OPENING DAY?!

Warning Track Power is currently in New Orleans building houses; I've been down here for about a week and I'll be here for another two. I've been somewhat out of the loop and it's easy to lose track of time down here.

Three days passed without me checking realclearpolitics.com for the latest on the Obama/Hillary slugfest.

Until about 10 minutes ago I hadn't been on metsblog since last Tuesday.

Spring Training is long, too, though it doesn't feel quite as long as NFL training camp. Much like the hot stove season, you get sick of hearing the same things over and over again. It must get hard after a while to be a beat writer during Spring Training. If you're Marty Noble, by the end of March you're probably up late at night making tally marks on your arm to count down the days until Opening Day, all while being forced to write something along the lines of:

Carlos Beltran walked all the way around the Mets spring training complex today, shmoozing with some of the Mets minor league coaches, who apparently were happy to see the star center fielder.

Or,

John Maine said he's sick of Port St. Lucie today. Somebody help me.

Or,

David Wright ate ribs for dinner tonight.

There's been some news to keep up on, mostly perennial spring training stuff. Roster this, roster that...there's a competition for the fifth starter's spot every year it seems. We had a bunch of injuries, but it looks like we're going north sans only Orlando Hernandez, Ramon Castro, and Duaner Sanchez, who all have relatively minor injuries, or are almost fully recovered from a freak taxi cab accident, and should be in New York fairly soon.

Anyway, I've actually been on the road for the entirety of Spring Training this year. I'm doing some traveling and Spring Training is kind of an interesting gauge, I guess, for how long I've been away from home. I've covered the whole thing pretty loosely, and fairly or unfairly haven't made much time for the more frequent posts I try to write during the season. That's how I've covered most of the offseason; with so much of the same stuff over and over again, I've tried to give my perspective on the big events and write something random yet hopefully poignant every once in a while. January was a good chance for me to write about the incredible road to a Super Bowl championship traversed by my other favorite New York sports team, those football Giants.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that Opening Day has NEVER snuck up on me like this before. As excited as I am about this season, I honestly thought we had another week. But this is soooo much better. The Mets are already in Miami, and will take on the Marlins tomorrow at 4 before having one of those bizarre Tuesday off-days we get every beginning of the season and then really getting into the swing. I won't be able to live blog the game, but I'll see if I can get up with a fresh post either tomorrow night or Tuesday.

With the season starting, I'll be trying to get back to the 3 to 4 posts a week I wrote last summer, transitioning like every one else from offseason life to the rhythm of another baseball season. As Mets fans, we've got to be excited right now. One thing I did write about a couple times this spring was the confidence level in Spring camp, I get the sense that the Mets really want to do something special to usher out Shea and atone for the giant heap of (unprintable) dumped on the fan base at the end of 2007. I'm withholding judgment, trying to eliminate all expectations, and after last year's let down just generally looking to take it one day at a time. But I still feel good. I think that one way or another, this is going to be a fun season. It's amazing how the acquisition of one star pitcher can really lift everyone's spirits.

Look for Jose to bounce back this year from the roughest of ends to 2007. We hope.

So here we go. Isn't baseball season great? It's one way to tell that spring is here, even if the April weather in Flushing doesn't always cooperate. Baseball season also signals the coming of my birthday (April 13 in case ya'll are interested); this year I'll be 20. Isn't that cool?

Before I check out, here's the lineup for tomorrow:

Leading off and playing shortstop: Jose Reyes

Second, at second: Luis Castillo

Hitting third, playing third base: David Wright

Cleaning up, in centerfield: Carlos Beltran

At first, batting fifth: Carlos Delgado

In left field, hitting sixth: Angel "my name is contradictory" Pagan

Followed by, in right: Ryan "L Millz" Church

And batting eighth, behind the dish: Brian Schneider

Starting on the mound for the Mets is the man of the hour, Johan Santana.

Keep it real, stay fresh, and here's to the 2008 Mets. Happy New Year everyone!

(Photos courtesy about.com, lovefilm.com, cnn.net)