Opinion

It was a fantastic start to the season for the Toronto Blue Jays, and it could have been even better. The Jays started off their season with a three game series against the Minnesota Twins. The Twins won the American League Central last year and had the third most wins in the AL after the Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees. 

The Twins are known for both their strong pitching and their consistent defensive play, but the Jays put both of those to the test with an offensive barrage in the first two games.

The New York Mets won their first series of the season against the Florida Marlins, winning the rubber game of the three game set today by a score of 9-2.

While it is only the first three games of the season, the Mets did show a few things in the opening weekend that are worth noting.

Here are six things we learned about the New York Mets before they head off to Philadelphia for Tuesday's matchup against the Phillies.

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The Yankees first "mini week" of the season had plenty of ups and downs and certainly some eye-opening moments.

Considering the Bombers won two of three from the Tigers, I would say they are content with that result. The goal is always to get two of three in all series.

Lets talk about the good first. I like the looks of Russell Martin, Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira and the bullpen combination of Joba, Soriano and Rivera.

Baseball season is a long and strenuous one. Even the elite teams in baseball face their fair share of ups and downs over 162 games.

It's important not to overreact at the first sign of trouble.

So when the White Sox dropped the finale of their season opening series on Sunday against the lowly Cleveland Indians, rational White Sox fans everywhere had to remind themselves to take a deep breath and relax.

After all it's only one game right?

When the Oakland Athletics signed Coco Crisp to a two-year contract (one year guaranteed with a team option for a second season) beginning last season, they did not anticipate that they would only have their new center fielder on the diamond for only 75 games in his first season in green and gold.

Seasons can't be won in April and May, but they sure can be lost.

It's imperative to hit the ground running, and the Texas Rangers looked good. They looked VERY good this weekend, outscoring the Boston Red Sox 26-11 in the three game sweep at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

The knee-jerk reaction is to say "The Rangers might be serious this year."

Before we get ahead of ourselves, let us remember it is not a sprint, but a marathon race instead. This Ranger fan is excited though.

Numerous guys on this Cincinnati Reds team are getting a lot of well deserved praise these days.

In the infield, you have MVP Joey Votto and gold glovers Scott Rolen and Brandon Phillips.

The outfield consists of potential up and coming stars such as Drew Stubbs and Jay Bruce.

In terms of pitching, we are all well aware of Aroldis Chapman, and other younger players such as Travis Wood and Mike Leake.

The Pittsburgh Pirates' failures in the recent past have hidden pockets of isolated strength. For instance, in 2006, Jason Bay was a true star, and Freddy Sanchez was the league-leading hitter, but the pitching was spotty (except for after the All-Star game, when the Bucs actually went 37-35 for a winning "half" season).

Brian Cashman, who is the New York Yankees' Senior Vice President and General Manager, should examine his own actions before criticizing the management of New York's most beloved team, the New York Mets.

Cashman signed Pedro Feliciano, a journeyman left-handed relief pitcher, to an $8 million, two-year contract in January with an option for 2013. Now, more than two months later, Feliciano has a sore arm which has put him on the disabled list.

The Boston Red Sox became the darling pick to win the 2011 World Series after acquiring slugger Adrian Gonzalez from the San Diego Padres in December.  They later snagged Carl Crawford away from divisional foe Tampa Bay, giving the Sox what looked to be one of the most formidable lineups in the league.

Instead, maybe they should have been in search of pitching.