When you're smiling...

The real Spring Training (not mine) is well under way, which means that things begin in earnest in a little over three weeks, so I don't really need another reason to look forward to the 2004 baseball season, but if I did, the D-Train would be a good place to start. Dontrelle Willis talks to SI.com's John Donovan about his offseason and his thoughts on his rookie season.

You can almost see the smile on his face when you read what he has to say:

There was a lot of growing up for me. Actually, my family was very proud of how I was handling all that stuff. But I didn't see what they were seeing, from the outside. I was just like, 'Dude, I'm having fun. I'm playing in a major-league uniform.' Even when I was struggling, I was like, 'Hey, I'm the worst major-league baseball player.' OK? And when I was doing well, it was like, 'Hey, I'm pretty good.'

The Baseball Desert has just adopted a new slogan for the 2004 season: "Dude, I'm having fun"...