I made it to my first game at Busch on Saturday and I've got a few more pictures from a ten-year old digital camera to prove it. Not much to add on the new ballpark. As MO Boiler commented, the unfinished state of the park is something of a shame. And I can confirm Press Box Phil's account of the second-class status of the second row of the press box. It's a mallpark cookie cutter and yet overall it's nicer than the previous Busch. In short, it's a good place to see a ball game.

As for the important thing, the game, Sidney Ponson looked solid. He looked like the typical Duncan pitcher actually, not blowing anyone away, moving the ball around, trying to get some groundballs and recording an occasional strikeout. Any indication that Anthony Reyes wasn't beaten out by a bum is a good thing. The semi-standing ovation when LaRussa pulled Ponson was a bit much.

Hector Luna has these flashes where he looks like a good ballplayer, and Saturday was one of those days both in the field and at the plate. LaRussa's will be trying to get him more playing time, and right now platooning with Aaron Miles fits him well. That doesn't sound so good for Junior Spivey. Some part of me thinks Luna, if given a progressively larger role, could put the tools together and be an average 2B by year's end. Some other part of me notices that he was warming-up with Juan Encarnacion prior to Saturday's game.

I called Scott Spiezio's home run. Like I said, the camera's old, and it takes some time to get it ready, but the last picture captures Spiezio's mighty blast to right field. Former least favorite Cardinal Tino Martinez did the same thing to me in 2003. I swear they homered out of spite. Ricardo Rincon officially became my least favorite Cardinal by walking a batter in the 9th with a 7-run lead, then plunkng another batter square in the back, and then forcing a pitching change by serving a double to Austin Kearns, all while the rain started to come down.

Albert Pujols is special. This should be repeated periodically like the tests for the Emergency Broadcast System. On top of the superlative hitting, we have our little secret about his stellar defense. Saturday he was like Jim Craig at Lake Placid. Friday night he dove to his right, then threw from his knees to force the runner at second; if Eckstein catches the throw a little more cleanly it's a GIDP. When's the last time you saw a GIDP on a dive from the first baseman? His focus is apparent from Section 353, even in the ninth inning of a six-run game.

On the other side, Adam Dunn must be an intensely frustrating topic for Reds fans. If you're a traditionalist, you hate the strikeouts and the infamous sac fly streak. If you're a statboy like me, you hate hearing about the strikeouts. While his defense looks like a 1B playing LF, Scott Hatteberg (677 OPS in 2005) is keeping him away from the infield. Dunn's about two months older than Pujols, and I have to wonder how things would've gone for the two of them if they had switched organizations.

Bronson Arroyo starts Easter Sunday against the Cardinals. Last year he had a massive L/R split (OPS: 831 v. 654), so Jim Edmonds would be welcome back with open arms. I'm assuming Edmonds has dropped "What Would Wily Mo Do?" as his personal mantra for success.