Opening Day Jitters

Nothing much to say on opening day except....gulp! This is a nervous time for me. I have the same feeling I get when I sit in the waiting room of the dentist's office. I know everything will be okay, and it may hurt a little, but I still have to go through with the visit.

That's the same way I view the Yankee's regular season. It's a perfunctory exercise to get to the post season where they either achieve victory, or get knocked out early. Whether I'm at the dentist's office, or at home watching a ball game, one thing remains consistent. I still need some sort of sedative to get through a game.

There's so much emotional stock invested in rooting for my team that even a loss to Tampa Bay or a team like Royals gives me a headache. My theory during those "mini-crisis" moments when the Yankees drop one to a below .500 team is that if they can't handle the Kansas City Royals (or Tampa Bay) how can they take on the Red Sox?

At the time of this writing, it is 10:42 a.m. in New York and the Yankee's home opener begins at 1:05 PM with Carl Pavano taking the mound. Carl is probably on his knees in front of a toilet, up-chucking every meal he's eaten for the past month while praying to the God of Baseball that he doesn't screw up. I'm at my desk at work waiting to take an early lunch so I can listen to some of the game on the radio. I'm grateful that I am at work and not at home so that after my one hour respite from my job (while grinding my teeth and listening to the game) I can take peeks at the Yankee's progress on MLB.com on my desktop computer. I'm taking the "wake me up when it's over approach to this season.

Okay, I'm going overboard. I intend to watch as many games as I can, cheer when they win, get a bit down when they lose, and chew my finger nails bloody in the post season. Yes, they'll get there. But for now, it's a long wait in the waiting room.

A Gesture In Mourning: Honoring One Of Their Own

With all of the noise made at the start of Spring Training regarding the new hats Major League Baseball is making all of the teams wear, there is one uniform accessory which is getting little notice in the press. This is due in part because the regular season hasn't started yet. When it does, everyone will notice the black arm bands worn by all members of the New York Yankees in honor of the late Cory Lidle.

These arm bands, to be worn for the duration of the season are important because they illustrate the humanity that ultimately is the game. We all focus on the steroids, the payrolls, contracts, statistics, merchandising, records, rule changes, and assorted other subjects which smear the lens through which we view this beloved sport. At the end of the day, the men playing baseball are human beings. Cory Lidle died tragically, and he left behind a family. ESPN.com reports that negotiations are underway between the Yankees and Lidle's widow where she would throw the ceremonial first pitch on opening day. That’s a classy move on the Yankee's part. Lidle's number won't be retired, and he only played with the team for a few months, but his memory will be treated with respect and humanity by the team.

Baseball is a lot of things: a game, a business, a profession, and a part of history. When baseball loses one of it's own, gestures like the ones offered for Cory Lidle by the Yankees validates the goodness and innocence of this game which grows it's fan base from childhood, from when the first time a little kid puts on a hat and a glove and says "Play ball."