Seattle home opener LAA (Loux) @ SEA (silva)

I cant believe I'm going to watch these awful starting pitcher, and the horrid Mariners lineup:

LA Angels
	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB	Season Avg
C. Figgins 3b	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.263
H. Kendrick 2b	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.296
B. Abreu lf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.292
V. Guerrero dh	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.292
T. Hunter cf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.222
K. Morales 1b	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.304
M. Napoli c	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.444
G. Matthews Jr. rf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.167
E. Aybar ss	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.083
Totals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Seattle
	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB	Season Avg
E. Chavez rf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.379
R. Cedeno lf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.143
K. Griffey Jr. dh	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.133
A. Beltre 3b	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.269
R. Branyan 1b	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.286
J. Lopez 2b	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.238
K. Johjima c	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.167
F. Gutierrez cf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.185
Y. Betancourt ss	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.364
Totals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

LA Angels
	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	Season ERA
S. Loux	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	NA
Seattle
	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	Season ERA
C. Silva	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	10.80

I have no clue how the Mariners score runs with this offense, and I think when all is said and done, unless they have unreal pitching, they will not be a .500 team

top 1: Figgins steps in and grounds out to second. Kendrick breaks his bat and grounds out to third. Both of these teams will have MAJOR trouble scoring runs this year, I have no doubt of that. Abreau is up now, easily the most selective hitter on the Angels, probably the only guy who takes pitches or walks. He flies out to center. 1-2-3 inning
bottom 1: Im looking foward to the ovation Griffey will get in his Mariners' second honeymoon debut. Leading off is Chavez, who grounds a breaking ball right back to the pitcher for an out. Cedeno up next, a LOT of guys making their Mariners' home debuts here, a very new team. Their ceiling is low, I expect. Cedeno works it full, fouls off 3 or 4 payoff pitches, then draws a walk. Griffey gets a big hand as he steps up. He then rips one to right for a single. 1st and 3rd, one out for Beltre. Beltre ground back to the pitcher, but a bad throw from Aybar to first scores the run, 1-0 M's. Branyan takes a pitch and Beltre steals second. Branyan strikes out looking though. Inning over.

Top 2: Vlad leads off and pops up to third. Torii Hunter comes up next, gets into a 1-2 hole and strikes out looking. Kendry Morales is up with 2 down. He works it full, and on the payoff pitch swings and misses.
Bottom 2: Betancourt grounds out to third quickly, and now Johjima is up. The guy hasnt hit for a few years now, and bumps one 25 feet in front of the plate, Loux picks it up and fires to first. 2 down. Former Indian Gutierrrez, who has played great CF thus far, steps up, swings at misses at a 1-2 slider in the dirt. Inning over. Snore fest so far.

top 3: Catcher Napoli leads off. He gets the count to 3-1 and pops one to shallow right. 1 down. After this half of the inning, ##I am moving over to the Yanks/Rays game. Two of the top 5 teams and much more offense than this game. ## Gary Matthews strikesout looking and this game is moving fast, or slow, depending upon how you look at it. Aybar grounds out to short to end it.

Thought of the day

Note to Rangers management:

This team doesnt play baseball. They dont pitch, they dont move runners, they dont play defense. They are clueless on the road. The manager is a nice guy, Im sure, but he is a mile out of his league. You can have as many prospects as you wish, but until they learn to play defense, it just doesnt matter. ITs all for naught.

dodgers home opener Giants (Randy Johnson) vs Billingsley

Lineups:

San Francisco
	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB	Season Avg
R. Winn rf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.375
E. Renteria ss	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.190
F. Lewis lf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.450
B. Molina c	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.304
P. Sandoval 3b	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.217
T. Ishikawa 1b	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.211
A. Rowand cf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.389
E. Burriss 2b	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.111
R. Johnson p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Totals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

LA Dodgers
	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB	Season Avg
R. Furcal ss	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.231
O. Hudson 2b	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.250
M. Ramirez lf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.286
J. Loney 1b	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.370
R. Martin c	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.167
A. Ethier rf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.208
M. Kemp cf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.375
C. Blake 3b	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.167
C. Billingsley p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Totals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

