Surprise rainout

Today's rainout in Surprise, Arizona was a big disappointment. I was so looking forward to drinking a beer and sitting outside and listening to the radio. It is beautiful--sunny and 60s here in the State of Jefferson, although the forecast says it will drop below 20 ºF tonight. Hard to believe as I sit here in shorts and daub my nose with sunscreen. The potential Lincecum-Posey battery was whetting my starved baseball appetite. The gods--again--conspired against Buster. We'll see if Ol' Boch recovers and pencils in our Golden Boy next time out. Let's hope there's a lot more of Thomas Neal and Brandon Crawford and Matt Downs and Conor Gillaspie and John Bowker and Forgotten FreddieLew and the rest of the Young Turks in the coming days. I keep thinking we could have the best (and most expensive) bench in the NL with Molina and DeRosa and Huff and FSanchez. Be nice to find a spot on the pine for Rowand and Renteria as well! I can dream, can't I?

p.s. Emmanuel Burriss' second foot injury news was a real shame. I always thought he was a great story, even if it looks like he'll never be a major-league hitter.

--M.C.

Wishes for '010

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

I love this time of year, and specifically this day, for a couple of reasons (besides the obvious one). Although the calendar doesn't agree, Spring begins today. One look out my window confirms that; its a gorgeous day after a big storm. A day full of fresh life and promise. The other great thing about today is (again "official" sources will contest this, but I "know" it to be true) that Baseball starts! As I'm sure no one (except MOC) noticed, I took the off-season OFF. No posts; few comments. I take my breaks seriously. However, today is when I re-enter the fray. The day when "it" all starts, perhaps the big "it"...like in '02 with the almost big "it."

In honor of this occasion, I have bestowed upon myself THREE BIRTHDAY WISHES (baseball related):

1) As I am the resident Freak-aholic, my first wish is Tim related (big surprise). This wish is simple and probably unnecessary. I wish that nothing derail him from his continuing growth and domination of the league. How will that manifest itself? That's the beauty of Lincecum; you never quite know what he is capable of. Another Cy? Hell, that seems easy. What about an MVP? How about a new pitch? There's already talk about his curveball. In other words, I wish that Tim keep right on being Tim... and I get to watch.

2) My ever-loving wife always helps with my posts. At this point she said "You need some offense, I'm just sayin'." So true, so true. Therefore, my second wish is for every young guy on the team have a great offensive year. (Sorry all you savvy veterans, no birthday wish can help you, so I won't waste it on you. You are on your own.) It looks like Nate is getting his chance in right, which is exciting as all hell. Let's not stop there...how about Bowker taking over for an inevitably lame Huff at first after about two months? Or, if you prefer, you can substitute Lewis and DeRosa in the last sentence. And, of course, Mister Posey will displace Bengie well before the fun days of September.

Which brings me to #3. How about a little help out there? Maybe some of you slackers, notorious for no comments on the weekends, can do it for the birthday boy. Which brings me to the following question...

What do you wish for the 2010 S.F. Giants?