Why I Love Baseball, Part II

The weather has turned real cold here and there have actually been quite a few snow flakes fall. For a baseball fan, that forecast is a real downer because the upcoming season feels so far away. Even though it is cold and only November, there are plenty of interesting story lines to follow. In fact, I find myself regularly checking all my favorite sports web sites reading about potential trades and free agent signings. MLB calls this time of year the Hot Stove League. I love baseball because of its year round action, even during the off season. Watching for the trades and reading all the rumors helps me get through the dreadful winter. I guess that makes me a baseball nerd, or junkie, or addict, or whatever name you want. I have to admit that sometimes I more than regularly check my favorite websites. There is this one site called MLB trade rumors that I tend to check 3 or 4 times a day. Hey, if the news and rumors were not updated as often as it is then my visits would not be as frequent.

I think the most compelling part of the Hot Stove League, apart from the rumors, are the actual trades. For a major sports enterprise that has no salary cap one would think that trades would be quite frequent. I think the statistics would show that, although I do not have any numbers on my windshield to back up this claim. Compared to the NFL and NBA, MLB franchises seemingly make more trades. Since trades are fairly frequent, especially in the winter, the hot stove fuels all the rumors--talk of player swaps and free agent signings.

The casual fan ignores this part of the baseball calendar but the freak (like me) follows it like he follows the rise and fall of the NASDAQ or the daily weather forecast. Why? Because in November thru February all teams are equal, zero games back. It is during this portion of the calendar that the rosters are being built. Changes are being made as a result of the previous seasons performance, filling the holes and improving the deficiencies. With all the trades, rumors of trades, and free agent signings, it keeps a freak fan locked it and excited about the possibilities for the upcoming season. Why do you think the Cubs fan always say, "There's always next year."? It is not exclusively because the Cubs have a 100 year streak without a World Series win. Hold on, maybe that is the primary reason. (I digress.) Anyway, the point is that the hot stove action generates the optimism of spring when every fan and every team has hope for a season with a different outcome, unlike the season prior.

I am impatiently waiting for what my favorite team is going to do. The Jake Peavy to the Braves trade rumor has been swirling for some three weeks now. As recent as today there is talk of the Braves trading for Roy Halladay. The Braves have a lot of upgrades to make especially with the starting rotation and acquiring more power and increased run production in the line-up. If they can do all that then they have a shot. See what I mean? I am getting excited about a team that lost 90 games last season.

Now, off to scour the latest rumors and headlines. Maybe a trade is going down even as we speak!