It is my favorite holiday of the year. You say you don’t get the day off for Opening Day? You should, it is a holiday at my house.
1. This will be the 105th year of Cubs futility, and there are no signs of that streak ending time soon.
My Father HATES the Cubs. I never understood the angst there. Its on par with despising the Washington Generals, or Plankton, or Nuns - they’re not hurting anyone, just let them do their thing. About 15 years my Father started a tradition of reminding everyone, “In October I am going to throw a party to celebrate 90 years of Cubs futility.” You can imagine his excitement when they hit the century mark. Well its that time of year again, and seeing the Cubs Opening Day roster would have to say that they have zero chance of breaking their 105 year World Series Championship draught. There 67 years since appearing in the World Series is a number that will roll over to 68 at year’s end as well. Jeff Samrdzijadafdlkja looked great, and I feel bad that Starlin Castro will waste away at Wrigley, but there are few (Rizzo?) other bright spots in that organization other than a wonderful ballpark experience at Wrigley.
2. Speaking of futility, the odds are against the Pirates to finish above .500 for the first time since 1992.
A friend of mine who is a Pirates fan has issued the team an ultimatum - he will stop being a Pirates if they do not have a .500 or better season before his son reaches the age that he was when the Pirates last had a winning season - they have 3 years to make it happen or else Geof is going to find another team. Vegas has the over/under at 79 wins this year. AJ Burnett looked good in the opener but lost. They lost a lot of games against the Astros as they moved to the AL and did little in the offseason to improve (although I like Russell Martin, he is a winner). I hope I am wrong about this, but I would take the under.
3. Inter-league play on Opening Day is borderline blasphemy.
The Reds/Angels game proved to be a beauty with 4 innings of free baseball, but it just seemed weird. With the Astros moving to the AL West thus evening the American and National Leagues at 15 each with 5 teams in each division, it has become (in my opinion) a necessary evil to have one inter-league series going on the entire season. It was weird on Opening Day, it will be horrible the last weekend in September when the Tigers, in the thick of a pennant race, will travel to Miami to play an inter-league game agains the Marlins.
4. In his 64th year on the air, Vin Scully never sounded better
Dodgers baseball is perhaps the only thing in my life that looks and sounds the same now as it did when I was a child. I have driven by my childhood home and the tree house is torn down. My favorite restaurant is no longer there. My childhood friends are all adults now. But the Dodgers experience - I can still go to the same stadium, watch my team play in the same uniforms, eat a Dodger Dog, and hear the same voice of Vin Scully coming out of the radio of the guy sitting next to me. When I was a kid going to Dodger Stadium you never had to bring your own radio because it was almost like every 8th seat had a radio that came with it, and you could hear Vin Scully voice in just about every seat in the entire stadium. This is his 64th year on the air, and he hasn’t lost a step.
5. Since we are on the Dodgers, they looked great.
I have been outspoken in my thoughts about the new ownership. Just because you have the money, doesn’t mean you should spend the money. The twenty million dollars you are giving to Carl Crawford this year is twenty million dollars that you can’t give to someone else. However, Crawford looked very sharp yesterday. Even though he was gunned down trying to steal third, he hit the ball hard, scored on a passed ball, and did not seem to be suffering any ill effects from the injury. Kershaw will be great, Grienke should be fine once he gets back in the rotation, and if they can get decent production from one or two of Beckett, Ryu, Capuano, Billingsley, or Lily, then they could win 100 games.
6. This could be a long year in NY
The Mets got the Opening Day win but they are awful. I feel bad for David Wright. The Yankees are fielding 2/3 of a AAA lineup. When was the last time you looked at a Yankee lineup and said, “who is that guy?” Sabbathia will be fine, but then who? The Mets will not finish in last place, thanks to the Marlins, but with the AL East being what it is this year, it wouldn’t take much for the Yankees to finish the season in the cellar. The baseball guys at Grantland predicted the last place team (Orioles) in the AL East to have an 81-81 record. With a weighted schedule that is a ludicrous prognostication, but the point remains that there is little separation in the East. It could be a very cold October in the Big Apple.
7. A-Rod 647 v. 762
A-Rod was conspicuously absent from the Yankees lineup. Remember 5 years when we all knew that Bonds was going to break Aaron’s record but not to worry because A-Rod would come along shortly and break the record, which would stand for a few years until Pujols broke it for good? At that time it seemed inevitable. But now here we are, A-Rod sitting on 647 and looking at a prolonged stint on the DL thanks to off-season hip surgery. He won’t join the team before the All-Star break and after how he ended last season (being benched in the playoffs) I don’t see the Yankees counting down the days until his return. Add to all of this the added baggage of a Biogenesis PED investigation by MLB and the bitterness of fans and ownership at still owing him $114 million (when all is said and done we may look at this as the worst contract in the history of the game). All told I would put the over/under on A-Rod home runs this year at 7.5 - I would still take the under.
8. Harper and Strasburg are not one hit wonders
Stasburg got the win and looked like the Promised One, and Harper hit 2 home runs. I said in my last article that I can’t imagine the Nationals not improving on last year, and they won 98 games last year. A World Series title is not a ridiculous proposition in DC. And then next year I will say again, “the Nats can only be better this year than last year.” The future is looking very bright. Maybe 3 years from now when the Washington Walgreens have 2 World Series titles people will be saying, “I’m glad the ownership was cautious with Strasburg back in ’12.
9. Kevin Youklis looks strange without his goatee. He looks even stranger in pinstripes.
There are some things that were just meant to be - PB+J, John+Paul+George+Ringo - and there are some things that just don’t feel right - Robert Plant’s solo career, orange juice after toothpaste, etc. Kevin Youklis’ one handed grip, signature goatee, and bulldog approach to the game just seemed like it was a perfect marriage with Fenway Park and the Boston faithful. To see him yesterday clean shaven in pinstripes just felt...icky.
10. MLB.TV is the best/worst thing that has ever happened to me.
I am a Dodgers fan who lives on the east coast. Most first pitches are at 10:10 pm. I also have 4 kids. I find myself being glad sometimes when I realize the Dodgers have the day off. Oh this cursed/blessed addiction...
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