Bring On Spring Training

On February 2, Americans turn their attention to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to see if some little gopher sees its shadow in a stupid ritual that is supposed to predict when Winter will give way to Spring. The real way to tell that Spring is on the way is to circle the date when pitchers and catchers report to their teams Spring Training facility. It is really the only way to get excited for the end of the snow and cold and to get ready for warm weather and baseball. Baseball season represents hope - hope that the Winter will end and hope that the hometown team will find a way to produce a memorable Summer and Fall. Whether or not your team has a chance to win the World Series, the start of Spring Training gives each team - and their fans - the ability to dream of immortality. That may seem corny but a quick peek at Red Sox history reveals magical seasons like 1946, 1967, 1975, 1986, 2003, 2004, and 2007. No team - not even the hated Yankees - can win the World Series every year but Spring Training offers each team the chance to dream about popping champagne bottles in the lockerroom in October. This is an especially important Spring Training for those of us with a zip code in Red Sox Nation. After a disappointing 2010 season, the Sox went out and added Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, and Bobby Jenks to the roster and are ready to welcome back Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, and Jacoby Ellsbury from injuries that prematurely ended their 2010 seasons. A World Series title is the expected outcome in 2011 and the journey towards a successful Soxtober begins today in Fort Myers. There are many questions to be answered in Red Sox camp over the next eight weeks. Are Pedroia (foot), Youkilis (wrist), Gonzalez (shoulder), and Ellsbury (ribs) completely recovered? Will Josh Beckett and John Lackey earn their enormous salaries after disappointing seasons last year? Can David Ortiz produce another season of 30 homeruns and 100 RBI at age 35? What can the Sox expect at the catcher position from Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Jason Varitek? Is Jonathan Papelbon going to bounce back from a mediocre season or will the pressure of his impending free agency - and the presence of Jenks and Daniel Bard as potential closers - cause him to unravel? For today, all the answers to those questions are nothing but positive. That is the beauty of Spring Training. Hope and optimism are the general feeling throughout the baseball world on this morning and for most teams that is as good as it will get all Summer.