I hope everyone in Massachusetts enjoyed the foot of snow last week.  If it makes you feel better it was a bit windy today when I stepped out of the pool and I caught a bit of a chill.  Brrrrr.

I have been able to brave the elements and get to a few Spring Training games so far and as always it is a ton of fun.  The week started on a bit of a maudlin note as I walked through the retired numbers section in front of JetBlue Park and passed Johnny Pesky’s number 6.  John hasn’t been an active ...

New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira will miss eight to 10 weeks due to his injured wrist, manager Joe Girardi said Wednesday.

Teixeira strained his wrist Tuesday while taking batting practice with the United States’ World Baseball Classic team.

The Yankees initially estimated Teixeira would miss just two weeks. But Wednesday’s update indicates that Teixeira will miss the entire month of April and could possibly be sidelined into mid-May.

Practice? We talkin’ about practice?

Now, let me make this clear: I believe this 10-game spring training winning streak means almost exactly nothing. It means about as much as an NBA player making 20 three-pointers in a row during warmups or an NFL kicker making a 68-yard field goal in pre-game. It might buoy the confidence a bit. It might sell a couple more early season tickets. It might help create a more positive atmosphere in the clubhouse. But that’s it. The Royals began last year by ...

While working at the Detroit Tigers’ spring facility in Lakeland, Gov. Rick Scott announced today he will ask the Florida Legislature to set aside $5 million a year for projects specifically aimed at improving the Major League Baseball training facilities in the state.

“It’s my job as governor to make sure Florida remains the number one destination for spring training and that is why we will work to provide $5 million annually to only be used for spring training facilities,” Scott said ...

No one has explained what the knuckleballer was seeking at that altitude.

He was an old manager for team in a city near Canada, and he had gone one hundred and nineteen days since winning a pennant. On the first day the pitcher had been with him but the pitcher had been sandoval which is the worst form of unlucky and the season had ended and the old man had gone home to wait the nothing months out until spring and the start again.

“There’s a hell of a lot to be done,” Kevin Towers said. ...

Chicks dig the hit-and-run.

• Fans like close games and close pennant races more than home runs

One of the great myths about The Steroid Era is that steroids “saved baseball” and made for a great period of huge economic growth. It’s baloney. After the great home run race of 1998, per game attendance went down three of the next five years. Take the best per-game attendance in The Steroid Era (1995-2003) and it would be the worst attendance rate of The Testing Era (2004-2012).

We are ...

Pitchers and catchers today for the Red Sox, Cubs, Indians and Rockies. Follow the link for the full list.

It’s Truck Day!  I know some mock it goshdarn it I love me some Truck Day.  Anything that says “Spring and baseball are right around the corner” is A-OK in my book.

Of course I’m not going to let Spring Training lie.  As always I plan on going down to Ft. Myers to do my part to ruin careers, seasons and even lives.  For the record I was at Spring Training in both 2004 and 2007 so the Sox CAN win despite my jinxing skills.  I’m curious to see how Spring Training is this year. 

Last ...

A move by the Oakland Athletics to Hohokam Stadium is all but a done deal, thanks to action Thursday by the Mesa City Council.

The council approved a memorandum of understanding sketching the broad outlines of an agreement that will bring the A’s to Mesa for at least 20 years, with options for two five-year extensions.

Oakland conducted spring training in Mesa 1969-78 — an era whose legendary teams won consecutive World Series 1972-74.

“We think they’re sort of coming home,” Mayor ...

One option being considered by Lee County officials is to charge the Nationals $1 annual rent for the City of Palms Park facility until the county’s tourist tax fund replenishes enough to make major renovations. That would save the Nationals about $5 million in rent over 10 years, according to commissioner Frank Mann, while putting them close to teams such as the Red Sox and Twins, with the Tampa Bay Rays’ and Pittsburgh Pirates’ complexes less than an hour away.

Shorter Spring Training ...