The Most Wonderful Day Of The Year

"An opener is not like any other game. There's that little extra excitement, a faster beating of the heart. You have that anxiety to get off to a good start, for yourself and for the team. You know that when you win the first one, you can't lose 'em all."- Early Wynn, Washington Senators

Hope springs anew- eveyone in first place, even the Orioles and Giants. I will enjoy my Dodgers in 3 different ways today- the 1st hour I will be watching from work on MLB.TV, 2nd hour on the ride home I will listen on XM, and 3rd hour I will watch from home on ESPN. Multimedia is a beautiful thing. Good luck to everyone's favorite teams (except the Yanks, of course), and let's score some runs!



Meanwhile, how about that first "official" game at Nats Park? Good duel between Tim Hudson and Odalis Perez(HA!), and another walk-off by Mr. NL Clutch, Ryan Zimmerman for the first-place Nats. One of my favorite moments was before the game even started. See if you can hear more than 10 people out of 45,000 cheering over the cascade of boos.

A New Baseball Gem

Staci and I got to take part in a special day yesterday as Nationals Park opened for its first game, an exhibition in preparation for tonight's Opening Night event. We were both in awe as we walked around. It goes without saying that it's a welcome change from RFK- more food selection, more team stores, more for kids to do, and not a bad seat in the house- we were in the nosebleeds and had a perfect view from 3rd base. I personally liked the way it mixes some of the good things from a variety of newer parks- the Center Field walking area and restaurant, similar to Atlanta's Turner Field; the open concourses so that you can watch the game even while standing in line for food, like the ones found in Cincy and San Diego; the seats all angled towards the field so you feel close to the action no matter what. I am excited to see how the Nats adjust to the new stadium, and hopefully field a competitive team.

Jose Can You..Shut Up?

Enough is enough from Jose Canseco, the poster boy of the Steroids Era and the only doper thus far to benefit from his notoriety. His first book, "Juiced," is widely credited for Congress's first hearing by his outing of Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Rafael Palmiero. So why is his 2nd book "Vindicated," due out on April Fool's Day, looked upon as garbage? Well, first came the report that he tried to bribe White Sox outfielder Magglio Ordonez out of $5 million to keep his name out of the book. Then came news that A-Rod is named- but is he? Canseco says he introduced A-Rod to his dealer, but is vague about everything else, and also says he never saw him use. Ordonez and A-Rod may well be guilty (their names have never come up before), but Canseco is using his vengence toward MLB supposedly blackballing him to make more money. He should be ashamed of profiting from a dirty era which had a huge part in by using and introducing others to steroids. But, of course, he's not- millions will buy his book, hoping for a revelation, but all they will find is insinuations and vague suggestions. Bring proof, Jose, or just go away.

Heaven Is..

...watching your favorite team in your favorite season 20 years after the last time you saw the games. In one of the happiest moments in recent memory, the newly-released 1988 Dodgers DVD set arrived yesterday. The set includes 2 of the NLCS games against the Mets and all 5 World Series games against the A's. All games are uncut and in their entirety. I was watching Game 4 of the NLCS last night, and it's amazing what comes back to you. For example:

- I still hate John Tudor(acquired by trading my favorite player Pedro Guererro, and he STUNK!)
- The big sluggers of the day wouldn't even be a middle infielder in the Steroids Era (Gibson looks tiny, and Strawberry is like string bean). Not stating any new revelation here, just still amazes me.
- Even as a traditionalist, I found myself missing the constant score in the upper corner that's commonplace today.
- Dutch Rennert calling emphatic strikes (STEEEERIKKKKE TWOOOOOOO!) is missed in today's game.
- Tim McCarver was, is, and ever shall be the most annoying commentator in the history of sport. Al Michaels and Jim Palmer seemed amazed at times at what a douche this guy was. Maybe that's why neither does baseball anymore.

All in all, a great walk down Memory lane, with about 24 more hours of watching to go!

Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue?

Some bit of good retro news- as reported on ESPN's Uni Watch, The Blue Jays and Royals are bringing their famous '80's powder blue unis- the Jays for Friday home games and the Royals for special dates. Now all we need is the Phillies' powder blues and Astros' rainbow unis and we'll be set!

