51ºÚÁÏ

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol was understandably satisfied after the rain-delayed opening-day at Busch Stadium.

He wants his team playing with an edge during this rebuild, er, reset, er, transition year — and the Cardinals did just that during their 5-3 victory.

Marmol is managing with urgency and the Cardinals began their season playing with urgency.

They believed they had a tell on Twins pitcher Pablo Lopez, so Lars Nootbaar took off and forced a balk. Jordan Walker took off and forced Lopez’s throwing error.

Expect to see the Cardinals in motion this season. Just wait until Victor Scott II and Masyn Winn get on base.

Here were some other moments that caught the eye:

The Clydesdales took their lap during the rain delay — well ahead of the opening ceremonies — and then hit the bricks ahead of happy hour.

Fans had a mixed response when the payroll-slashing DeWitts took the field for the ceremonies.

Fans had a very mixed response for president of baseball operations John Mozeliak during his final opening day on the job. His tribute video didn’t make everybody feel warm and fuzzy on a cool and wet afternoon. Footage of long-ago champagne celebrations fell a bit flat, given ownership’s decision to take a competitive step back this season.

But the baseball hit the mark Lars Nootbaar set the offensive tone from the leadoff spot while looking ready to take his career to the next level.

Walker looked comfortable running down a fly ball hit into the right-center gap.

Scott looked fantastic chasing down a potential game-breaking missile into that same right-center field gap.

Brendan Donovan turned a diving stop into a slick double play that demonstrated the value of having a “plus� fielder at second base. Meanwhile surplus slugger Nolan Gorman sat out the game on the bench.

Catcher Ivan Herrera got the start because of his bat and, sure enough, he delivered an RBI single.

Then there was Nolan Arenado’s clinching homer and his playful response to fans during his curtail call. He looked great at the plate. He was having fun on the field, unconcerned about what might come next during this season of trade speculation.

All in all this was an excellent start for a franchise that caused much hang-wringing during the offseason.

Here is what folks are writing about Our National Pastime:

Chad Jennings, The Athletic: “There was a late-inning rally in San Diego, a rain delay in 51ºÚÁÏ, and a seven-home-run slugfest in Toronto. A $765-million free agent singled in his first at-bat in New York, and a shortstop did some pitching in Chicago.

In Los Angeles, one World Series hero threw a ceremonial first pitch to another. Kirk Gibson to Freddie Freeman. The legend of 1988 to the marvel of 2024. Ice Cube drove the World Series trophy onto the field at Dodger Stadium, and Shohei Ohtani homered in his fourth at-bat. The Dodgers held on to win by a run.

That’s what the baseball world had been waiting to see. Five months after the World Series, there were baseball games — meaningful, regular season games — being played from coast to coast.

Pittsburgh Pirates phenom Paul Skenes was good, but he wasn’t the best young pitcher of the day. Free agent prize Juan Soto got a hit in his first at-bat with the New York Mets, but he struck out in the ninth and the Mets lost by two. The Chicago White Sox, coming off the worst season in modern baseball history, won in a blowout to finish the day tied for first place. For that moment, they were as good as anyone, and Miguel Vargas was a .500 hitter.

It was Game 1 of 162. A drop in the bucket, but it quenches a winter’s thirst.�

Bob Nightengale, USA Today: “It wasn’t a domestic season-opener Thursday at Dodger Stadium, it was a Hollywood premiere. The Los Angeles Dodgers’ home opener against the Detroit Tigers, culminating with a 5-4 victory, belonged on the big screen, not on a grass field in front of a frenzied sold-out crowd of 53,595.

There was Shohei Ohtani homering for the second time this season, with Hollywood stars Tom Hanks, Mary Hart and Rob Lowe celebrating as if they just won an Oscar. There was Teoscar Hernandez with the biggest hit of the game, a go-ahead 3-run homer, making manager Dave Roberts look like a genius for putting him third in the batting order.

There were the Dodgers winning once again, baseball’s only 3-0 team, with visions of winning more regular-season games than any team in history.�

Jake Mintz, Yahoo! Sports: “The Cubs are one of only three teams to not have a single player with an fWAR above 5.0 since 2021 (the lowly White Sox and injury-plagued Twins are the others). That stat perfectly encapsulates the problem on the North Side — and why the Cubs pushed the chips in to acquire (Kyle) Tucker, who will be a free agent at season’s end.

He’s not the most scintillating personality, but Tucker rakes like a true superstar. His .888 OPS since 2021 is 10th in baseball behind a cavalcade of MVP candidates such as Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani and Betts. Another superb campaign should put Tucker, still only 28 years old, on the precipice of a landmark contract that should eclipse the $300 million mark. What that means for the Cubs is anyone’s guess.�

Gabe Lacques, USA Today: “We’ll allow a moment to dream on that surprise season coming out of nowhere, even as this year’s predictions look like so much chalk. Maybe it’ll come in Pittsburgh, where a handful of developing arms might join forces behind the generational Paul Skenes and make the Pirates a threat.

Perhaps it will be in San Francisco, where half-measures at contending look an awful lot like fourth place but the vibes are stronger. Or maybe those wayward Rays, or the ‘resetting’ Cardinals, an ironic twist given their stated desire to burn the place down, yet arrive at the starting line with a representative team.

No, conditions are primed for a just-good-enough team to max out all its projections, mess around and land on 88 wins, somehow.�

MEGAPHONE“When he hit it, I think everyone was just going crazy because that’s just such an amazing feat, It was just so cool to see.�

Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman, after Tyler O’Neill homered on opening day for the sixth straight year.