Two weeks earlier when I said that we had entered the sports drought, it meant by association that I was going to fall behind on my blog posts. Now that we have finally reached that magical date which marks the start of spring training, I can finally stop watching sports that only serve to hold my attention until baseball's return!
Here are some select headlines in Major League Baseball after the first weekend of spring training:
New York Yankees' starting pitcher CC Sabathia gained 30 lbs. this offseason, and is now weighing in at over 300 lbs... dethroning the game's most prominent obese starter, Bartolo Colon of the New York Mets.
CC's weight gain comes off of the heals of a 2014 campaign where the plus-sized pitcher had his season shortened by knee surgery. Entering 2013, Sabathia came into spring training weighing around 275 lbs., looking astoundingly gaunt. Sabathia and the Yankees believe that the pitcher's throwing velocity went down in the last two seasons because of the weight loss. We will wait to see if putting back on the pounds will allow the slob to pitch five or more innings without giving up five runs.
The San Diego Padres' first-year general manager A.J. Preller signed just about every big name free agent that hit the market in the past offseason, effectively turning one of the least-entertaining teams in the sport into one of the top squads to watch entering play.
The Padres signed All Star catcher Derek Norris from the Oakland Athletics, former Boston Red Sox third baseman Will Middlebrooks, and "Big Game" James Shields from the Kansas City Royals. All of these signings come in addition to three major outfield acquisitions including the offensive phenom, former Tampa Bay Rays outfielder, Wil Myers, the speedy Justin Upton formerly of the Atlanta Braves, and of course, Matt Kemp, the fallen star of the Los Angeles Dodgers outfield.
On paper, San Diego looks to make outstanding strides in 2015, and hopefully the team will be a contender as the season approaches September. With plenty of other talented outfielders remaining on the roster, there are plenty of potential trades to be made. If A.J. Preller can make a few additional moves to bring in another stud pitcher or some extra production at first base, the Padres could have a legitimate chance to win the National League West pennant.
Obviously there's more to baseball than just two teams, but for now I'm going to cut it off here. The sports drought has officially ended! Next time on Blake's Bellyaching, expect to hear more about the Yankees, and if there's time, one other team.
To quote Bart Simpson, "Goodnight everybody. Peace, man."
To quote Bart Simpson, "Goodnight everybody. Peace, man."
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