Game Recap

As part of our journey to watch and score 162 games this season, Tuesday night featured the Orioles/Rays opener in Tampa.

Game No. 3—Baltimore Orioles vs. Tampa Bay Rays

Adam Jones went 3-for-5 with a single, double, and HR.

Don't panic yet.

For every person in the baseball world saying that the Colorado Rockies are going to be a great team, there are two people reminding them that this team is terrible in April.

It was a tale of two Opening Days for Chicago's two Major League Baseball teams.  One club impressed in every way possible, the other not so much.  All of it took place before the sun even went down.

The White Sox were the first team to show off their 2010 selves and their premiere couldn't have been more perfect.  A combination of solid pitching, hitting, and defense translated into an easy 6-0 win over the Cleveland Indians.  Every Sox fan in the stands at sold-out U.S. Cellular Field would tell you afterwards that they got their money's worth.

On Monday, Mark Buehrle re-defined the phrase, "kick save, and a beauty," with his spectacular fielding play in the top-half of the fifth inning on the way to a win over the Cleveland Indians.

Buehrle was downright masterful in his seven innings on the bump for the Sox (still, the best pitcher in the Sox rotation was sitting on the bench,) and that dominance extended to the bats of the South Siders, as they struck for a total of six runs across four Cleveland pitchers. 

Could you have asked for a better opening day at PNC Park?

The sun was shining, the stadium was filled to capacity, and the Pirates came away with an 11-5 thwomping of the Los Angeles Dodgers, their fourth straight opening day victory.

I am an Indians fan who was in attendance for their game at US Cellular Field against the Chicago White Sox on Opening Day, April 5, 2010.

Here are my thoughts.

Typical Mark Buehrle Opening Day game if you are a Tribe fan. Either he is a hair off and the Tribe rips him for eight runs and a granny in the first inning, or he mows them down like grass all day. This was the latter.

The New York Mets season began Monday afternoon at Citi Field against the Florida Marlins. Everyone from their fans to others around baseball have had concerns about the Mets' 2010 season due to early injuries, as well as a suspect starting rotation. For at least one day, however, those concerns were put on hold and the Mets came away with an opening day victory.

As I did following the Yankees opener in Boston, after each game I plan to post a quick recap.

All other things being equal, it's clearly better to chalk up a "W" than an "L." Nevertheless, some wins are better than others.

The wins to be happy about are ones where opponents were clearly out of it, and are likely to stand up under most different sets of circumstances.

On the other hand, the Pittsburgh Pirates won last night, not because they posted winning metrics, but because they were playing an opponent they could beat. The Los Angeles Dodgers outhit the Pirates, 12 to 10, and proved once again that Zach Duke is one of the most hittable starters in baseball.

Too bad there's no such thing as mulligans in baseball. Carlos Zambrano's first two innings were just about as bad as they come, as the Atlanta Braves pounded on the Cubs in the season opener.

You really have to squint to see anything good in this one, but there are some promising remarks to be made.

First, the bad.

Don’t let Michael Jordan beat you.  

Double-team him.  Triple-team him.  

Make sure his tail hits the paint every time he drives to the basket.  Do everything you can to take him out of the game and if Scottie Pippen nails a jumper to put you away, so be it.

No matter what sport you are playing, you should always do your best to take the opposition’s best player out of the game.  In baseball, that means keeping the ball away from the hitting zone and not allowing the batter to get the fat part of the bat on the ball.