by Julie DiCaro

After waking up to news of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that slammed into Japan’s east coast this morning, it’s been tough for those of us here at G9 Sports to concentrate on Spring Training, the NFL labor talks, or whether or not LeBron cried last night.

Instead, we’ve been thinking of all the major league baseball players who are probably frantically trying to locate friends and family today. Over at my site, A League of Her Own, we sent our best wishes to Cubs’ outfielder Kosuke Fukudome, whose family lives in Japan. Likewise, CeeAngi at Essence of Baseball was thinking about the Japanese players on the Boston Red Sox:

Also: Devastated to hear about the earthquake/tsunami in Japan this morning. My thoughts are with all of the families and people who have lost their lives and those that will be struggling for some time in the aftermath. As baseball fans, we realize that many of the skilled players in our league presently and in the past have strong roots in Japan. On behalf of Red Sox Nation, our thoughts are with our pitchers Daisuke Masuzaka and Hideki Okajima (and the reporters/interpreters who support them here)as they deal with the devastation in their native home. While they believe their immediate families have survived, they are still worried. Check out this piece by Peter Abraham and send the people of Japan your prayers/good vibes in their time of need.

There’s nothing like global disaster to make you forget corkscrew swings or breaking balls that don’t. We at G9 Sports are taking a moment this morning to send our thoughts and prayers out to the many Japanese athletes living and working in the United States, as well as all those in Hawaii and the West Coast. We’ll bring your more information on how the events in Japan are affecting your favorite teams as they are available.