Baseball

New York Mets slugger David Wright went yard in his first game of 2010 thanks to some new training techniques.

Wright teamed with Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino for a new Vitamin Water commercial that sheds light on his off-season regimen. Take a look.

It’s bad enough when a player heads to the disabled list, but it’s got to be 10 times worse for that player when his team and his manager rip him a new one for it.

Texas Rangers catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia was placed on the 15-day DL yesterday because of upper back stiffness.

Being hurt is nothing new for Saltalamacchia. Saltalamacchia was hurt twice during spring training, once for pain related to scar tissue near his September operation and later with spasms in the rhomboid muscle on the left side of his back.

The New York Mets got what they really didn’t need in their opening series against the Florida Marlins—a series loss. They desperately need to get off to a good start this season.

If they don’t, their fans are going to turn on them rather quickly. There will be no patience at Citi Field this year.

Let’s look at what else is going with the boys from Flushing and see if there is any help on the way.

Carlos Beltran To Begin Running

Well, the inevitable happened Thursday, and the Cubs took home their first 'W ' for the 2010 season. Cubs pitcher Randy Wells (1-0) pitched remarkably well, although I still believe he could go back to catching full time, and perform to the Cubs' standard .

What I’m Reading

• The Rays might be built for 2010, but what about beyond that? Carlos Pena and Carl Crawford might be skipping town after the season is over.

When the San Francisco Giants break home ground on the 2010 season, there will be several compelling reasons to scale the walls at 24 Willie Mays Plaza.

The home opener is always a momentous occasion for any franchise, and Friday at AT&T Park will be no different. Granted, the bigger parties will be over the weekend when two Bay Area favorites get the spotlight.

On Saturday, the baby face of the franchise, Tim Lincecum, gets his hardware for a second consecutive National League Cy Young Award. Ho-hum, show me something new Timmy...

Well, the inevitable happened Thursday, and the Cubs took home their first 'W ' for the 2010 season. Cubs pitcher Randy Wells (1-0) pitched remarkably well, although I still be he could go back to catching full time, and perform to the Cubs' standard .

There are several very nice things to be taken from this game.

In the movie Castaway , Tom Hanks is on a desolate island, alone, with nothing but a psychologically challenged volleyball named Wilson.

Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners must feel the same way. He stands on a mound of dirt, an island, dominating hitters as he attempts to keep the Mariners in the running for the American League West Division crown.

The Seattle Mariners opened the season as expected, with a win as Hernandez took the rock and kept the M's in the game until the offense could produce enough runs to seal the outcome.

In the first three games of the Chicago Cubs' 2010 season, both Sean Marshall and John Grabow have appeared in each game. Each man is a left-handed pitcher in manager Lou Piniella's bullpen. That is where all similarities end.

Marshall has logged 4 1/3 innings, striking out seven batters and allowing no base-runners.

Grabow, meanwhile, has thrown 1 1/3 innings, giving up two hits and a walk.

Chicago White Sox left-handed pitcher Matt Thornton's pitching line for Thursday night's game against the Cleveland Indians looks messy:

1 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 ER, 3 K

Thornton pitched the eighth inning, surrendering Chicago's slim 3-2 lead and setting up the eventual 11-inning loss the White Sox would suffer. He earned a blown save for his efforts.

But the numbers could not more starkly misrepresent the game Thornton had.