There is no off season in baseball

Having just enjoyed the best season of baseball I've ever witnessed over my 24 years as fan, it's difficult for me to say goodbye to this year and begin preparations for the next. Sadly, it must be done as baseball no longer has an off season. Okay, sure there won't be any MLB games going on for several months but between Winter & Caribbean Leagues, free agency and Hot Stove action, a baseball fan as unnecessarily hung up on the sport as I happen to be understands that the commitment to sport and team is a year round prospect.

Hell, if I'm not pouring over Texas League scouting reports, looking for that next bright and shining star over in Japan, or hitting up every available resource for info on that one college kid out of Florida with the shotgun arm, then who exactly can be counted on to do so? I know, silly, right? But that's what makes baseball so much fun for me. The wealth of information is overwhelming, especially for a stats junkie like myself and let's be honest here, who hasn't wasted a Saturday putting together a trade that you just know in your heart could get your favorite team Albert Pujols?

For me, the beauty of baseball is in its accessibility and the conversations it can start. Baseball is a talking sport, plain and simple. There's a level of romance to it that simply does not exist (for me, at least) in other professional sports. I like football and hockey. I love baseball.

So, with the final game of the season in the books, everyone is back to square one. No one is in first place, no one is is in last, and everyone is back in the mix. For many fans, the off season is the only time their team actually has a chance at winning and, as a long-suffering Texas Rangers fan, I could write a book on off season glory turning to regular season failure.

But let's not get bogged down in minutia. The 2010 season is over, the San Francisco Giants just had themselves a parade and now it's time to switch gears from playoff baseball to off season wheelin' & dealin'. Go Rangers.