Kuzul

Spring training is two weeks away. 

With the calendar turning to February, you can feel the palpable excitement among baseball fans. Maybe you can hear their hands rubbing together with anticipation. Winter is that much closer to being over. 

Pitchers and catchers will be reporting very soon. Baseballs will be popping into leather mitts. Groups of players will be jogging together, almost like a flock of birds flying in formation. Close your eyes and you can feel the warmth of the sun, smell the scent of sunscreen in the heat. 

Do fans of other sports have such feelings about the preseason beginning? In August, do football fans daydream about roasting under summer heat, watching their favorite players run around without pads while coaches scream and blow whistles at them? 

Perhaps a few do. But I’ve never heard or read them eagerly anticipating practices or driving off to training camp locations with any sort of affection. 

That is among the many reasons why spring training is the best preseason in sports. Here are a few others.

Location, Location, Location

Spring training allows baseball fans to travel Florida or Arizona in February and March, when it’s still frigid in most parts of the country. 

While your friends and family are back home bundled up in sweaters and jeans, scraping ice off their windshields and hearing the crack of rock salt underneath their shoes wherever they walk, spring training observers are thawing underneath the sun.  

Instead of looking at yellowed grass underneath grey chunks of snow that just won’t go away, Grapefruit and Cactus League play allows fans to see lush green fields, while letting sunlight warm the arms and legs exposed by t-shirts and shorts. 

The point is that spring training offers baseball fans a vacation. It’s an escape from your daily routine, a break from the grind of work and home. These workouts and games are destinations.

In Florida, baseball teams hold their preseason camps in places like Kissimmee, Clearwater, Sarasota and Port St. Lucie. Those towns just sound warm and tropical. 

In Arizona, the spring training complexes have names like Surprise Stadium, Camelback Ranch and Salt River Fields. It sounds as if it’s possible to do so much more than watch a ballgame and drink a beer in those places. Maybe you can play golf or get a spa treatment while you’re at the game!

(OK, you can’t. But it sounds like you could.) 

With no offense and all apologies intended to the residents and municipalities of Owings Mills, Md., Allen Park, Mich., Anderson, Ind. and Renton, Wash., but do those places offer much for fans after they’re done watching NFL linebackers hit tackling sleds and wide receivers run rope ladder drills in scorching 95-degree heat with humidity? 

(I will admit that my perception of Spartanburg, S.C., where the Carolina Panthers hold their training camp, is heavily influenced by encountering the worst gas station bathroom I have ever seen in all my years on this planet earth while passing through on the way to Charleston.) 

Some NFL teams don’t even try to give their fans something different, holding their training camps in the same cities where they play. Yes, I’m talking about you, Cincinnati Bengals, Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jacksonville Jaguars. 

Ballpark Crawl

Going to spring training doesn’t necessarily mean just seeing your favorite team in action. With all 30 MLB teams in either Florida or Arizona, each complex is within driving distance of another. (In some cases, that could be a full day’s drive, but it’s still a possibility.) 

Set up residence in Lakeland to see the Tigers, then drive to Tampa to watch the Yankees. Go over to the Phillies’ camp in Clearwater and you’re already on the way to Dunedin, where the Blue Jays train. Some other day, you could drive east to watch the Braves and Astros in Kissimmee.

In Arizona, you can see more than one team in the same complex.

The Rangers and Royals train at Surprise Stadium. The Dodgers and White Sox share Camelback Ranch. Check out the Padres and Mariners in Peoria. Go to Goodyear, and see the Indians and Reds work out and play. Make a stop at Salt River Fields too, where the Diamondbacks and Rockies will be.

If you’re a hockey fan, you have to go to Traverse City, Mich. to watch the Detroit Red Wings train. Driving to Toronto to see the Maple Leafs next is quite a hike. Chicago and Columbus aren’t very close by either. 

For football, no one is driving to different training camps unless you’re Sports Illustrated‘s Peter King. At least he can say he’s getting paid for it. King gets to write about the various coffee shops he’s stopped in along the way too.

That’s a pretty good gig. Watching the Eagles train in Bethlehem, Pa., then driving to see the Steelers in Latrobe isn’t as nice of a gig for fans. 

Meet the Players

I realize that fans can meet players, get autographs and pose for pictures at virtually every training camp in all of the professional team sports.

Teams might also hold fan events near their training areas, giving people an opportunity to see players, coaches and executives. You can probably meet some cheerleaders too. It’s all fun and can help develop permanent bonds with fans—especially young ones. 

