The Fan is back from his self-imposed vacation. I wrote nearly every day for a year and needed the break. But that doesn't mean my lips haven't been getting licked with the season approaching. Pretty soon, we will be following box scores and poring over the stats. Pretty soon, this seasons surprises will show us why we love this game. Pretty soon the new team of destiny will begin its run. Pretty soon, the umpire will say play ball and the season will start and we'll have something to talk about besides steroids. I can't wait. Are you ready?

There are a couple of things to talk about tonight before making the yearly predictions. First, I will repeat that this Fan doesn't care about steroids. If the players and owners want to find a way to test to get it out of the game, fine. But it doesn't mean anything to me. You still have to hit the ball. You still have that split second to make a decision. No drugs can aid that. It just doesn't matter. Let's play ball and work something out in the background. Okay?

This Fan does not like this trend of playing MLB games outside of the continental United States (okay, I'll tolerate Toronto). Starting the season in Japan is not only silly, but it's also dangerous for the players and it puts the participating teams at a disadvantage from all that travel. Babe Ruth and players like that "barnstormed" in Japan and other places AFTER the season.

And the continuing saga of the Expos is shameful. It's great for baseball fans in Puerto Rico and Mexico to see MLB, but find them a home for crying out loud. We are turning them into the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball. Fix it, Baseball!


Some of the most interesting stories of the season will be (in no particular order):

- Clemens and Pettitte in Houston. These two guys will drive that team into another way of approaching the game. They are proven winners and even if their stats don't show it, they will lead this team to a new place.

- All reports are that Pat Burrell has abandoned his pull-everything-power-swing and has returned to the stroke that got him to the big leagues. It is unfair to say that last year was something that has never happened before with a player. I remember Mike Schmidt batting .198 and the Philly Faithful were ready to run him out of town. Mark McGwire hit .201 in 1991 and went back to having a pretty fair career. You have to root for Burrell to come back big this year.

- Kazuo Matsui will play shortstop for the New York Mets. Of course, it's crazy to move Jose Reyes, but what are you going to do? Matsui is the latest Japanese superstar to try to make the leap to American baseball and it will be interesting to see what he does...and exciting.

- Can Ken Griffey Jr. make it back this year after a string of injury plagued years? I really hope so. The next question is where he will be playing as it is obvious that the Reds do not want him.

- Just how good will the Red Sox be with Curt Schilling on board? They could be spectacular but that's why they play the games.

- Will San Diego and others rise off the mat with some great new talent and older talent coming back from injuries? The Dodgers and Diamondbacks don't look solid and it could be an excellent opportunity for a new team to come along and take the division. Speaking of the Diamondbacks:

- Randy Johnson appears to be his old self again and has dominated Spring Training. Is he really back? Will he hold up? It would be great to have Johnson have a great career type year to put an exclamation mark on what has been an amazing career.

- Will the Braves really lose their division? The time never seemed so right for the Phillies or someone else to break the strangle hold the Braves have enjoyed on the division for the last dozen years. And you wonder why I'm licking my lips?

- How close will Barry Bonds get to Aaron this year? How much will all this steroid talk distract him? How much does he have left?

- How good will Josh Beckett be? Can he capture what he did in the World Series for an entire season? Will Dontrelle Willis be Vida Blue and have a productive career or will he be another Mark Fidrych? He sure did seem to lose steam at the end of last season.

- Will the Tigers, Devil Rays, Reds, Pirates, Rangers and Brewers be any better this year? The Tigers can't be any worse. The Devil Rays and Rangers should be better. The Pirates are even money and the Reds and Brewers have no chance. But that's what they said about Kansas City last year.

- Will the Orioles and Blue Jays make a big leap this year? They certainly seem to have improved themselves.

- What kind of year will Garciaparra have this year? And the same for A-Rod? How much will the distractions of this past off-season affect them? Will Garciaparra get off swinging at the first pitch and grounding to the shortstop?

- Will Buck Showalter be as patient with Alfonso Soriano as Joe Torre was? Will Showalter put up with those periods where Soriano can't stop swinging at any pitch that doesn't fly into the seats?

- How much will Mike Piazza hurt the Mets at first base? This underrated position could be a big factor in what kind of year the Mets have.

There is so much to talk about. I'm glad to be back and I'm ready to go. I hope you come along with me for a great season.