My friends, it's a bleak time of year to be in Charlottesville -- or anywhere else on the East Coast, for that matter. The sidewalks are soggy, the roads are mushy and all that most of us have to do is work. Even our diversions have been disappointing, as anyone who watched the finale of "Joe Millionaire" can attest. About the only positive of the recent snowfall is that it doesn't appear to have blackened the cars of those of us who live in the 14th Street area.
With most University students within a short radius of Grounds stuck walking -- or attempting to dig their cars out of an ever-increasing blanket of snow -- and spring break just two short weeks away, we can be forgiven for daydreaming a little bit about grass on the ground and leaves on the trees. And while many students, myself included, go to sleep with visions of cruise ships, tropical beaches and wet T-shirt contests dancing through our heads, a more traditional sign of spring has poked its head out of the snow. I'm talking about those magical words that bring a song to the heart of any red-blooded American: "Pitchers and catchers report today."
This spring training season already has been eventful, and it's only a few days away. News stories coming from Florida and Arizona have been alternately sad, comical and mind-boggling. Unfortunately, the first category is the one that has weighed on my mind the most in watching spring training coverage -- the death of Orioles minor leaguer Steve Bechler. The pitcher became dizzy after an afternoon workout and died of heatstroke the next day, with his pregnant wife at his side. Bechler's tragic death is yet another blow to an organization that has struggled for respectability since its successes of the mid-1990s, casting a pall over the Orioles as they prepare for the season.
Bechler's death put the Orioles in the news for a few days, but it was one of Baltimore's American League East rivals that dominated the news over the winter. George Steinbrenner and the New York Yankees reacted to their two-year World Series title drought by rearming themselves for a title run this season. They added the season's most intriguing newcomer, Japanese star Hideki "Godzilla" Matsui, in addition to solid veterans such as Chris Hammond, Todd Zeile, Jon Lieber and Antonio Osuna.
The "Evil Empire" even found a way to stick it to the rival Boston Red Sox by engineering a three-way trade that kept the Red Sox from trading for ace pitcher Bartolo Colon. While some see Steinbrenner's efforts as overkill, the team's fans will be satisfied if all of the new faces bring the World Series back to the Big Apple.
While the Yankees were content to tinker with their roster, the symbol of excellence in the National League went for an overhaul. The Atlanta Braves shook up their pitching rotation -- the backbone of their 11-year division title run. Tom Glavine and Kevin Millwood were not only shipped out, but sent off to the Braves' two biggest rivals, the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies. Taking their place will be additions Mike Hampton, Russ Ortiz and Paul Byrd. Those three will team with stalwart Greg Maddux -- with the ink on his record $14.75 million contract not yet dry -- to form a rotation that stands as possibly the most intriguing in the game. The Braves also shored up their bullpen with veterans Roberto Hernandez and Ray King and improved their offense with the addition of first baseman Robert Fick.
There you have it. That's the dirt on the two most consistently good baseball teams of the past decade. The Yankees retooled and built a team that probably will be considered a disappointment if it falls short of a World Series title. The Braves, meanwhile, continued to tinker with a team that has been near the top of the mountain for a long time but has seen the summit only once. Both teams probably are favorites to reach the World Series again, but if there's anything the past two years have taught us, it's that the only sure thing in the game is that Jose Canseco will get arrested for something.
While the Braves and Yankees have star-studded rosters, that can't stop the Anaheim Angels and Arizona Diamondbacks from polishing the gaudy jewelry that they recently earned.
The lesson: it's still anybody's game.
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