San Francisco
	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	Season ERA
R. Johnson	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7.20
LA Dodgers
	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	Season ERA
C. Billingsley	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3.00

I expect a solid game, though Im pretty confident the Dodgers win this one versus an awful Giants team.

top 1: Winn, Renteria, and Lewis start it off. I do project Winn to have 35-40+ steals this year, batting leadoff. Underrated in the field also, not a bad player. Flies out to left on 5 pitches. Renteria grounds out to third on 3 more pitches. Lewis rakes a 2 out single up the middle and Molina comes up and pops out to right.
Bottom 1: Furcal steps up, batting right-handed. Strikes out swinging. Hudson is up, also batting from the right side. Nubs one 15 feet in front of the plate and beats it out. Manny comes up and drives Winn to the wall where he grabs it. Loney grouns out to second to end the inning. Poor Manny.

Top 2: Sandoval first pitch swinging, as always, flies to center. Ishikawa strikes out quickly. Rowand stands in. He singles up the middle and Burriss comes up, and another K for Billingsley.
Bottom 2: Martin leads off. He has not been hitting the ball well at all thus far. He is a guy who hits line drives up the middle when he is on. This at bat is another deep fly out, caught by Winn. Ethier strikes out next. Dodgers have had two very near homers, but nothing to show for it. Kemp works it even at 2-2, and grounds on thru the left side for a single. Righties are having no trouble at all with Big Unit today. Blake , lifetime 0-6 vs Unit, comes up, would be nice to clear the pitchers spot for the 3rd inning. Blake is now 0-7 career vs Unit.

top 3: johnson swings and misses. Interesting (to me) note: Giants have ZERO walks in the last 2 games. Pitiful. Reminds me of the Rangers. Top of the order up again, no action in this game thus far. Winn singles to left. Renteria is up. First decent threat SF has had to date. Renteria is battling here, fouling off pitches, but eventually chases one high and outside, thats 4 k's for SF thru 2.2 innings. Lewis pops out to second. Giants cant hit. PERIOD>

Bottom 3: billingsley leads off. Eventually, someone will score! Strikeout. 1 down. Furcal is up and he hits one hard to third but Sandoval sucks it up like the giant cake he ate for breakfast .2 down. Hudson homerun barely clears the wall, 1-0 dodgers. Manny up again and gets ahold of another one for a double to the wall. Loney works the count full , and k's.

top 4: Molina drives one to the wall for a double. Sandoval moves him to third on a grounder to first. And Ishikawa comes up with an RBI chance. It will take a deep fly because Molina is slower than mud. The score is tied at 1 after a single to the OF. Rowand up with a runner on first. Billinglsey is throwing a lot of pitches in the 4th. Rowand grounds to short. 6-4-3. but its tied.
bottom 4: Martin leads off. Works it full and fouls off 3 or 4 pitches, before striking out. NExt pitch, to Andre Ethier, solo shot to deep center left. 2-1 Dodgers. Kemp draws a 6 pitch walk. Johnson has been lucky all game, he could easily be down 4-1 or so. Loney up the middle on a hit and run and Renteria covers it but cant make a throw, 1st and 2nd, 1 out for billingsley's bunt attempt. He gets it down and almost beats it out! furcal up with 2 RISP. Furcal singles to right and its 4-1. Full count to Hudson so Furcall will be running. hudson drives a double to the wall and its 5-1 LA! Unit is done. Manny is intentionally walked, and Kemp is walked unintentionally. Loaded, 2 outs. Merkin Valdez comes in from the pen. Martin can end the game right here with a hit. And I can go walk my dog, who is whining incessantly because he wants to go outside and urinate on every bush he sees. Martin is going to work this pitcher, and the Giants have a garbage pen so LA is in great shape. 3-1 count to Martin now. He can sit here and wait for a nice juicy heater. And he gets it and drives in 2 runs, 7-1 Dodgers. Expect this a lot this year, the dodgers can hit, and the Giants suck bigtime. Perhaps you saw my projections?
If this becomes a game, I will be back to cover it. IT was nice for about 3 innings, but Randy Johnson is a 4 inning pitcher these days. Ethier has 2 on and 2 out. I think the game is over, but they can close the door even tighter with another RBI or two. He flies out to center. Inning over.

