the best things about heading home for a three-day weekend:

- jannero pargo's 14-point outburst in the fourth quarter

- hot sweaty beery dance parties at the gurs pad

- the boy showing up for said party

- watching the cats with gurs and dave and the dude who sits in front of dave (the watching, not the result...ugh)

- a fine meal with slow service at nevin's, particularly my shrimp wrap

- the eyetoy, which qualifies as fairly cool

- eating tapas with my parents and the boy and gurs

- changing my parents' opinions on mr. neil

- eight-item grocery lists becoming four full paper grocery bags on sunday morning


the worst thing about heading home for a three-day weekend:

the return trip. sigh.

regarding the cubs: i really can't believe that hairston and two prospect-types were all the cubs could get for a first-ballot hall of famer. but that's indicative of how far he's fallen (and, in light of 'tougher' steroid restictions, how much farther he could fall). i don't know how disruptive sammy really was (and he certainly was disruptive) for team chemistry, but ... well, i don't know. frustrating for it to end this way.

here are the changes from last year's opening day lineup:
2B: grudzielanek/walker to walker/hairston (even)
SS: gonzalez to nomar (better)
LF: alou to hairston/dubois (far worse)
RF: sosa to hollandsworth/dubois (worse)

no major changes to the bullpen.

i guess, a starting pitching spot goes from clement to tbd (leicester? guzman? new guy crouthers?), which is a solid step down.

pitchers and catchers report in two weeks.