Two down, three to go

Having grown up in North Carolina, I didn't get a chance to watch much Major League Baseball – either in person or on TV – since the Tar Heel state has never had a Major League team. The closest options were Atlanta or Baltimore until the Nationals moved to within about 4 hours of central NC only a few years ago.

But with ESPN, ESPN 2, the forthcoming ESPN 3, and other cable channels, us non-home-market fans have a much greater chance of watching games on TV.

That's why I relished Monday's opening day this year, when I could watch almost twelve straight hours of Major League Baseball action, thanks in part to a very flexible work schedule that allows me to do a lot of my work from home.

That same flexibility is allowing me to watch Major Leaguers on three different occasions, something a North Carolinian such as myself could only dream about growing up.

My first trip is in mid-June to Boston to see the Red Sox play the Dodgers, where I'll get to have that once-in-a-lifetime Fenway Park moment that's so engrained in baseball's lore. Sure, I don't care about the Red Sox or the Dodgers, two admittedly historic teams. But it's Fenway.

Then, in mid-July, I'll get to see the same Dodgers take on my favorite team, the Cardinals, in St. Louis. This trip is really more about family, since my mom's entire immediate family will be there, and it has become a pretty consistently annual trip. But that doesn't take away from the sheer joy of getting to watch the closest thing I've ever had to a hometown team.

Finally, in late August (if not sooner), I'm taking the shortest trip to Washington, D.C. to watch the Nationals take on my St. Louis Cardinals. It'll be my first trip to visit the Nats since they moved inside US borders in 2005, but it's nice to know that baseball is within striking distance of my childhood home, from where it has so long been absent.

Having grown up in North Carolina, I didn't get a chance to watch much Major League Baseball, but now that I can – thanks to improved TV coverage and more personal flexibility and mobility – I'm more excited about this young MLB season than ever.

Quote of the Week:

"You guys wait 'til [expletive] happens, then you can talk [expletive]. Two [expletive] games, and already you [expletives] are going crazy. What's up with that, man? [Expletive]. [Expletive] 160 games left. That's a [expletive]. One of you [expletives] got to go ahead and hit for me."

-David Ortiz

Yes, Papi, it's a long season.