Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not
Every Friday, Murray Wood takes a look back at the week's news and decides who's hot... and who's not. This week's list ...
Pitchers and catchers report.
Does that mean winter is over? Pitchers and catchers had full workouts for the Oakland A’s on Monday in Mesa, Airzona. Other Major League Baseball teams begin spring training this week in Florida and Arizona, with Grapefruit and Cactus league preseason games starting in 10 days.
It’s been a strange offseason, with most of the stories focusing on high-priced, 26-year-old, free-agent superstars Bryce Harper and Manny Machado going unsigned through the winter. And the Toronto Blue Jays will be paying Troy Tulowitzki $38 million to not play for them, allowing him instead to play shortstop for the New York Yankees.
There may be some rule changes designed to speed up games and the sport admittedly needs some fine-tuning, but it is still baseball. When pitchers and catchers report it means summer is approaching, a much more reliable prognostication than Groundhog Day. And after the unbearable cold weather Western Canada has endured the past few weeks, there is an extra urgency to hearing an umpire yell, Play ball!
