Winter blues for baseball

Honestly, I’ve got to learn to let it go.

Another long baseball season came and went. And I can’t come to terms with this unfortunate fact.

It all began ““ like it does every year ““ in the spring, spanned all of summer and crept into the fall.

This past season commenced in Tokyo where the Boston Red Sox defeated the Oakland Athletics. I remember because I was up at 4 a.m. watching the game live on television. I don’t even like Boston, but I was right there as A’s closer Huston Street fell apart late in the game.

After playing a month-long schedule of spring training games, each of the 30 teams eventually played 162 regular-season contests that came to a conclusion at the end of September.

Then, after an uneventful postseason, baseball was gone.

You’d think I’d be satisfied with so many games in a span of eight months.

Nope.

It wasn’t enough ““ it’s never enough. Year in and year out, it’s the same story.

Now I’m baseball-less, and there’s an empty feeling inside of me.

This vacancy is usually occupied by the excitement of college football, but that has failed me this year. I guess I can’t blame college football ““ I’d fail me, too if I knew I was just a rental.

My hope for salvation? Major League Baseball’s “hot stove” that is about to ignite. The problem with this is that there are no stolen bases involved, no sacrifice bunts and no mound visits.

Oh, how I’m going to miss mound visits!

The “hot stove” is a conjunction of transaction rumors, general manager meetings, trade talks and contract negotiations. There may not be double plays or walk-off home runs, but as long as it involves baseball, open up shop because we’re in business.

This year’s offseason, which promises to be a busy and exciting one, should keep many aficionados entertained. The logistics go like this: High-rolling teams that play in big-city markets that can afford to pay the most intriguing free agents basically utilize the offseason as one big shopping spree. Think Black Friday, but without hospitalizing shopping-cart injuries.

A select few, like the New York Yankees, spend and spend, simply because they can.

Others, such as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, invest their money in a more conservative and methodical manner, adding and subtracting players as if they were assembling a puzzle.

While the big spenders will surely pursue free-agent stars such as Manny Ramirez, C.C. Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and Francisco Rodriguez this winter, those “other” teams ““ the Atlantas, the Oaklands, the Minnesotas ““ have to get creative and work out deals with other teams to make personnel changes.

These low-profile deals sometimes overshadow free-agent signings, so keeping an eye on the Torontos and the Houstons of the baseball stratosphere is a must.

In relation to other sports, baseball’s offseason is by far the most interesting. A few deals each winter are guaranteed to send shock waves through the breaking news wire. But whether the “hot stove” sets the sports world ablaze, it is sure to keep Baseballville cooking.

Either way, I can’t wait until March.

If you plan on hibernating until pitchers and catchers report to spring training camp, e-mail Angulo at bangulo@media.ucla.edu.

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