Opening Day Redux

Jason Michael Barker

I took in quasi-Opening Day at Safeco Field on Monday, where the White Sox beat the hometown Mariners by a 6-5 score behind six strong innings from Mark Buehrle. Before I get to the details there, however, a few thoughts on Opening Day in general.

Quasi-Opening Day, you ask? Well, sure. When the Indians and Angels started the season all by their lonesome Sunday night -- on a day when many other clubs were still playing exhibition games -- it took some of Monday's luster away. I don't mind the Sunday night opener so much, though, even if it is financially motivated and creates ridiculous statistical anomalies such as "most homers by a player in March: six tied with one."

There's something about Monday that bugged me, though. If it really was "Opening Day," why were there only ten games scheduled? Opening Day should be something everyone can enjoy at once, almost like a national holiday, but that's difficult when ten teams don't even suit up on the first day of games.

By my count we have to wait until Wednesday for a full 15-game schedule, and that includes such silliness as the Red Sox and Blue Jays having an off day Tuesday in between the first and second games of their two-game series. But don't worry, because the two teams will play another two-game set on the 16th and 17th of this month. If this sort of scheduling -- off days in mid-series and two-game series -- is the result of Interleague Play, then mark me down as a baseball purist.

I also read this evening that the Mariners have now opened at home eight consecutive years. Eight years in a row! While that's all well and good for me in Seattle, doesn't it strike you as a bit unfair? It does me, and I'm one of the ones benefiting. Somewhere there's a team that hasn't had a true home opener in three or four years, and that's a shame. There should be some sort of rule along the lines of, "A team cannot open at home more than three consecutive seasons."

Anything else, you ask? No, I think that's all for my Opening Day rant. Moving on...

Did anyone else notice how many quality pitchers were pounded on Monday?

Pedro Martinez: 7 earned runs in 3 innings
Chris Carpenter: 6 earned runs (and four homers) in 2.1 innings
Roger Clemens: 8 earned runs (and five walks) in 4.1 innings
Brad Radke: 5 earned runs in 4.1 innings
Mike Hampton: 6 earned runs in 3.2 innings (and this wasn't at Coors)
Chan Ho Park: 6 earned runs in 5 innings

Ouch!

Of those, the real concerns have to be Pedro and Hampton, both because of what each did last season and how much their respective teams are counting on them. The Red Sox need a 1999-2000 edition season from Martinez in order to have any shot at winning the division, and they'll need a 1998 edition season in order to win the Wild Card. He didn't pitch well this spring, and the early regular season returns are even worse.

Hampton struggled with his control, Coors and a strained groin last year, finishing with a 5.41 ERA that was worse than most expected even considering his new home park. He has never been a dominating strikeout pitcher, but his K-rate fell to just 5.4 per nine innings last season and he allowed a career high 31 homers. The National League West is somewhat up for grabs this season, but without Hampton it'll be out of reach for the Rockies.

Of course, there were also a number of brilliant pitching performances, including Randy Johnson's six-hit, eight-strikeout performance. 128 pitches on Opening Day! The guy simply isn't human. Matt Morris, Mark Mulder and Mark Buehrle had very strong starts as well, leading me to believe that all Opening Day starters should have first names starting with "M," unless they're Randy Johnson.

Best story from Monday? How about Scott Erickson, who pitched six innings of three-hit ball against the Yankees after missing the entire 2001 season recovering from Tommy John surgery. Despite walking three of the first four batters he faced, Erickson allowed just an unearned run to pick up his first win since July 2000.

That said, he's 34, making over $6M this year and has had an ERA under four exactly once in his past seven seasons. If he manages to string together a good month of starts the Orioles should trade him to the highest bidder, because it's not as if he's the difference between Baltimore making the playoffs or not. Harsh but true.

Getting back to the game I attended, will someone please remind my why I picked the White Sox to win the American League Central? The Pale Hose started Kenny Lofton, Royce Clayton and Sandy Alomar Jr., though of course Alomar is due to get hurt in another week or so. Jose Valentin, whose bat has some value at shortstop, is playing third while prospect Joe Crede is back in the minors. Hmm.

A final thought: Apparently someone forgot to tell Rey Ordonez that the regular season started today -- St. Rey had two hits and a walk in three plate appearances, no doubt lending credence to the "he really looks improved at the plate this year! " talk that surfaces every spring.

about the author

Jason Michael Barker is against any scheduling plan which involves days off in mid-series. You can really push his buttons by suggesting a day off between every game, "you know, just for kicks," when you write to jmb@strikethree.com.

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