Now that Hanley Ramirez and his shiny new Aston Martin have rolled into Marlins camp, it's time to get this party started.
Along with a fleet of expensive cars, Hanley has brought with him to Jupiter a scruffy beard and a very motivated attitude, telling reporters Sunday that he intends to hoist the team onto his back and carry them to the playoffs.
"I like the challenge that I have to take the team to the playoffs," Ramirez said. "That's my challenge this year. I'm going to put us on my back and go all the way to the end, go hard every day."
That's quite a change from the Hanley we saw dogging it on the field last year and then dogging his skipper and teammates to the media. The Marlins' All-Star shortstop has either been humbled by the dip in his performance and in fans' support of him last season, or he hasn't been informed yet that the team plans to keep its strict no-facial-hair policy. Let's hope it's the former.
The Marlins will hold their first full-squad workout of the spring today at 12:30 at Roger Dean Stadium. Workouts are open to the public, so quickly fabricate some excuse to get out of whatever obligations you have today, and head to the back fields at RDS to catch H-New-R in action.
Spring has sprung.