Let us pray...

"Dear Lord...May our bats be swift, and may our balls be plentiful."—Jimmy Dugan, A League of Our Own

Well, in the case of the Kansas City Royals, the bats and balls were swift and plentiful today at their home opener, a 7-1 win over the Boston Red Sox.  I almost didn't recognize that team in the white uniforms today—they were fundamentally sound, they had clutch hitting, and had a starting pitcher that got into the 8th inning!  Meanwhile, Curt Schilling of the Red Sox didn't even make it into the 5th inning, and K.C. went deep into their bullpen.  Nice to see a packed house at Kauffman Stadium, and it appeared to be quite festive there.  The Royals should have REO Speedwagon sing the National Anthem more often, too...

Opening day is always special, and I'm happy to see baseball games that count again.  I enjoyed watching the Cardinals home opener on ESPN last night (although the result sucked).  John Miller and Joe Morgan are becoming a bit of an institution on Sunday nights, and I particuarly enjoy Miller's easy delivery style.  Speaking of play-by-play men, I want to acknowledge the passing of Minnesota Twins voice Herb Carneal, who died yesterday at age 83.  I never got to listen to him much, so I'm not terribly familiar with his work, but from everything I've ever heard, Carneal is the Jack Buck/Ernie Harwell/Vin Scully/Denny Matthews of the Upper Midwest, and they love him in the Twins Cities.  Very sad he passed away on the eve of the season, too. R.I.P. Herb...

On the positive side, I'm shooting for my second straight Fantasy Baseball title this year, as Holland's Wallbangers were the champs in '06.  This year's team is simply called The Who, as the Yahoo league I'm in has a Rock band theme—I'll be taking on the likes of Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Kiss, which was already taken.  And of course, the one standing rule for my fantasy teams still applies:  NO YANKEES ALLOWED!

As for the real players, I look forward to a good year from the Cubs, a better year from the Royals and Barry Bonds to suffer a career-ending suspension and/or injury while stuck on home run #754.

If I may paraphrase Mr. Cub himself, Ernie Banks: "Let's play 162!"