Unassisted Trripleplay: What I'm looking forward to in 2010

Inspired by Eric Sorenson's post the other day, here is my own list of what I'm looking forward to in 2010 (alas, not a list of 50 -- 9 is the perfect baseball number):

1. That moment in every ballgame when I look out onto the brightly-lit night field, or the sunshine drenched day field, and am once again carried away with the incredible joy of being at a baseball game.
   
   
2. The mental contortions required to pat myself on the back for being such an eternally faithful fan to sit at Simmons Field through rain, sleet, snow and bitterly cold winds - all in the same 9 innings.
   
   
3. Renewing the acquaintance of fellow fans and players' families, and getting to know the new people in the stands.
   
   
4. Reading the stories and features of whatever student journalist the Columbia Missourian assigns the MU Baseball beat to this year -- and hoping they live up to the job done by the last couple of writers aspiring to be the next Peter Gammons.
   
   
5. Watching the development of what looks to be the most promising collection of freshmen at Mizzou in a while. I'm counting on their quality surpassing their quantity.
   
   
6. Aaron Senne at first base is a move I expect to be highly successful. I expect it will even have a positive impact on his offensive production.
   
   
7. Unlike many of my fellow fans (and possibly the coaching staff), I look forward to the possibility of seeing Johnny Wholestaff on the mound again -- hopefully not anywhere near as often as he was used in 2009, but I think it's a great strategy for weeks when the number of games stretches the pitching staff.
   
   
8. I'm waiting for the day when new coaching assistant Travis Wendte digs into his closet and resurrects that dusty old Legion of Doom flag for the bullpen.
   
   
9. And I'm looking forward, believe it or not, to a season where the Tigers are almost universally predicted to be in the lower tier of the Big 12, to not be ranked nationally, to not even make it to the NCAA Regionals. It's going to be fun watching this team "over-achieve" and prove everyone wrong.