Miss me?

Since last I wrote, there have been some happenings in my life worth mention:

• Falling in love.
• Biggest pay raise of my professional career.
• Recording my first original solo track.
• Watching my heart stand in for a yo-yo.
• Pay cut twice the size of the raise I was promised [insurance company, if you didn't remember (R.I.P.F.J.M)].
• Not making the top 12, or even 13, of American Idol.

God damn you, Anoop!!

I'd be negligent not to mention the baseball season started two weeks ago, and because of the aforementioned issues, I haven't chimed in on anything from our first-place (10-5) club's strong offense to its anxiety-inducing pitching staff.

A few quick thoughts, and I'll let you get back to whatever it is you found to fill the hole I left in your hearts. I think:

• The Cubs aren't as good as they're paying for, and besides them, no one else in this division is as good as we are, even with our pitching in distress. The Small Bears are still the favorites but aren't going to run away with this.
• We're not as good as we've been so far. Barden and Thurston aren't going combine to hit .450 all year, and while Yadi's long-promised offense may have officially arrived last year, he's not going to lead the league at his position the rest of the way. The offense we can reasonably expect to be there should be plenty to compete.
• Every game this year has been entertaining. Maybe, it's the kids. Maybe, it's the journeymen getting another chance at the dream. Maybe, it's the fact that Carp got everyone so fired up about our chances. But no matter the reason, they compete, and they don't look like a team that will put up with anything less than 100% effort every game.

These things get me excited.

This weekend, I make my first visit to Busch Stadium in almost two years. The greatest rivalry in the game, and the forecast is for sun and 80-plus degrees.

Well, I'm back so maybe you already put the pieces together, but the string finally snapped on that yo-yo.

Probably be seeing a little more of you...

Go 'Birds!

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