I'm fed up with Spring Training. I've been this way for the last couple of weeks, but things are finally starting to come to a head. The games are boring and even if I wanted to, I can't watch games on TV, listen to them on the radio, or follow them reliably on GameDay. The statistics are meaningless, the games are meaningless - why do we even bother? I want real baseball already and this is a horrible tease, being close enough to baseball to make me want to care but far enough to get me frustrated as heck. Gah!
A couple things have helped me stay sane, though. A few days ago, I was venting these frustrations to my dad, a long-time baseball fan, and much to my surprise he didn't echo a similar sentiment. He's a very go-with-the-flow sort of guy and his opinion is that seasons go by so fast as it is, why wish for them to go any faster? Right now, we may be fed-up that the season hasn't started yet, but before we know it the season will be over and we'll be staring at another bleak off-season of nothingness. Why not appreciate what we have right now?
I remember seasons taking forever to go by as a kid, but then again, everything takes forever when you're young. A school year lasts an eternity and each birthday seems like a huge milestone. These days, I find that time is much more fluid than that. New Year's arrives and I think to myself, "Already?" I turn a year older and barely notice it. Planning for something a year in advance seems relatively short-term. And heck, I just graduated from college a bit ago; I'm sure it only gets faster from here.
After contributing an article over at Pinstripe Alley about how the Rays need to live in the moment this season, I think I need to take my own advice. This is probably the last season to see Crawford and Pena with the Rays and as sad as that may be, I don't want this season to fly by me. This has the potential to be a very special year for the Rays - I'd say this is the most talented team the franchise has ever put on the field - and I want to appreciate every moment and soak in all the memories. Ichi-go ichi-e. Live in the moment.
Now, if only the games were on TV...