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It's Opening Day!

Spring is officially here in the St. Louis area.

How do we know that?

Simple, it's Opening Day at Busch Stadium!

No, I didn't have tickets to the game, but I did listen to part of the pre-game ceremonies on the radio while I was driving home from Edwardsville and saw the raising of the 2006 World Championship flag.

To most of the country, the old Budweiser jingle "Here Comes the King," doesn't mean much, but it means a whole lot here in St. Louis -- especially this year. I have to say I was totally pumped up and humming along as Busch Stadium organist Ernie Hays repeatedly played the song while Cardinals broadcaster John Rooney and actor Billy-Bob Thornton introduced Cardinals from the past and present.

I have to wonder what the New York Mets were thinking during the ceremony. The Cardinals beat the Mets 4 games to 3 in a hard-fought National League Championship Series. Whatever it was, the Mets ended up beating the Cards 6-1 tonight.

But as a reminder of how magical the Cards' 2006 season was, I share with you Ernie Hays playing "Here Comes the King" during Game 5 of the 2006 World Series:

Labels: baseball, spring, St. Louis Cardinals

Roger 0 comments links to this post 9:37 PM   

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Signs of spring

Today, we in the St. Louis area are digging out from a winter storm that hit the region Tuesday. Down in the Belleville area, we got about 3 or 4 inches, while northern parts of the region got more. Jill Homer of the Up in Alaska blog just might enjoy cycling in our region today!

But there are signs that spring soon will be upon us! The World Champion St. Louis Cardinals begin spring training today with the pitchers and catchers reporting to the Cardinals' camp in Jupiter, Fla.

Can the Cardinals defend their title? The odds are against them, given the lack of back-to-back World Series winners in recent years. I still think the Cardinals are the favorites to win National League Central title. The starting lineup, if it stays reasonably healthy, is the strongest in the division, and I have faith in the ability of manager Tony La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan to build a respectable starting rotation. Many "experts" think this might be the Chicago Cubs' year to steal the division from the Cardinals, but I'm still making plans for my 100 Years of Cubs Futility party in 2008. (The Cubs' last World Series win came in 1908, in case you're wondering!) I just don't think the Cubs' moves were all that great, and I'm more concerned about the Milwaukee Brewers and the Houston Astros than the Cubbies.

To get much more expert analysis of the Cardinals than I'm able to offer, I encourage you to visit the Belleville News-Democrat and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The coming of spring training also is a reminder that cycling season will be upon us. I don't ride outside much in the winter because of residual effects of my childhood asthma, but I will be back outside when the temperature hits 50, give or take a few degrees. Early spring cycling in our region means plenty of headwinds because the wind blows freely over the dormant farm fields, but the upside of that is that the headwinds help build my legs for climbing later in the season.

Labels: baseball, cycling, spring

Roger 0 comments links to this post 12:15 PM