Baseball takes backseat to new baby

Husband-and-wife journalists Bob Miller and Callie Clark Miller use this space to offer their views on everyday issues.

HE SAID: I've been so busy lately, I haven't been able to keep up much with my St. Louis Cardinals.

Usually by now, I know the projected starting rotation and lineup and even how some of the young prospects are looking. But not this year. I am currently preoccupied with many things, not the least of which is finishing an upstairs remodeling project in preparation of Dawson's arrival. My next little slugger is due April 21, though the doctor has put Callie, my cute and talented wife, on bed rest. At the last doctor's appointment, the good doctor said Dawson (not named after former Cubs great Andre Dawson) had dropped some more, though things were still looking OK otherwise.

With everything going on, I know very little about what my Cardinals are up to, other than that Scott Rolen was traded for Troy Glaus, who was reportedly linked to steroids in the past. I know that our two aces, Chris Carpenter and Mark Mulder, won't be back until they finish rehabbing injuries. I know the great Albert Pujols will try to play through a bothersome elbow problem and may need surgery before the end of the year. And I know we've got a bunch of no-names filling in major roles in the rotation and starting lineup.

To say the least, professional baseball is not a high priority for me this year. But I've never been looking forward to a baseball season quite as much as this one. My 10-year-old son had a fantastic little league season last year. He made the all-star team, played in the state tournament, had a blast. I've never cheered for any Cardinal as hard as I screamed for my first little slugger when he ripped that extra-innings triple in the gap for the game-winning hit in a tournament game. I was shocked by my own enthusiasm. And you should have seen some of the catches my boy made out there in center field. The kid's got some wheels.

I'm sure my perspective will change once the Major League Baseball season starts, but right now I could care less what the Cardinals do this season.

I'm all about the smaller Boys of Summer.

SHE SAID: I can't believe I'm saying this. Maybe it's the pregnancy hormones. Maybe it's longing for the company of others after two weeks of solitary confinement. But I am actually excited for youth league ball to start this year.

Something changed during last year's ball season. For five years, we've watched young boys of varying skill levels throw dirt in the infield, pick grass in the outfield, pick their noses in the dugout and occasionally focus on baseball. Last year, it was a different ballgame. The boys played ball. Seeing that transition -- the first grasps of strategy, the on-target pitches and some big hits to the outfield -- was amazing.

So amazing I forgot that I don't love baseball or hours spent under the boiling sun. Dawson, whether he knows it or not, is ready for his big brother's baseball season, too. We've got a plethora of Cardinals' gear, plus some cute baseball onesies and ball caps ready to go (of course, I've also bought him his first camo gear for deer season next fall).

As for the Cardinals, my original due date fell right around the opening of the MLB season. During our tour of the hospital, the guide and Bob joked about how there are TVs in the room available for watching baseball during labor.

If someone in my delivery room shouts, "And he's out!" they better not be referring to the runner on second.

Southeast Missourian special publications managing editor Callie Clark Miller is in the home stretch of her first pregnancy. Bob Miller is Southeast Missourian managing editor and is desperately trying to finish putting up walls before his wife puts out a baby. Reach them at cmiller@semissourian.com and bmiller@semissourian.com.