![\"MlbHlSq\"](\"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/wp-content\/MlbHlSq.jpg\")
In just a matter of days we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll actually have some baseball to watch. Rejoice! Admittedly, the games won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t matter, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a start, right? It will certainly make a nice change from feeding on scraps of non-news, or trying to predict the future, via the medium of numbers, in a bid to win a fantasy league.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the latest instalment of the baseball news that really doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t matter. Just think, a week from now, this column may even have some proper baseball content! I wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t count on it though.<\/p>\n
In the comments section of last week\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s missive<\/a>, BaseballGB\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s scoring stalwart, Joe Gray, had evidence of one player not in the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153best shape of his life\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. Chicago Cubs\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Carlos Silva is a little portly, it seems<\/a>. With my addiction to curry and cake (rarely eaten together I hasten to add), I can relate.<\/p>\n Silva\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s manager, Lou Piniella, is now in on the act, getting on our rotund hero\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s back with this choice quote:<\/p>\n “Silva is a hard worker, there’s no question about it. He might be a hard eater (too).”<\/p>\n Poor Carlos, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get upset. It just means there is more of you to love, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/p>\n Meanwhile, across Chicago, more dieting news as Bobby Jenks loses 25 pounds after giving up the booze<\/a>. He says, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Everything is brighter. You are not waking up with this film over your head or in front of your eyes. You feel cleaner.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Good for you, Bobby, but if you were waking up with stuff over your head, I think you just weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t doing it right. Or maybe too well, thinking about it. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll stick to my pint of mild, if that is what the kids call \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcpartying hard\u00e2\u20ac\u2122. That is what they call it, right?<\/p>\n After last week\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Field of Dreams reference (shamelessly pilfered from a conversation with my Significant Other, much to her understandable chagrin), we settled down to watch another baseball-related flick, Brewster\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Millions<\/a>. There we see the fictional Hackensack Bulls have a railroad track in the outfield. Ludicrous. In fact, even more ludicrous than John Candy as a catcher, I thought. But I have since discovered a bizarre outfield is not the preserve of eighties films. Oakland prospect Michael Taylor has this week been talking about chickens on the field whilst playing winter ball in Mexico<\/a>. Now that could liven up a dull game, eh? Just watch Carlos Silva doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t try eating one.<\/p>\n Fifteen years ago baseball fan Mark Roth sent a baseball card of the Kansas City Royals\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Kevin Appier<\/a> to the man himself, to be signed. A week ago the card, finally signed, was returned<\/a>. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a long time to wait, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s great that Appier has clearly found the time in his retirement to tackle the backlog of fan mail. Still, I wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t recommend sending anything time-sensitive his way, just in case.<\/p>\n