Now that spring training games have begun, baseball reporters can start over-analyzing the results of games. Newspapers will publish the standings and reporters will talk about a teams "record" as if it matters. This is entirely ridiculous. Spring training isn't a time to win games. Managers are trying young prospects, and a team's actual players often don't play the full game. Many games are split squad games anyway. As a policy, I refuse to pay attention to any spring training scores.

In other baseball news, the players union is really digging itself into a hole on the steroid/human growth hormone issue. I'm not sure what Gene Orza is thinking (he's the #2 guy at the players union, and he's been loudly claiming that cigarettes are worse for one's health than steroids and that because baseball doesn't prevent players from smoking, it shouldn't prevent them from using steroids either). From a strategic standpoint, I'm pretty sure that the union would rather negotiate with the owners than with Congress, but if they're not careful, they'll find themselves in congressional hearings. This is an election year, and what member of Congress wouldn't want to get on the evening news pontificating about the perils of steroids and the risks to Our Youth from the use of these drugs by professional athletes?