Opening Day Thoughts

So many games, so much sensory input. I don't even know where to start. It's times like these I wish I were a full-time base-blogger (read: even more of a nerd than I already am) so that I could actually take some time to let this stuff sink in and form some meaningful conclusions. But as it stands now, I have to set aside most of the day for such non-baseball related activities as work and friends and personal relationships. But there's at least some time to jot down some quick observations.

1. Everything you heard about Jason Heyward was true. Did you see how he hit a home run in his first major league at-bat? The third youngest player ever to do so? He's a total beast. I'm glad that the Braves put him on their opening day roster, even though they probably would have benefited as a franchise if they sent him to the minors for a couple of months.

Why, you may ask, would the Braves want to delay the arrival of such a great player who's obviously major league ready? The reason is free agency. I don't know all the details, so I might get some of this wrong. But the general idea is that a player is eligible for free agency after six years of major league service. But after just three years, a player can be eligible for salary arbitration, where he'll usually see a hefty increase in his salary. However, a player can be eligible as a "super two" player if he plays his first two seasons all the way through.

So as it stands now, if Heyward remains on the big league roster all of this year and next year, as expected, he will be eligible as a super two player. If the Braves gave him a little "seasoning" (read: stalling time) in the minors, as the Orioles did last year with Matt Wieters, they could have avoided negotiating with their future franchise player for a whole 'nother year.

I guess the Braves brass think Heyward is special enough to make the statement of putting him in the lineup on Opening Day '10.

2. Everything you heard about Roy Halladay was true. Did you see how he totally shut down the Nationals? I mean, they are the Nationals. But 7 innings, 6 hits, 1 run, 2 walks, and 9 strikeouts is impressive any way you spin it. It will remain to be seen if pitching in a bandbox such as Citizen's Bank Park will adversely affect his stats. But until then, we'll enjoy watching him dominate.

3. Everything you heard about Albert Pujols was true. Wow. Two home runs. He's currently projected to hit 324 home runs on the year. Aching back doesn't seem to be giving him much trouble does it?

4. Errors undo the A's. After changing the club philosophy to focus on pitching and defense, they made four miscues (including not one but two throwing errors trying to catch Chone Figgins stealing not once but twice) and a key missed throw by new third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff that allowed the Mariners to score the go-ahead run. Granted the A's never had the lead in the game, but Ben Sheets was able to keep pace with Felix Hernandez, until his defense threw away any chance of winning the game.

And now that Cliff Lee is hurt, Ian Snell is the M's no. 2 pitcher? This is one of the reasons why I'm not as bullish on the Mariners as everyone else seems to be.

That's it for today. Still trying to sort everything out in my head.