Is it baseball season yet?

I am hungry.
Starved in fact.
My only nourishment is coming from a website that we keep up, referenced on the sidebar there, about our Fantasy Baseball League. I need to have myself a full baseball meal. This always happens to me during the winter. It's the same every year. I have had enough baseball by the end of October, and I barely think about it during November and December. But once January comes... hoo boy.

The World Baseball League should be interesting, and will probably keep my hunger at bay for a little bit. But that is still over a month away. Until then, I talk baseball with anyone who will listen. You'd be surprised to hear that there are others out there like me.

• I discuss trades,
• talk about free agents,
• mull over the sorry state of the Red Sox,
• lament the Red Sox acquisition of Mark Loretta to fill their 2B hole,
• revel in the "Babe Ruth-like" acquisition of Johnny Damon by the Yankees (could this be the Curse of the Idiot, another long Red Sox World Series drought? please, let it be so.),
• argue with the sister-in-law's boyfriend that it's ok to be a Yankee fan AND a Braves fan because they are in different leagues,
• compare recent Hall of Fame inductee, Bruce Sutter (the fourth reliever inducted ever to the Hall), to our own superstar, Mariano Rivera,
• coax and cajole the father of a friend to join our highly competitive keeper Fantasy Baseball League,
• discuss the merits of the Rule 5 Draft with people who actually know what Rule 5 is.

All the while, I completely ignore that there is a Basketball season, forget that there are NFL playoffs happening, and barely acknowledge that the hometown Thrashers might actually make the playoffs in their short NHL existence.

I can't wait to bring the kids to baseball games this year. I was totally disappointed to find out that the Atlanta Braves vs. NY Yankees games will all be played in New York again this year. The Yankees haven't visited Atlanta in years.

I have considered canceling NetFlix just so that I can subscribe to XM satellite radio in order to get all the Yankee baseball broadcasts.

I look forward to the start of Spring Training when I ritualistically buy a new Yankee cap to replace my own. As a part of the ritual, I "hand down" my current Yankee hat to someone who is a fan, but really needs a good hat. Last year's hat remains on my shelf because it has become my "painters cap"; I can't wash it enough for it ever to be anything other than a "work hat".

I have two coffee table books for when I have a coffee table that will not be attacked by my curious children. I received one of them from one of my sisters, a Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums book. Very cool. The other is a History of the World Series. I love that book.

You are welcome to join me in the baseball talk by clicking on the link on the right for the Baseball Addicts Anonymous page. See ya there.