Saving for the World Series

I have been to many Opening Days in my life, including the 1982 opener in Baltimore that saw Cal Ripken hit his first major league homer, the 2008 opener at Nationals Park, and the 2012 opener at Wrigley Field on the Northside of Chicago.

This year, despite being on Spring Break, I am foregoing Opening Day at Nats Park. The weather is absolutely perfect, but I am at home on the couch. The Nats will start Stephen Strasburg, but I will not budge. No, I have the bigger picture in mind as the 2013 campaign begins.

The Nats are a playoff caliber team and appear likely to remain that way for a few years to come. Lots of things can happen to dampen this sentiment, and baseball famously humbles the hubristic, but I am convinced the Nats are going to advance int the playoffs and into the Fall Classic.

And those tickets are going to be costly! In order not to break the bank, I will need to stay home more often in April and May, listen to more games on the radio throughout the season, and sit up in the cheap seats whenever tempted to see a live game.

I am willing to take these steps to experience more October baseball. I attended Game 5 last season and despite the excruciating loss it was one of the best baseball experiences I've ever had.

Davey Johnson has set the lofty expectation for the Nats in his managerial swan song: its "World Series or Bust". I agree, but I'm not going to going to attend World Series games AND go bust!