Spring Swing: Our league-wide survey draws to a close

PHOENIX — And on the 31st day, the Stew simmered and sunned.
After a month of Dave Brown and I pinballing our ways through the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues, a relaxing day in the bleachers was truly what the doctor ordered. The White Sox and the A's were playing at Phoenix Municipal Stadium and I celebrated the end of another successful Spring Swing by buying a $12 ticket, a hot dog and a beer on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in the valley.
One more day of baseball and sunshine was the goal, of course, but I was also interested to see the ongoing rehab project that is Jake Peavy(notes). The righty completely tore his lat muscle last season — a rare injury in the sport — and he's bidding to become the first pitcher to make a comeback after getting it reattached.
And it's still so far, so good for the former Cy Young. Despite battling the stomach flu — a struggle you could see on Peavy's face every time he came back to the dugout after an inning — he put together his longest outing of the spring, throwing 83 pitches over 5 2/3 innings of three-run ball. Ozzie Guillen said he expects Peavy to break camp with the team as its fifth starter and be in line for his first regular season start on April 6.
That seems about as good a place as any to draw a curtain on the Cactus League and get back to Chicago to prepare for the great regular season ahead. Our annual division debates will start dropping some time this week and then it's opening day fun for the fourth season of Big League Stew's existence.
As always, thank you for your continued readership, especially during what seemed like an offseason that would never end. The great news, though: After a month of warmups and workouts, it's almost time to play ball.