Game Recap

Mr. Clutch has returned.

Never one to shy away from a big game situation, Chipper Jones delivered again—proving why he’s still one of baseball’s most feared hitters.

With the Braves trailing the Cubs 2-1 in the bottom of the eighth, Jones smashed a 3-1 fastball from John Grabow over the left-center wall, propelling Atlanta to a come-from-behind 3-2 win.

This was not the debut that Cole Hamels had been hoping for. From all the hype of his spring training progress you half-expected him to go out and throw a no-hitter, and since it was against the lowly Washington Nationals, it might as well have made it a perfect game. 

Instead, Hamels labored through 5 innings. He gave up 5 hits, walked 4, and allowed 2 earned runs. It did not look pretty, but he was effective enough, and most importantly he didn't allow the "big inning" that plagued him during his 2009 campaign. 

Curtis Granderson’s leadoff home run in the top of the tenth inning off of Jonathan Papelbon broke a 1-1 tie, as New York won their second straight with a 3-1 victory over Boston Wednesday night at Fenway Park.

Three games down, 159 to go.

What a three games they were.

The San Fransisco Giants completed an opening series sweep of the hapless Houston Astros this afternoon. The Giants ended the series with an offensive explosion that doomed Houston in a 10-4 defeat.

So what did we learn about the 2010 San Francisco Giants?

Well, one thing I think we all know is that they can pitch.

Whoa, Nelly, can they pitch.

The Yankees needed this win in order to stay with the pack in the AL East. This game was very important.

Of course there are 160 games left and we don't know what the impact of some of those games will be on the playoff picture. But game two in Fenway was where the Yankees had to address some of their weaknesses from game one. 

When the series began between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, they had listed three premier pitching matchups for the fans at Fenway Park to see.

So far, the first two games have come down to a battle of the bullpens instead of the starters.

On opening night, the two starters for both teams didn't have great outings. Josh Beckett didn't even get out of the fifth inning, allowing eight hits, five runs, three walks and two home runs and a 9.64 ERA in four and two-thirds innings.

On Monday I had the opportunity to attend Cincinnati Reds Opening Day. For anybody who has lived in Cincinnati, it is widely known that Opening Day is a Cincinnati holiday. It is also a day nobody does quite like Cincinnati. 

Cincinnati is home to the first professional baseball team some 150 years ago and in the Queen City, baseball has and always will be king. 

Every Opening Day in Cincinnati over the last 91 years has began with the Findlay Market Parade. The parade marches through the streets of downtown and is the highlight of the big day.

You just got that buzz again, didn't you, Rays fans?

The thought crossed your mind the instant that Carl Crawford's walkoff two-run single sliced into right field and the Rays got a dramatic opening night come-from-behind victory against the Baltimore Orioles.

Just like old times.

James Shields put together a fine outing, only he put up three beach balls that Oriole hitters deposited into the Tampa Bay stands.

As the outs and opportunities clicked off, things began to look pretty bleak for the home team.

After a day off, the Yankees and Red Sox resumed their opening series last night at Fenway. A.J. Burnett and Boston's Jon Lester took the mound for their teams but neither pitcher was particularly sharp in this contest. Both went just five innings, giving up four runs each, although one of Burnett's was unearned.

Let's take a look at the good and bad for the Yankees in last night's game.

The Good

The first thing that comes to mind when reflecting back upon this week's opening day debacle in Kansas City is that there may not be a time more apropos than now to cite one of my favorite movie quotes.