Pitchers and catchers '10
Ah, the happiest of days has arrived. Pitchers and catchers reported to Spring Training today as fans in the North still dig themselves out from a winter of recession, discontent, and record-breaking snow accumulations.If the day's simple arrival is not enough to whet your appetite for baseball and the approaching summer, here's some video of Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina working out this morning beneath the palm trees of Florida.
All reports indicate a solid first day of Cardinals camp in Jupiter, where "pitchers and catchers report" means the appearance of the reigning National League All-Star backstop and two of the three top finishers in the circuit's Cy Young voting.
New hitting coach Mark McGwire arrived early in the day, led some hitting drills in the outdoor batting cages, and answered reporters' mostly-steroid-related questions for roughly 17 minutes, forcing his media detractors to dig up a new angle on how he hasn't done enough to come clean. Three television cameras, a half-dozen photographers, and more than a dozen reporters crammed inside barricades near the cages to assist McGwire in his evaluation of the batting swings of Skip Schumaker, David Freese, Joe Mather, and others.
Manager Tony LaRussa recited these stirring words, "Any year that you’re involved with Major League Baseball, your excitement level is very high, but when you believe that your club — our club — has a legitimate chance to play in October, the excitement, at its highest, goes to another level. I think we’ve got a shot."
What fun to dream-- during winter-- of an 11th Cards Championship coming later this year.
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2010 promises to be an intriguing year in baseball. One mystery to be unraveled this year: What uniform numbers will now be worn by batboys and batgirls? They have to wear numbers that other players aren't wearing. For decades, batkids have been able to wear the number of the current year. From the '70s through the '90s, the numbered year has been almost always available as the high numbers are uncommonly distributed to, or chosen by, players. During the last decade, the 'aughts, zeroes were added to the single digits (creating a difference, for example, between #7 and #07). If the Cardinals' batboy wears the numbered year this season, he'll be confused for his manager. I guess they'll have to go with the old "BB" on the unifrom back.
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The top 400 income-earners in the U.S. paid a record-low tax rate in 2007 even as those incomes skyrocketed. They paid a lower rate than those with an income in the low six-figures, an amount each of them earned during the first three hours of the year. Since 1992, earners in the top 400 have seen their incomes rise by 399%, compared with a 13% increase for the bottom 90%. This is all great news for that bottom 90% as that money should start trickling down any time now.
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Last night's brilliant episode of "Lost" left me scurrying to find a Bible. Turns out I don't have one. Oh well, Wikipedia is easier to read.
posted by CM @ 5:43 PM
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