Cubs, Cardinals and Blue Jays in the Bronx.

The Cubs are playing in the new Yankee Stadium this week for the first time ever. Elsewhere in the Bronx, the Cardinals and Blue Jays are always in town.

The Great Ozzie Smith waits in the batter's box.

Tony Fernandez flies towards second base.

Kudos to Nicole for catching these beautiful birds on camera!

Lexington Avenue LOV!

The smart fans practically had the car all to themselves.

Underneath Grand Central Terminal on the platform of the Lexington Avenue Express, we were waiting. The train was at least half an hour overdue. The early birds were losing their patience.

The crowd swelled as more eager Yankee fans lined up for the express train to 161st Street. At least half a dozen out-of-towners stood right behind me while a "5" train squeaked and squealed as it stopped on the platform.

"Is this the train?" They weren't asking me. Mistake.

"No," said the self-appointed one. "See how all these Yankee fans aren't getting on the train? We need the next one. I can tell: I'm smart."

Smart you are, I thought to myself. She didn't notice that more than half of the people in Yankee attire didn't bother to board the next--and very crowded-- "4" train. My noisy, temporary neighbors left. They got no LOV.

A few minutes later, the trucks rumbled and an applause broke out. The Lo-V train was here!

Vintage. Classic. Pride and Tradition. An original Lo-Voltage New York City subway train was ready for its annual trip from Grand Central to Yankee Stadium to mark opening day.

As soon we got on, it was clear that MTA was relaxing its no-photography policy, and everybody took at least two dozen photos. And why not? These original New York City Subway Trains were beauty to the core: Padded seats, ceiling fans, and advertisements that promoted aftershave and candy instead of breast implants and divorce.

The car I was riding was built in 1924, just a few months after my Bronx-born grandfather entered this world. I thought about him as the subway raced underneath Lexington Avenue on its way to Yankee Stadium. I thought about grandpa Donohue and his stories about seeing Lou Gehrig and Joe Dimaggio at the old Yankee Stadium. I speculated what the odds were that he rode this very train. I thought about the time when he took my to my first Yankee game in 1990.

The padded seats were comfortable. I felt like I was riding in my father's 1942 Ford station wagon. However, these old cars did nothing to filter out the noise. The whir of the train as it whooshed through the tunnel was deafening, so much so that the clickety-clack of the tracks was reduced to mere background noise. It didn't stop people from socializing, but it did require having to shout just make yourself heard. The ride was drafty, too. So much so that we felt a cool breeze along the way. Between the noise and the draft, it felt like riding in the Subway equivalent of a convertible!

Finally, as if turning on a light switch, we were above ground. From the window, we could see the original grass from the old Yankee Stadium. Across the street, the new Cathedral was ready. We were ready.

We stepped off the train. Yankee baseball, 2014 here we come!

Warming up on a cool day.

It's overcast, windy, and cold. In the northeast, that's called the first day of spring.

Okay, it's not that cold, and some South Bronx boys saw vernal equinox as a good opportunity to warm up and get loose.

Leo goes airborne as he rehearses an around-the-horn 5-4-3 double play.

"The gate was open," said Leo, who practiced fielding ground balls at Heritage Field with some of his fellow ballplayers from Bronx Community College. "We're trying to make the team."

We can't all afford a plane ticket to Florida: Long sleeves are standard attire. 

Leo said he although he lives in the neighborhood, he doesn't often get a chance to practice on the original Yankee Stadium ball field.

Few errant throws when your first baseman is as tall as the Chrysler Building.

"We never jump the fence," he said, explaining why. "If the red flags are up, that means that they [Department of Recreation] are doing maintenance. It's a good field, and we want to keep it that way."

 Good luck, guys. Practice and discipline all the hallmark of success. May good luck and fortune carry you the rest of the way.

In the shadows of legends . . .