But I think it’s different in baseball.

There are fewer barriers between players and fans. As a slower game, everyone is more relaxed and willing to chat during spring training. You can stand at a fence and talk to your favorite player while he’s warming up or stretching. 

If you’re a fan of The West Wing, maybe you remember a scene from the episode “The Stackhouse Filibuster,” in which one of the characters, Josh Lyman, talks about wanting to get away so he can watch the Mets in spring training:

JOSH
I'm going to Port Saint Lucie, which may not mean anything to you, but happens to be the
spring training home of the...

C.J.
New York Jets. Yes, you've told me. Josh, you can watch basketball on T.V.

JOSH
Yes, except the New York Knicks are a basketball team, the New York Jets
are a football team, and Port Saint Lucie is the spring training home of the New York...

C.J.
(exasperated) Mets! Yes. Dammit, I'm inadequate.

[snip]

JOSH
A weekend at spring training. Mike Piazza is going to be standing in the
batting cage.

(strikes a batting pose) He's going to turn and see me. He's going to say,
'Dude.'

C.J.
Well, I wouldn't want you to miss a legitimate 'dude' sighting.

JOSH
(excited) So I can take off?

C.J.
No.

Would such a scene be written with a character eager to escape from work so he can watch an NFL or NBA training camp? No, because spring training is a destination. And Lyman knows he’ll be able to meet one of his sporting heroes while he’s there. 

That one scene sums up every reason why MLB spring training has the best preseason of all the professional team sports.

Follow @iancass on Twitter.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Chicago White Sox have lineup questions that must be answered before the 2013 season begins. It will be up to second-year manager Robin Ventura to squeeze every ounce of offensive production out of the White Sox batting order.

It will not be an easy task.

See, a lot has changed for the White Sox offense since the end of the 2012 season.

Gone to free agency are veteran catcher A.J. Pierzynski and third baseman Kevin Youkilis. They have been replaced by infielder Jeff Keppinger and—for the moment, at least—Tyler Flowers.

While Keppinger may actually bring an offensive skill set that is better fitted to the White Sox, Flowers looks to be a less-than-ideal option at the plate.

Then, there is always the feast-or-famine left-handed-hitting strikeout machine, Adam Dunn.

White Sox team captain Paul Konerko is another reason for concern. How he responds to an offseason procedure to remove bone fragments from his wrist will be critical to how successful the White Sox are from an offensive perspective.

And those are just a few of the offensive storylines White Sox fans have had the privilege of following this offseason. Oy.

So, with a pitching staff that can carry the White Sox into October, here are five potential lineups to start the season.

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Despite news that Billy Hamilton—otherwise known as the second coming of Billy Hamilton—is invited to the Reds‘ Spring Training activities in Goodyear, there is even less chance that he will make the major league club in April than there was when this offseason began. More than anything, Hamilton’s first Spring Training with Cincinnati will serve as his preliminary introduction to major league-caliber pitching, a huge jump in competition for a player who played at the AA level for the first time in the latter part of 2012.

After lighting up the base paths of the California and Southern Leagues, Hamilton shot to the top of the list of trendy prospects for the 2013 season. Expectations for an imminent Trout-esque debut should be heavily tempered. The 22-year-old had a pretty smooth transition from high-A to AA, but he still has plenty of adjustments to make. His numbers at Pensacola are too small of a sample size—especially for his first promotion to that level—but the Reds hope his bat can keep up with his legs as he ascends. 

Considering Billy Hamilton didn’t set the world on fire in the Arizona Fall League and this being his first season transitioning to center field, he is still far from major league-ready. Obviously power isn’t expected from him, but for him to succeed further Hamilton must cultivate an ability to lash liners to the power alleys to give him a chance to turn singles into doubles and doubles into triples (or inside-the-park homers). 

Additionally, the Reds already have a great deal of depth for the major league squad. Shin-Soo Choo, Jay Bruce, Ryan Ludwick, and Chris Heisey are locked in as the first four outfielders with Xavier Paul and Denis Phipps probably having the inside track to land the last outfield slot. It would be counterproductive to have Hamilton on the big club and play him as infrequently as a fifth outfielder usually is. 

Consistent play is a big factor in Hamilton’s development this year. The most beneficial thing for him is a full year starting for Louisville with a sneak preview for the Reds in September if the division is wrapped up or the worst-case scenario has become reality in Cincinnati. All this being said, fans should still be very excited about Hamilton’s arrival, just not in a large role this year. Patience is a virtue, especially with regards to baseball prospects and even more so for ones undertaking a position change. 

