Dan O'Neill

Major League Baseball picked up where it left off on Monday night, raising the 2007 curtain where 2006 faded to black, bathing in the invigorating waters of the red sea at Busch Stadium.

Opening Day is something special in every baseball city, but in St. Louis it has a Norman Rockwell quality to it, a civic pride and wholesome flavor unmatched in other cities.

Where else can you see 45,000 people stand and clap along to a beer marketing theme song? Where else can you see Clydesdales and Stan Musial get a standing ovation on the same night? Where else does Bob Gibson throw to Red Schoendienst, while Bruce Sutter throws to Whitey Herzog and Adam Wainright throws to Tony La Russa simultaneously?

Where else do ballplayers enter in red and white convertible Mustangs and, yes, everyone had a designated driver. Where else do fireworks explode, jets soar and baseballs blossom with such color and charisma?

“I thought it was to the point of overwhelming, really,” said Cardinals manager La Russa. “Everything …to have Stan here, who doesn’t come around as much … the day was beautiful … fans were receptive. It was spectacular.”

The Cardinals opened their schedule against the very team they dispatched in seven NLCS games last October — the New York Mets. Before the first pitch, the home team raised its 10^th world championship banner, a number with which only the New York Yankees can relate.  No NL team has as many.

And among the flags flapping in center field, none waved more unexpectedly than the 2006 World Championship edition. The Cardinals lulled the major leagues to sleep with just 83 wins last season, setting a postseason ambush. It has been six years since an MLB team has repeated a World Series win — as did the 1999-2000 Yankees. It has been 30 years since a NL team turned the trick — as did the 1975-76 Cincinnati Reds.

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It also has been longer than anyone might be able to remember since a belt holder entered the ring with more to prove. One has to go back to 1918 to find a major league champeen with fewer regular-season notches. The Boston Red Sox finished 75-51 that season, before riding Babe Ruth to a World Series win over the Chicago Cubs.

The faithful in St. Louis don't need an explanation, after all, seeing was believing. But you will find observers in other MLB locales that need convincing. They are still scratching their heads, still thinking the Legends of last Fall were a freak of nature.

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This time around, the Cardinals may have to be super-freaky. Chris Carpenter, 2005 Cy Young winner, is the only starter who also came north with the team last spring. Two other pieces of the rotation, Adam Wainright and Braden Looper, were prominent pieces of the bullpen last year. Another, Kip Wells, is a Pittsburgh Pirates castoff, not the kind of papers you look for in a winning breed.

The “haters” are still having a field day.

But, the Cardinals had the lowest starting staff earned-run average (1.88) in the majors during spring training. Their improvised starting staff was impeccable, which has the red horde in high spirits.

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