Spring Training is coming to an end, finally, and everyone from players to media to grounds crews and probably even fans are relieved. It's too long. It is to get in condition to start the season, not to feel worn down and tired. It's that time of year when everyone involved in baseball is ready to go north and feel the freshness of spring in the air. Opening Day for the baseball fan and player is a special time.

I've had some nice warm feelings this spring that I haven't experienced for a while. I have come out of retirement and gotten 'back in the game'. Mainly, I have my friend and business associate, Elizabeth Schumacher, to thank for that, and encouragement from other friends like Tim McCarver. I was given the opportunity to cover the World Baseball Classic on MLB International by my friend, Russ Gabay. It was a great experience. Now that it is over, and I read the comments from players like David Wright and the Latino and Asian stars that played for their countries, I have a whole new outlook on the WBC.

If the USA stars that don't participate are not motivated to play, maybe the USA should be denied an invitation in 2013. The enthusiasm from the other countries is tremendous. I won't live long enough to see it but it could eventually be the real 'World Series' of baseball. It will always have flaws as long as the Major League season is 162 games and Major League clubs are paying the salaries of the star players. But, with sensible leadership and thoughtfulness it can be a great event. I've heard from long-time colleagues like Buck Martinez and Buster Olney that maybe two rounds could be played in March in a short period of time and the semifinals and final game during the All-Star break. Not a bad idea. Let's keep brainstorming until we come upon the best plan.

One thing we have found out is that 'we' the U.S., don't own the game. There are players all around the globe that can really play and they're going to get better because they're beginning to play at an early age as players from my era did. We didn't have as many other sports to grab our attention in the 1940s and 50s and now kids in the U.S. do. Baseball is the top attraction in many other countries. I actually wish it could be played again sooner than 2013. I'm eager to see it again.

Covering Pool D in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and seeing what a team like the Netherlands could accomplish by beating a star-studded team like the Dominican Republic gives me the same feeling as seeing an unranked and unnoticed college basketball team advance in the NCAA tourney. It's inspiring stuff.

I had another warm moment last week in Clearwater, Fla. As a member of the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association, I participated in a game against the U.S. Military All-Stars. It was staged to benefit the Cal Ripken Jr. Foundation (I had no idea they even had a military team). It was a very cool moment to catch the ceremonial first pitches from six soldiers who were transported from a helicopter to a spot behind the mound at beautiful Bright House Field. The shortstop on the U.S .Military team has two purple hearts and is a machine gunner who serves in Iraq. They range in age from 19 to their late 40s and they love the game. Dan Duquette, former general manager of the Boston Red Sox, is heading up the effort to get these guys more exposure. They travel the globe playing baseball while they serve their country as well. Former President George H.W. Bush restarted the baseball program for the military in 1992. I hope to be a part of it and teach their pitchers whatever I can to help them improve.

Well, less than two weeks away and the real fun starts. Can Tampa Bay repeat? Are the Yankees going to be the Yankees again? Will Chris Carpenter come back after missing almost two seasons and win another Cy Young award. Will Derek Jeter still be an effective shortstop at 35? I can't believe he's 35. It seems like I just met him and his parents, Charles and Dorothy, yesterday when he was 20!

Let's play ball.

Jim Kaat talks to Joe Auriemma from Clearwater, Fla., the spring home of the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies:

I am thrilled to be a part of the new MLB Network. I will do a limited number of games and studio appearances. My first official assignment will be to cover the home opener at the new Yankee stadium. The Yankees have invited me to be a part of the on field ceremonies, and then I'll go up to the booth and do the game with long time friend Bob Costas and Harold Reynolds. That will be special for me.

I don't know my exact schedule with MLB yet, but it will fit around some other things I have planned. I will be doing clinics in Europe, possibly at the six academies in the Netherlands. I met most of the Dutch delegation at the World Baseball Classic when I was in Puerto Rico. I plan to participate in several charity golf events like Yogi Berra's and Roger Maris', and an appearance at the Bob Feller museum outside of Des Moines, Iowa. I will stop off in Hannibal, Missouri, to work with young pitchers for the team owned and operated by Jay Hemond, son of Roland Hemond. Roland was the general manager of the White Sox when I was there in the mid 1970s and transaction he made bringing me to Chicago was instrumental in rejuvenating my career. There is a chance I may even go to China in the latter part of the season. MLB has an academy there and there is a need for pitching instruction.

