Opening Day

Opening Day in baseball is one hell of a day and its one of those days of the year I have no remorse when I skip class. Seeing as the first game of the year was a rain filled Sunday night, I still did not have my baseball fix. One of the great things about Opening Day is free MLB extra innings; I can watch any game I want! Except all the games are on normal TV anyway. So the early part of the day was pretty much me flipping around the different game keeping track of my fantasy team. I’m in an NL only keeper league and I know you don’t care who I have so ill quickly go over the big names: Adruw Jones, Chad Tracy, Jimmy Rollins, Adam Dunn, Chris Carpenter, John Smoltz and Jake Peavy. My team is built on pitching this year, although I made the genius move to draft Armando Bentiz even though my league doesn’t award points for DL stints.

In preparation for the upcoming Diamondbacks game at 1, Justin and I decided to go buy some hotdogs. We went to Smart and Final were they sell 50 premium wieners (no homo) for 6 bucks! That’s a hell of a deal. So we have 50 premium wieners in our hand and we buy a pack of 24 buns. Throw in a 2 liter bottle of grape soda and code red and we are set for opening day. Wait, Justin realizes we need ketchup. So back into the store we go, were a bottle of ketchup is about 3 bucks and a tub of ketchup that contains about 20 times more ketchup is the same price. So we buy the tub, and a tub of mustard and a tub of relish. Lets recap: We have 50 premium wieners, 24 buns, a tub of ketchup, mustard and relish. That’s enough to throw a party, but its just Justin and I. Needless to say we will be living off premium wieners and condiments for the next 3 months.

Then the Diamondbacks game started, ending my supreme happiness about opening day and replacing it with the dark realization that nothing has changed with the Diamondbacks (okay its been one game, that’s an overreaction). Lets check the checklist:

• Couldn’t hit with runners in scoring position- Check
• Couldn’t get a key bunt down- Check
• Baserunning errors- Check
• Bad managing- Check
• Bad Bullpen- Check

Despite the lack of offense, Brandon Webb was pitching a hell of a game. 7 innings of 1 run ball in Coors Field counts as a perfect game anywhere else. Before the game, when asked about his pitch count, Bob Melvin said Webb could go as long as he wanted. With Webb cruising through 7 innings right around 100 pitchers most smart, sane managers would let him go the 8^th and bring your closer in the 9^th. Not Bob Melvin, he brings in 45 year old soft tossing lefthander Terry Mullholand to play the “percentages”. The D-Backs are up 2-1 at this point, but Justin and I had no doubt this lead was going to get blown and of course it did. Which makes me wonder about lefty specialists, they are on teams to get tough lefties out but they are usually the worst pitchers in your bullpen. So you are going to bring in your worst pitcher to face Todd Helton, just because he is left-handed. Its just like seven footers in basketball, if you are left handed you will last in the league forever and its just stupid.

So anyway the game goes into extra innings and the D-Backs blow about 1,000 chances to get the go ahead run, which included Tony Clark just missing a 3 run homer. It’s only been one at bat, but Clark seems to have picked up right were he left off. There is no one id rather have hitting in a clutch situation them him. He is probably better served starting, considering he had a ridiculous slugging percentage last year, but he is a huge asset off the bench late in the game and you have to get Conor Jackson his playtime. Conor Jackson already looks like a more professional hitter than any of the veterans in the D-Backs lineup. He doesn’t swing at anything in the strike zone, its crazy.
So anyway the bottom of the 11th rolls around and the D-Backs make two errors and the Rockies win. Later Diamondbacks apologize for having to wrap the game in newspaper, citing they didnt have time to get some nice wrapping paper and a bow.

Well that was opening day, even though this blog came a few days later. Here is looking forward to a great season . . . .