It's that most optimistic of times. Pitchers and Catchers report. All things are new again, anything is possible.

Oh, there are teams where everyone knows better. Which doesn't matter at all now, because there are new kids coming in, and who knows, you might get a chance to say "I saw him" before anyone else did.

Or maybe a little magic will appear; the Miracle Mets kind of thing, a happy fluctuation that none of the stat heads could predict, the big money couldn't bet on or wrap up in contracts, and the talking heads will bandwagon jump into in September. It's happened, on occasion.

The great gift of the game, this moment. That knowledge that every year turns, that optimism and hope renew. All things come around.

Maybe this is the year.