After the New York Mets thrashed the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1 on ESPN's Opening Day Eve, the rest of the Major Leagues Now Get Their Shot.
The New York Mets looked very impressive in their 2007 Major League Baseball opening night victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Tom Glavine pitched six innings, gave up one run, and earned career Win No. 291, just nine short of baseball's storied 300 Win Club. The way Glavine pitched last night, he may get there a heck of a lot sooner than I thought. (I am still predicting late July, by the way.)
So what's in store for baseball fans on this, the real opening day of the 2007 Major League Baseball season?
1. At 1:05 (EDT), you've got the New York Yankees squaring off against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Because of pitching injuries, the Yankees will send Carl Pavano to the hill. Pavano has not pitched in a real Major League Baseball game since June of 2005. The big right-hander can begin to erase almost two years of failure and frustration in the Bronx with a good performance today.
2. Also at 1:05 is the Philadelphia Phillies against the Atllanta Braves, which pits one of the best young pitchers in the National League, Brett Myers, against one of the game's future Hall of Famers in John Smoltz. Today's game is an early indicator of how ready these two teams are to compete with the Mets for the National League East Crown.
3. At 2:05, the 2005 World Champion White Sox look to start the 2007 Major League Baseball season on the right foot. After missing the playoffs in 2006, the Sox will look to John Garland to earn their first win of the year against the upstart Cleveland Indians, who send the big C.C. Sabathia to the mound.
4. Fans who used to watch their favorite out of area teams on Cable's inDemand MLB Extra Innings package will now have to switch to Satellite's DirecTV to see their games. I don't know whether to be furious at baseball for making this switch so late (the final deal was only confirmed two days ago), or be amazed that we have satellite technology that beams baseball games all over the globe.
5. For those of you wondering how soon Barry Bonds can reach Hank Aaron, you will have to wait until tomorrow. The San Francisco Giants don't start their seasons until Tuesday, April 3rd.
What other 2007 Major League Baseball stories have we got?
Well, we have the ongoing Alex Rodriguez-Derek Jeter soap opera in the Bronx. Good grief.
We also have the debut of Alfonso Soriano with the Chicago Cubs against the Reds in Cincinnati. Today will give Cub fans the first indication of whether Soriano is the man to lead them out of their 99-year World Series drought.
The Phillies contest against Atlanta is Philadelphia's first step in their quest to win a division title without a middle relief corps. Seriously, if this team doesn't find someone to bridge the gap between their impressive starting rotation and their veteran closer, then I am going to find some way to weasel out of my prediction that the Phillies will win the NL East. Antonio Alfonseca is already giving me a peptic ulcer.
When the Minnesota Twins take on the Baltimore Orioles tonight at 7:00 (EDT), Johann Santana will begin his quest for a third Cy Young Award in four years.
There is so much more to see. My recommendation? Forget work -- stay home and watch baseball!!!!