Coming out of retirement is keeping me busy, but I am enjoying being a part of 'the game' again. I enjoyed a 50-year paid vacation being a part of professional baseball and it is satisfying to give a little something back. The support and encouragement I have received from you fans through e-mails and at the ballpark has been overwhelming. That inspires me.

It's too long these days. We have reached the point already where players and media following the players are getting bored and stale. Everyone seems ready to start the season and there are still two weeks left to go. Some pitchers need more time, but everyday players don't. It's a long season.

I wish they wouldn't keep statistics in these games, just the final score. Numbers can be deceptive. The wind is blowing out to left field in a lot of the parks, so balls that are normally outs become home runs. Butch Huskey of the Mets was a prime example of how deceiving Spring Training numbers can be. In 1996, Huskey hit a Mets record nine Spring Training home runs. During the 1996 season, he hit a total of 15. If you think the ball carries in Florida, then you can say that curveballs don't break as well in dry air like Arizona.

Just use this time to get ready physically and go through the fundamental drills like relay plays, pickoff plays, fielding practice at all the positions. It's a great time for fans. You can get closer to the players than you can in the Major League stadiums.

Well, my first experience being a part of the World Baseball Classic is over. It was fun to get back in the booth again, and do what I've enjoyed and blessed to be able to do for over 25 years. The games were well played, the fan interest in San Juan, particularly when their home team was playing, was great. The fans were enthusiastic, loud, and provided a lot of energy for us in the announce booth.

One of the thrills for me was covering the team from the Netherlands. That is where my ancestors are from and if I were able to play in the WBC when I was younger I would have played for them. I qualify because my grandparents were born there (that's one of the qualifiers). They became the sentimental choice to follow because they are probably a Double-A caliber team if you compare them to a professional team in the United States. They are a mix of young prospects, one of them just out of high school, and some veterans like Randall Simon and Eugene Kingsale, who played for brief periods in the Major Leagues and they competed against Major Leaguers. They have a six-team professional league in the Netherlands and many of their national team members are from that league. They got some global exposure and attention because they stunned the Dominican Republic team that had a former MVP (Miguel Tejada), Cy Young award winner (Pedro Martinez) and a lot of Major League All-Stars.

The Netherlands defeated the Dominican team twice to eliminate them. Both were low-scoring games, 3-2 and 2-1. Both games featured great pitching and defense which were a contrast to the high-scoring games in the Majors where the emphasis is on power and the home run. It was a humbling experience for the Dominican team. They came out during introductions with their personalized NFL-like animated fist and chest bumps. It was embarrassing for me as a former player to think they were representing Major League Baseball. I have always thought, "What would Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson or one of my boyhood heroes, Hank Aaron, think of me if I wore my uniform like pajamas and acted like some NFL wide receiver acts after scoring a touchdown?" I think they would have scolded me.

Those games proved no matter how talented you are, if you don't play well in the field or hit with men on base, you can be defeated by any team. Costly errors and lack of situational hitting were the main reasons the Dominicans were eliminated. They looked like the strongest team in the pool and maybe in the entire Classic, but they are home because, in my opinion, of a sloppy approach to the game and an attitude of celebrating their own worth with childish antics and not paying attention to playing the game properly. The more I see of this type of behavior, the more I appreciate Derek Jeter's approach to the game and his behavior.

As a team, the model for me is the Minnesota Twins, a team I played for in the 60's and 70's. Tom Kelly, their manager when they won the World Series in 1987 and 1991, established a way you looked in uniform and played the games that still exists under Ron Gardenhire. Despite being in a small media market, they have had a lot of success and are always worth watching if you're interested in the right way to play the game.

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I look forward to announcing some games this season for the new MLB Network. My first one is scheduled to be the home opener in the new Yankee stadium April 16. I am honored that the Yankees have asked me to be a part of the on-field ceremonies prior to that game. That should be a memorable day.

I'm also planning on going to Europe in May to give pitching clinics in London and possibly at the six academies in the Netherlands. I may even go to Italy and China, where MLB has academies.

