162 wins, 0 losses? Call me crazy, call me a lunatic, but you can’t say it’s impossible after the Reds’ opening series.

My brother and I always joke after opening day losses by our team that, “there’s still a chance for us to go 161-1.” I got used to saying that, because it felt like it had been quite awhile since the last great Cincinnati Reds opening day win. I can still remember Ramon Hernandez’s walk-off home run on opening day in 2011. I remember it because it sent me literally sprinting in excitement across Tufts’ campus. But that was four years ago.

The long wait is what made Monday so sweet. Well, a lot of things made it sweet. It was my birthday, and I got out of work early enough to catch the last four innings of the Reds’ game against the Pittsburg Pirates (thanks to a rain delay – otherwise I might have missed the whole thing).

And what a great final four frames it was. Johnny Cueto, as usual, made the Pirates hitters look like fools with seven shutout innings and 10 Ks. He’s my favorite Reds pitcher of all time and this very well might be his last season in Cincy, so it was a joy to watch him put on a show on the first day of the season once again.

The Reds had the lead going into the 8^th inning. All of a sudden, what was looking like a nice Reds win/birthday present blew up in front of my eyes. Journeyman reliever Kevin Gregg came on and got knocked around in every at bat against the Pirates, culminating in a game-tying two-run blast by dream killer Andrew McCutchen. THANKS FOR RUINING MY B-DAY, KEV.

But have no fear; the Reds hitters came to the rescue in the bottom half. After both Billy Hamilton and Joey Votto reached base – with Hamilton eventually stealing third – Todd Frazier came to the plate. All he had to do was put the ball in the air, and with Slick Billy’s speed, the lead was ours for the taking.

But that wouldn’t have been that exciting, now would it? That wouldn’t have gotten me out of my seat. The Toddfather had other plans.

Frazier’s moon shot over the left field wall, a three-run homer giving the Reds the lead for good, brought me to my feet for the first time in a long time as a Reds fan. Isn’t that what we want out of sports? Don’t we want to see things that get our adrenaline pumping? Don’t we want to jump up and down?

As I chronicled in my last blog post, I wasn’t very into the Reds – or Major League Baseball in general – in 2014. My lifelong obsession with the team was starting to fizzle. I usually tuned off games long before I had a chance to get excited about anything whatsoever. But now, after Frazier’s funk blast and Aroldis Chapman’s subsequent 1-2-3 destruction of the Pirates in the 9^th, I can confidently say that I’m back, baby!

Two more beautiful wins – cementing a statement series sweep of Pittsburgh – didn’t do anything to conceal my excitement for this season. No one can stop us! We’re going wire-to-wire! World Series, here we come!

Now, now – let’s pump the brakes. It’s only three games, and not everything went well during the Pirates series. Devin Mesoraco, coming off a breakout season, looked off at the plate in his new role as the cleanup hitter. Manager Bryan Price, a guy I’m normally a big fan of, made some questionable decisions – especially the choice to put Kevin Freaking Gregg in a close game. Marlon Byrd, a key offseason acquisition, looked flat out awful with the bat until his game-winning line drive today (the winning run scored on an error by the outfielder).

At the same time, however, so many things looked awesome. Frazier was phenomenal and really stepped up after Price decided to bat him third in the order to start the season. Hamilton was stealing bases left and right – doing his job, in other words – and finding ways to get on base, which is very encouraging for his status as the leadoff hitter after an inconsistent 2014 season. The bullpen, other than Gregg, looked great. Most of all, Joey Votto, who is coming off an off, injury-plagued season, looked like his old self. He hit a walk-off single in the second game, and blasted a two-run homer to center field today. If Votto can return to the player he used to be, this offense could be scary. Going into Friday night’s showdown with the dreaded Cardinals, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t pumped.

Thank you, Reds. Thank you for bringing fun baseball back into my life. Thank you for bringing me to my feet.