First, a serious note -- It always seems to happen at this darkest point in the baseball off-season, when the baseball-centric posts on this admittedly non-baseball-centric site are at their ebb. Someone goes over the line and I once again wonder why I'm doing this. I know why, but there's a level at which I refuse to deal with frustration. If I'm not having fun, I won't do this. Scott and I are the oddballs here and at times, the comic relief. This isn't our primary outlet and as happy as I am to be here in the company of people like Alex, Ken, Jon, and the rest of the great writers, I'm not going to put up with things.

So, we are going to begin to delete posts that are decidedly negative, off-topic, or trolling. I want this to be a free and open exchange, but there is a line. We used to say that this place was like the friendly neighborhood bar. Those places will throw you out if you deserve it.

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I'm working on a piece about amphetamines. I think it could be the big story of the 2006 season in a way steroids never quite were. Bonds could adjust all that, but I'm having a harder time with writing the greenie piece than any in a while. The reason isn't writer's block -- never had it -- but the fact that I'm not sure if anyone cares. I'd rather talk about the very interesting PECOTAs (posted for subscribers at BP) or the fate of the Marlins or the Classic or anything. Heck, I'd even rather talk lawyers and insurance, like I did yesterday regarding Jeff Bagwell.

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Anyone like these rules on pitch counts and saying uncle in the classic? The counts are much higher than I expected and reduce the advantage of the 4-1-1-1-1-1 strategy I expected the USA to take. Now, a hot Pedro or Johan could push a team over the same way a hot goalie can in the Olympics.

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Seriously, no one's made a Kevin Millwood offer on Jeff Weaver? I mean Millwood last year, not this year. And has anyone noticed the Angels have done almost nothing this off-season? I know they're loaded with prospects and don't want to block anyone, but this seems odd.

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Ozzie Guillen's gone from my least favorite manager -- I thought he was a joke in over his head -- to one of my favorites in just a year. I was flat wrong about the guy. The turning point was seeing his handling of the bullpen, which was genius. I'm curious if the use of ex-players like Raines, Cora, and Baines had much influence. He's definitely someone I want to get on BP Radio.

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Time for a little wishlisting -- who would you want to see on BP Radio?

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Who's going to be worse, the Marlins or the Royals? I know one of those teams is going to be a lot better in 2008; the other one seems doomed to be a doormat.

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After St. Louis opens it's new ballpark in a couple months, the only new one on the horizon is the DC ballpark -- assuming it's ever figured out. The Yankees and Mets are probably at least five to seven years away. Is this the end of the building boom in baseball -- and how long will it be before we can assess its effects on the game?

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"Baseball Between The Numbers"
"Fantasyland"
"Built to Win"
"Winners"
"In The Best Interests of Baseball?"

I've read two of these and am looking forward to reading two others. One - completely and totally a waste of time. I'll let you figure out which is which.