The Morning Offering - March 28, 2005

Written by Worm on March 28, 2005

Waiting on Opening Day
A couple of months ago, I was listening to a sports show on a local college radio station. The announcers were talking baseball, breaking down some teams, and setting the scene for spring training. Then one of them mentions Opening Day, on April 3rd, when the Defending Champion Boston Red Sox play the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. And, as if that isn’t dramatic enough, the other announcer chimes in with his most over-the-top voice, "In Tokyo!"

Well, I’m all set for the drama to unfold. Being a Yankees fan, there is no better match-up imaginable to start the season. Hell, how often does a game have both that Opening Day feeling and that post-season feeling at the same time? And seeing fat David Wells, facing down Yankee hitters in his old stomping grounds, and wearing Number 3 for the Red Sox… well, it really doesn’t get any better than that.

Fantasy Baseball Drafts
It’s kind of fun to watch Barry Bonds’ fantasy value jump up and down like a yo-yo. Perhaps in next week’s episode he’ll get amnesia and won’t remember how to swing a bat, only to be brought back to the top of his form by an emotional encounter with a childhood friend.

Anyway, this weekend I participated in a baseball draft, putting bookends on my spring training drafting season. Here’s a few things I noticed. First off, Greg Maddux isn’t drafted like a number one starter anymore, although he is likely to serve as the Cubs number one or two starter for much of the season, as Kerry Wood and Mark Prior learn to pitch with their other arms. Also, Father Time had pointed out that steals sources are scarce this draft, and I have to agree with him. It looks like the steals category may be won off the waiver wire this year. Off-season movement doesn’t seem to have changed anybody’s value terribly much, except perhaps for Derek Lowe. And this year’s Japanese import, 2B Tadahito Iguchi, is going just below the middle of the draft.

Spring training doesn’t seem to have changed the fantasy baseball landscape too much, other than to define a few teams’ closer situations, and to reveal Gabe Gross as another player to keep an eye on. Hey, how’s Abraham Nunez doing this spring?

Other Sports News
On Sunday, I was watching Serena Williams play young Israeli Shahar Peer in the 3rd round of the Nasdaq-100 Open. I had never heard of Peer before, but she made Serena work for the win, 6-3, 6-3. Facially, she has a surprising resemblance to Monica Seles, and she looked undaunted on the court, even as she was way down in the first set. I’m sure we will be seeing more of her.

In other sporting news, the NHL season is still dead. Have a nice day.

-- Written by Worm on March 28, 2005