Cubs (Dempster) @ Brewers (Suppan)

Cubs should finish up this series by winning the rubber game, Marmols seems to be the closer, the Cubs had a great rally last night, and they have the better starter, defense, and lineup too.

Chi Cubs
	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB	Season Avg
A. Soriano lf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.280
K. Fukudome cf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.421
D. Lee 1b	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.091
M. Bradley rf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.062
A. Ramirez 3b	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.333
M. Fontenot 2b	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.389
R. Theriot ss	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.562
K. Hill c	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.231
R. Dempster p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Totals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Milwaukee
	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB	Season Avg
R. Weeks 2b	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.200
C. Counsell 3b	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.500
R. Braun lf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.238
P. Fielder 1b	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.235
J.J. Hardy ss	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.100
C. Hart rf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.278
C. Duffy cf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
J. Kendall c	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
J. Suppan p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.500
Totals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Chi Cubs
	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	Season ERA
R. Dempster	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3.00
Milwaukee
	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	Season ERA
J. Suppan	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	13.50

Dempster , for some reason, is generally nails vs the Brewers. Suppan is garbage versus everyone. I am still reeling over the Rangers blowup today. Millwood throws an incredible game. but the Rangers play awful baseball, they dont move runners, and their pen does what I expect to happen quite regularly all year. The pen allowed 6 runs, though half earned, in 1 inning today, completing the road sweep at the Tigers hands. I hate the Tigers, and I am ready to give up on Texas after one week.

top 1: Soriano leads off. First pitch. Fastball. Going. going. GONE. 1-0. Suppan sucks. Fukodome follows. 5 pitch walk. Cubs left a lot of runners on third with less than 2 outs in the last 2 games, perhaps it would be advantageous to get those runners in early today. I suppose homeruns dont strand too many runners, so thats one way to go. Fukodome is thinking about running...
He should have run, because Lee grounds out to short. Milton Bradley is batting cleamup today. I dont like him in this spot at all. But he is a switch-hitter, so I guess it makes sense today, Bradley grounds out to second and it should have been a 4-6-3 but Hardy bobbles and doesnt make the throw. Ramirez is up with 1 on , 2 down. Great AB for Ramirez, he has worked a full count and fouled off 7 pitches thus far. On the 9th pitch, Ramirez grounds out to second.
Bottom 1: Weeks rakes a single to left. I truly think he will have his best year yet in 09. The guy may only hit .240 every year, but his OBP is like 360, which is very very solid. He will only get better. Counsell walks on 4 pitches. Now Dempster has put himself in an awful spot, facing Braun with nobody out and 2 on. Braun has worked the count to his advantage early, 2-1, and he will get a nice fat pitch here or on the next one. He gets it, and fouls it down the line. 2-2 count. Braun chases a low slider and grounds meekly to short, it was so slowly hit that the runners advance, and only one down with 2 RISP. Fielder is up now, and Id guess he gets walked. And he is walked. Loaded, 1 out, for Hardy. Big early chance for the Crew. Hardy flies out to center but the throw comes into third. 1-1. 2 outs. Hart is up. Wild pitch puts runners on 2nd and 3rd. This AB becomes a lot larger now, with 2 runs at stake. HArt breaks his bat and flies out to right.

top 2: Fontenot lines to left, Theriot lines to right. Hill grounds to second. That was like 7 pitches or so.
bottom 2: Duffy strikes out looking. Kendall grounds out to third. Suppan strikes out. As slow as the first inning was, the second was fast.

