Spring Training Games - Who Cares?

Earlier this evening I was watching the local news and they reported on the Yankees-Astros game. "The Astros had the lead, but then the Yankees fought back to tie it. And then in the ninth, with the bases loaded, Russell Martin walks to bring in the winning run, and the Yankees win it 6-5." I saw the people in the stands cheering as the runner from third jogged home and I wanted to throw up.

Hey people, has anyone ever told you - these games don't count? The only reason the players are in the game is to get them ready for the regular season - when the games do count. Often you'll find the good players taken out of the game in the third or fourth inning (assuming they are in the game to begin with) so that the guys you end up seeing are the fellows who will deliver your UPS packages next week.

Thus, if a guy hits a home run, big deal. Look who it's off of. And even if it's off a legit player, the pitcher is probably finding his rhythm and will be much sharper come April 1st.

I remember years back hearing Peter Gammons -- then of ESPN -- discuss Pedro Martinez's spring in 2004. He said he has not seen Martinez that sharp since his glory years of 1999-2000, so we should expect a huge year out of him. He ended up having the highest ERA of his career (to that point). So it's hard to take seriously any player who impresses during the month of March. Get back to me in April and then we'll talk. Ditto for a team that has a great spring record.

So we've already established that the players don't care whether they win or lose the games, as long as they shake off their rust and get some practice in. This is why I don't understand people hooting and hollering for their favorite teams - if the players don't care who wins or loses, why the heck should I? Can someone explain it to me?

I would not attend these games even if the tickets were free. If you paid me, then I'd have to think about it. To me, there are few things as boring as watching a game that doesn't mean anything. Same goes for minor league baseball. The players are there to advance to the next level. I would imagine that 99 percent of them could not care less about the outcome of the game.

But I would love to know what exactly is the appeal of watching these games. I know when I was 10 I would watch them because I was so excited to have baseball back (and back then I didn't have cable TV, so there wasn't much else on Sunday afternoons). I also enjoyed seeing which washed-up scrubs the Mets picked up. Now that I can see this info on the internet, there really is no reason for me to watch a pre-season game.

So the next time the highlight reel shows Ruben Tejada sliding into second base - please pass me the remote.