The title of this post is perhaps slightly misleading, but then it may have gotten you at least to get this far into today’s post.

It’s about that wonderful time of the year when football, basketball, and most of those other minor sports are either off the front of the sporting news or are tiresome, and folks who understand the fascination of baseball are beginning to get revved. After all, truck day has come and gone, most pitchers and catchers have reported, full squad practices are beginning, and we will have a year without A-Rod disgracing our blessed game.

What more could we ask?

The point of this post, you ask?

I am ‘working’ on the 2014 MillersTime Baseball Contests and need a bit of your help.

I have learned from the past (old dogs, new tricks) that sending out the contests too early just doesn’t result in many of you focusing on your baseball picks. So I am delaying the posting of the contests until the beginning of March, with the (faint?) hope that some of you won’t forget about these important choices (and thus cause me to nag you in the final days of March before the contests close).

In the meantime, I am asking for a few ideas for this year.

First, what suggestions might you have for different questions this year?

Last year, the six questions were:

1. Make a prediction about the 2013 MLB baseball season.
2. Pick your favorite team and predict what their regular season record will be in 2013. Also, will they make the playoffs, and how far will they go if they do?
3. Which League will win the All-Star game in 2013, what will the score be, and who will be the MVP?
4. Will the Nats make the playoffs again this year? If not, why not. If yes, how far will they go in the playoffs? Tiebreaker: Who will be the WS MVP?
5. What will the 19 game split be between the Sox and the Yankees in 2013? Who will be the outstanding player for each team, and who will be the dud for each team?
6. Who will be in the World Series in 2013. Who will win it all? Tiebreaker: Who will be the MVP?

So which questions should stay? Which should go? What new, different questions would you add?

Also, I’m always looking for interesting prizes to offer. I know some of you participate just for the fun of doing so. Others need to be enticed.

Any suggestions for new, fun, and even enticing prizes?

Finally, though it may be counter intuitive to ask you for suggestions for encouraging your baseball friends to participate (i.e., that would give you more competition), I am interested in getting a slightly wider audience and range of predictions. Any suggestions?

You can leave your ideas in the Comment section of this post or send them to me: Samesty84@gmail.com . Do so in the next two weeks.

Thanx.

PS – A prize will be awarded to the first person who accurately comments on the picture below: