hope springs eternal

Being a minor league baseball fan is.....different.

We started the J'ville Suns season last night and I had heard of all of three players, as I listened to the game running around doing errands in the car. Most of last year's team, who won the Southern League Championship, have moved on. Several of my heroes from last season, Chad Billingsley, Joel Guzman, Nick Alverez and Delwyn Young have moved to Triple A Las Vegas, where Chad Billingsley rocked on the mound on opening day, and James Loney moved up to the Dodgers. It's a mixed emotion thing. Those guys were here for a few years. You like seeing them do good, but doing good also means moving on, which for me means...into the void.

Time to get to know some new guys at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.

Ya know, after writing all that, I guess it isn't all that different. I mean, my point is starting the season and thinking, "Who are these guys?" and starting to get to know a new team. In this world of free agency, I guess it's not all that different from following a major league team.