Pitchers and Catchers Report....

this week. Those words sound much sweeter now that we live in a part of the country that actually experiences winter.

Judging from the media reaction, the only folks interested in the World Baseball Classic are the international countries. Team USA seems more concerned with not getting hurt or not participating, which leads me to fear that the Americans may make a showing comparable to that of our Olympians. Which is to say, somewhat embarrasing.

But if a team embarrasses itself, and nobody's really watching because American Idol is on, does anybody blush?

As long as our guys don't slide on their wallets, they should be fine. Pedro won't break down until July or August as usual.

Thank God A-Rod has stopped hiding behind his wife and his mother's apron strings and made a decision, as painful and public as it may have been. It shouldn't have been that hard. 1) Be a man, sack up and make your own decisions and live with them. Don't lay your personality flaws on, presumably the two most important women in your life. 2) You have about 252 million more reasons to play for Team USA than any other team on the planet. 3) You could have whined that evil Boss George didn't want you to get hurt and it would have been a better excuse.

Well, I can't wait for the next best set of words after "Pitchers and Catchers Report" and that's "Play Ball"!!!