I could write the typical “Ah, baseball…the crack of the bat, the pop of the mitt, the smell of the grass” intro that I think is a requirement to pass baseball writing 101 in this space, but I think I’d rather be honest with you.  I didn’t start a niche sports blog and name it after myself so the few of you who can stand my narcissism long enough to get through an entry would have to read fluff.  So let’s get right down to it.  By the middle of last November, baseball had completely burned me out.  I coach a varsity baseball team that went through a heart-breaking season on and off the field.  The Phillies losing to New York in the World Series while I lived in Manhattan surrounded by Yankees fans really took the piss out of me.  The Cliff Lee trade bugged me for philosophical and existential reasons that nobody wants to talk about anymore.  Suffice it to say, I spent most of the winter not really caring when baseball came back.  I needed some time away and I took it.

But the truth is that I am a junkie.  I could never totally give up baseball.  It means way more to me than it possibly should.  And when Roy Halladay starts the first real spring training game of the season against the Yankees and CC Sabathia, I…have to.  I don’t have a choice.  And you know what?  Baseball and I picked right back up where we left off.

The Phillies beat the Yankees 3-2.  It’s the first spring game of the season and nothing that happened really matters, but let’s get back into the swing of things with some thoughts and observations that I had while watching the game:

• The first thing you notice about Roy Halladay is that he is a massive dude.  I mean, I’ve seen him pitch plenty of times before as a Blue Jay, but there is something different about him in red pinstripes.  He’s intimidating.  Of course, he also puts the ball where ever he wants and moves it off both sides of the plate.  No matter how the season turns out, it will be fun to watch him 30-35 times a year.
• It was nice to see Placido Polanco square up a pitch against CC in the 1st inning.  I’ll be interested to see how his bat control and plate discipline change the dynamic of the lineup if he indeed ends up hitting second.
• I know we’ve been over this on Twitter and everywhere else, but as a connoisseur of fine beards, Jayson Werth looks like a bad ass.  I’ve come around on him a lot since the beginning of last season, but I’m also curious to see how he follows up the best year of his career.
• I don’t see how Brian Bocock could be that much worse than Juan Castro.  We ought to make him Eric Brunlett’s replacement.  Would there ever be a more popular Philly athlete?  Also, “The Cock”, as I like to call him has one of those mustaches that the 8th graders who hit puberty faster than all of their peers get.  Good times.
• Kyle Kendrick looked good.  I hope he wins the 5th starter job.  I still think it’s Jamie Moyer’s gig to lose, however.
• I’m a little skeptical about Jose Contreras, but I think a full-time move to the bullpen could help him.  He still has a nasty splitter, and as a reliever he could become a one and a half or two pitch pitcher throwing mostly the split and mixing in his fastball.  He wouldn’t need much else.
• That Quentin Berry kid is fast.  I’m not sure he’ll ever be anything other than fast, but he is definitely fast.