March 25 already, eh? We don't have too much longer to wait for the beginning of the regular season, and with the roster shaping up for the final draft pretty quickly, there's not a whole lot of activity to talk and/or think about these days.
Troy Glaus finally came to terms with the fact that playing in a Grapefruit League game is just not realistic for him. His surgery wasn't that long ago, after all, and while there was some small part of me hoping he would heal at super-human speeds (like Albert always seems to do), I was never counting on him to be ready to go on opening day. If he's ready (and healthy and free from complications) by my birthday (May 26), I'll require no other gifts.
Have you noticed that every time anyone in Cardinal Nation types or speaks the words "Chris Carpenter" they are immediately followed by the words "knock on wood"? Think we're just the tiniest bit terrified out of our minds that something is going to go wrong and all our hopes will be dashed before they even see the light of day? I think it's entirely possible that I won't actually breathe until I see him pitch a full day's work and then leave the mound smiling. Knock on wood.
Last year I grew to hate Ryan Franklin. I feel a little bit bad about this, because it wasn't really his fault. He was thrown into situations that weren't suited for him, and he probably did the best he could. As a matter of fact, I've scolded other people for giving Izzy grief over performing poorly when the circumstances were stacked against him, and then I went and did the same thing to Frankie. As of this moment, he has a clean slate with me. That is not to say that I want to see him closing out games again (for as long as I live), but if he happens to find himself in that role (heaven forbid), I will support him and encourage him to the best of my abilities. That being said, I'd much prefer to see him as a set-up man.
More later.
