Play ball!

There are few things in life better than the lead-up to Opening Day of the baseball season. Every year fans are overwhelmed with a sense of optimism about the prospects for the local nine. This year was no exception. 

My daughter and I thought the past week would never end as we waited for the Astros' season opener on Monday night against the (evil incarnate) Chicago Cubs. We walked hand-in-hand up the street to the ballpark and sat outside in the afternoon sun crushing a bag of peanuts before heading into the 'yard. 

We ate our hotdogs and listened to Lyle Lovett sing the National Anthem before the Astros took the field for the long-awaited first pitch of the 2009 campaign.

The optimism lasted until Alfonso Soriano crushed Roy Oswalt's second pitch over the left-center field fence. Only 161 games to go...