There's a certain something in the air.
No, not slow flurries, which we may or may not be getting today. While the ground in Mid-Missouri may be frozen and not-so-green, the boys are summer are about to get back at it in Florida and Arizona.
Let's start with the world champion Royals. Let that sink in for a second.
The Royals mortgaged a bit of their future to win the title in 2015, acquiring Ben Zobrist and Johnny Cueto for about three months for a slew of prospects. Zobrist will be missed, his play at second base filled a big hole. Cueto, thanks for the memory of the Game 2 gem.
The second base problem is back. And Alex Rios was a one-year blunder in right field. He's gone and it looks like a combination of Paulo Orlando and Jarrod Dyson will fill the spot.
Cueto will replaced by Ian Kennedy in the rotation, a steadier, if not as dominating replacement.
By the way, I'm sure Royals fans noticed there was no Caravan stop in Jefferson City this year. Or anywhere for that matter. All the team had was the trophy stopping in various cities. Odd and hopefully not a sign of things to come.
In St. Louis, the expectation to win is there every season and the Cardinals lived up to that in 2015 by leading the majors with 100 victories.
Hitting triple digits again may be a little optimistic, but not out of the question. Two big pieces - outfielder Jason Heyward and starting pitcher John Lackey - are gone, both to the Cubs. But Mike Leake should step in nicely for Lackey and Stephen Piscotty will get a chance to show what he can do in a full season in the outfield.
One big question is the health of starting catcher Yadier Molina, who has had two surgeries on his injured thumb. Brayan Pena was signed from the Reds and he may have to play a key role behind the plate, especially early in the season.
So how will the Royals and Cardinals do in 2016?
When you want an expert opinion, you can go to ESPN or follow some team "insider".
Not me. When I want information from people in the know, I follow the lead of Brent Musburger. I go to the boys in the desert.
Vegas has the Royals win total at 87, the Cardinals at 87.5. That would have the Royals winning the A.L. Central by two games against the second-place Tigers and the Cardinals finishing 1.5 games behind the Cubs.
But there's just something about the Royals and the Cardinals when it comes to numbers, the sum of their parts are greater than the parts themselves.
Whatever "it" is, they both have it and postseason baseball figures to return to both Kansas City and St. Louis in October.