Oh Sweet April!

T.S. Eliot said April is the cruellest month. Eliot must not have been a compulsive baseball fan. For us, there is no greater joy than opening day and the promise of a new season. Today, every team is on an equal level. Even the fans in Tampa Bay can feel some optimism, however short that may last. Of course, if you're a White Sox fan, this Spring is particularly sweet. For Sox fans Spring was the time to rid yourself of the bitter aftertaste of another disappointing year. Now, coming off a unbelievable 2005 season and a stellar post-season, we may actually have a 2006 team that is improved. There is only one word for this feeling and that is swagger, baby.

Jeff Roberson/AP

I'm sure things will be a little different at Comiskey Park this year (it's still Comiskey to me, not U.S. Cellular, or the Cell). Ticket sales are going through the roof, and the Sox are much more visible in the media than ever before. At Spring Training, the players were like rock stars and we were the groupies, straining for a close-up glimpse, or holding a ball and a Sharpie through the fence for an autograph. The thought of more post-season play is not just springtime delirium, it's actually realistic. I know this feeling won't last; for now, I'm just trying to preserve it in mind.

In Tucson, my son about to get our World Series ball signed by Juan Uribe, the player who took control in the bottom of the 9th, WS Game 4.