'Baseball is in the air...'

It’s that time of the year again.
The clocks have been moved back, spring break has come and gone and trailers for the summer’s biggest movies are being seen for the first time.
But there is also something far bigger, far more important just around the corner.
Can you feel it?
In less than a week, it will be the top sport for the next eight months.
Ready or not, baseball is back.
Now, of course, the baseball season has already been in full swing for about a month now for Troy as well as for the rest of the universities around the country.
However, the start of the MLB season is just the icing on the cake.
The big boys are about to step up to the plate, and boy howdy are they going to deliver.
2007 is going to be a doozy of a season for baseball.
Obviously, the top stories for the season will include the chase of a home run record, the gyroball, the return to glory for some teams and of course, everyone’s favorite subject, steroids.
Barry Bonds is back for what could be his most storied and yet controversial season.
Bonds is 22 home runs away from breaking Hank Aaron’s long-time record.
Judging by Bonds’ previous seasons and this year’s spring training, there is little doubt in my mind that he will in fact break the record.
The only question will be whether or not people will cheer him on or boo him with everything they have.
Personally, I believe he has not done, or taken, anything illegal.
It might take a Jack Bauer interrogation to get anything out of him, but at this point, don’t you think we would have actually heard something saying he had taken something?
This season will be the crowning jewel for an already first-ballot hall-of-famer, plus my ticket he autographed a while back will be worth a pretty penny.
What’s not to like?
And now to an even bigger story...if that’s possible.
Daisuke Matsuzaka has gotten more attention in Boston then King Kong ever got when he arrived in New York.
Every pitch he has thrown in the past three weeks has been observed and broken down more times then I can count.
The hype is huge around this kid, and the best part about it is, he is the real deal, gyroball or not.
The last the time the ‘Sox got a substantial pitcher in the offseason, they broke an 86-year-old curse.
It may not have been 86 years since their last championship, but I feel the Sox will be right we’re they were at the end of 2004: World Series champions.
There is no question in my mind that he will make a huge impact, not just in Boston but all around the league, leading him to the Rookie of the Year Award.
Now last year was a difficult year for me, being a Braves fan.
The bullpen was awful.
I’m pretty sure any random person picked off the street could have saved more games then the Braves’ pen last season.
It’s amazing what an offseason can do to a team.
John Schuerholz once again has worked his magic and set up a team, and, most importantly, a bullpen that is ready to not only make a run for the division but also to make a deep run in the playoffs.
Believe me, it’s going to happen.
Just when it seemed the whole steroid craze had died down a little bit, reports of Angels outfielder Gary Matthews Jr. surfaced, once again sending the baseball world into a feeding frenzy.
However, even with this story, it seems to me the steroid situation is finally dying down.
Sure, there are always allegations of so-and-so taking them, but if you look over the past two seasons, less and less players are being caught.
The sun seems to be breaking through the steroid cloud that has loomed over baseball for so long.
No matter if you like baseball or not, this season will be one for the ages.
Records will fall, the Cubs curse will continue for another year and maybe, just maybe, Ken Griffey Jr. will stay healthy for an entire season (fingers crossed).
So sit back, relax and enjoy America’s pastime for another summer.