Hope Springs eternal

Spring.

It's a time of renewal, a time for new hope. It's when fans of the Cubs and Indians say things like, "this is the year. This year the [insert team name here] are gonna win it all."

On the surface, it might seem a little ridiculous. There are twelve franchises in Major League Baseball that haven't won a World Series for at least 25 years (some of the teams haven't won since their inception as long ago as 1961...the Texas Rangers/Washington Senators). For Cleveland it's been 60 years and this will mark 100 for the Cubs. As the saying goes...when the sun comes up every morning, you come to rely on the fact that it will rise the next morning.

The Cubs perennially seem to find a way to blow their championship opportunities. The Indians haven't exactly fared much better.

Why should these teams, the fans of these teams hold out hope? Fans of the Cubs, Indians, Giants, Rangers, Astros, Brewers, Nationals, Padres, Mariners, Pirates, Phillies, and Orioles will all have differing levels of hope based on personnel, management, and ownership of their respective teams.

The fans of the Cubs and Indians hope to be this season's 2004 Red Sox, breaking a Championship drought that spans generations. Fans of the Orioles hope for a chance, in spite of the past incompetencies of Peter Angelos' ownership.

Why do they continue to hope, in spite of years of heartbreak?

Why, when there are teams that, on paper, that are better? Teams like the Red Sox, Mets, and Tigers.

It's simple really...

It comes down to two things. One is faith.

I've talked before about the religion of sport and the teams being the different denominations. It's no more evident than at the beginning of a season when, in spite of all proof to the contrary, we believe that the team we root for will be the one standing at the end of the season...whether on the diamond, the court, the gridiron, or the rink.

But the second is a little more tangible.

We watch the Red Sox break an 86-year drought to win two World Series titles in four seasons. We watch a Colorado Rockies team that wasn't even supposed to be a contender sweep its way into the 2007 Series. We see a Cardinals team that barely played over .500 ball during the regular season in 2006 win that year's championship.

We see these things and think about our teams, "why not us? Why not this season?" And we believe.

Ultimately, we believe because we're fans.

Go Sox.

Finally taking a look at the Sox...

We're well into Spring Training, and less than two weeks away from the beginning of the regular season on April 2nd, managers are beginning to let players know who's making the trip North and who isn't. There are already certain givens on the Red Sox roster. Who you might ask? I would say you can count on the following -

Pitchers (Expected to carry 12) -

Starters (5)* -
Josh Beckett
Curt Schilling
Daisuke Matsuzaka
Jonathan Papelbon
Tim Wakefield

Relievers (7) -
Julian Tavarez
JC Romero
Joel Pineiro
Hideki Okajima
Brendan Donnelly
Kyle Snyder*
Manny Delcarmen*

* The Sox will be starting the season with Mike Timlin on the DL, with Timlin on the DL it opens up a second spot in the bullpen to start the season. Look for either Snyder or Delcarmen to be the odd man out when Timlin returns.

The Sox also have additional depth at starter. Lefty Jon Lester will start the season in Pawtucket, and will likely be the first to get the call if one Boston's starters go down. Reports out of Florida this spring also saw Devern Hansack make a serious push for a spot on the big-league club. With these guys waiting in the wings, expect this to be Schilling's last season in a Sox uniform. The real question mark becomes Matt Clement who is rehabbing. Will he ever be seen again in the majors?

Catchers (2) -
Jason Varitek
Doug Mirabelli

Infeilders (5) -
Kevin Youkilis**
Alex Cora**
Dustin Pedroia
Julio Lugo
Mike Lowell

** Players like Youkilis and Cora will give manager Terry Francona the extra flexibility to carry an extra pitcher instead of an extra fielder due to their ability to play at more than one spot on the diamond.

Outfielders (5) *** -
Coco Crisp
JD Drew
Manny Ramirez
Wily Mo Pena

***The only question here is who is the fifth outfielder/utility player. Eric Hinske has not hit well in spring training, but is a proven commodity on the major-league level and can play third. The other option in camp is rookie David Murphy who has had a good camp, but would probably benefit from the everyday playing time he could get at Pawtucket.

DH (1) -
David Ortiz

Likely batting order? I'm guessing...

1. Lugo
2. Youkilis
3. Ortiz
4. Ramirez
5. Drew
6. Varitek
7. Lowell
8. Crisp
9. Pedroia

Wish I had written this

Yes...just another case of Manny being Manny...