Opening Night!

The countdown has ended and baseball is finally here, stateside I should say, after last week's uneventful Opening Series in Japan.  The Marlins open their new ballpark tonight vs. the Cardinals as the lone game on the schedule tonight on ESPN for all to see.  I'm looking forward to visiting Marlins Park in just 9 short days as the Marlins will hit the road after tonight's game and then return to welcome my beloved Astros for the first weekend series in their ballpark on 4/13-15.  I'm excited to get back on the road to visiting ballparks after missing out last year on my annual summer baseball trip(s).  (Settling into a new job with limited vacation time was my excuse, but I hope to make up for it this summer! And besides, there wasn't a new ballpark to visit last year.) 

My feat of visiting all MLB ballparks pales in comparison to what fellow ballpark chaser Chuch Booth is attmpting to do this year.  Already the world record holder of attending a ballgame in all 30 ballparks in 24 days, Chuck will be attempting to visit all 30 in 20 days this year.  His quest gets underway this week and you can follow his journey at The Fastest 30 ballgames  His schedule includes doubleheaders the first 5 days of trip, but as you can see from his schedule he has built in some contingencies if weather or travel delays bog him down.  Good luck Chuck, I'll be rooting you on!

Lastly, it's time to go on record with some predictions for the season.  My only hope for the Astros is improvement on last year with the promise of development for some of these youngsters as they gear up for the move to the AL West next year.  A good return of prospects for Wandy Rodriguez, and hopefully a taker for Carlos Lee, at the trade deadline would be nice too.  In looking at the expert predictions on ESPN.com, the Angels are the overwhelming favorite to win the WS with 18 (37%) of their 49 analysts picking them, followed by 7 for the Rangers and Rays, and 6 for the Tigers.  I like the Angels, Tigers, Rays to win their division with the Yankees and Rangers as WCs.  In the NL I like the Giants, Phillies, Brewers as divsion winners and Marlins and Nationals as the WCs.  And I'll go with the Phillies over the Angels in the WS.  Now, let's Play Ball!