stories spring
by Enrique Rojas ESPN.com
ORLANDO - The smell of grass freshly cut and wet, the sound of shoes on the hard floor leading to the diamond and the unparalleled explosion that the encounter between the leather ball and wooden bat confirm that the wait is over.
AP Photos
Pujols has no contract beyond 2011 in MLB
At least for baseball, spring came: time of renewal, of hope and preparation for the long summer ahead.
For over 1,500 years, Christians have celebrated February 14 as "Valentine" ("Day of Love and Friendship" in some countries), however, for launchers and receivers for 11 of the 30 clubs Major League Baseball is just the first official working day of 2011.
Anaheim, Baltimore, Detroit, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Toronto, Arizona, Cubs, San Diego and Seattle opened their training camps officially on Monday. The other 19 teams will do between Tuesday and Thursday.
Position players are free to report a couple of days later, but it is unlikely, except traditional and delays to get visas for some foreigners, some player is not in the fields for Saturday 26, the latest date mandatory to join the pre-season practices.
Of course the biggest story of the current spring will be the contract status of Albert Pujols Dominican , the St. Louis Cardinals. Pujols, the best player on the planet ounce per ounce, reached to training without an apparent agreement with the club beyond November.
Once you start to make his first warm-up, Pujols will negotiate with the Cardinals and will focus on the season ... and in free agency. A player with numbers to go to the Hall of Fame in its first 10 years, Pujols would be the biggest free agent in baseball since Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez finished their contracts in the fall of 2000.
Pujols is not the only big story in Arizona and Florida, where centers ublish preparation majors.
Mexican First baseman Adrian Gonzalez and outfielder Carl Crawford come to Fort Myers with the responsibility to return to the Boston Red Sox to the top of the powerful Division American League East.
The most hated rival Boston - Yankees, Yankees Manhattan or Evil Empire - tend to favor not the favorite division for the first time in several hundred years, while the Tampa Bay Rays will try some of the pieces (Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon ) that helped to win Red Sox and Yankees recently.
In his first season as manager of the Dodgers, Don Mattingly will be answering more questions about the marriage of the owners of the team on their fifth starter starting rotation. is also expected to David Wright and Carlos Beltran go converted after hearing so many economists on financial fraud and "Ponzi scheme" in the field of the New York Mets.
While San Francisco Giants reach their first spring training as champions of Major League Baseball, Chicago Cubs chant the same slogan of the last 103 years (the same that Barack Obama borrowed for his presidential campaign): "Yes we can. "
Milwaukee has renewed a pitch with the acquisition of Zack Greinke, Seattle batting less than before, Oakland is a candidate to unseat Texas in the American League West and Baltimore likely will score more runs than in the past, now that you have Vladimir Guerrero to in middle of the lineup.
Venezuelan Tigers Miguel Cabrera, Magglio Ordonez and Victor Martinez are ready to jump, but Minnesota is the champion and is back to Justin Morneau . Speaking of Venezuela, this is the first spring and superstar outfielder Carlos Gonzalez .
Finally, there's something for everyone. Spring came, divine station separates the harsh winter of productive summer. Time to renew hopes and aspirations. "While there is spring in the world, there will be poetry ... and baseball!".
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