The Un-Opening Day

The Red Sox and A's opened the Major League Baseball season at 6AM this morning in Tokyo, Japan. While I am happy that baseball is back, I have a problem with the season opening in another country. Let me start by accentuating the positives: I am glad that baseball is expanding further into global markets. Goodwill tours to Japan in November, the Dodgers and Padres playing the first MLB games in China a few weeks ago, the World Baseball Classic have all been good to promote the greatest game. The key is that all of these games were exhibitions not during the regular season. Giving 2 teams a disadvantage with a ridiculous schedule (they play another game tomorrow, then play 3 more exhibition games in US, then start their US opener on Tuesday- all with one day off) is the kind of thing that can come back and bite you.

Having said all of this, my bigger problem is the bastardization of Opening Day for profit. As recently as 10-15 years ago, everyone started their season on the first Monday of April, with the Cincinnati Reds playing the first game of the year (Cincy is the longest continuously run major league team, dating back to 1869). Then night games started creeping in. Then ESPN picked a game to start on the Sunday night before the season. Now, this makes the second time the season has started outside of the US. Where will it stop? This used to be a day for hardcore fans to enjoy the first pitches of eternal hope, watching their team live or on TV, a national holiday, to be sure. As for me, while I will watch and/or listen to today, tomorrow, and Sunday's games, my holiday will continue to be the first Monday of baseball, with sunshine and dreams of pennants and batting titles as they were when we were younger.

Playoff Predictions

Finally, here are my picks for awards and playoffs:

NL Cy Young- Johan Santana, Mets
AL Cy Young- Daiske Matsusaka, Red Sox

NL MVP- Prince Fielder, Brewers
AL MVP- Grady Sizemore, Indians

ALDS:
Indians over Mariners
Red Sox over Tigers

ALCS: Indians over Red Sox

NLDS:
Brewers over Padres
Dodgers over Phillies

NLCS: Brewers over Dodgers

World Series: Indians over Brewers

You heard it here first!

The Curse of the Penguin

News came down today that Nomar will spend the first week of the season on the Disabled List. This, just 2 weeks after 3rd base prospect Andy LaRoche went down for 8-10 weeks. We are now 26 years into what I (and I am sure others) have called the "Curse of the Penguin." Ron "Penguin" Cey is the greatest 3rd baseman in the history of the Dodgers, playing 1971-82 with LA. Then in the fall of '82, thinking Cey was too old, they traded him to the Cubs for Vance Lovelace and Dan Cataline. Hows that working out? Cey played another 6 years, Lovelace and Cataline never got above AA, and the Dodgers have been looking for a hot corner guy ever since. Here's just a partial list of the goofballs since Cey:

Bill Madlock- Great player, 10 years before we got him.

Jeff Hamilton(above)- Yes, he was on the '88 Champions, but he's more famous for being the first position player to take a loss by pitching in a 22-inning game. Never batted above .245.

Tim Wallach- see Bill Madlock.

Todd Zeile- See Bill Madlock.

Adrian Beltre- Sure, he gave us one HGH, contract-year blowout with 48 homers and 2nd in the MVP. 5 other non-HGH, non-contract year garbage that went with that.

Mike Blowers, Lenny Harris, Tracy Woodson, Bob Bailor, Rafael Landestoy, Olmaedo Saenz, Chad Fonville, etc, etc, etc..

And now the Nomar and Andy show. LaRoche may show himself to be "the guy" at third for a long time, but you'll excuse me for not taking the bait on this after nearly three decades of has-beens and never-weres.

National League West Preview

1. San Diego Padres- Peavy, Young, Maddux, Wolf, Hoffman. Oh, and they have a good lineup too. Their pitching will most likely win them a highly contested and competitve division.

2. Los Angeles Dodgers- Have to show their late-season crumbling was due to Grady Little and not players. Pitching is better with Hiroki Kuroda and subtraction of Mark Hendrickson and Brett Tomko. Bullpen is as deep as any in the NL, and their lineup is solid if not powerful. Should be able to pull off the wild-card.

3. Colorado Rockies- I love how people who never even heard of the Rockies before last September are picking them to win the NL. A very good lineup, a decent if not dominant closer in Manny Corpas. Thier question to me is starters, as they remind me of the '05 White SOx- did everyone have career years at the same time in '07?