top 3: Dempster flies out to center. Soriano works it full and walks, then takes second on a pitch in the dirt. Fukodome works it full and is called out on a check swing, unable to move Soriano to third. Lee comes to the plate and grounds out to third.
bottom 3: Weeks hits a 10 foot grounder and is thrown out. Counsell with his second walk in as many AB's, and Braun is up again with a runner on. Braun first pitch pop up to Ramirez. Fielder hits into the giant shift, putting it in shallow right, but Fontenot takes too long to throw and Fielder beats it out. Hardy up with 2 on, 2 out. A nice hard shot but stabbed by Fontenot to end the threat.

top 4: Bradley is plunked, leadoff runner on. Ramirez drives one to the left center gap but Braun gets a great read on it and there's one out. Fontenot steps in. Walks. Theriot up the middle for a single. Bases loaded, one out. Bradley pulls up lame at third (suprise), and is pinch-run for by Reed Johnson. Hill is up. 4 pitch walk. 2-0 Cubs. Dempster is up now. Anything but a GIDP is fine. He grounds out to third, who comes home. 2 down, loaded. Soriano up and he is gonna sit on a heater. 2-1 count, showtime methinks. Nope. Suppan cannot find the plate. 3-1 count now. And he walks him. 3-1 Cubbies. Second bases loaded walk in the inning. Another walk, Fukodome full count walk. 4-1 Cubs. suppan is gone. In comes Jorge Julio and he is garbage, its just a matter of time before everyone sees it. 4 pitch walk to Lee. 5-1 Cubs. Reed Johnson fills in for Bradley here, and if anyone is gonna end the inning, its him. And he grounds out to short. Im smart.
Bottom 4: cubs had a shot to bust it open, and didnt. They lead but the lead isnt insurmountable. And a long homer for HArt makes it 5-2. Dempster k's Duffy and Kendall is up now. Inning should end 5-2 with the pitchers spot up next. Kendall k's, Julio bats for himself and also k's. thats the side.

top 5: Ramirez leads off. cubs need a few runs off Julio. Ramirez drives one deep but Duffy runs it down. Theriot drives one into the gap for a double, 6-2 Cubs. Dempster drops one down but he is slow. Inning over.

bottom 5: maybe a make or break for brewers here. Dempster is at 76 pitches after 4. So he wont go past the 6th I'm guessing. Weeks is up and he loops one in front of fukodome for a single. Counsell with a single, 2 on, nobody out. Dempster has had trouble with the top of the order all day. I still think the Cubs may need more than 6 runs to win this game. Dempster beans Braun, loaded, no outs, Fielder is up. big chance here. I dont see why the Brewers dont score at least 2-3 runs. And Reed Johnson ROBS Fielder of a grand slam by going over the wall. WOW. Thats as good as I have ever seen! 6-3 cubs. runners on the corners. ground out for Hardy, 6-4 Cubs. Hart strikes out.
Top 6: Soriano and Fukodome both fly out to left. Lee grounds to third but a bad throw by Counsell cant be handled by Fielder at first. Johnson is then nailed in the back, 2 on, 2 out. Ramirez is up and wastes a nice chance by grounding out to second. Thats 8 LOB already for the Cubs. Same story as the last 2 games.
Bottom 6: Dempster is in, presumably his last inning. Duffy flies out to left. Kendall grounds out to third. Pinch hitter McGehee hits one into the 2b hole and beats it out. Weeks up again, last hitter for Dempster I think. Weeks grounds out to second.

Top 7: Seth McClung is in. He sucks too. so the Cubs may want to net a run or two here. Fontenot leads off. And pops out to center. Theriot fouls out to Hart, a nice catch. Hill k's. Nice inning for Mcclung. suprising, but nice.
bottom 7: Sean Marshall is in to start the 7th. Counsell leads off and works it full. On the payoff pitch grounds out to short. Braun follows him with a groundball laser dropped by Ramirez, but his arm does the makeup work and there are 2 down for Fielder, who flies out to left.
Top 8: Joey Gathright pinc hits for Marshall, walks, and steals second. The guy would steal 80 bases if he played regularly. Of course, if he could hit, he would play regularly. Soriano is robbed of an RBI by Counsell. Also, the runner doesnt advance. Fukodome hits a hard line drive single to left, so hard that Gathright stops at third. Derek Lee, GIDP machine is up. And he crushes one to the track, just missing a 3run HR. A run scores, 7-4 Cubs. I assume the Cubs can hold this lead, since the heart of the Brewers lineup probably wont bat again unless 3+ runners get on in the 8th or 9th. Nice to see the Cubs manufacture a run, if youre a Cubbies fan. Johnson grounds out to short to end the top half.

