Over the past decade, the Chicago Cubs–St. Louis Cardinals rivalry has been relatively non-existent. Neither team was good at the same time or had the same intensity they normally did. That all changed last year when Chicago won 97 games in the regular season and then knocked their 100-win foes out of the playoffs.

This rivalry is real once again, and baseball should be extremely happy about that. Everything you could want in a rivalry, this pair has right now. They have recent playoff history, regular season bad blood, players swapping teams and both teams are competitive.

Of course, the two players who jumped over from St. Louis to Chicago this offseason are pitcher John Lackey and outfielder Jason Heyward, both of whom were key pieces for the Cardinals a year ago. Lackey will take the mound on Monday night in the teams’ first meeting since last year’s NLDS. He may get a solid reception, but Heyward will not.

The multi-talented outfielder left a huge hole on St. Louis’ roster and strengthened an already hard-charging Cubs team, which angered fans, despite the fact he only played there for a year.

Resentment between the fan bases is high. Cubs fans finally have something to brag about after defeating the Cardinals in the NLDS a year ago. Cardinals fans still have something to brag about in their 11 World Series titles.

It all begins again Monday, and it’s exciting if you’re a big baseball fan. There will be no love lost between these two teams and every game between the pair is important. For April baseball, we’re all in for a treat this week with the renewal of one of baseball’s greatest rivalries.