4. Arizona Diamondbacks- They would easily be the champs if they played in the dead-ball era of the early 1900's. Brandon Webb and Dan Haren are an incredible 1-2 punch, Randy Johnson is done, and Eric Brynes will be the new version of Brady Anderson- one monster season surrounded by average years.

5. San Francisco Giants- The start of the post-Big Head era will be rough going, but at least they'll start to get some good karma back after the freak show the last decade has been.

Coming next week- World Series and Award predictions-

Happy March Madness!

Good luck to all the billions of brackets floating out there- and let one of my 3 be a winner!

National League Central Preview

1. Milwaukee Brewers- Time for the "Crew" to celebrate like it's 1982 (their last playoff appearance). A very good offense led by Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun. Ben Sheets and Jeff Suppan lead a good rotation, and Eric Gagne will rebound from a horrendous 2months as Red Sox' set-up guy to be the solid (if not dominating) closer again.

2. Chicago Cubs- At least we're not talking about Prior and Wood this year- wait- what- new closer Wood is having back spasms? Ohh boy..On the plus side, their offense is even better this year with Fukodome, along with the maturation of Geovanny Soto and Ryan Theriot. Carlos Zambrano and Ted Lilly are good top-of-the-rotation, then it gets sketchy. And the bullpen, well, did I mention Kerry Wood? 100 years of futility will go at least one more.

3. St Louis Cardinals- The Cards should be thankful they are in the worst division in the NL, and even that won't help them. Albert Pujols is still the best player in the game, but there may be injuries that hold him back. Good young outfield led by former feel-good story Rick Ankiel. An underappreciated closer in Jason Isringhausen. But that rotation would have looked good about 5 years ago, when some guys still had youth, potential, or both- Mark Mulder, Kyle Lohse, Joel Piniero. Maybe Tony LaRussa should have taken the Yankees' job.

4. Cincinnati Reds- Are people really picking this team to win the division? An okay lineup, a bland rotation, and closer Fransisco Cordero. Dusty Baker is good, but he doesn't walk on water.

5. Houston Astros- Maybe the 'Stros can play the White Sox in the "Remember Us, We Were Good in '05?" Series. Kaz Matsui and Michael Bourn were good pickups for the future, but Lance Berkman will be hitting most of his blasts with the bases empty. Good luck, Roy Oswalt.

6. Pittsburgh Pirates- I don't think the Pirates even pretend to try anymore. Just pathetic.

National League East Preview

Phillies and Mets are 1 and 1A in this division, will probably flip-flop into first place all year long:

1. Philadelphia Phillies- Solid rotation, with youngster Cole Hamels, ageless Jamie Moyer, and wife-beater Brett Myers. Brad Lidge may implode in the 'pen, but Flash Gordon a good alternate. Lineup anchored by the last 2 MVPs in Howard and Rollins, it will all depend on how they deal with being the chase-ee this time around.

2. NY Mets- Plus- you get the best pitcher in baseball (Johan Santana). Minus- you do absolutely nothing else to upgrade a team that had one of the biggest collapses in MLB history. Will score alot, will pray for Pedro to be '99-04 Pedro, will hope John Maine and Oliver Perez continue to exceed expectations. Johan can only pitch every 5 days.

3. Washington Nationals- A distant 3rd, but 3rd nonetheless. Jason Bergmann, Shawn Hill and John Lannan (above) will be in the Nats' rotation for the next decade, and with a solid 7th thru 9th inning bullpen, they don't have to blow their arms out in the process. A halfway decent lineup with little power, depending on how the new Nats Park plays. The start of the revival of a long-downtrodden franchise.

4. Atlanta Braves- Glavine's back!(he's 62) Hudson's healthy!(really?) Mark Kotsay replaces Andruw! (uh-oh..) Jo-Jo Reyes is our 5th starter! (umm...) Do you think Teixeira is ready to head back to Texas?

5. Florida Marlins- Their bid to move to the Carolina League was denied, so they will have to settle for being the worst team in the NL. By trading their only two marketable players (Dontrelle & Miguel Cabrera), the 675 people that came out last year may not be back. Their new stadium in 2010-11 may be too late.

An Honorable Move

Praising the Yankees isn't something I am used to, but I feel the need to mention the act of generosity and kindness the team displayed yesterday. On their only off-day of the pre-season, the entire team flew from Tampa, Florida to Blacksburg, VA to play a charity event at Virginia Tech. This was more than just a game, as it continued a long healing process for a campus still recovering from last year's mass shooting. The Yankees signed autographs, took pictures and visited the memorial site before taking the field. All the superstars attended, and gave a lifetime of memories to some lucky students. Well done.

