Play ball in memory of me

By sheer calendar coincidence, today, April 1, falls on Maundy Thursday plus Opening Day for Major League Baseball plus April Fools Day. There is no inherent importance here but this confluence of celebrations/events is given some extrinsic importance due to the human need to find connections.

I am just as intrigued by such coincidences as the next guy, I admit, but let's look at each of these briefly before we simply smile and enjoy the near-70 degree temps here on the Front Range that are promised.

I had to do some research to understand the meaning of the word "maundy" -- my memory from Catholic school was that we called today Holy Thursday. But I like what I found, which is that "maundy" comes from the Latin word for "command," and the command Jesus issues is a good one: Love one another as I have loved you. It's part of the last supper story but this command seems like a good one to apply to all our relationships, particularly in these challenging times.

The Rockies begin their long season this afternoon here at home for the first time in a decade. There could be snow on the ground but this year we are looking at sunny skies, temps near 70 (and maybe 80 on Sunday). They are letting about 21,000 attend in person and I plan to watch on TV.

Opening Day is symbolic of hope. All the teams start even, though logic tells us that most of them will not win a majority of their games and that baseball is the toughest sport. Batters who are successful 30 percent of the time become celebrities. Imagine boasting to your boss that you are successful 30 percent of the time as a cashier or bank teller or chef... And don't get me started on the success rates we expect from parachute packing (99 percent is unacceptable!).

Reality is likely to strike Rockies fans early this year, with future Hall of Famer Nolan Arenado now with St. Louis, with one starting pitcher our for at least a month with an injury, and with everyone predicting a 100-loss season. Oh, and their first four games are against the World Champion Dodgers. 

The Dodgers are heavy favorites to repeat as champions but predictions are wildly inaccurate about any ONE baseball game. After all, even the very best teams will lose 60-70 of their 162 contests.

So it won't be a shock if the Rockies win today. We could easily find ourselves at the top of the National League West, at least for a day. And THAT is why April Fools applies. This silly day reminds us that stories that seem too good to be true or that are too outrageous even for social media eventually give way to reality.

Still, as spring beckons we can all enjoy a day of reveling in a bit of hope.