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Philadelphia Phillies took their time addressing their needs this offseason, but they have managed to acquire four players whose roles are already defined heading into next season.

Ben Revere is set to take over in center field, while third base belongs to Michael Young, as long as he can remain healthy while playing regularly in the field for the first time since 2010.  As for the pitching staff, the newly acquired John Lannan will have the inside track on the fifth spot in the rotation, while Mike Adams joins Jonathan Papelbon in giving the Phils an experienced back end to their bullpen.

But what about the rest of the roster?

Although the infield and starting rotation are either set or include few other alternatives, the rest of the roster features players who will be competing for roster spots and playing time during spring training.

And they won’t be competing simply against those players already on the 40-man roster. 

The Phillies currently have nine players who have been named as non-roster invitees to spring training.  Some of these players have played for the Phils in recent seasons, while others were signed this offseason. 

This list includes players who could receive extra attention during spring training as players with either an outside shot at winning a final roster spot or being sent to Triple-A until a call-up is needed during the regular season.  Looking at the Phils‘ current roster, it becomes clear that reserve infielder, bullpen and outfield spots are all up for grabs.

Here are five players who could get long looks by the Phils as non-roster invitees in spring training.

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It appears the comeback is complete. 

After spending time in the Independent Leagues with the Sugar Land Skeeters and more recently in the Winter Leagues honing his craft, Scott Kazmir is back. 

According to Cleveland.com, ESPN and multiple other reports, Kazmir signed a minor league deal with the Cleveland Indians and is invited to spring training. Pitchers and catchers are to report on February 10 in Arizona. 

It really has been a long road for Kazmir, who was once a highly touted first-round pick out of the New York Mets organization. 

Kazmir is still amongst the all-time leaders in Tampa Bay Rays history, sitting in the top five in multiple categories, including wins, games started, innings pitched, strikeouts and k/9 (statistics courtesy of MLB.com). Unfortunately, control issues and injuries set off a chain of events that led to an unsuccessful stint with the Los Angeles Angels and then put him completely out of the game. 

Fortunately, the Independent Leagues have a funny way of accentuating the positives of players who were overlooked by MLB teams in the draft or resurrecting the careers of people who were lost and forgotten. 

The Sugar Land Skeeters took a flier on Kazmir this past year, and despite some rough patches that included a nine-walk performance against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, he regained the form that once made him an All-Star, leading to people around the game to again take notice. 

In 14 games with the Skeeters, he put together a 3-6 record with a 5.34 ERA, with 51 strikeouts in 64 innings, and walks, his Achilles heel, were under control for the second half of his Skeeters season, as he allowed three walks or less in five of his six final starts. 

His progress was seemingly overshadowed by the performances of Jason Lane, who just signed with the Minnesota Twins and Roger Clemens, who started a comeback trail of his own. Yet Kazmir, determined to get back to the Show, continued his comeback, joining the Gigantes de Carolina of the Puerto Rican Winter League. 

In five starts spanning 22 innings, he went 0-2 with a 4.37 ERA, which was nothing earth-shattering, but if you read between the lines—eight walks and 22 strikeouts—there is much more there than what the win/loss record suggests. 

A decrease in velocity, which was once a negative in the later part of his career, has also shown resurgence. According to Kazmir’s Twitter account and reports through Jon Heyman of CBS, he was once again touching between 90 mph and 94 mph on the radar gun. 

Much of this hype gained some steam during the baseball Winter Meetings held in Nashville. Many rumours were swirling that a variety of teams were interested (previously reported by The GM’s Perspective), and it appears the rumours were true! 

Everyone looks for a comeback story, and this one fits the mould perfectly.

Devon is a manager at a financial institution in Northern Ontario, Canada, and he can be reached at devon@thegmsperspective.com. You can follow the GM’s Perspective on Twitter and Facebook. His full bio can be seen here.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Tigers upgraded their outfield defense and offense by signing Torii Hunter this offseason. However, they now have a glut of outfielders on their roster. The Tigers have to decide if they want to carry one or two extra outfielders.

This decision will shape the roster over the weeks leading up to spring training. It’s a safe bet that at least one if not two of last year’s outfielders will not be with the big-league team when they break spring training. 

I want to take a preliminary look at what we can expect from the Tigers outfield in 2013 and where the battles will take place. 

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