American League West Preview

1. Seattle Mariners- Biggest acquisition of the offseason in ace Eric Bedard (above). An already talented team with Felix Hernandez, Jarrod Washburn and Carlos Silva are that much better bumping everyone down a slot to bring in Bedard. AL's best closer in JJ Putz, AL's best pure hitter in Ichiro, and some good pop in the lineup will help the Mariners squeak by the Angels.

2. Anaheim Angels- The Yankees of the West, throwing money at anybody who has a heartbeat. Did make some solid moves picking up Jon Garland and Torii Hunter. The infield is surpirisingly shallow, with Chone Figgins being the only one worth much. Closer K-Rod and a decent starting rotation will make this a great division race.

3. Texas Rangers- A team on the rise offensively, Ian Kinsler and Michael Young make a great DP tandem. But when Kevin Millwood is your ace, well...

4. Oakland A's- Eric Chavez will be traded by July. Then they will have...Daric Barton? Emil Brown? Joe Blanton and Rich Harden will keep their starts close, but Moneyball's demise will continue.

The End

Sadness beyond words. Final Vero Game- Astros 12, Dodgers 10. Full story here.

Atlanta Tornado

Here's to all of my ATL brethren- thankfully, no one was killed during Friday's tornado, but the damage is unbelievable. Knowing the resolve of my former hometown and favorite place in the world, they will recover and rebuild quickly!

12th Annual St Pat's Party Pics

Sorry they're a week late. Enjoy:

How Smart Is My Wife?

She's speaking at Harvard University today. I'm stocking foam fingers and Mr. Celery dolls for the upcoming season. Who got the better end of this deal? :) Good luck babe!

American League Central Preview

This is a really tough division to handicap, as there are so many overriding factors in health and "sophomore slumps" on various teams. This is my disclaimer for when I revisit this in October. :)

1. Cleveland Indians- How can you not like their pitching depth? A solid 7 starters, including CC Sabathia (above) and Fausto Carmona? A young and healthy lineup as well, led by Grady Sizemore. A force to be reckoned with.

2. Detroit Tigers- The best collection of hitters in baseball. But what did the '01 Mariners, '04-07 Yankees, and so many more teach us? 1000 runs does not make your crappy pitchers any better. Justin Verlander and pray for rain. They will most likely still make the playoffs as a wild card, but it will be a quick exit for the Motown Bombers.

3. KC Royals- If Alex Gordon and Billy Butler continue to hit, and Gi Meche earns his $11 mill a year, the Royals will have their second winning season in 16 years.

4. Minnesota Twins- Letting Johan Santan go may pay off in the long run (2011 anyone?), but banking all of your hopes on Francisco Liriano's injury-prone body may be too much. Livan Hernandez will help, but not enough.

5. Chicago White Sox- Is this really the team that won the Series 2+ years ago? Not really. Their pitching stinks. Their hitters stink. They actually got worse over the winter, not an easy accomplishment. Ozzie will be out by July 4th.

American League East Preview

It's hard to believe that the start of the regular season is only 12 days away (Boston and Oakland have 2 games in Japan Mar. 25-26; first game on American soil is Nats' Home Opener on March 30th). I will be filling this blog with my predictions over the next couple of weeks and I begin with the American League East.

1. Boston Red Sox- The reigning World Series Champs will miss Curt Schilling, but will offset that with recovered Bartolo Colon. They are as deep a team as any in baseball, with the all-important solid bullpen and rotation. Not a weak link in the batting lineup either, with the possible exception of JD Drew. Center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury(former Blue Rock pictured above) will be a shoo-in for Rookie of the Year.

2. Toronto Blue Jays- When you finally have a healthy rotation, and you add 2 proven winners and leaders in David Eckstein and Scott Rolen, you may finally break through the Red Sox-Yankees stranglehold on the East. Too bad it's the same year that the wild-card will come out of the Central.

3. NY Yankees- Something the many Yankee-haters across the country have waited for since 1994- no Yankees in the playoffs. Their starting nine is still filled with All-Stars, but the pitching rotation is more suspect than it's been since the days of Ed Whitson. And one of these years All-World closer Mariano Rivera HAS to get old- doesn't he? Joba Chamberlain will be the only ray of light, but at least they have the closing the Stadium to celebrate all year.

