Poor Toby's Almanac...Season Two is Here

In the immortal words of John Riggins, "I'm bored, I'm broke, I'm back." The all-seeing, all-knowing Toby is back from the Transvaal to join us every Sunday to look at the week ahead:

The Week That Is: Pitchers and catchers report…
You have been waiting for that have you not? Pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training on Thursday and the first official workout is on Friday.

However if you are really eager to see somebody playing baseball, then head on down to Surprise right now. Over 50 players are already down there working out, including pitcher Thomas Diamond.

Diamond, the Rangers No. 1 draft pick in 2004, missed all of last year because of Tommy John surgery but word is he's throwing off the mound and feeling good. He's also featuring a new and improved curve ball rather than the slider that may have caused too much distress on his arm.

Joaquin Arias is also in Surprise working out. He's on a throwing program after missing all of last year with a shoulder injury. It's a big year for him.

That's the good thing about having a first-rate Spring Training facility. The Rangers keep it open year-round and players are eager to show up early to begin workouts. The Rangers have a similar situation going with their academy in the Dominican Republic.

Toby's Top Five:
1. Nolan Ryan – Don't think he's coming back just to sign a few autographs, throw out the first pitch and shake a few hands with sponsors.
2. Andy MacPhail – He has had a great winter in what he got for Erik Bedard and Miguel Tejada. The Orioles may not contend for a few years but they have certainly started to undo the many years of turmoil.
3. Randy Johnson – He's coming back from back surgery and is expected to be ready when the Diamondbacks are ready to open camp. Just don't look for him to take batting practice.
4. Brad Wilkerson – In an off-season where some have struggled to get a job, he fell into an everyday gig playing right field for the Mariners.
5. Bud Selig – Remember when he kept insisting that it was only a temporary gig? The rest of us can only dream of job security. Think he'll outlast Joe Paterno?

The Oracle of the Elysian Field:
"What can you think? He's Nolan Ryan. He brings a lot of wisdom and experience and knowledge on the baseball side and the business side. He's the total package." Rangers manager Ron Washington.

Ex-Ranger of the Week: The Texas Wesleyan Rams, ranked 18th, defeated Lubbock Christian, 7-0, on Friday at LaGrave Field in Fort Worth, raising their record to 2-1.

The Rams are coached by Mike Jeffcoat, the former Rangers reliever. Jeffcoat is beginning his seventh season at Texas Wesleyan and led the Rams to a 41-10 record and their first Red River Athletic Conference tournament championship in 2007.

Birthdays: Ruben Mateo – remember him – turns 30 today. The great Joe Garagiola turns 82 on Tuesday as does Dom DiMaggio. Garagiola was the Cardinals catcher and DiMaggio was the Red Sox center fielder during the 1946 World Series. Ugueth Urbina turns 34 on Friday and presumably will celebrate it in a Venezuelan jail.

Anniversary: It was 88 years ago today in 1920 that Major League Baseball officially outlawed the spitball and other doctored pitchers. Some guys like Gaylord Perry just didn't get the word.

By the way, it was 68 years ago today that Tom and Jerry's first cartoon appeared.

Last call: "It's the fans who need Spring Training. You gotta get 'em interested. Wake 'em up. Let 'em know that their season is coming, let the good times roll." The late broadcaster Harry Caray.