. As Iwatched my center fielder camp under it I had a distinct feeling he was going todrop it. Both runners were off at the crack of the bat of course and I saw the ball descend into his glove but with a funny sound at impact. As if he hadcast iron hands the ball popped back out and my disallusioned center fieldertook what seemed like fice minutes to locate on which side of him it had dropped.It didn’t matter really as by that time the winning Billings run was aboutthree strides fom home plate. That was the closest I ever came to beatinga well coached Billings team. Maybe it colors my perspective but i justhave no time for these million dollar a year players who might make a couple errorseverytime they are on TV. Mental or physical there just isn’t any excuse forthat manner of play in the bigs. Not with the regularity I witness it today.Don’t you agree?<>Les M
Dude! Where ya been? Quit working so hard!🙂Totally off-topic: I noticed that the latest Burns ads enabled Gwen-O to < HREF="http://www.gftribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060405/NEWS01/604050306/1002" REL="nofollow">wrangle actual stances<> on the issues from Tester & Morrison…though I can’t help but laugh at Tester’s petulance. And I highly doubt that either would keep these positions if elected.BTW, NASCAR is far more interesting this year than MLB.😀