A new day. A new season. Time to start over. The slate is clean right now. I have no record. No ERA. No strikeouts. Nothing. And neither does anyone else. We’re all even right now. Me, Alex Williams, everyone.

Alex Williams is one of the big name free agents this off-season. And I don’t know where he’ll end up. I know that Ryan was interested in him. But I also know that he’ll command a big salary and that that number may be more than the Angels can afford. I’m sure I could learn a lot from him if he came here, but I still think Nolan Ryan is the greatest living pitcher. And he’s wearing an Angels’ jersey.

I had a great time in Montreal. In many ways, it exceeded my expectations. I now know a few phrases in French, though I don’t know how to write them. The two most important things to know in any language are “please” and “thank you”. If you attempt to speak to people in their language, they’ll treat you better than if you don’t. (This I know from growing up in Texas–there are many people in Texas who speak Spanish as their primary language.) It’s not that they treat you bad otherwise. It’s that they recognize you’re making an effort.

I’m excited to be starting a new season. I’ve worked over the offseason and I even spent some time during spring training talking to a sports psychologist. He helped me to internalize some of advice that I’ve been given. The biggest thing is that he reminded me that I’m good enough. I’m a major league pitcher. I’m not the best pitcher in the league but I don’t need to be. What I need is to be the best pitcher I can be. And that I need to stop trying to pitch like someone else and pitch like myself. Alex Williams may strike out every other batter he faces, but that’s not my idiom and I should pitch within myself. Will this new attitude make a difference? We’ll see.

We’re cruising. There are a whole bunch of us, too many to name. But I have to mention a couple. The Doctor is here. So is Ali Hussain. And there’s a few young guys, too. Like Sean Mack in Boston. Mack is a little on the brash side, but he’s a good kid. He’ll be a good ballplayer someday, too. But he took the opportunity to drink a little once we were out of US waters. I think all the kids did.

While vacationing in the Bahamas (that’s fun to type), I’ve discovered Texas Hold ‘em. You’re wondering how someone could play professional baseball so long and not be familiar with poker. It’s not that. What I mean is, I’ve discovered it can be fun and not just a way to hand money over to Bear. Maybe that has to do with Bear not being along on the cruise. But it can actually be relaxing to play. And I’m half-decent at it so I’m not losing all my money but overall coming out about even.

The food here is wonderful. You always have your choice between three or four things. And that’s for each course. Salad, main dish and dessert. And they’ll let you get more than one if you ask. Yesterday I had chocolate cake and a cheese tray (chocolate goes great with cheese, especially dark chocolate).

Overall, I’m having fun. I’m past the depression I went through after we lost the Patriot Cup. Ryan said he was proud of us and we exceeded his expectations. I don’t think he meant me. I fell vastly short of what I expected. But Nolan told me that sometimes you have a down year. That it’s not that you’re bad, but that your luck isn’t there. And it’s especially hard when you’re a pitcher because you don’t participate in the offense. He also pointed out that I earned incentives. So I did some things quite well. Got strikeouts, for example. Things will be different this season. I’m sure of it. And I can smile again. It’s a great feeling.

I met Nolan Ryan last month when I first talked to Ryan and Annie about coming to Allentown. I knew he was a great pitcher and that he’s in the Hall of Fame. And after talking to him a little bit, I knew that I’d like working with him. But I wanted to know more about him. So Jay and I went to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

It turns out there’s a lot to know about The Express. I think he may be the greatest living pitcher. Sorry Alex.

There’s a room where they have baseball cards. They have cards of people you’ve heard of and of people you haven’t. They have Nolan Ryan cards. And one of the cards shows Nolan Ryan with a bloody lip. He was hit by a ball and it busted his lip. and he just kept on pitching with the blood coming out. That’s tough.

And there’s also the story about him pitching a guy named Robin Ventura inside and hitting him. And Ventura rushes the mound. Nolan got him in a headlock and punched him five times. That’s the only time anyone’s gotten five hits off Nolan in a single game.

While I was at the Hall, I ran into Providence’s Paul Pepper. I thought he looked familiar and I asked him if I’d met him at a party. Jay recognized him, though. He lives in the area and says he often spends time there. He knows a lot about Nolan Ryan. Nolan’s 100th win was also his 4th no-no. That’s pretty cool.

That weekend in Cooperstown was the last time Jay and I spent together. I hate saying goodbye but Jay says you have to say goodbye so you can say hello again.

I’d never been to the Angels’ complex in Coconut Creek, but it’s an amazing place. I think part of it is that it’s newer than the ‘Hawks’ facility. But it’s not just the buildings. The grounds themselves seem greener. Nolan says that it’s just coming back to spring training. That if I’d asked myself last year what I thought, I’d've said the same things. Maybe he’s right.

Spring Training is a time of promise. No one’s lost any games or made any errors or given up any home rums yet. And with the smell of the grass on the warm spring air, it seems that maybe no one will.

But if we do, it’ll be okay. Nolan is amazing. One of the first things he told us was that we shouldn’t be afraid to pitch guys inside. He said, “I don’t want y’all to be afraid to pitch a guy inside. If a guy takes exception to your pitching and tries to rush you … I guaranTEE we won’t fine you for beating the [crap] out of him.”

Gotta love that. Here’s an invitation for all you hitters. If you don’t like a pitch, come visit me in my office. I’ll be happy to discuss it with you.