I'll Take The Rain

The rain came down...

And, boy, did it. Not only that, but it continues to do so for the third consecutive day with no letup in sight. I find myself taking solace in the fact that I can take a nap anytime I want to today... and that Opening Day is two weeks away.

That, combined with Devin's recent entry, has me feeling wistful and nostalgic. So I allowed my mind to wander back to my favorite Home Opener memory. It wasn't long ago. 2004, to be exact.

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The Ballpark in Arlington (aka The Temple to those in the know) was packed. Standing room only. People greedily scooped up obstructed view seats. It was odd behavior considering the recent seasons when the team was carried to last place finishes on the shoulders of the game's best player.

But 2004 was different. It had a different feel to it. An indescribable vibe that began in Spring Training thanks to the selfless act of a true team player. When Michael Young walked into Buck Showalter's office and announced that he wanted to play shortstop to accomodate new teammate Alfonso Soriano, the tone was set. A-Rod's "kids" became a team. And the fans could feel it.

Even the most optimistic among us found it difficult to imagine this group of young players and no-name pitchers (for the most part) winning 89 games, let alone being in the hunt for the division title into the final week of the season. But leading up to the opener, I could not recall being as excited about watching young players bust their butts since 1986 - Bobby Valentine's first full season as Rangers manager.

And, on a totally personal level, I had another reason to be excited about the 2004 season. Devin had recently recruited me to be a writing contributor on the fledgling DallasBaseballHome.com website. I still consider that to be my first big "break" even if it has yet to manifest itself fully. So I'm sure that contributed to my excitement, but what about the other 50,369 people who were there? They didn't even know I existed. But they knew about the Rangers.

All those things Devin recently described... the sights, the smells, the sounds... were amplified on that April day.

The Anaheim Angels jumped out to an early 3-0 lead thanks to two uncharacteristic errors by Young, playing his first home game as A-Rod's replacement. Soon, however, the kids from Texas fought back. Laynce Nix homered. Gerald Laird and Young doubled. Hank Blalock, three months before he made himself a household name by homering off the untouchable Eric Gagne in the 2004 All Star Game, singled in the go-ahead run.

More scoring ensued, highlighted by dingers from Blalock and the lovable Kevin Mench. By the time the blue-skied afternoon was over, Texas had beaten division favorite Anaheim by a score of 12-4.

Hell, Soriano even made a beautiful diving stop on that day to turn a hit into an out.

Fans went home happy, pleased with these kids. Our team, our kids. We had no idea about the ride this group of tyros was about to treat us to. But on that day, on that absolutely gorgeous, built-for-baseball day, there were things to feel good about. Real good.

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Guess what? I have that same feeling about 2006... and these might be the longest two weeks of my life because my skin is itching, my heart is racing, and I see line drives when I drift off to sleep at night. I'm ready. And I think the Rangers are, too.

Time to start up that R.E.M. song again.

I knew you when
I loved you then
The summer’s young and helpless.

You laid me bare
You marked me there
The promises we made

- R.E.M., 'I'll Take the Rain'