Meet the new boss, not like the old boss

Today was a good day. I've seen my share of 40-degree home openers, and this time the bats were as warm as the temperatures on this mild April afternoon. Aramis Ramirez got off the schneid with a big home run, playing the percentages by going with Xavier Nady against Doug Davis instead of Kosuke Fukudome paid off with another, and Jeff Baker added a third in a nice win. But this Opening Day, for me the game itself took a back seat to the first look at the new administration.

It was the first home opener for the Ricketts family as owners, and I like what I saw. Picking a random family dressed in Cubs gear out of the stands to throw out the first pitch was a classy move, and it didn't seem like a gimmick. There was never anyone to provide a "one of us" feeling during the Tribune era, and giving a high-profile moment to some of "us" right from the start instead of having some celebrity handle the ceremonial bit leaves the impression that they're not all talk, that you or I or anyone else in Cubbie Nation really could bump into Tom Ricketts at any given game and have a minute of his time to talk about the team. I can't picture any previous Cubs owners having that kind of relationship with the fans, from three generations of Wrigleys to Charlie Weeghman to Charles Taft and all the way back to the inception of the team.

Whether or not that translates into championships in the near future remains to be seen, but at least they give off the impression that they care as much as we do and want to share their experience.

A couple of notes on the coverage - WGN really needs to stop sending Robert Jordan out to cover baseball even when providing full team coverage. He referred to Ernie Banks as "Mr. Cubs" in a segment that aired three times today, a tell-tale sign of a reporter working somebody else's beat. I remember seeing him reporting live from one of the more rambunctious Wrigleyville bars after the Cubs clinched a playoff spot, maybe it was 2003, looking scared out of his wits. It was kind of hilarious. But big props to anchor Steve Sanders, apparently in a live shot from his home, fingerpicking "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" on acoustic guitar. I've seen him play on the noon news, and he has some nice chops.

In any case, it was a good day, a good win and a good start for the Ricketts family.