I haven't participated in Yogi Berra's charity golf event for a few years and have never been a part of Roger Maris's which is in Fargo, North Dakota. I have both of them on my schedule this summer.

I'll tell you my thoughts on the 2009 Yankees team in a couple weeks after I visit them in Tampa in late March.

I am a former president of the Major League Players Alumni Association and have never participated in many of their events, which are fund raisers for a number of charities because I was usually involved in announcing games during the season. On March 21 and 22, I will suit up and play in a couple games with other former players to benefit the Cal Ripken Foundation. These take place at the training sites of the Tampa Bay Rays and the Philadelphia Phillies.

Being back in baseball in a variety of activities is very enjoyable for me after being "retired" for two years. It was my life for 50 years and will be forever. Thanks for your comments and interest in my blogs. You can follow my schedule and other activities I'm involved in on my new Web site KittyKaat.com.

Thanks,


Kitty

Just another thought on A-Rod
When I went down to the Dominican Republic's World Baseball Classic team practice before A-Rod opted to shut it down for the tournament and have hip surgery, I got to talk to him a little bit. He came right up to me and said, "I really appreciate your support and I was hoping to run into you and thank you."

I told him right back that he's an easy target, and it's easy to pile on to the situation. I went on to tell him that I had a conversation with Bob Gibson, and we both agreed that in my playing day, if these things were readily available, we would have all been tempted to use them. I wish him a speedy recovery, and he is missed in the WBC event.

Spring Training
As everyone knows Spring Training is a time to get players ready for the marathon that is the baseball season. As I'm sure you know, the pitchers build up arm strength, the position players regain their bat speed and all players work on the fundamentals.

I've been watching some of the Spring Training games. A couple of different fans have asked, why is Joba Chamberlain's stuff only coming in at 85-87 MPH on the radar gun, and my answer is that they shouldn't even have a radar gun during games, but particularly at Spring Training. These pitchers are just trying to build up their arm strength, stamina and form. In the first few games, if a pitcher doesn't look like he's throwing his best stuff, it's because he isn't.

Baseball is a game in which you try to do ordinary things in an extraordinary manner. Teams have pitchers do fielding practice, and they are boring, but you have them do it time and time again, so that when the season comes you are ready to do them. They are done both for technique and so that a pitcher doesn't pull a hamstring trying to run over to first base.

It's the same thing for infielders, they have them field groundball after groundball. Maybe they work on their range, maybe as a player gets older and doesn't have as much range as he used to, he learns to cheat a bit and play a step or two deeper at shortstop or at third base. He'll take a lot of ground balls and react to playing the position a little bit differently than he's played it over the years.

Spring Training is also a place for hitters to change things up as well. Some hitters have trouble hitting the curveball or might want to become pull hitters and hit for more pop. They have little things that they like to work on to be a more complete hitter. Same thing goes for pitchers. If they want to work on a new pitch or improve certain pitches that they already have in their repertoire.

I watched Chris Carpenter the other day in a game, and it was basically just fastballs and only 18 to 20 pitches. They aren't going to break out their best pitches now.

Even when I coached and was an announcer, I didn't care to look at a pitcher until after March 15th. That's really when you can tell if I pitcher is starting to get ready for the season. A pitcher is not going to break off a July 4th curveball in the middle of Spring Training. It's a glorified batting practice right now.

I always broke up Spring Training into two parts as a pitcher. Before March 15th, the main goal is stretch your arm, you break it down, you build up the arm, and they do their between-outing throwing. Also, throwing from the outfield and fielding practice is very important. After March 15th, it's working on repertoire and getting prepared for the season at hand. Pitchers start throwing some more innings and more of their selection of pitches.

For hitters, the first part of game action is only getting two at bats, and as Spring Training rolls on they start to play full games. They prepare for the season and get in some situational hitting.

For guys in the bullpen, it's great to get those two scoreless innings. However, it might be crazy to say, but they might want to come in or get men on base to prepare themselves for those same situations in the season. They need to learn on how to pitch out of a jam. You'll start to see managers bring in bullpen guys with men on base.

