Spring Training I just don't get it. These sportswriters hype it up till no end even claiming that it help solidify March as a great sports month along with the NCAA tournament. Its just training camp. Its no different from basketball or football. As if the baseball season isn't long and drawn out as it is, do they have to make such a big deal of practice. I mean we're talking about practice. Not the game. But practice. What kills me the most is how the baseball writers act like some important decisions are being made about the line up and pitching rotations. Do you really think the Astros don't know what their line up and rotation is right now. Has any team ever made some groundbreaking change to its team during spring training. And the games are meaningless. The Astros have routinely had spring trainings with sub .500 records only to make a run a the playoffs during the season. I remember when Jim Rome first came to Houston and they interrupted his show day after day for a freaking spring training baseball game. I'm sorry, but I'd rather Rome say "great guy" fifty million times than hear spring training baseball on the radio.
That kind of nostalgia is just a holdover from back when baseball really was the "national pastime" and had not been surpassed by the NFL, inter alia.
whew. And here I thought you were going to insult the ESPYs. Spring Training itself is not what makes it great. That it's a precursor to Spring, and lends optimism to fans of every team, is what makes it great.
I agree. There is a lot of spring training overkill. I'd rather the local Houston stations would focus on the Rockets and their run for the playoffs than hear about Tim Redding and Brandon Backe.
I get that somewhat for people who live in cold weather climates, so I guess living my entire life in the South I can't relate.
i know for a fact they don't. and on teams with less talent than the Astros, spring training is hugely crucial. it's more of an event than it is in basketball. pro football training camps are covered heavily, though.
It might be overly glorified, and I certainly don't put ANY credence into one's ST peformance, as it normally has NO bearing on how they'd do in the real show (Albert Pujols, of course, a BIG exception)... but its still fun to see the young prospects and the old veterans get out there to play some low-stakes baseball. And for a fan who attends ST, its absolute heaven... cheap tickets, plenty of teams to watch (in Florida), intimate ballparks, close proximity and autographs from the stars... Its FAR better than pre-season NFL or pre-season basketball, where the owners still charge full price for tickets, and you hardly see any effort out there.
Spring Training is not more important than football training camp. As far as the coverage, that's not what I mean by overrated, I'm referring to writers acting like its one of the best events in sports.
Unless you've been, you really have no idea. It's an amazing experience to go and check out a few games down in Florida. Something about the onset of Spring, the optimism of a new baseball season, the new players and roster changes, sunny weather, and just being in Florida makes for a great experience.
I think the college football bowl games are incredibly overrated. Especially the ones that have absolutely nothing to do with anything, like the Humanitarian Bowl, the Houston Bowl, the Sun Bowl -- games like that. What is the point in playing these consolation games that have no chance whatsoever at impacting a chance at a national title? They are *less* important than even a regular season game if you are a top ranked team.
Two straight posts by bigtexxx and Trader_Jorge with which I agree 100%. Maybe that thunderstorm this morning was something more ominous.
I should have made a poll. I agree some bowl games are incredibly overrated. Bill Simmons wrote a great piece on the GalleryFurniture.com bowl when A&M faced TCU.
I love spring training, especially this year since quite a few positions are up for grabs. I think the sports writers cover it so much is because they like to go to Florida for a week or two every year
The point is money, even playing in these games colleges get a certain amount of money. Also, colleges can say we made a bowl game that year even if it is one of the many lesser ones.
