On Friday, while my eleventh grade class settled in and waited for the post-lunch bell to signal the resumption of class, one girl–in her finest blue and orange hat–bemoaned the Mets’ loss to the Nationals in their Grapefruit League opener. Wisely–and before I could remind her–she said she knew that Spring Training was only about the players getting through the process in one piece and that she was hopeful for the 2016 Mets, but fearful one of their dynamite starting pitchers would go down for an extended period of time with some colossally devastating injury; her guess was Noah Syndergaard). Her pre-class thoughts summed up the duality of Spring Training deftly: hope and fear.
Looking for tears in the screen door
Luis Severino’s first inning of work. Jorge Mateo’s displays of power and speed. Aaron Judge’s homer. Alex Rodriguez’s homer. Whether it’s in the form of current players like Severino and A-Rod showing the same stuff they did last year that made them successful or whether it’s Mateo and Judge giving us those teasing glimpses into the future, we’re reminded of the cliche sense of hope that comes along with Spring Training. Anything can happen. Anything great can happen.
Present or future–however you want to define either term–things always look rosy in March. Maybe it’s the Florida sun glossing over our eyes, too used to the winter clouds and rain; maybe it’s the idea of looking at a blank book, ready to be filled up with 162-plus adventures; maybe it’s that early March intersects with the New Year’s Resolution hangover and the first buzzes of spring cleaning. Regardless of the reason, we can’t help but be hopeful–at least in part–for the April to come and the months thereafter.
Waiting for another disaster
Masahiro Tanaka’s elbow. CC Sabathia’s knee. Age. These are the other shoe whose drop we’re waiting for after our first hopeful step of spring. Despite the optimism we may have, we remember that baseball is a game of failure, to a certain extent, and we contemplate the potential pitfalls: injured starters; an aging lineup; a potentially overworked bullpen.
Things are going to go wrong over the course of the baseball season and with so much time between now and Opening Day, we’re left to sit and wonder just how many things will go wrong and just how wrongly they’ll go. Who’ll start slow? Who’ll slump? Who’ll be out for months?
Over the course of this offseason, I’ve tried to balance the competing realities the Yankees seem to be facing heading into the 2016 season. They are teetering on a dual ledge that can send them plummeting into even more mediocrity or soaring into the playoffs, where anything can happen. It’s easy to look out at the coming season and see the waiting disasters, especially with knowledge of how cruel and random this game can be. But it’s just as easy to look for the tears in the screen door, the signs of hope, the signs that tell us this is going to be a good year. To that feeling, I say, “I was kind of hoping you’d stay.”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.