THIS WEEK: Spring Training Teams

THE GOOD: The Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Good? Tampa Bay Devil Rays good? Say it again, slowly, you'll get it. See, were talking spring training, a place where hope is sold by the bushel at very low cost. So deceitful is this time of year that even the Seattle Pilots, as good Jim Bouton wrote, felt they had a chance at the flag. So why not the Devil Rays? And why shouldn't Piniella, knowing that the other teams are going to be training (as opposed to the full-out hustle of regular season games) perhaps try to get the Devil Rays to have the first undefeated spring training in history. A record, dubious though it is, remains a record. And think of how great opening day would be coming off a preseason like that? Sure, they'll fall flat on their faces, but so what? It's better to fall flat from on high, than begin in the gutter... isn't it?

THE BAD: The New York Yankees

Oh, it's only going to get worse. The grousing. The arguments. The losses that will pile up, as they do in the spring. Can the Yanks do anything that would make George happy in the preseason? If they win here, won't that just make April even more challenging? Now that Godzilla (Steinbrenner, not Matsui) has awoke from his slumber, how can the Yanks find peace?

THE UGLY: Everyone Else

After all, spring training is supposed to be ugly.