It’s the first day of spring camp, and the birds have flown south to Okinawa to open a couple weeks of “no pain, no gain” training sessions.
After last year’s very lucky appearance in the postseason, the first ever for the Swallows I might add, all of the usual suspects are back for another go at it. Yup, D’Antona, Lim, and Guiel re-signed, and Aoki hasn’t been posted yet, so another half-decent season could be in the making if everyone can stay healthy.
Wait. Scratch that. We did lose Igarashi to the New York Mets, so not everyone will be back.
Anyway, I figured that it’s about time to conjure up and collect some of the wishful thinking that may be lurking out there as spring camp gets underway.
But first, let’s take a look at my wishful thinking points from last year. Apparently I asked for a bit too much. The only wish that was granted to my full satisfaction was number two: Aikawa hits better than .220 (he hit .247 in 2009). Otherwise, I was at least partially stymied on my other four wishes.
Oh well.
Here’s what I’m crossing my fingers for this year:
1. The Swallows finish the year with a record above .500
2. Barnette wins 10 games
3. Yoshinori stops using Oil of Olay on his hands every night before going to bed
4. Lim makes fewer than 50 appearances (regular season)
5. We start the 2011 campaign with a manager who isn’t old enough to collect pension benefits
Your turn.
About Christopher Pellegrini
