Opinion

When people around the Pittsburgh area heard that Andrew McCutchen was going to be batting third in the Pirates batting order, some people were skeptical. He is by far the Pirates fastest player and possibly the fastest man in Major League Baseball.

Wouldn't a guy like this be better if he were batting leadoff?

Every year there is a player who just gets off to an unbelievable start, like Chris Coghlan in 2009.

But fantasy owners need to be careful about these players before they go and completely change their teams. In most cases, those players who get off to hot starts will drop off, back to the mid-200s by the middle of year.

When looking to change your team, either through free agency or trades, look for consistency and trends in past seasons. Players will normally follow a similar pattern.

The Blue Jays home opener started big with Jose Bautista receiving his silver slugger award from last season. Then, the pre-game activities were even bigger as Roberto Alomar and Pat Gilleck were on hand to see their Hall of Fame banners unveiled in the rafters before they teamed up to throw out the ceremonial first pitch of the season.

There has never been a must-win Opening Day.

Judging by the feeling outside of Coors Field following the Rockies 7-6, 11-inning defeat, it seemed as if the front office had pulled a fast one on its fans.

Cubs Nation, breathe easy. Mike Quade sure is.

One of my fondest memories of my youth is the time my dad and I made the trek up the coast to San Francisco to watch the Dodgers play the Giants at Candlestick Park.

It was sometime in the early 70's, and Ron Cey was the Dodgers third baseman. Giant fans didn't like Cey too much for some reason, so every time he came to bat they would boo him. Of course when they would boo him, I would stand up and cheer him on.

Major League Baseball's collective bargaining agreement expires after the 2011 season and the layout of the playoffs will be among the topics discussed.

Baseball should also take a page from the NBA and the NHL and reorganize the American and National leagues into a Western and Eastern Conference.

This was something that bothered me for a while, but after mulling it over, makes sense for the sport.

Think about it.

Both the Red Sox and the Texas Rangers seemed like they were still playing a spring training game.

Each team made early, generally inexcusable errors, while both C.J. Wilson and Jon Lester did not have complete command of their pitches, often missing spots.

For the Red Sox, there was certainly a lot of bad (considering they lost the game), but a lot of positives came from Game 1 as well.

I’ll start with the negatives so we can end on a high note!

Negatives

The Phillies opened the 2011 season Friday with a dramatic come-from-behind win against the Houston Astros, thanks to a walk-off single by pinch-hitter John Mayberry Jr.

The Phillies' offense in the first eight innings was eerily reminiscent to the stagnant offensive output in 2010, but in the bottom of the ninth, the Phightin' Phils were reborn. The Phillies can only hope that this comeback, fueled by small ball, will ignite the their bats for the games to come.

The Milwaukee Brewers are coming off a sub-.500 season filled with inconsistency and injury.