Well folks, now that all of the pitching matchups have been determined for sunday and monday’s opening day games, I’m gonna quickly brush through the best of em and the ones to maybe glance at the box score.

Best of the bunch:

Nationals vs Braves, Sunday: It’s Tim Hudson vs Odalis Perez, it’s opening night, sunday night baseball, Jon Miller, Joe Morgan, the first game at new Nationals park, what more could you want? Oh and yea I think this is an intriguing pitching matchup. I’ll be there, and I hope you are too.

Tigers vs Royals, Monday: Justin Verlander is worth watching every time he takes the hill, and if Gil Meche had better run support last year, he’d get a lot more attention than he does right now. It may be freezing in Detroit monday, but it’ll be worth seeing Miguel Cabrera command the hot corner in big D for the first time.

Blue Jays vs Yankees, Monday: Roy Halladay vs Chien-Ming Wang. If you love your sinkerballers, then this is the place to be at 1:05. Oh and it’s also the last ever opening day in the house that Ruth built.

Brewers vs Cubs, Monday: Ben Sheets vs Carlos Zambrano. This one should be a gem. The Brewers and Cubbies always seem to have something going on, and yea, they’re both good and contending for that division title. If the Cubs want that world series that some are speculating about, then they’re gonna have to go through Milwaukee to get it. Stay tuned, cause these two could provide some good entertainment in the 16 games between the NL central rivals.

White Sox vs Indians, Monday: Mark Buehrle could win a Cy Young at some point in his career. C.C Sabathia is the current AL holder. This is one sweet matchup of two of the best lefties in the AL.

Giants vs Dodgers, Monday: Barry Zito has never looked comfortable since his move across the bay last year. He’s got a chance to get a good start this year vs Brad Penny, who could be a NL Cy Young favourite this year for the Dodgers. Oh and one more reason to tune into this one. It’s Giants Dodgers. Enough said.

Astros vs Padres, Monday: This is my personal pick of opening day, with Roy Oswalt going for the Astros and Jake Peavy for the Padres. outside of the awesome pitching matchup which has me excited beyond words, watch out for Astros catcher J.R.Towles, and we’ll see whether Kevin Kouzmanoff can pick up where he left off last year after a great rookie campaign.

Worth a glance:

Diamondbacks vs Reds, Monday: Brandon Webb and Aaron Harang provide an intriguing matchup of aces. Plus there’s Joey Votto of the Reds, one of the most highly touted prospects in baseball. If that weren’t enough, then well, we’ll get a look at one of the best young lineups in mlb coming out of the desert. Watch out for Eric Byrnes.

Pirates vs Braves, Monday: Ian Snell has got a ton of potential, he just needs the run support and a bullpen behind him that can hold leads. Tom Glavine makes his return to Atlanta after a few years with the Mets, so this one should be more than just an opening day start for Glavine.

Mets vs Marlins, Monday: For those of you who love Johan Santana, he’ll be on the mound in Florida when the Mets begin their season. All signs point to Santana not missing a beat in New York, so a Cy Young could be on his way.

Well folks, that’s the lot. And there’s more to come on tuesday as well! Ah, baseball’s finally back, and I’m so excited!

I will admit, I’m not a fan of Domed stadiums. I don’t like watching games in Minnesota or Tampa for that exact reason. It’s another reason why I’m looking forward to 2010 when the Twins move into their new park. But hey, the Tokyo dome isn’t a bad stadium. I’d take it over Tampa or the Metrodome anyday. As for my impressions on the A’s/Red Sox? These two games have been gems. This one too. Here’s what i’m really thinking after 6 innings are complete in Tokyo:
- I’m really impressed with Rich Harden. He gave up a solo bomb to Manny, but whatever. I don’t care. he’s challenged hitters, showed composure, and really pitched a solid game. Staying healthy will be key, but if he can, all signs point to a **** good year.
- Bobby Crosby looks like he’s gonna have a decent year. After a couple years of injuries and question marks, he seems like he’s got his swing down here in Japan. Looks like he could finally follow on from his good rookie campaign.
- Manny looks absolutely locked in. Reports are he’s healthier than ever, and he’s set up for a huge manny like year.
- Big Papi looks a little behind at this point. He was overpowered by Harden, and he struggled yesterday vs Joe Blanton. it’ll take him a little while, but he’ll come around.
- Jon Lester really struggled to throw strikes today. Seriously. You can’t expect to have success when you can’t throw first pitch strikes. Of his 83 pitches, only 47 were strikes. That’s just not good enough. Still, it’s the first game of the year for him, and there’s a long way to go.
- I’ve been impressed with Javier Lopez. The sidearming lefty’s performance here in Japan indicates the Sox’s pen will be pretty **** good this year.

Good morning once again from Tokyo! I’m loving this. It’s great. After yesterday’s 10 inning beauty, we’re back in Japan for one more. And I’ve got to say, Rich Harden is dealing. You can see why this guy has been regarded as a top prospect for a long time, but could just never put it together because of injuries. If he can stay healthy, from this showing, he’s gonna have a big year. But I will hold my breath because I may have just jinxed Harden. Top 3rd, big papi at the plate, Youkilis on at first, Crisp at 2nd, 1-0 A’s. Still, regardless of what happens here, I’m seeing a lot of first pitch strikes, and the fearlessness to challenge hitters with that great fastball. Well, I’m gonna get back to the game! I wonder how many people in Boston are up at 6am watching the game? and what about in California at 3am? Now that’s some kind of cool!

**** I just love opening day. So many games, great times for the games too (from my perspective here in england there’s a ton on during the early evening rather than early hours of the morning!), optimism, and the start of another major league season. so much promise. From Pittsburgh to Seattle, New York to Boston, each and every team starts at 0-0, wipes the slate clean, knows that they have a shot at the postseason, because in baseball, anything is possible. As we have seen, the Colorado Rockies in 2007, the Tigers in 06, and others give every team hope that each year, they could be the surprise team that makes a big push. Who will it be in 08? Will the Pirates make the jump over .500 for the first time in over a decade? What about those Reds with all that talent? And Tampa? And then you look at opening day. The beauty of it. Each team throws their number one guy out there, head to head, great matchups, packed houses, hot dogs, peanuts, beer, vendors. It doesn’t matter. the atmosphere is just perfect. Summer’s coming. And the game that makes so many childhood dreams is back in business yet again. And one of the great things I love about being a Tigers fan is that opening day always seem to be an afternoon game for the Tigers, which, due to the time zone differences, is great news for me! Another thing I love about opening day is that it always fall within my holiday time from school/university, so I’ll always have the time to watch games, browse stories, stats etc, and get the lowdown on each team for the upcoming year. And of course, I think one of the biggest single things about opening day is that it reminds people that summer is just around the corner. The Boys of summer are back. It won’t be long before those long beautiful summer nights return and you can grab a beer and relax at your favourite park or infront of your tv if you’re not lucky enough to get to a game.
ah the joy of the game……and when Justin Verlander toes the rubber in Detroit on March 31st, I’ll once again be in heaven!! (Just as long as the game doesn’t get snowed out!)