No Other Game

There is no other game like this. There is no game with the history, the subtleties, the nuances, the speculation, the expectation, the statistics and the aura. And there is no other time of year like this one. The winter has been long, but after months of rain and snow and freeze and thaw, baseball is alive again. Spring Training is here.

We have the Olympics out of the way. Football is speculating on the draft. Major League Baseball blooms like the first crocus of spring and like the first flowers, you never know what to expect or what range of colors will appear this year.

Major League Baseball is this rich continuing book that writes a new, fresh chapter every year and gives as much anticipation as the next Harry Potter book.

Will Clemens pitch again? Will Damon put the Yankees over the top? Will Pedro help resurrect the Mets? Will Toronto be a force again after a dramatic off-season? Will Mike Lowell return to greatness and have a big season in Boston? Will the White Sox repeat? Contend? Will Soriano play left field? Will Bonds come close to Aaron? Will Griffey stay healthy? Will Texas get enough pitching? Can the Pirates or Royals ever get to .500? Who will be the breakout star? Who will have a career year? Whose career will crash and burn?

Last year's breakout stars were Derrek and Carlos Lee. How many of us saw that coming? After the previous year and a half, who would have wagered that Andy Pettitte would win 17 games and have the best second half in baseball? Who saw Bob Wickman saving 45 games?

And so we start fresh. Forget about steroids. Everyone is watching now and no one wants to have to bow out like Palmiero. Forget about labor issues. The two sides never were more cooperative or more fearful of a work stoppage. Baseball has always had side issues. But they still have to play the games and no one knows how they will turn out.

Football has overtaken baseball as the sport of the day, but that's all it is: A day a week. It's an exciting day, it's true. But MLB is a 162 game adventure where we are sure to see things we've never seen before, even though we've watched with interest for decades. The Fan loves football. But MLB is the PASSION.

And this is the time of year where the passion takes hold and a thousand memories are rekindled and expectation is rampant for the start of something new and exciting. Here we go, fans. Our new garden of delight is about to bloom again.