Opinion

I know, having Yunel Escobar at the top of the lineup sounds crazy, but the numbers seem to show a different story.

.197/.270/.335 (263 Plate Appearances)

.179/.281/.232 (64 Plate Appearances)

.411/.427/.616 (75 Plate Appearances)

What are these stat lines? They are the typical BA/OBP/SLG line when a player is leading off a game.

But who are those players? In order, they are Nate McLouth, Melky Cabrera, and Yunel Escobar.

Anticipation grew as the players exited the tunnel Monday to enter Citizens Bank Park to mark the 2010 Philadelphia Phillies' home opener against the Washington Nationals.

Above, Jimmy Rollins, the longest-tenured player among the Phillies, enters among adoring fans.

Moments later, however, a hush grew among the gathered fans.

Juan Castro, not Jimmy Rollins, took the field at shortstop.

Not since Lenny Dysktra broke his wrist on Opening Day many years ago did such a key member of the team go down on Opening Day.

The Mets have played six games and have been far from inspiring. Home runs aside, the offense has lacked when it has mattered most, and that needs to change, desperately.

For the time being, the offensive struggles are taking a back seat (as they should) to the starting rotation and the instability of each pitcher, including Johan Santana.

Last weekend we heard that Beltran was not in pain but is not ready to run yet, with no timetable of the delay so when he will be ready is an unknown at this time.

Of course, mere hours after writing an article bashing the White Sox lineup, the team puts together a perfect mixture of baserunning, power, and scoring in an 8-7 win on the road over the Toronto Blue Jays.

The White Sox put together 14 hits, three of which were home runs, scored eight runs in 11 innings, and stole four bases with four different runners without getting caught.

The team also didn't put down one sacrifice bunt.

This is what the White Sox lineup can do, but whether it will do it on a daily basis or not is yet to be seen.

So, I was Jonesing (get it?) for some Sox news and decided to make my way to BleacherReport. 

And by the looks of things, there is pandemonium, chaos, and a lost season on the South Side. 

All of you in panic mode are fools, and I'm going to show you why.

The Hitters

Much has been said about the production—or lack thereof—from the Sox lineup. Let me sprinkle some reality into your lives.

After a matchup between two relatively awful teams left Cubs fans with high hopes Monday, deeper problems still plague the mind of seasoned manager Lou Piniella.

Piniella may have made his best decision so far in the young season when he decided to start 24-year-old Tyler Colvin in replace of the struggling Alfonso Soriano on April 8. The result? Colvin belted his first career home run in his first at-bat of the season. 

Being that I live in Los Angeles now, I've only been able to catch the highlights of the Giants' wins on MLB.com the day after the game or catch the game on MLB.com's virtual game thingy.

Imagine my thrill last night when I dropped into a sushi restaurant that actually had the game on in the bottom of the third.

It immediately made me remember there's a God who loves me and wants me to be happy.  ;-)

Then Mark DeRosa hits into a double play.

The Giants of the last two or three years would have been deflated.

Like most Reds diehards, I'm treading lightly on praise right now, but it is soooooo hard to hide the enthusiasm.

Oh, and this from the Enquirer today: @ Cincienquirer   Aroldis Chapman will make his debut in Louisville Friday. Tickets are, predictably, going fast: http://bit.ly/csEHc0

Like most Reds diehards, I'm treading lightly on praise right now, but it is soooooo hard to hide the enthusiasm. Oh, and this from the Enquirer today: @Cincienquirer  Aroldis Chapman will make his debut in Louisville Friday. Tickets are, predictably, going fast: http://bit.ly/csEHc0

The Reds season is now one week old, and positive things are already transpiring.

To begin with, they are four up and three down, which is a real good thing, considering their first two series were against the top two finishers in the NL Central in 2009.

Scott Rolen is beginning to look like the Rolen of 2004 with the Cardinals. He finished that season with an OPS+ of 157.

There is a new young gun in town—I have named him "Iceman." When that takes off, don't forget where you saw it first.