It's good to be back

These might possibly be the greatest words I've ever typed since I started this blog:

Baseball is back!


There was a spring training game yesterday (Mariners vs. A's), but it wasn't televised, at least in my area.

MLB Network televised it's first spring training game this afternoon. Yankees vs. Phillies. I don't really have much attachment to either team, but I was so happy to finally watch a game of baseball! (The Phillies won 8-5, if anyone cares.)

Baseball got me through some particularly rough spring and summer months last year. One of the few pleasures I got during that time was watching baseball games each day.

I'm happy to say that things are going much, much better than they were at this time last year. The beginning of baseball season can only add to the happiness!

Not only is Opening Day right around the corner, but the bi-annual card show that I've mentioned before comes back on St. Patrick's Day this year. And the local flea market re-opens on April 1st. Needless to say, this is a great time of year.

So prepare for some baseball card goodness in the coming weeks!

I know I am.

The main thing I was looking for in this afternoon's game was to see if Scott Podsednik got the chance to play.

He's always been one of my favorite players. The home run he hit in Game 2 of the 2005 World Series was indeed a "Classic Walk-Off". I was literally jumping up and down in the living room after I saw the ball leave the park. It was just so shocking because he didn't hit a single homer during the regular season that year.

I'm a Cubs fan, but the White Sox are one of my favorite teams as well. (Is that blasphemy?)

Seeing the Sox win the World Series in '05 is still probably my single favorite baseball moment in my life.

Podsednik had a triumphant '09 season in which he hit .304 in his second stint for the Sox. He didn't do that bad in 2010, hitting .297 with 35 steals in a season split between the Royals and the Dodgers.

He's fallen on some rough times as of late, though. He had to settle for a minor league deal in 2011, signing with the Blue Jays. He suffered a foot injury in spring training and was released soon after. He didn't play a single game in the bigs last year.

Thankfully, the Phillies decided to take a chance on "Scotty Pods" this year, signing him to a minor-league deal. I really hope he can manage to find a spot on the Phils' roster at some point this year.

He hit a double in his first at-bat today.

It was the best moment of the afternoon.