After months of waiting, it's finally Opening Day for Major League Baseball! Yeay! You'd think that I would be over-the-top happy - after all, I would much rather watch baseball on TV than the "Roseanne" revival or the current season of "American Idol." But admittedly, I'm just feeling "eh" about Opening Day, and here are the reasons why.
First of all, my Nationals aren't playing today because it's raining in Cincinnati. So their Opening Day will be tomorrow, and their Nationals Park Opening Day isn't until next week. I know - it can't always be 70 degrees and sunny without a cloud in the sky and Max Scherzer pitching at home with my husband and me sitting in the fifth row behind the Nationals' dugout, but the yucky March weather is giving me Seasonal Affective Disorder, it's cold in New York, it's raining in Detroit, and it's not fair that the Orioles get to open at home but the Nationals don't. Oh, and I just found out yesterday that MASN won't be carrying any Nationals or Orioles games on local CBS stations like they have in the past, so I won't be able to catch any games on TV when I'm at work (because I'm too cheap to have cable in my shop).
"But wait, Mudville Mom," you tell yourself. "Aren't you usually a 'glass half full' optimist?" Why yes I am, my friend; (thanks for noticing!) so here's what I'm actually looking forward to this season (and it's going to be a very good season, I might add). First of all, I'm looking forward to this year's All-Star Game being in my beloved Nationals Park. I'm not dwelling on the fact that I gave up the perfect opportunity to volunteer at this year's "midsummer classic" because of work obligations; instead I'm looking forward to all sorts of tourists contributing to the local economy (and some even coming as far north as Frederick and potentially visiting my shop), a historic Home Run Derby (can anyone hit the parking deck behind left field?), and people around the world finally paying attention to that National League team that is consistently in first place in the NL East but constantly takes a back seat to the Redskins and that fool who lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. So yeah - that will definitely be a fun few days in July.
Also worthy of noting this season is the duo of Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge playing together for the Yankees. Now, I don't mind rolling my eyes about those who predict that the Yankees and Nationals will be in the World Series (there are 162 games to play before the post-season, and a LOT can happen before then), but I have to admit that having Stanton and Judge on the same team (especially one where the media is so vocal and has opinions about everything!) is pretty cool. And staying in New York, I'm looking forward to Yoenis Céspedes having a good season for the Mets. I'm a sucker for a man with a nice smile, and anyone who lets a clubhouse attendant drive his Lamborghini to go run an errand is just a nice guy. Plus he has his annual "Céspedes Family BBQ" that has become a legendary tradition (feel free to google it); maybe I'll be invited someday.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention Puerto Ricans Francisco Lindor and Carlos Correa as two guys to watch this season. Lindor is just so freakin' charming and charismatic, and Correa - well, come on, he proposed to his girlfriend on national TV after winning the World Series last year - he's just super cool. When I grow up, I want to be just like him (though I can't help but wonder - if the Astros didn't win the World Series last year, would Correa have still proposed?).
And what's the position to pay attention to this year? Definitely third base (sorry, Manny Machado - you should have stayed there!). Anthony Rendón, Nolan Arenado, and Kris Bryant are badass (or is it "badasses?"), and if they can stay healthy, will be the game-makers who will (hopefully) take their teams to the post-season. Schmidt and Chipper would be very proud of these guys (and they probably are - I'm talking like they're dead!).
So those are some of the players I'm looking forward to seeing this season (as well as a possible visit to a Mets game in New York? This is the first my husband is hearing of this!). Notice I made no mention of Shohei Ohtani, Bryce Harper, or José Altuve - these are guys who don't need me to keep an eye on them because they're just awesome without me telling you they are. I also said nothing about Alex Rodriguez joining the ESPN Sunday night crew, because I want to end this post on a positive note. So try to catch a game or two this weekend - whether on your local station, MLB-TV, or ESPN (as a last resort) - and keep checking in with me regularly, because surely I'll have plenty to say throughout the season.
LET'S PLAY BALL! :-)
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