2012 Major League Baseball Spring Training – Grapefruit League Update – Part 2
As the 2012 Major League Baseball Spring Training presses on, many teams are using the time wisely and developing their final rotation and line-ups. All of the teams understand the immense importance of Spring Training and the opportunity to get some of
the younger players some practical playing experience. The Grapefruit League is panning out and as of March 18, 2012 the table is looking very competitive.
The Minnesota Twins are looking very good during Spring Training this year. It looks like the team has made the right moves in the offseason to bring the squad up to a more competitive level. Players like Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Josh Willingham and Carl
Pavano will be looking to get in a few good performances before the start of the regular season. The Twins are very talented and it would not be a good idea for the rest of the teams in the League to take them lightly.
The defending World Series Champions, St. Louis Cardinals are having a mixed Spring Training session. Having lost their powerful slugger Albert Pujols to the Los Angeles Angels for a mega contract, the team are looking to work on the depth of their line-up.
The impact of losing such a dominating player can possibly hurt the Cardinals chances of repeating their exquisite performance from last year. Carlos Beltran, Matt Holliday, David Freese and Chris Carpenter are working hard to ensure that the Cardinals dominate
the closing games of Spring Training to build up some confidence in the team. The Cardinals will be up against some very tough competition this year and none of the teams will give them an inch of space during the regular season.
The Houston Astros are working hard during Spring Training this year. They are out to prove to the rest of the League that they have what it takes to win and do so consistently. After a few dismal seasons, the Astros are having a decent time in Spring Training.
The team looks competitive and their line-up is strong. Players like Carlos Lee, Jed Lowrie, Jason Castro and Wandy Rodriguez will do what it takes to put the Astros back to their winning ways. Spring Training will give the Astros just enough time to work
out their strategy and line-ups before the start of the long regular season.
Although not as aggressive as their fans would like, the New York Yankees are having their usual Spring Training this year. Their performance is just a little above average as they seem to be working on getting their rotation and line-up perfectly balanced
before the regular season starts. Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira are all top quality players with extremely successful careers. Also, the recent return of pitcher Andy Pettitte from retirement is a definite positive for the Yankees.
The team is looking to use Spring Training to get a good opportunity to gauge the opposition and work out their rotation.
Most critics and fans do realise that just because a particular team dominates Spring Training does not necessarily meant that they will have a successful regular season. So many factors like player’s health and pitching depth all play a part for a team
to have a successful regular season. The Grapefruit League is proving to be very interesting as the pundits are all looking to the table to predict the strongest teams for the regular season.
Continued in Part 3
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