Earlier this week, when he was asked to assess the change in his team’s lineup, Jermaine Dye said David Justice will bring more leadership to the Oakland A’s clubhouse than Jason Giambi did.

Dye’s comment is more than simple wishful thinking, more than a mindless silver-lining banality. It is symbolic of spring training, when even the loss of an MVP-type player can be turned into a positive because of the presence of a 37-year-old outfielder whose best years came in a previous decade.

We all know that leadership doesn’t get the runner in from third with one out in the late innings of a tie game, but that doesn’t matter in spring training.

In spring training, it’s all good until somebody proves it isn’t. Every young outfielder has a little pop in his bat, every young pitcher has a live arm, every old guy has a newfound bounce in his step.

We didn’t know the young right-hander had that kind of fastball, the manager says. We’ve got so many good arms, these veterans better not get too comfortable out there.

(Football training camps, on the other hand, are filled with negativity, coaches complaining or fretting over the offensive line or the backup punter or the fifth wideout. They develop Queeg-like obsessions and facial tics as they hold their playsheets over their heads to shield themselves from the sun. And not only that, but who’s going to be the holder now that trusty old Bobby -- you know, he never got the credit he deserved – left for Cleveland?)

Spring training is David Wells, drinking only water.

It’s Sammy Sosa, holding his annual smile-and-say-nothing press conference upon (late) arrival.

It’s Giambi himself, swearing off junk food and bringing the A’s former strength coach with him to the Yankees.

It’s Rickey Henderson, giving Rickey one more chance.

It’s 42-year-old Mike Morgan ("MoMan" to his teammates) standing in the Diamondbacks’ locker room calling himself "White Satchel" and saying the movement on his pitches will allow him to pitch till he’s 50.

Was he serious? It’s spring training, so you know he was.

This Week’s List:

Now in the works: "You Couldn’t Have Done It Without Me," the heartwarming story of young figure skater Sarah Hughes, starring Brian Dennehy as Robin Wagner.

Proof the terrorists didn’t win: On Thursday, the San Francisco Chronicle led the entire newspaper with an above-the-flag story on John Madden joining Monday Night Football.

Who would have thought the good folks at Conference ATM would have to answer to such irrelevant charges?: Louisville, Cincinnati and Memphis are among the schools with a zero-percent graduation rate of African-American basketball players, as reported by Outside the Lines.

To recap today’s top story: 421 NFL players were cut today for salary-cap reasons, but 373 of them may return to their teams if they agree to restructure their contracts.

It’s been asked before and it deserves to be asked again: Is there a worse story than an offseason NFL story?

He just needs a hug, okay? And there’s nothing wrong with that: Theo Fleury is feeling a little sorry for himself.

Just for the heck of it: Carmen Fanzone.

On the topic of Nolan Richardson: Without making any judgment whatsoever, doesn’t the idea of being "hounded by the Arkansas media" sound a little like a Jon Stewart joke?

It’s either Sheffield vs. Shawn Green or Reese vs. Griffey or Young vs. Griffey or Oester vs. Griffey: Which brings up another rite of spring training -- revisionism.

Over the next two weeks, just remember: Deep down, we’re all on the bubble.

Things you learn when plagiarism enters the picture: Doris Kearns Goodwin is on the board of directors for Northwest Airlines.

And the only question on the minds of Boston fans was, "What took these new guys so damn long?": Roughly 24 hours after taking over the Red Sox, the new ownership group fired GM Dan Duquette.

In the annals of dumb injuries, we have a new contender: Royals outfielder Mark Quinn is expected to start the season on the disabled list after cracking a rib while "playfully kung fu fighting with his brother."

And next week on "Pop Culture Run Amok," John Wayne Bobbitt and Robert Blake will compete in a Match Game ’76-style battle of wits: Tonya Harding is going to fight Amy Fisher, on March 13.

And, yes, to answer your next question: It’ll be on Fox.

To be proper, shouldn’t it be "Coach Knight"?: Bob Knight’s autobiography is titled "Knight: My Story."

Those of us who have followed the situation know for a fact that it’s a special species of clown at work: Wally Szczerbiak, on new teammate Marc Jackson, says, "He’s not built for a bunch of clowns like they’ve got out at Golden State."

If you’re looking at the same stats I am -- night after night -- then we’re thinking along the same lines: Free Andre Miller!

And finally, Annals of Rebellion, Part I: A headline in my local newspaper this week said: I hardly ever follow a recipe exactly.

Tim Keown is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at tim.keown@espnmag.com.