Chess is life.

I love pitching rivalries, matchups within divisions and the occasional interleague throwdown. That’s a giant piece of cake for me!!!

What pairing will be this year’s best? Let’s examine the possibilities, with Bobby Fischer setting the stage…

“I play honestly and I play to win. If I lose, I take my medicine.”

Yu Darvish/King Felix!

“I like the moment when I break a man’s ego.”

Stephen Strasburg/Josh Johnson!

“Chess is war over the board. The object is to break your opponents mind.”

Jon Lester/C.C. Sabathia!

“Chess is a matter of delicate judgement. When when to punch and how to duck.”

Johnny Cueto??? Hmmm… Matt Garza??

PROBABLY NOT.

My personal favorite pairing of all time — the one that really captivated me — is, of course, Bobby Fischer/Boris Spassky. Sometimes Bobby battled himself even! (Fast Eddy Felson and Minnesota Fats come in a close second).

I’M A DORK.

Baseball can’t start to happen soon enough.

–Johanna Mahmud
Follow Johanna on Twitter!

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Yu Darvish snuck into Surprise yesterday.  Well, as well as anyone of his height can sneak anywhere.  The Japanese media is going to be interesting to watch and deal with this season, but it’s kind of neat to see them so excited about one of my boys. Yep, Darvish is already one of my boys.  He looks pretty good in that Rangers uniform, but I’m more anxious to see how he looks on the pitcher’s mound in Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

I still have a lot of questions about this team’s composition and the roles of various players, but I expect a lot of those to be answered in Surprise. I trust Jon Daniels and his staff, and I have learned to believe in Ron Washington and his staff. They will have this team ready to chase a third AL West title.  It won’t be easy though. There’s a huge target on the Rangers now. When they won it in 2010, lots of people (I’m looking at you Lance Berkman) said it was a fluke. But when they repeated in 2011, it became clear that this was a real contending team. We’re no longer just chasing the big boys, we ARE the big boys.

I wonder if this team been able to shake off the ghosts of 2011?  Two second place finishes in a row have to be eating at them.  Or maybe that’s just the fans.  I’m finally starting to let go of the pain of Game 6.  My dreams about Nelson Cruz’ almost-catch have decreased substantially — only one a month vs. one a week.   Of course, I haven’t seen the “highlights” from the World Series since the week after. I’ve been purposely avoiding them as best as possible.  I know I will probably see them when the new season starts, and I only hope my baseball heart can take it.

I’m really getting excited about the 2012 season.  My excitement is enhanced by the knowledge that I will be going to spring training for the first time in a few weeks.  I’m so excited to see some live baseball and maybe even get to chat with a few of my favorite players (not holding out too much hope there though). Any advice for a first timer?

Most of all, I’m just ready for that new beginning that comes with each new season. That first pitch on Opening Day chases away the winter grays and brings the colors of spring, which for me expands from green to the Rangers red and blue. A new season always holds so much hope and promise. I live for that feeling.

GO RANGERS.

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But baseball is different.  Sure, there’s a thrill to ending the season on a one-game intra-division playoff and some of those games have become instant classics.  However, despite being the baseball progressive half of the RSBS duo, I find myself wondering about the MLB expanded playoffs.  A play-in wildcard game?  Sure, it’s great for ratings.  And obviously it means a lot more than something like the NCAA basketball play-in game.  But I’m just not sold on it.

On the money side I get it.  A one-off play-in is bound to be a huge financial bonus.  Last year it would have meant keeping the Red Sox and their fans around for one extra game and MLB loves those ratings bonanzas.  But the beautiful thing about baseball is that its also about playing consistently.  You have to play well over a 162-game grind, which only gives you the chance to do it all again in grueling 5 and 7 game series.  The extended series in baseball are like life while football’s one-and-done playoff model feels more like the movies.

I’m sure I’ll come around.  MLB has finally taken care of the uneven league issue and and with even divisions, teams now have more incentive than ever before to win their division.  The play-in is great for strong divisions where a couple good teams trapped behind a spectacular team will finally get a chance to make the playoffs.  But, do we really need to have 3 NL East and 3 AL East teams in the playoffs every year, even if one of them falls out during the play-in?

-A

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Ibanez, who was the Phils’ left fielder for 2009-11, last year played in 144 games, hitting .245 (131 for 535), hitting 31 doubles, 1 triple and 20 home runs, knocking in 84 RBIs, while scoring 65 runs. During a 16-years career, while includes stints with the Seattle Mariners (two) and the Kansas City Royals, Ibanez would appear in 1817 games, hitting .280 (1791 for 6387), including 377 doubles, 43 triples and 252 home runs, as he knocked in 1054 runs, while scoring 928. He also has a career slugging percentage of .471 and a career on-base percentage of .342. As he joins the Yankees, Ibanez is expected to be their left-handed designated hitter, while also adding some depths to their outfield.

With the signing, as far as the Phils are concerned, it should give them a draft pick based on Ibanez’s free agent status.

Wish you luck with the Yanks, Raul.

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Kendrick, who had about a month ago avoided arbitration by signing a one-year contract worth $3.585 million dollars, will now receive a two-year contract worth $7.5 million dollars plus incentives.

The move shows how much the Phils value his versatility as being a starter, a spot starter, and a long man out of the bullpen. Hopefully this will also mean that they have enough money to later give Cole Hamels an extension on his one-year contract. Time will tell on that one, I guess.

