Winter in Nashville can be surprisingly miserable. The sun disappears for days at a time, leaving students in a frozen funk that can only be remedied by one thing: Spring break. Most of my fellow Commodores fled south to Mardi Gras for that blissful week, but I took a road less traveled by 21-year-old sorority girls.

While my friends spent the week feasting on beignets or lounging on the beach, I met my parents in Kissimmee, Fla., to spend the better part of four days watching baseball.

Major League Baseball spring training is an enigma to all but diehard fans. In the weeks leading up to my trip I was asked repeatedly, “But what do you do while you’re there?”

Apparently, telling people that I watch baseball wasn’t sufficient, as it was often followed by more questions: “I get that. But what do you do?”

What you do is simple. As explained in the 2005 film, Fever Pitch, you watch games, assess all the players, and make suggestions for the upcoming season’s roster. The guys in the front office just don’t listen to you.

While I have attended a limited number of spring camps in my lifetime, based on what I have seen, I can guess that the Houston Astros’ camp is truly one of a kind. Every year the same troupe of retired Floridians directs cars in the parking lot, with the same jovial man stationed at the front gate asking every woman with a purse why she didn’t bring him cookies.

Astros’ camp is likely the only place in the world where you can enjoy a leisurely afternoon in the sun, savoring the best chicken-on-a-stick you’ve ever encountered and drinking a Landshark, while listening to a soundtrack that includes everything from John Fogerty’s always appropriate “Centerfield” to Paris Hilton’s wannabe hit “Stars Are Blind.” In fact, I think it’s the only place I’ve ever heard “Stars Are Blind” played publicly.

The highlight of my four days came on an afternoon when the Yankees visited our humble Astros. In about the third inning, a vaguely familiar and thin blonde in sky-high heels came traipsing into the park. After my initial reaction of “Five inch heels to a Spring Training game? Really?” I realized that I was staring at former Charlie’s Angel Cameron Diaz herself, who happens to be dating a somewhat well-known Yankee player by the name of Alex Rodriguez.

After three innings of watching her beau, Cameron and her entourage began to make their exit towards the visitors’ clubhouse. While most people would have taken the tunnel out to the main concourse, Cameron and Co. walked straight down the right field side of the stadium, eliciting a scene of waves and fans playing paparazzi.

Everyone was so enthralled by Cameron that no one bothered to watch Matt Downs, an Astros 40-man hopeful, hit a ball hard down the right field line. When the dust cleared, Cameron was nowhere to be found and Downs stood on third, yet no one seemed to care how he had ended up there.

I know you’re dying to know: What’s my prediction for the 2011 Astros? Many more moments like that.

2011 will be a long year for the Astros, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The fact is, there will always be a Cameron Diaz in Major League Baseball. There will always be a flashier, more attention-grabbing team taking focus away from the action inside of our beloved Juice Box.

But, if you pay close enough attention, you’ll be lucky enough to see some great things from our hometown boys of summer. The Astros are young and hip and, most importantly, they love to play baseball. They have yet to be spoiled by fame and they understand how lucky they are to have a job that every little boy envies.

These Astros may not get within arm’s reach of .500, but they will work hard each and every day to prepare for the coming years.

If you’re willing to tune out the Cameron Diazes of the world and pay close enough attention, you might just catch a glimpse of something special.

 Sarah Byerley is a Houston native and major Astros fan.