The weather is warming up and the air has a crisp, clean scent to it.

Spring is here again and I, for one, could not be more pleased. I love this time of year. It is the season of love and renewed life. The birds return and their song can be heard all around.

And the crack of the ball off a baseball bat will soon be filling stadiums all across the country.

Regardless of the ever-increasing popularity of football or basketball, in my eyes, baseball will always be the finest example of athletic competition. Strategy is key to absolutely every play. Every pitch, every swing, every decision made during the game has a reason behind it.

Players must immediately burst from a position of rest into furious action, running, diving and throwing all in one motion.

Despite my pure love of the game, though, the thing that really excites me about the coming of baseball is that it also signals the coming of fantasy baseball.

For those who don’t know, fantasy baseball allows people separated by thousands of miles to come together and draft their own team of professional baseball players and compete against each other, the scores and success of each team based on the statistical success of said players.

It requires knowledge of individual players, the importance of certain statistics and a general strong understanding of the game.

The reason it is so popular, though, is the fact that it allows any Joe Schmoe to feel like a real baseball general manager. And anyone, regardless of their total lack of athletic skill, to sit back and criticize not only the play of men who have reached the pinnacle of their respective sport, but also mock the idiocy of others in your league.

What’s that? You traded Albert Pujols for three infielders from the Kansas City Royals? Sure, that sounds like a great move – if making the most terrible decision possible dictates a great move.

Hmm? You say you are drafting Xavier Nady in the third round? Why not? Everybody who undergoes Tommy John surgery and has a tendon from one part of their body grafted on to their elbow comes back and makes the All-Star team.

The list goes on.

While these athletic marvels are out on the field, sacrificing their bodies for the hopes of glory and the opportunity to play for a real championship, I will be sitting in my bedroom, trying to convince my friend in Chicago to trade a Cy Young-winning pitcher for someone far worse.

Only in fantasy baseball can you make “business” decisions that are, in large part, influenced by how well you can manipulate your friends.

I once convinced my friend to drop Aramis Ramirez because he had a bad shoulder and then immediately picked him up for my team.

It’s not my fault my friend doesn’t watch “SportsCenter” and didn’t realize that, at the time, I was making it all up. Business is business. Even in silly, made-up, fantasy business.

Plus, who wants to actually perform work while they are at their job? Fantasy baseball allows you to spend literally hours adjusting your lineup. Expense reports be damned.

So, as the players take the field and prepare for the real season, I am going to try to find a way to draft half of the Chicago Cubs roster. I’m sure, this year, it will be a winning strategy for me!

David Thill is a senior journalism major and can be reached at

[email protected] or 581-7942.