A look at some Spring Training story-lines
February 2, 2009
Image by Getty Images via @daylife
Well, Super Bowl XLIII has come and gone, with a superb game played by both the World Champion Pittsburgh Steelers as well as their Superbowl adversary Arizona Cardinals. And with that out of the way, its that special time of the year.
That’s right, right about this time every year, sports stations across the country all start turning their attention to that most legendary of all pre-seasons, baseball spring training. It truly is a time like no other, where hope springs eternal in the hearts of spring training ticket holders every where. For MLB baseball fans there is not much better tan going over the team’s new roster, looking at what players looked good last year, and looking forward to see what new MLB player is could be making some major noise by the All-Star break.
This is a bit of a weird spring training year for baseball. The economic slump has many ball-clubs hunkering down and cutting costs everywhere they can. Team across the country are forgoing big-name acquisitions, and even though this was one of the biggest free-agent off-seasons in years, there were plenty of big name players that took a severe pay cut by the time we started selling spring training tickets to the average fan. That is every team except the New York Yankees. They are complimenting their brand new ballpark with several big-name acquisitions that should help them sell a ton of baseball tickets all year long.
We will see if the Yankee’s insatiable appetite for big names and even bigger contracts gets them into the post-season. They are in a tough division, and while they do have some big names they still have some big holes to fill. But then again who doesn’t. Either way there is going to be a lot 0f demand for spring training tickets from Yankee fans eager to see the team’s new stars.
Come the 2009 baseball season, there should be some major shifting in terms of what teams are on top. This past-season saw some teams make huge acquisitions and trades, while other teams seemed to do nothing if shed big contracts. For baseball fans that buy spring training tickets, many are showing up to a new-look team they should like.
Of course we’ve all heard about the silly amount of money the Yankees are giving away, but they aren’t the only baseball team that has made some big moves. The Oakland As will be looking quite different come spring training time. They are about as frugal a team as you will find, so many baseball insiders were stunned when they acquired not only free-agent Jason Giambi, but also traded away some of their young stars for Matt Holiday of the Rockies. Both these big bats will go a long way toward the A’s contending with the LA Angels (of Anaheim). It is also good news for As fans who will also be doing their share of buying some tickets for spring training. The As also have a number of young players that are eager to show their stuff, so spring training for As fans should be especially fun. Be sure to check our complete 2009 spring training schedule for all the big games for all the teams.
The New York Mets have also added some big names to address their major weakness of last year, the bullpen. Francisco Rodriguez, who set the major league record for saves last year with the Angels, will anchor the bullpen, while JJ Putz will be the bridge to him. The Mets still have several big bopper on the team, so many are buying Mets spring training tickets to see what Omar and the rest of the team have in store for them.
Also in the NL East, the Atlanta Braves look like they are not going to relinquish their strength as easily as the Mets and Phillies would like. They added talented pitchers Derek Lowe as Javier Vazquez to what was already a good throwing team.
The Phillies have done a good job of keeping their World Series champion team together. Their big stars are back, and the team has given some huge dollars to World Series MVP Cole Hammels. They are the team to beat, and the Mets and Braves, not to mention Marlins and Nationals, will have their work cut out for them as the contend with Ryan Howard and Co. all season long. We are seeing a lot of people trying to find Phillies spring training tickets to see the defending champion stretch out.
And the team the Phillies played in the World Series, the Tampa Bay Rays, are also looking every bit as formidable as they did last year, perhaps even better. They added Pat “The Bat” Burrell from the world champs after the Phillies went with Raul Ibanez. The Rays looked very good last year, add to that a much more experienced team, and you are looking at a real power in the tough AL East.
Speaking of the AL East, the Boston Red Sox, who took the Devil Rays to seven games but lost when AJ Price came out of nowhere throwing almost 100-mile an hour heat, shut them down at the end of game seven. As the post season started off all the talk was of the Red Sox signing Mark Texeira. Well they didn’t, loosing out to the Yankee wallet once again, but they did make a number of smaller trades. Mostly low cost gambles that could pay huge dividends. Free agents the Red Sox acquired include Brad Penny, Takashi Saito, John Smoltz, Japanese high-school phenom Junichi Tazawa, Josh Bard, Rocco Baldelli, and they resigned Mark Kotsay to a one-year deal. There certainly a lot of fans from bean town that will try to get their hands on spring training tickets for that game.
All in all there are some really good story lines to watch for during spring training. And as we all know, seeing a spring training game is really one of the most rewarding events in sports. Don’t delay, and be sure to get your spirng training tickets today because you are sure to be in for a good time.
