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Starting Lineups, Opening Day at Fenway »
April 8, 2008
Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
OPEN HERE: Forget Japan. Forget Oakland. Forget Toronto, for that matter. (Although I must say, that was quite a show the Blue Jays staged Friday night.) At the risk of sounding provincial, the baseball season hereabouts doesn't really begin until it begins at Fenway Park, and it begins at Fenway Park today. Joe McDonald reports this circumstance will have plenty of pomp, as it should; after all, how often do you get to use the opener to celebrate a World Series championship? Everybody's getting ready, from the cooks (Boston Herald) to the jewelers (Boston Globe) to the Air Force. (Boston Globe) As we speak, there are folks camped out at the ballpark in the hopes of getting tickets (Boston Globe), even those who were kicked off Lansdowne Street -- pardon me, Ted Williams Way -- on Sunday night. (Boston Herald)
Why all the fuss? I can't put it any better than I did in this 2006 story I wrote for Page A1. I love Opening Day not because of the hoo-hah that surrounds it, but because, as I said two years ago, it opens the gate to "the long and sometimes painstaking six-month journey from Game 1 to Game 162 (and, if a team has been successful, beyond) . . . So much will happen that we can't know. Players will get injured. Some will play worse than we expect. Some will play better. Controversies will erupt. A losing streak will trigger panic attacks; on radio talk shows, callers (and even some hosts) will proclaim they're 'pulling the plug' on the season during a bad stretch in May or July. It will be exciting. It will be nerve-wracking. It will be long, and sometimes boring, and always unpredictable. And if you're a baseball fan, it will be wonderful."
Even though they've already played seven games in three countries prior to today, this is really the beginning of that wonderful journey.
But if you click the link, you might want to skip over that stuff about Coco Crisp.
KARNAK THE MAGNIFICENT: Chad Finn goes nine (mostly baseball related) innings on Opening Day and predicts that until "the Red Sox . . . start playing up to their capabilities and string a few wins together, we're going to continue hearing about the effects of the trip to Japan." (touchingallthebases.blogspot.com)
HITTING HIS MARK: And right on cue, along comes the Boston Herald's Gerry Callahan.
GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS: On the minor-league rehab front, Paul Kenyon reports that Mike Timlin says everything is hunky-dory after his one-inning stint last night at Pawtucket. But from Kenyon and McDonald comes word that Bartolo Colon is headed to the seven-day minor-league DL because of "an oblique issue." The Sox say it's nothing serious; we shall see.
WHY, IN MY DAY . . . The new old-timers -- you know, the guys who played in the '80s and '90s -- can't stand the showmanship of modern players. (The Canadian Press) Manny Ramirez' name invariably comes up in this conversation (look under Home Runs, Standing At Home Plate In Admiration Of), but Jim Rice has nothing but good things to say about Manny in the latest installment of Ask 14.
SOMETHING WE DON'T KNOW? It could be just a techno glitch -- I certainly hope so -- but everytime I try to access Boston Dirt Dogs I get redirected to the boston.com home page.
THIS IS L.A., PAL, NOT BOSTON: Sounds like Dr. Charles Steinberg is attempting to bring some Henry/Werner/Lucchino Fenway Park traditions -- like Autograph Alley -- to Dodger Stadium. But the L.A. Times' T.J. Simers isn't impressed, especially with a new rule that keeps non-ticket holders out of box-seat areas.
THE NEW MATH: If I'm the Blue Jays, I'm wondering how I'm No. 7 and the Red Sox are No. 2 in the latest Fox Power Rankings.
COOLING THE HOT SEAT: The Blue Jays' 4-2 start against the Yankees and Red Sox may ease the pressure on manager John Gibbons. (Toronto Star)
PAIN OF VICTORY: The Yankees' satisfaction with their 6-1 win over the Rays last night was tempered by a quadriceps injury to Derek Jeter that could put him on the disabled list. (New York Post) If he's sidelined, it may mean Alex Rodriguez will return to shortstop (New York Post), though the Daily News' John Harper thinks that would be a bad idea. Jeter's injury took the spotlight away from Mike Mussina, who pitched very well (New York Post) and may have taken the Yanks' minds, at least momentarily, off a tough road trip that starts today with a day game in Kansas City after a night game last night. (New York Daily News)
END OF THE LINE: Writing for Sportingnews.com, Richard Justice thinks Andy Pettitte and Brian Cashman may soon be gone from New York because Cashman is trying to institute a long-term philosophy in a short-term city.