Glad that you’ll be sticking around, Kyle. Do not mess up.

Oh, and welcome back Baseball! Go PHILS!!!

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Journeyman catcher Rod Barajas is “thrilled to reunite with (A.J.) Burnett on Bucs”.

THRILLED!

Funny, in the above linked article he never says he’s “thrilled” with anything, but then again, who on the Pittsburgh Pirates would be?

Can we just call the A.J. Burnett trade situation what it is: EMBARRASSING.

Embarrassing for the Yankees because they gave him all that cash. Embarrassing for A.J. because he got all that cash only to become Brad Penny. Embarrassing for the Pirates — THE LOWLY PIRATES — because they were the only ones desperate and baseball-stupid enough to take him on.

Considering the money the Yankees are eating on this deal, it really does look like the Pirates got a bargain, of course, until one realizes they now have A.J. Burnett on their team. Coaches, teammates and clubhouse doors beware.

In the meantime, I’m sure Rod Barajas is enjoying his brief moment in the public eye, even if it is as a sugar coated red herring. When ya play with the Pirates, ya gotta milk every second ya get.

Don’t hate me, ‘cuz I’m right.

Peace,

Jeff

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Inequality in sports is bad enough but the inequality between people matters even more.  What does it say about a country when a Congressional committee hearing on contraception has exactly zero female invitees?  I think it’s safe to say that even Kenny Powers respects women more than Darrell Issa.

Inequality also appears to be rearing its ugly head among the Republican presidential contenders, although at least one of them doesn’t necessarily see that as a bad thing.  If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that Santorum was trying to throw the race by saying the most patently offensive things possible.  And yet, he’s not only still in the running, he’s also somehow leading Mitt Romney in polling for upcoming important contests.  This continued surge of Santorum (…ahem) seems to prove not only that a portion of the country supports his worldview, it also shows us that quite a few Americans really are batshit insane.

Inequality tends to right itself eventually.  The conspicuous consumption of the 1920′s and the ensuing Depression led to a recalibration in the 30′s and 40′s.  Today, a similar series of events has left a recession that seems to tenaciously hold back growth outside of a fraction of the population, while a small-scale revolt against income equality has risen up in areas of the country.  Are we seeing another recalibration?  Me, I’d say there’s hope because there’s one place where we are all still equal.

-A

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Because all winter long, I have been holding my breath waiting for spring to arrive and it is finally here! Winter is the worst season for baseball addicts. You can try to distract yourself with the holidays, football, hockey and hoops, but it is just not the same. And there are so many down days and so much time to fill.

Now, like a child on Christmas morning, we all feel the anticipation of the new season upon us. Just as excited must be Roy Halladay, who arrived to spring training in style. This appears to be a 1932 Ford Roadster; the photo was tweeted by Matt Gelb:

As spring training rolls forward, here are a few things to keep your eyes out for:

Who’s on First? – After Achilles surgery, Ryan Howard will be out of the line-up until at least May, probably longer. Will John Mayberry take over? Or, will he start in left and leave 1st base to new Phillies Laynce Nix and Ty Wigginton? My preference is the latter.

What’s on Second? – The “who” here is Chase Utley. The “what” is what shape will he be in after nursing a bum knee throughout the 2011 season.

Juggling of the Bullpen – There are some significant changes to the pen this year starting with new closer Jonathan Papelbon. But that role is set, so what about the rest of the pen? What role will Kyle Kendrick fill? Will Dontrelle Willis be a real contributor? And can Antonio Bastardo and Michael Stutes move past the awful ending to an otherwise solid 2011 season? Add Chad Qualls and a possible return from Jose Contreras and this has the makings of a huge soap opera.

The Infirmary – One of the biggest question marks on an aging team is can they stay healthy? Many players had off-season surgery including Cole Hamels, Placido Polanco, Hunter Pence and, of course, Ryan Howard. Jimmy Rollins has only played around 1/2 of the last two seasons due to injuries. And this year, he has a brand new contract, making his continued health a real priority.

The Contract Situation – Cole Hamels is on board for the year. But unless the Phillies ink a long-term deal with him this spring, they are likely to lose him in free agency next year. The question is, how much of a distraction will this be? Personally, I think the Phillies need to cut a deal now and be done with it.

Luckily, this year fans will have more opportunities to see these dramas play out thanks to expanded TV coverage of spring training. Comcast has published a list of all 14 games that will be aired plus many news and social media events. This is the first time EVER that you can see every Phillies spring training game without travelling to Clearwater.

Of course, I would rather be in Florida. However, this is a great alternative. With the early March games being aired, you can see a lot of young guys and prospects play that without the TV coverage, you normally would not. In prior years, those players were already sent back to the minors by the time games began to air.

Changing the subject to a more personal note, many of you who follow my blog regularly know that I generally post new content frequently. However, this off-season has been a tough one for me. It seems like life keeps tossing me curve balls. I have been quite ill all off-season. Then a short time ago, my cat of 15 years passed away in my arms. I had to have surgery just 6 days after that happened and am still recovering with another surgery on the horizon.

I will live, but it has been a rough go for a while here. So I thank you all for continuing to follow my silly little blog :O) I hope to be back on track with regular postings and some fun photos real soon. And what could be a better cure for that which ails me than baseball?

Thank goodness, Spring Training has sprung!

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