Opening Day At Wrigley

We received a call from a friend of ours about an hour ago, asking us to break into their email and look up some Evite information. Why? Because they were heading to a Wrigley Field Opening Day part just down the street from the old yard, and they'd lost the directions. Our friend is a Cub fan. We directed them to Sheboygan.

But only in Wrigleyville do they have an opening day party at 1 p.m. on a freezing Friday. You know life is looking up when they're playing baseball at Wrigley Field again, and in about a half hour, the new, "improved" Wrigley Field is ready to host the Cubs' home opener, against our beloved St. Louis Cardinals. As long as it doesn't rain.

We're still uncomfortable with either team hosting the other as a home opener — it's like Ohio State kicking off the college football season by hosting Michigan — but it's the first official sign that, yes, baseball is here, and it's taking over our lives for the next six months. You can get a full preview of the series right here; we're crossing our fingers than Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa throw out the first pitch together. In case you were wondering, by the way, Cubs fans are already in midseason form. Via Viva El Birdos, here's a comment from a fan on Bleed Cubbie Blue:

Just think, in less than 60 hours the Cubs will likely be 4 1/2 games behind the Cardinals and in last place in the NL Central. What a mess this team is.

Play ball!

Bleacher Reconstruction Update [Bleed Cubbie Blue] Cubs Preview [Cardnilly]