The bleak and dreary days are over. The cheery holiday well-wishers, festive New Year celebrations, and visions of frozen landscapes are behind us now. At least, out west.
They’ve given way to overflowing stadiums of roaring fans, thunderous ovations for late-game heroics, and fields of lush green grass.
Spring Training, too, has come and gone. Like the blustery winter before it, the exhibition season has melted away to reveal an exciting new year in our nation’s oldest pastime.
Baseball is here, in all its glory.
You can almost feel it. That first whiff of smoky red dirt lining the base paths. That first sip of cold beer on a hot afternoon. That first bite of a classic ballpark dog.
But before the ump gives his customary opening remark, we must first look back at the offseason that was and forecast the season that will be.
Let’s predict ball!