bottom 8: Hardy, Hart, and Duffy (or a pinch hitter) due up. Apparently Marmol is not the closer yet. He starts out the 8th. Pinella is confusing me already. Strikes out Hardy on 4 pitches. Hart does the same, and Duffy pops out to short. Fast inning.

top 9: Ramirez grounds out. A nice big fat 0-5 tonite for him. Fontenot k's. I think the Cubs just want to finish this fast. Theriot walks, and Hill is up. He drives one down the line that scores Theriot. 8-4 Cubs and that should do it.

I will be back tomorrow!

Texas (Benson) @ Tigers (Galarrago)

Todays only early game involves two of the top 5 offenses in the majors. Texas is now the only undefeated team in the AL, and will be hard pressed to go 4-0 with Kris Benson making his first start since 2006. The lineups:

Texas
	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB	Season Avg
I. Kinsler 2b	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.500
M. Young 3b	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.417
J. Hamilton cf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.273
H. Blalock dh	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.286
N. Cruz rf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.364
M. Byrd lf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.333
C. Davis 1b	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.091
J. Saltalamacchia c	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.429
E. Andrus ss	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.375
Totals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Detroit
	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB	Season Avg
C. Granderson cf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.312
P. Polanco 2b	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.154
M. Ordonez rf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.267
M. Cabrera 1b	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.615
C. Guillen lf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.231
J. Larish dh	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
G. Laird c	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.182
B. Inge 3b	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.286
A. Everett ss	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.100
Totals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Texas
	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	Season ERA
K. Benson	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	NA
Detroit
	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	Season ERA
A. Galarraga	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	NA

I expect a game that goes over 10+ runs, easily. Kinsler leads off and crushes a foul ball about 375 feet, but foul. Just a tiny bit out front. He follows up with an easy grounder to 3B Inge. Young comes up next and strikes out on 4 pitches, none of them in the strike zone. Hamilton bloops a ball that should fall for a single but Inge makes an incredible grab to rob him.
Kris Benson's first pitches since 2006 to follow....
Granderson leads off, a very solid hitter, more XBH's since 07 than anyone in MLB but Arod. Davis robs Granderson of AT LEAST a single on a diving stab, then Benson covers and barely beats the speedy Granderson. Thats two ESPN plays already, one per team. Polanco pops out to left. Magglio Ordonez works the count full before drawing a walk. The best hitter on either team, fatman Cabrera steps up, first pitch swinging grounds out to Young, who bobbles but, due to the girth Cabrera carries, throws him out by more than a few feet. Quick 1st inning!

