Pete Kozma

It wasn’t exactly the best way to start the season. Going 1-2 against the Arizona Diamondbacks? Yeah, bit disappointing for St. Louis Cardinals fans.

But, there were a few good things from the series with the Diamondbacks.

* Pete Kozma is legit. In three games he has a .308 average and a .357 OBP, with a homer and two RBI. Combine that with his shortstop skills and range … I don’t get the big deal during the offseason. Sure the last few weeks of the season and the post season were quite amazing for Pete. Sure it could have been a fluke. But, many of you arm chair general manager types weren’t even willing to give him a shot. … Probably still aren’t! Pay attention, because whether you like it or not, Pete’s going to continue to get this shot.

* How About Jaime? Considering I was pretty down on Jaime Garcia as I thought his shoulder issue … and other issues … might have been a bigger deal than the Cardinals organization was letting on, I’m pleased he had such a great start Tuesday. He pitched 5.2 innings, he struck out four and has a 1.59 ERA.

* Receiving Line Is Back? I noticed that after one of the Cardinals hits a home run, the team still lines up in the dugout ready to give high fives and other such congratulatories to the home run hitter and any men on base. I do love that this carried over to this season. It shows this team has really good chemistry and … They like each other. It’s kind of important! 

With that said, there were many jaw dropping, smack your forehead moments during the three game set with the D-Backs. But guess what… there are a few games left in this season. It’s no time to get panicky.

Remember this is a marathon. Not a sprint.

The Cards move on to San Francisco in the first meeting between the two teams since the soggy end to the NLCS last season. Manager Mike Matheny knows the team wasn’t pleased with that ending and aren’t pleased that they are returning to celebrate that World Series win. Matheny hopes it serves as motivation. Check out this story from MLB.com.

There series kicks off this afternoon with a 3:35 p.m. Central time start at AT&T Park. Jake Westbrook will go against Barry Zito. On Saturday, game time is 3:05 p.m. Central. Shelby Miller will take the mound for the Cards against Ryan Vogelsong. And on Sunday, game time is 3:05 p.m. Central with Adam Wainwright taking the hill against Matt Cain.

Sit back, relax and be thankful the game times are earlier! Enjoy!

Miranda is a contributor to Aaron Miles Fastball and is lead writer for Aerys Offsides. Follow Her on Twitter, @missmiranda.