Ah, springtime - the sun is shining, the birds are chirping and MLB.com has news to report other than "Clemens still undecided" and "Craig Biggio excited for upcoming season." Yes, baseball has begun! The agonizing winter is over, and I've been poring through box scores to see what interesting storylines have begun to develop.
Jake Peavy and Ben Sheets pitched brilliantly in their opening-day starts. Peavy won his second-straight Opening Day start for the San Diego Padres, allowing only three hits and no runs over six innings while notching six strikeouts. Sheets was even more impressive for the Brewers, holding the NL West-favorite (ha!) Los Angeles Dodgers to two hits and only one run over the full nine innings. Sheets and Peavy, finally injury-free, will battle all season for the NL Cy Young Award.
As the New York Yankees beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 9-5 on Opening Day, the two teams revealed their most obvious strengths and weaknesses. The D-Rays boasted their unrelenting little-ball skills, getting a stolen base from three different players and smacking nine hits - eight of which were singles. Speedy second-baseman B.J. Upton and slugger Elijah Dukes finally have starting jobs, giving the offense a significant boost.
Their glaring flaw remains their bullpen - no Rays reliever contained the Yanks' bats, and two of their pitchers left the game nursing 27.00 ERAs. The Bombers, despite their image of being a slugger-heavy, three-run-homer-or-bust team, played great all-around baseball. Alex Rodriguez, Johnny Damon and Bobby Abreu each had a stolen base.
New York flexed their power with home runs from Jorge Posada and A-Rod. Jason Giambi and Cap'n Derek Jeter drilled clutch RBI singles, and Doug Mientkiewicz laid a textbook bunt down the third-base line. Sure, SP Carl Pavano was wild and hittable. But the Yanks' underrated bullpen came in to pitch four and two-thirds scoreless innings, capped by Mariano Rivera striking out the side in the ninth.
Lessons learned? The Devil Rays are a scrappy and capable team, and they will win some games against teams not from the Bronx. The Yankees proved that they will find ways to win ballgames, even when Carl Pavano is on the mound.
The Florida Marlins might be way underestimated. On Opening Day, Florida destroyed the Washington Nationals, 9-2. Second-year players Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla, primed for sophomore slumps, got off to great starts: Ramirez went four for six, scoring four runs and stealing two bases. Uggla went one for four, walking twice and launching a home run.
If that duo can maintain this level of play, and if staff ace Dontrelle Willis pitches like he did on Monday - one earned run over six innings - the Marlins could be a surprise contender in the NL East. (Disclaimer: They were playing the Nationals, the consensus worst team in baseball. Let's not get too excited.)
In an outcome that not even the most delusional Boston-hater would've predicted, Kansas City ace Gil Meche held the Red Sox to one run in seven innings, striking out six and earning the Opening Day win for the Royals. Boston's strength is supposed to be its offense, but even sluggers Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz couldn't get much done against $55 million Meche. Meanwhile, Boston SP Curt Schilling was shellacked by the likes of Mark Grudzielanek and catcher John Buck. If these no-names keep producing, the Royals' offense may deserve a second look. And the Red Sox can only hope that Daisuke Matsuzaka volunteers to pitch every day.
On a quick sidenote - I spent my spring break in Florida and was lucky enough to witness Dice-K start a Spring Training game. I can't overstate how intimidating he is on the mound - he is like no pitcher in the Majors. He doesn't fidget, wipe his forehead or chew gum. He stands with his back straight and shoulders relaxed, staring at the opposing batter until he detects fear. His movements are slow, precise and reminiscent of Japanese Noh theatre. He reaches a state of "rojaku," eliminating all unnecessary movements and embodying the true essence of competition and ferocity. The American League should be very nervous.
Speaking of AL Cy Young candidates, expect Seattle SP Felix Hernandez to make a serious run for the crown. The King was clearly anxious to get his breakout season started, going eight innings with zero ERs, three hits and a whopping 12 Ks against Oakland. Hernandez is only 21 years old, but he's already settled in as Seattle's ace for the foreseeable future. It will be interesting to see how Felix fares against an offense more powerful than the punchless A's - he faces the Indians (who scored 12 runs on Opening Day) next week.
Other games to look out for this weekend:
NYY vs. BAL, April 6 - SP Kei Igawa's debut!CHC vs. MIL, April 6 - Can SP Rich Hill repeat his success from last year's second-half?BOS vs. TEX, April 8 - Can SP Curt Schilling rebound against a much better offense?
Ellis Rochelson '09 can finally stop pretending to like college basketball.