HOW DO THEY FEEL ABOUT RUDY VALLEE? The blog Bugs and Cranks is incredulous that the modern Yankees are indifferent to the talent that was Jimi Hendrix.
RESUME FIRING: New York has no time to recover from Yankees-Tampa Bay; just as the fightin' Rays and Yanks leave town, here come the Phillies and Mets in the final Shea Stadium opener. (Philadephia Inquirer) The New York Post says brawl talk between the two teams persist -- they were none-too-friendly last year, and the Phils were issuing fighting words in February -- but the Post's Kevin Kernan says what today really represents is a chance for the Mets to begin erasing the stench of 2007's historic collapse.
MANIPULATING THE VOTE: The Mets were playing Sweet Caroline -- blasphemy! -- in the eighth-inning stretch at Shea, but the song is so associated with the Red Sox that the team conducted an online poll to pick a new eighth-inning tune. The problem, according to the New York Daily News, is that Fark.com readers bombarded the Mets with a write-in a choice -- Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up -- and the Astley song won. So they decided to hold an in-park competition. They'll play six songs over the first six home games -- Astley's, and the five they listed on the poll (Sweet Caroline is one of them) -- and whichever one gets the most fan reaction will be the winner. No word as to whether or not they'll announce which songs will be played when; if they do, Fark.com readers may gobble up all the tickets for that game.
RAT POISON: The Press-Democrat's Lowell Cohn has no use for Jose Canseco.
NOW THAT'S A MARKETING SLOGAN! The San Jose Mercury News' Tim Kawakami sums it up in San Francisco: "The 2008 Giants: What's the point?"
THE THRILL IS GONE: Game Two at Nationals Park drew a distinctly smaller crowd than Game One. (Washington Times)
THE THRILL IS BACK: Or, more accurately, here for the first time in Tampa, where the Rays sold out their home opener by 4 p.m. yesterday, the earliest sellout in team history except for inaugural home opener in 1998. (mlb.com)
TANNED, RESTED AND READY: Yesterday it was the Fort Worth Star-Telegram saying the Rangers should sign Barry Bonds. Now it's ESPN.com's Jim Caple recommending the Mariners do the same.
WELL, THAT DIDN'T TAKE LONG: Ozzie Guillen was ejected from the White Sox' home opener in the third inning. (Chicago Sun-Times)
YESTERDAY'S BEST: Torii Hunter's bottom-of-the-ninth grand slam enabled the Angels to survive a blown save from Francisco Rodriguez and beat the Indians (Los Angeles Times) . . . Miguel Tejada also had a walkoff home run for the Astros (Houston Chronicle) . . . Trade Joe Crede? Unthinkable! The red-hot third baseman lifted the White Sox a home-opener victory (Chicago Sun-Times) . . . The Pirates overcame a seven-run deficit but still lost their home opener to the Cubs (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) . . . The Diamondbacks routed the Dodgers in their home opener (Arizona Republic) . . . The Orioles, thanks to villain-turned-hero Aubrey Huff, are off to their best start in 10 years after a 5-4 win over the Mariners. (Baltimore Sun)
QUICKLY: The A's are skipping Rich Harden's scheduled start today and pushing him back to Saturday, and they're not saying why (San Francisco Chronicle) . . . Francisco Liriano may make his first start for the Twins on Sunday (Minneapolis Star-Tribune) . . . Dick Kaegal, the Royals' reporter for MLB.com, reports Kansas City acquired Jason LaRue from Cincinnati for $1 in 2006 . . . Chis Young and the Diamondbacks have reached agreement on a long-term contract (Arizona Republic) . . . Unless another delay is agreed upon by MLB and the players' union, the Royals' Jose Guillen will have to begin serving his 15-day suspension for violating the sport's drug policy after tomorrow's game (Kansas City Star) . . . Chad Cordero is aiming for a Friday return to the Nationals. (Washington Post)
OLD FRIENDS: Nomar Garciaparra may begin a rehab assignment this weekend (Los Angeles Daily News) . . . The struggling Bobby Howry is being moved into middle relief by the Cubs (Chicago Sun Times) . . . The A's Justin Duchscherer has a biceps strain and will miss his next start. (San Francisco Chronicle)
-- ART MARTONE
Posted by Art Martone 
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