It's that time of year again!

Ah...

The smell of the fresh cut grass... the palm trees blowing in the wind... the... what?

Baseball my friend is just a mere 41 hours away. Pitcher's and catchers are for the most part already in Lakeland. The gear has been packed and arrived last week. Now we just wait and imagine the first ball pop in the a catchers mit.

Tiger's baseball really has a lot more questions this year than in years past. Many feel that this is their strongest club in the past few years due to off season acquisitions.

I'm not a huge believe that acquisitions are the key to winning the World Series... note the New York Yankees of the past 20 years (granted they've won it five times in that time frame).

I myself enjoy the players that make decisions for enjoyment, family and whatever else that doesn't put them in a New York uniform. Cliff Lee is a good example.

The Tiger's have two major concern's in my eyes. #1 Rotation and #2 2B. I think the rotation could be the strongest in the majors but we won't know till September. Scherzer was questionable the first few months of last year and Porcello had a nasty Sophomore slump. If they both repeat them and Verlander has his third bad April in a row the Tiger's will be in third having to find a way to get back in a race. You can't enter August 15 within 2 games of the Twins, odds are your going to be sitting at home in October.

Phil Coke is interesting. I have VERY mixed feelings. On one hand I say he shocks baseball for a 16 win season as he mixes energy with craftyness (remember Kenny Rogers?) on the other hand I can see him in the bullpen May 8 with us all knowing that was a disaster. That could mean the promotion of Jacob Turner who will more than likely be successful as a big leaguer but I'm not sure we want to find out while chasing down a pennant. Brad Penny's addition really wasn't a surprise. An upgrade of Gallaraga but we'll probably have to see Turner at some point because Penny's age has a chance of catching up to him.

My other concern is the clubhouse. Chemistry is one of the most important parts of baseball. I hope the signing of Victor Martinez does more than add 20 home runs next year. Rumor's say he's a great clubhouse guy. We need this. Body language over the past couple years tells me theirs a bit of division in the clubhouse. Hope we can shore that up.

Overall, I'd like to see some blow out wins in April... I mean some 12-3, 14-2 games. We haven't seen much of that early on lately.

Feeling Stre---------->tched

The last few weeks have in deed been a stretching experience for me... I don't at all wonder why my pants have been a little snug!

Ok so it's not like I've put on 30 lbs and eat everything in sight!

The head of my stress is balancing the usual while finding an additional 30+ hours per week to designate solely for internship and portfolio.

The portfolio has taken a few surprising leaps forward. Most of the first edits are done. Just waiting to type about 15 papers to be added to the mess. I should have these done by the weekend and Samantha and Mom can tackle them next. I have to have it all put together for next Wednesday.

Needless to say the internship has taken somewhat of a back seat to the portfolio. I'll kick back into gear on that in March. I'm pretty sure I have over 200 hours. Another 100 will put me over the top. I'm confident I can get there.

A job search is also in full swing. I have one I'd at least like to be interviewed for in Central Minnesota about 40 minutes from were Samantha grew up. An interview right now would be a BIG boost of confidence.

Baseball is also getting closer and closer. I'm not excited about what that will mean in a few weeks but I am pretty excited about being around the players again.

Koren is nearing the five month mark. Samantha has increase a lot of tummy time and sitting. His muscles have responded well considering his size. She is concerned as he'll at times burst into a crying fit for an unknown reason. We've assumed teeth but are also considering other possibilities. He had his first taste of rice cereal the other night. Sooner than we'd like but we had to admit that he was ready. He gobbles it down pretty well!

Aundrea and Tristan are increasing their vocabularies. Aundrea decided to have a conversation last night with me while I was using the "facilities" in fact she demanded an audience... not like I could go anywhere! She's now able to basically follow along in conversations that last a while. She stubborn much like her mother. Tristan has been up to our baseball building several times now. His objective when he goes is to throw about 500 baseballs... or empty and fill the bucket about 3-5 times... whichever comes first. He likes to be around the baseball players.