Around the Horn in the NL East

“Spring is in the air!”

Let me be the ninety billionth blogger to say that spring training has officially arrived.

Former Braves shortstop, Rafael Furcal, says his decision to leave the team was purely business. He also thinks that Marcus Giles will not like batting lead-off. I for one, have to agree with him. As I’ve said before, Giles slots better as a number 2 hitter and Renteria fits better as a number 7 hitter. The whole lineup works better when they hit in that order, and I have confidence that our left field platoon can become strong on-base guys.

Bobby Cox admits that he has overused Chris Reitsma in the past:

"He's had some success out there, and I think if we used him just right, he'd have a lot of success. I have a tendency to overuse him," manager Bobby Cox says. "He's got three outstanding pitches. But there's other guys out there, too."

Reistma, for his part, is approaching this opportunity as if it is wide open:

"I'd like to have the job, but I'm not looking at it like it's mine to lose," Reitsma says, adding he feels he can repeat his July performance. "I feel strong, healthy."

The Phillies new closer, Tom Gordon, is not at all sad about leaving New York and it’s media behind. His quest to prove people wrong that he is not washed up and can close again may strengthen his resolve to have a good year. He will have to live up to comparisons to Billy Wagner, which may be hard to do.

Phills’ third baseman David Bell might have some competition this spring.

Former Brave Bret Boone will either win a job with the Mets or hang up his spikes this spring. He’s pulling out all the stops, including dying his hair bleached-blond, but he will face a bunch of competition for the Mets’ few bench spots, one of them is Julio Franco.

The Marlins’ new manager, Joe Girardi, seems to be fitting in well with his new team. A scary thought on a team this young is that he might be in better shape than some of his players:

In the clubhouse a few minutes later, Olsen wrapped a cold towel around his head and marveled at how Girardi, 41, outpaced many players.

"He ran, like, 12 poles and he wasn't even fazed," Olsen, 22, said. "He might have run more than 14. I ran my 14 and got out."

The Nationals still don’t have an owner, but soon they may not have a name. Could MLB fall on their face any more when it comes to this team?