Statistics in Spring Training are so deceiving. There are no double deck stadiums, the Florida wind keeps the ball up longer and carries a lot of those balls over the fence. The fields, with the lack of rain in both Florida and Arizona, get very hard. There are a lot of bad hops and fast ground balls for the infielders to contend with. A player might have five home runs and people think he's having a great spring. Then he gets to the big league stadiums, and those same balls just don't go out of the park.

Spring Training is a fun time, it's a time to work on everything, and it could also be a very deceiving time. Pitchers are a lot of times better than how they look in Florida and hitters look a lot better. I just can't believe that the Spring Training season is almost winding down.

Well I never thought I would say this, but retirement is a pretty busy life. I'm doing a number of different things that are taking me to different parts of the world. I'll have my website up and running soon, KittyKaat, which should be great. I'm going to continue doing a blog here on Kaat's Korner and also give commentary on my website.

I just went down to Jupiter, Fla., to visit with Felipe Alou and the Dominican Republic team. I'm going to be one of the announcers for the World Baseball Classic and I'm covering the group in Puerto Rico, pool D. That is the group with the Dominican, Panama, Puerto Rico and the Netherlands. My telecasts begin on Saturday and if you have any questions for me, leave a comment here on Kaat's Korner or come visit my Web site when it's up and running and I will answer the questions during the telecast or the next day.

Speaking of the WBC, watching the Dominican team practice, there is no doubt in my mind that they are the strongest team in the pool I'm covering. They might even be the strongest team in the whole tournament. I had a good chance to talk to Felipe

Alou about his squad. Everyone raves about their lineup with A-Rod, Hanley Ramirez, Big Papi, Jose Reyes, and more, but where they might be stronger than any team is in their bullpen. In fairness to the rules from the Major League clubs, they are limiting these pitchers on pitch counts. They don't want these guys to be overused and be worn down before the season even begins. As is in the Major Leagues, the games, unless they are blowouts, are going to be decided by who can get the key outs at the end of the game.

Editor's Note: Alex Rodriguez has a cyst in his right hip and is headed to Colorado to see a specialist. The problem leaves Rodriguez's status for the World Baseball Classic in doubt.

The Dominican has a deep bullpen. It features Carlos Marmol, the Cubs closer; Damaso Marte, the Yankees' devastating lefty; Tony Pena, who had a good year in Arizona in 2008; Juan Cruz, Jose Arredondo and some other maybe lesser-known pitchers but talented arms. Couple that with good starters at the top in Edison Volquez and Johnny Cueto, and that is a recipe for a quality team with a great shot to win the whole event.

In general, I've been thinking about the WBC a lot since I was asked to work the games. Back in 2006, I was quite vocal and critical about the time in which it was played. Should it be played in November? I asked Tony LaRussa, Alou and a lot of other baseball people, is there a better time for this event to be held? Their response was that they didn't think that there was any other time that this could possibly be held.

Alou made the point of shutting down the season for 10 days during the All-Star break to hold this event. I don't think it's realistic or a possibility that baseball would do that. The idea of November has come up, but do teams really want to see their players after a grueling 162-game schedule not shut down right away? No probably not. The more and more I think about it, this really isn't an opportune time to do it and the only plausible time to hold the event is exactly when it is. In a perfect world the baseball season would be shorter and that's not going to happen because owners are not going to give up that revenue.

I'm really shocked and excited to see the buzz it is creating. It makes my job a lot easier announcing the game. I really want to point out how much excitement it has generated from not only the individual countries, but from players and fans alike. Fans that came see the Dominican team were swarming to the point where the St. Louis Cardinals people at the facility said, "Man this thing is getting out of control." I heard the other day that there were 40,000 people just to see the Japanese team work out. It has created a lot of excitement on a global scale, which is what I think Major League Baseball intended for it to do. Just to show you how they want the game to expand, this summer I'm going to London and Europe to do some clinics because baseball is reaching out and establishing academies in other countries.

The only thing that can stop its momentum now is if a star player got injured during the tournament. If that happened, I think it would be devastating. What if a pitcher is not ready to throw his array of pitches, but he has to get David Ortiz out in a big situation, what does he do? Again, those are situations that are down sides to the Classic. That's all part of the game. I have changed my tune and think it's a very good tournament for the game. I never thought I would be enthused about covering an event like this, but now I'm getting pretty pumped up because I can sense the excitement that it's generating.