Batter Up! Its Spring Training Time Again :)

A few wise words from my good friends at mlb.com ... :)

"The wait is over. A fresh season and a new start begin today, with four Spring Training games.

Time for the beautiful game to move back inside the lines.

Hot Stove, make way for hot smashes. Time to turn away from contract issues, and to turn two. No more getting overly excited about batting practice. Here comes baseball without a cage!

The smell of freshly-mowed grass and of grilled hot dogs, the sounds of bellowing vendors and of cracks of the bat echoing off berms, the sights of managers sitting outside dugouts and pitchers running sprints on the track ... baseball's senses are all about to flood back in.

A fresh prologue to a fresh season gets under way on Wednesday, under the glare of the Grapefruit League sun and under the fronds of the Cactus League.

All but two clubs will be in action on Thursday, when Wednesday's isolated notes will be more like a full-blown fanfare.

Gradually, all of spring's alluring storylines will play out between the lines.

New marquee faces in new places ... Alfonso Soriano with the Cubs, Julio Lugo with the Red Sox, Carlos Lee in Houston, Gary Mathews Jr. in Anaheim, Jason Schmidt in Los Angeles, Bengie Molina and Barry Zito with the Giants, Mike Piazza in Oakland's DH shoes and Braden Looper in St. Louis' rotation.

Old faces back in familiar places ... Randy Johnson with the Diamondbacks, Sammy Sosa with the Rangers, Andy Pettitte in the Bronx, Mike Hampton with the Braves, Mark Prior on a mound.

Indeed, America's pastime is moving back into the present. Unwrap at will."

Now, THAT'S something I can smile about on this last day of February. Play Ball!!