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Three more games, three more wins. I have no idea how long this is going to last (I fear it won't be long), but I'm enjoying the ride for now.

The Cardinals swept the Washington Nationals right out of town over the weekend, with late-spring acquisition Kyle Lohse putting an exclamation point on the series with his seven-inning shutout performance on Sunday. So far, Lohse looks to be worth not only the one-year/$4.25 million deal he got from the Cardinals, but the four-year/$40 million contract he and his agent, Scott Boras, were looking for in the off-season. The Cards got easily the best free-agent deal on a pitcher in the market this winter.

Apparently this Mozeliak guy sort of knows what he's doing.

Luckily for the Cardinals, the rain stayed away this time, unlike the season opener, in which only Mother Nature prevented them from sweeping the NL champion Colorado Rockies. Much like Lieutenant Dan, the Cardinals weathered the storm and came out on the other side with a resounding victory. Next, it's off to Houston to play a three-game series against the struggling Astros. If you had told me even a week ago that the Cards would be 5-1 going into the second week of the season, I would have called you a liar. Then I would have thrown tomatoes at you for spreading false hope. Then I would have, well, let's just say I wouldn't have believed you. That's where the team finds itself, though.

Trash Talk in Chicago
I was in Chicago all weekend, visiting the old ball-and-chain. Side question: Is it still considered a ball-and-chain if it happens to be four hours away? Maybe more like one of those electronic monitoring bracelets.... Anyway. Cubs fans, so full of hateful optimism before the season, are already beginning to panic, seeing the Cardinals and the Reds both ahead of them in the standings.

A few of the more enlightened comments I heard from various blue-clad denizens over the weekend:

"That fuckin' Wood. Why the hell did they bring that piece of shit back? He couldn't start, he can't close, what the fuck?"

From the same fan, later that afternoon, following Kerry Wood closing out the Cubs' victory yesterday:

"Fuckin' Wood, man! Throwing fuckin' GAS!"

From a startlingly pretty (and startlingly foul-mouthed) young woman wearing a Mark Prior jersey (content sanitized for your protection) :

"What the [sexual act]? Those [deity accursed] [female parent copulating] Cardinals are in first [sexual act] place?

"I hate that [female parent copulating] [fecal matter disposal opening] city! Those [sexual act] stupid [solid waste disposal site] fans of theirs are just a bunch of [sexual act] [unnatural sexual act banned in some southern states] [female dog]! [Sexual act] them!

"They can [thus began a long and convoluted narration of something that, if transcribed, would read a bit like a William Burroughs novel] and kiss my [solid waste disposal site]! No offense, man. [This was directed toward me.]"

And my favorite, from a man coming out of a local eatery, upon spotting Angie's Cardinal jersey and my sweatshirt:

"You guys from St. Louis? [Upon being answered in the affirmative] Dude, the Cards are gonna suck so bad this year, they're just getting your hopes up! Your pizza sucks, too!"

The last one, I have to say, really hurt. I happen to like the pizza here. It is always nice to see our northern neighbors in midseason form, though. Just think how angry they'll be when it's actually a significant number of games, and not just the first two series of the season.

Well, that was my weekend. I hope everyone out there had one just as enjoyable. Later.

-Aaron Schafer