Top 2: Blalock grounds out and Cruz follows with a line drive single. Byrd drives one to the gap, but Granderson cuts it off, saving a run,. 1st and 3rd, one out. Davis immediately grounds into a 4-6-3 DP and his miserable beginning continues....
Bottom 2: Guillen leads off, and pops out to shallow center, right behind the 2b bag. Cannot believe its 0-0 still! Jeff Larish is up, whoever he is, and hits one about 10 feet, Saltalamacchia fields it, throws it into the OF and Larish gets a 15 foot 2-bagger. Cruz almost throws him out at second, but Salty makes a bad decision. Laird nets a single and the error leads to a run, 1-0 Tigers. the Rangers do have the league's worst defense and it shows so far today. Inge pops up to first, 2 down, runner on 1st. No hit Everett comes up and pops out to center. First time this year Texas has trailed.
Top 3: First pitch swinging Saltalamacchia grounds out to first. Work the count guys, jees. They are making it very easy on Galarraga. Andrus works the count a bit, but strikes out looking on an inside pitch that is very very questionable. Kinsler is up, works the count full and fouls off a few sliders before succumbing to one. K.
Bottom 3: Granderson strikes out looking, but Benson is at 43 pitches thru 2 and a third. Polanco hits one hard, off the 3rd base bag and ends up with a single. Weird luck so far for Benson. Ordonez follows up and hits one under the glove of Young, they call it a hit. Top 5 hitter in baseball comes up, 2 on, 1 down, for Cabrera. this is a big moment for Benson.
Cabrera drives one hard to right field, a single, but hit so fast that the runners only advance one base. Loaded, 1 down. Rangers look like garbage right now. Guillen is up, and I'd be very happy to get out of this inning with less than 2 runs coming in. 0-2 count to Guillen, but he is good enough to make this a good AB regardless. guillen drives one to the track, SAC Fly RBI, 2-0 Tigers. 2 down though. Larish is up, need to get him out, and fast. The Rangers pen will be coming into this game by the 6th, if not earlier. Benson is going to be at 60 pitches in a minute here. Larish strikes out on a nice slider inside. Not too much damage done.
Top 4: Young crushes one on a line, but caught in center by Granderson. Hamilton follows with a walk and the Rangers finally have a lil something going with Blalock up to bat. Galarraga is an average pitcher, and if Texas would simply work the count, they could get somewhere. Blalock swings at a ncie fastball, but drives it hard right at Polanco. Two very hard hit balls this inning with zip to show for it. 2 down. Cruz k's and its on to the bottom. I'm not worried yet but the Rangers swing at EVERYTHING!
bottom 4: Laird pops out on the first pitch. 3-1 count to Inge who proceeds to hit a heater (if thats what Benson calls it) to centerfield for a single. Hit and run is on and Everett bloops one to rightfield, 1st and 3rd, no outs. Benson has not pitched too poorly at all, the defense has been bad and thats why it's 2-0. More bad defense, Cruz comes in on a ball driven to depp rightfield and instead of a sacfly, its a double. The game is getting close to out of hand here, and its 3-0 in a game that could easily be 1-0 at worst. Only one out. Polanco is beaned on the elbow and they are loaded with Ordonez coming up. This game is about to be blown wide open. Ordonez strikes out on a 80 mph slider, 2 down, but Cabrera is now up. This is the biggest moment in the game, for sure. Cabrera will not be an easy out. And just like that, grand slame, 7-0. Game over. I pick yet another stinker to watch. AWFUL

Cleveland (Pavano) @ Texas (McCarthy)

I expect a high scoring game here, and these are two of my favorite teams, so lets see what happens. Making their Rangers debut are Andruw Jones, who is DHing, and Omar Vizquel, who can't hit a lick but is still a great fielder.
Brandon McCarthy was a pretty big prospect like 2-3 years ago but he has yet to do anything at all in the majors. Carl Pavano was signed as an FA when the Yanks let him leave this offseason.
Here's your lineups:

	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB	Season Avg
G. Sizemore cf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.250
M. DeRosa 3b	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
V. Martinez 1b	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.250
T. Hafner dh	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.250
J. Peralta ss	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
B. Francisco lf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.333
K. Shoppach c	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
T. Crowe rf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
A. Cabrera 2b	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Totals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Texas
	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB	Season Avg
I. Kinsler 2b	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.600
M. Young 3b	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.500
J. Hamilton cf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.400
A. Jones dh	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
N. Cruz rf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.400
M. Byrd lf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.250
C. Davis 1b	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
T. Teagarden c	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
O. Vizquel ss	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000

