One of my long awaited initial signals of the upcoming season, sort of like the first robin of spring, has appeared with the first of the television schedules coming to light. The Big FOX Saturday baseball lineup for 2006 is out along with a first taste of the ESPN national schedule and together they hold good news for Cardinals fans the world over.
The FOX Network plans to televise eight Saturday afternoon Redbirds tilts during the season and even better, half of them are against the evil Cubbies. Along with two other contests, ESPN has added another match-up against the Northsiders as the very first national Cards offering of the season, scheduled on Sunday night, April 9.
ESPN having moved this Wrigley Field contest from the afternoon to the evening has caused a bit of a fuss, as it minimizes the time the Cardinals will have to prepare for their home opener and the inaugural game in the new Busch Stadium III the very next day, on Monday afternoon, April 10.
All eleven games are listed below, with more televised games to be highlighted right here just as soon as they become known.
| Date |
Opponent |
Time (CT) |
TV |
| Sunday, April
9 |
@ Cubs |
7:05
PM |
ESPN |
| Saturday, May
27 |
@ Padres |
3:05
PM |
FOX |
| Saturday, June
3 |
vs Cubs |
3:05
PM |
FOX |
| Saturday, July
8 |
@ Astros |
3:05
PM |
FOX |
| Saturday,
July 15 |
vs Dodgers |
12:20
PM |
FOX |
| Monday, July
17 |
vs Braves |
6:05
PM |
ESPN |
| Saturday,
July 29 |
@ Cubs |
3:05
PM |
FOX |
| Saturday,
August 19 |
@ Cubs |
12:20
PM |
FOX |
| Saturday,
August 26 |
vs Cubs |
12:20
PM |
FOX |
| Saturday, September 16 |
vs Giants |
3:05
PM |
FOX |
| Friday,
September 22 |
@ Astros |
6:05
PM |
ESPN |
Brian Walton can be reached via email at brwalton@earthlink.net.
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