Opening Day

Today is the first day of the 2008 Major League Baseball season for most fans, including those of the St. Louis Cardinals and Toronto Blue Jays. Hope springs eternal, although for some teams, like the Redbirds, it’s more on a prayer than a hope. If only I were religious.

I was watching the ESPN broadcast of the Nationals vs. Braves game, the inaugural match for the Nats’ spanking new stadium. George W. Bush threw out the ceremonial first pitch, and then spent a few innings on air with Jon Miller and Joe Morgan.

I actually like Bush when he’s not talking politics, and I understand why he was elected. He’s funny and charming. I wonder if he even enjoys being President. He seems like he’d much rather be watching baseball.

W. remarked how baseball is a game that everyone can play. You can be any almost any height or weight and still do well at it, unlike basketball, hockey, football and football, where shrimpy, thin guys are definitely rarities.

And so it goes with piping. You have your big J.B. Robertsons and huge Ronnie Lawries, and you have your wee Donald MacLeods and diminutive Gordon Walkers. There are skinny pipers and fat pipers. There are women competing directly against men. Piping takes and welcomes all kinds, and, like baseball, it often comes down to finesse and intelligence to succeed.

Oh, and, by the way: Mariners-Blue Jays and Dodgers-Mets in the playoffs. And the Mets lose to the Jays in the Fall Classic in seven.