St. Louis Cardinals Baseball Is Almost Back

Oct 30, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher C. Martinez (62) throws against the Boston Red Sox during the sixth inning of game six of the MLB baseball World Series at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Tomorrow is one of my favorite days of the entire year because it’s the first chance to watch the St. Louis Cardinals take the field in a competitive environment. We’ve pondered rotation questions, second base and center field battles, and so on and so forth, but tomorrow all the questions truly begin to be answered.

Knowing full well that these games don’t count in a standings sense, here are three things that I can’t wait to see tomorrow.

1. The Return of the Greatest Game on the Planet – Baseball has always been, and will always be, my number one sports related passion. While most of the country has become obsessed with football, I’m happy to say that my allegiance to America’s oldest past time has never wavered. The marathon of a season is about to begin, and I couldn’t be happier to see its arrival.

2. Carlos Martinez Get a Start – It’s most likely going to be a while before we see Martinez start a regular season game because he’s needed for the 8th inning role right now, but I’m really looking forward to seeing him throw the first 2 or 3 innings in tomorrow’s game. You should never read too much in to a spring start because most of these guys are working on specific things such as hitting location or even just getting a feel for a certain pitch in a game situation. That said, it doesn’t mean I won’t savor watching one of baseball’s most electric arms toe the rubber in the first official game of spring.

3. Jhonny Peralta‘s overall game – When we last saw Peralta he was wearing Detroit Tigers colors and raking against the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS. Here’s hoping he is one of the many regulars that are supposed to see time tomorrow, and that he gets a chance to show what he’s got on the defensive side of the ball. It’s been acknowledged that the Cardinals are trading defense to get some more pop into the lineup, but just how much defense are they giving up? That’s the question that I want to see answered this spring starting with tomorrow’s game.

What are you most looking forward to tomorrow, Cardinals fans? Feel free to share in the comments section below! 

You can follow Ryan on Twitter @RPKraemer.