Back in the swing of things

Ah, baseball. It's always there for me when I need it. Just when I thought my sports intake was going to drop significantly with the end of football, baseball is right there to cheer me up. \nSure, it's still February, and in most parts of the country the snow hasn't even melted, but pitchers and catchers reported last week, and dang it, I'm ready for some baseball. \nIn case you've been doing more important things this winter, I thought I'd fill you in on the most intriguing stories leading into the 2005 Major League Baseball season.\nThe Mets have tried, once again, to reload and be competitive. They added Carlos Beltran and Pedro Martinez to an already hefty payroll in an attempt to finally compete with the spending of the cross-town rival Yankees. Beltran was an OK signing, but the Mets have a history of signing guys they think can produce in New York and being sorely disappointed. See Mo Vaughn's injuries (all of them), Kazuo Matsui's wild inconsistency and Mike Cameron's .231 average last year for examples. As for Pedro, I saw him coast down the stretch on a team that won the World Series. What is he going to do when his team is struggling late in the year? I have a feeling he's in New York for the paycheck and really could care less about how the team fares. Oh, and by the way, Pedro, Michael Jackson called, he wants his hair from the "Thriller" video back.\nSammy Sosa is no longer with the Cubs. They sent him, his rapidly disappearing talent and his steroid allegations to the Orioles for Jerry Hairston Jr. and a bag of balls, and for some reason Cubs fans think this is finally their year. Do I think the Cubs got any better this offseason? Nope. They signed Jeromy Burnitz and his Coors Field-aided 37 home runs to replace Sosa, which isn't an improvement. They also made the biggest mistake in franchise history when they re-signed Nomar Hamm. Didn't Cubs management see what happened when the Red Sox let Nomar go? So Cubs fans, get ready for a fast start, promising summer and a horrific mid-September collapse leaving you out of the playoffs once again. Have a lovely season.\nRandy Johnson is a Yankee. Nothing against the Big Unit, but what's with the Yankees' pitching rotation and their signings over the last few years? Apparently the strategy is to sign as many pitchers as they can over the age of 35. Seriously, these guys will be picking up social security checks before they finally win another World Series. Is anybody else waiting for Steinbrenner to ask The Unit to clean up his appearance? Here's how I picture it going: Big George will approach Johnson on a game day and tell him he needs to cut his hair two inches shorter. Then, after Randy choke-slams George through the locker room floor, Steinbrenner demands he's traded. At that point, Yankees GM Brian Cashman will come in acting like he's going to trade The Unit but then suddenly hit Steinbrenner with a chair and declare that he's taking over ownership of the team. Sigh ... If only baseball were like professional wrestling. \nThe biggest story of the winter has been the steroid allegations made by Jose Canseco. Hopefully, all of this steroid stuff will cause a dramatic change in the league and I can finally believe what I'm seeing is authentic. Some players are already looking a lot less juiced.\nIf you missed it, Ivan Rodriguez showed up to training camp at 193 pounds, 22 pounds lighter than last year, but still denies Canseco's claims about his steroid use. Anyone else think trusting him is about as smart as trusting Ruben Studdard to guard your Milanos? Jason Giambi now looks like he's on the Paris Hilton cosmopolitan and Parliaments diet. Honestly, in two years that guy went from Paul Bunyan to Mary-Kate Olsen. \nAlthough the steroid allegations will hopefully alter some aspects of baseball, as I've pointed out, some things can never change. The Mets will always play second fiddle in the Big Apple, the Yankees will always give ridiculous contracts to players past their prime, the Cubs will always disappoint their fans.\nBut cheer up, Cubs fans, only 360 days until pitchers and catchers report.