4. Tampa Bay Rays- Stunning array of young talent not enough when you play the top 3 teams in this division a total of 57 times. They will still have the best team in their history (not saying much). If they sign Big Head Bonds, move them to fifth place.

5. Baltimore Orioles- Such a sad state for a former proud franchise. Owner Angelos has signed every poster boy for steroids at one point of another, and now that he's finally rid of those idiots, he trades away his best pitcher (Eric Bedard). This may be the worst team in the majors.

Up next: the AL Central..

Best Commercials Ever

You Tube has quickly become a haven for a nostalgic fool like myself to find clips from old shows, commercials, and the like. I had my biggest find yesterday, when I stumbled across the funniest commercials ever made. It was a series that Holiday Inn put out about 8 years ago, "What do you think this is, a Holiday Inn?" I decided to post a couple to boost a dreary hump-day. Enjoy:

Bronx Zoo 2.0

I have always been a believer that very few managers have an effect on wins and losses for their team, but certain guys just fit a team better than others. With that in mind, will any team miss a manager more than the Yankees will miss Joe Torre? Evidence already that it could be a long hot summer without his steady hand:

- "New" owner Hank Steinbrenner, who is already giving Daniel Snyder a run for the money as the goofiest bastard to ever run a sports franchise, says how much he despises Alex Rodriguez, then re-signs him for a record amount. Also claims, "Red Sox Nation? What a bunch of [expletive] that is. That was a creation of the Red Sox and ESPN, which is filled with Red Sox fans." Also throws Torre under the bus after he decided to dump Torre during the off-season. It reminds me of Sonny taking over for Vito in "The Godfather"- been waiting his whole life to take over for daddy, but continues to make people miss the Big Guy.

- New manager Joe Girardi slams a Tampa Bay Rays player for playing hard in a spring training game and breaking a Yanks' catcher's wrist in a collision at home. "I want you to play hard. I want you to hustle, but to me it's not the time to do it," Girardi said. Really Joe? When is the time for a rookie trying to make a team supposed to show hustle? After he's been sent back to the minors? A little thing that turned into a big thing- something Torre was able to control over 12 years.

Joe Torre was a miserable failure before his glory years in New York, and he may not accomplish anything in LA. But the one thing you could always give him was that he knew how to handle the media, players, and owner in a town where almost everyone has failed in the last 30 years. And there's already signs that this may be a powder keg waiting to explode in the Bronx that would make Billy Martin smile.

Bush Endorses McCain

Got me to thinking- what other headlines would sound as odd or out-of-place with reality?

OJ Obsolves Real Killers

Chevy Chase Annoints Conan as Late Night King

Clemens Chastises Bonds for HGH Use

Adam Sandler Thinks Will Ferrell Should Choose More Serious Roles

Warren Buffett Floats Bill Gates a Loan

Hank Steinbrenner Says There Is No Red Sox Nation (Sorry, that one is real)

Rafael Palmiero, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire to Appear on FOX's "Moment of Truth"

Wrigley Field To Sell Naming Rights (Sorry, true again)

Primaries Get Exciting Again!

My girl Hillary looks alot better than she did 24 hours ago, winning 3 out of 4 primaries last night that she definitely needed to stay in this race. Pundits, the majority of whom clearly can't stand her (SNL skit aside), should take lessons from...Simon Cowell? Yes, Simon has learned that the more he shows his hatred for someone, the more people vote for that singer on American Idol. Same goes for Mrs. Clinton- the more she gets killed on every show that has clearly bandwagoned with the hot-as-the-sun Obama, the more comebacks she makes.

As for me, I'm happy for Hillary, though I hope that this gets decided sooner rather than later. The thing I am truly happiest about is that my vote will count on April 22nd, as Pennsylvania has a say in a nominee for the first time since 1976.

Brett Fav-ra

Good luck and thanks for the memories. Of all the football highlights that you made in 17 years, here's my favorite highlight of your career:

Baseball Boogie!

Discovered this on YouTube. This is the 1986 Dodgers doin the Baseball Boogie. Don't remember this, but it's always possible I just blocked it out. No wonder we only won 73 games that year: