I considered doing a season preview for the 2009 Reds today, but I’ve given my pessimism about that club enough air time already. Sure enough, today’s game (which as we all know is the best barometer of how the season will go ;)) was everything that I expected. The Reds got solid pitching from both Harang and the pen, but still can’t hit or play defense. It’s going to be a long year, and there’s no point wasting any more breath on it.
Instead of going negative, I just want to comment on how much I love Opening Day. Living in Argentina, I miss out on most US holidays. We usually do a cook-out on 4th of July as well as nice Thanksgiving dinner. Argentine holidays are rarely a break either. I work with people who work long hours, so I usually have to meet them at their homes, and that means Argentine holidays are work days for me. So, each year, as a small compensation, my family treats Opening Day as a full-fledged holiday.
Today, my daughter stayed home from pre-school. I went and got meat cut special and made US style barbecue beef ribs. My wife made potato skins and baseball themed cup cakes. We invited some other yanquis over and ate good meat and watched the Reds, Indians, and Cardinals (via slingbox and DirecTV). I argued with my friend about how much further the ball will travel at 90 degrees than at 45 (about 20 feet on a long ball). I whined incessantly about how awful the Reds are and what a terrible announcing team Chris Welch and George Grande are. I exalted in another strong day from my fantasy team. I listened intently as a buddy told me he knows a guy who knows Terry Francona’s brother and that Francona is DEFINITELY retiring at the end of this season (and no, I’m not making that up just for JC’s benefit). The end result of my kids growing up thinking that Baseball Day is a real holiday? They learn to love the great game, even though they live in a place where no one plays it.
Happy Baseball Day, everyone!
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A nice moment for DJ White. Thanks for being one of the five best Hoosiers in my memory.
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