Spring
is here!  Spring term has begun at
school, which means new classes, new professors…and a new sport.  Baseball, of course!  Here at the University of Oregon, there
hasn’t been a baseball team since 1981: until now.  I’m excited to be here for the first season, and even though
we’re likely not destined for Omaha anytime soon, I’m grateful that I’ll have a
team for all four years.  There’s a
game this afternoon against the University of Portland so I’m praying the rain continues
to hold off!

Back
to the real stuff.  The last couple
of days, I was a bit under the weather and wasn’t up on the baseball and
blogging worlds, but I found some time to look over a little baseball news.  With the regular season just days away,
I thought about the offseason and some of the big moves and big names that
made headlines.  Here are just a
few that stood out to me:

1)   
Mark
Teixeira: I will admit that I always thought Teixeira was
overhpyed.  He’s been traded around
a little bit, playing for both the Braves and the Angels last season, but now
he’s in a Yankee uniform and I have come to see what a good player Teixeira
really is.  He’s a really
impressive switch-hitter; in 2005, he set the record for most RBIs by one.  He has a .290 career batting average
and hit .308 last season.  That’s
not to say that Teixeira is surefire MVP material or the sole reason the
Yankees could reach the playoffs; however, after being underwhelmed by Teixeira
for a year or two, I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of impact he has on
the Yankees.

2)   
Scott
Boras: Boras might not be a baseball player, but he’s
probably got a lot of them on speed dial. 
He is quite possibly the most powerful sports agent out there, or at
least the most powerful in baseball. 
Here are five of his clients: Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez, Mark
Teixeira, Dice-K, and Matt Holliday. 
Think about how long it took to get Manny signed; it took far too long
in the eyes of many fans, but Boras is good at what he does.  He helped Teixeira get that 8 year,
$180 million deal with the Yankees, and did the same for Holliday with his
one-year, $13.5 million deal with the A’s.  Say what you want about baseball players earning too much,
or about negotiations taking too long; Boras is really good at his job.

3)   
Raúl
Ibáñez: This has absolutely nothing to do with Mark
Teixeira or Scott Boras, but I had to throw Raúl in here because I’ll really
miss seeing him play.  After two
stints with the Seattle Mariners, Ibáñez signed with the Phillies this
offseason.  Mariners games are the
only ones we can get on local coverage in Portland, and every time Ibáñez was
featured, he displayed humility and enthusiasm for the game.  He seemed to be one of the only players
in Seattle who could remain consistent. 
His numbers might not have been MVP-caliber, but he was a fan favorite
who will be missed.  Good luck with
the Phillies, Raúl!

Those
are just a few brief thoughts of mine, and I’d be interested in hearing
yours.  What about the offseason
stood out to you or surprised you? 
Are there any offseason signings that you think might have big impacts
on the regular season?