Also subbing for a regular is Taylor Teagarden, in for Saltalamacchia today.
Sizemore leads off and strikes out on 5 pitches. Third straight game Sizemore has led off with a K. The Indians have made the Rangers look awfully good thus far. DeRosa follows, starts off with a 3-0 count, works it full then strikes out looking. Well done McCarthy! Martinez is up and draws a full count walk. McCarthy is throwing a ton of pitches to every batter, we will see if it costs him later in the game. Hafner, who again, has done zip since like 2006, is up now, 1 on, 2 down. Hafner K's and thats the side for the Tribe. Nice.
Ian Kinsler leads off the bottom half with a single. Young follows with a double, Hamilton with a sac fly and its 1-0 Texas and Young moves to third. This offense is great. Jones first AB in the AL is a single and its 2-0 Texas already. Next up is Cruz, who walks on 4 pitches. 1st and 2nd, just one out. Byrd is up. It seems everyone in this lineup puts up incredible numbers. Its hard to say if its the park or the players, I lean park. Byrd with a 3 run homer, 5-0 already, only one out! I seem to keep picking games that end in blowouts very early. Not that this game is over, but Christ, its 5-0 in the first at home. I need to figure out a new way to pick games to blog, or start wagering on the games I'm writing about. Theyre all asskickings. On to the top of 2.
McCarthy retires the first 2 hitters before Shoppach drives one into the rightfield bleachers, 5-1 Texas. Like I said, I expect a lot of scoring. Crowe grounds out to end the top half.
Bottom 2: Vizquel draws a walk in his first Rangers' AB and the threat begins anew, Kinsler time! And another HR, Kinsler makes it 7-1. Boy, this game may end fast too. Jees. Michael Young follows with a aingle, his second hit today. Pavano is gone, its a matter of when.
Andjust like that Pavano is gone. 2 on, nobody out, 7-1 Texas and in comes lefty Zach Jackson. What a mess the Indians are , just 3 games into the season. Jones second AB comes with 2 on and no outs, he slaps one thru the left side and they are now loaded for the Cruzer. Sac fly to right, 8-1 Texas, runner moves to third. One down. Byrd hits one right back to the pitcher but they cant turn 2, they should have though. 9-1 Texas. I am about done with this game.
top 3: Grady sizemore with a 2 run shot makes it 9-3. No games is ever over here, and McCarthy is a mediocre pitcher, so the Rangers may need 12-15 runs to end this thing.

UPDATE: Top of 5th, still 9-3 Texas. I guess the game was over in the 2nd afterall. I hope they can keep this up all year. The Indians have driven several balls deep to the track, but they are just missing homers by inches! McCarthy is lucky today. I dont think he will be lucky all year.


Top 8: Sizemore has 2 hrs, and is up again with a runner on , one down. Its 11-7 Texas though its has never been any closer than 4 runs throughout. This may be the last chance Cleveland has to make this a game. Josh Rupe, another Ranger bullpen scrub, comes in and strikes Sizemore out however. 2 down, DeRosa up. 4 more outs for the Tribe to play with, and Texas' craptastic pen is good enough to hold a lead like this I'd guess. DeRosa walks, 2 on, 2 out. One swing of the bat here and this becomes a game again. But alas, Martinez grounds out to first, the bullpen holds up. Dont get used to it. I assure you, these guys all suck. Andruw Jones gets a double in the bottom of the 8th. the guy is gonna have a big year in this park.

Rangers up 12-7 heading into the ninth, and theyll use Eddie Guardado here because its a big lead. First batter Hafner nails a solo shot, next batter Peralta hits a single, followed by a grounder to third which is turned into 2 outs. The Rangers will need to score 10 runs per game to have a shot, in most home games anyhow. Guardado hits the next batter Shoppach, in the leg, this bullpen is friggin brutal. Its utter garbage, why this team cannot spend money on any semblance of a workable pen is mind boggling to me. And contrary to popular thought, I am not often mind boggled, by baseball anyways....

Guardado gets Crowe to pop up to end the game. Home sweep to start the year, not bad at all I say.

545 PST Updates

Pitt (duke) @ STL (Wellermeyer) : Pitt up 2-0 in the second with single after single after single

Tribe (Carmona) @ Texas (Padilla): Byrd HR, Cruz HR, back to back to back hits by 1b Davis, C Saltalamacchia, and rookie SS Elvis Andrus have Texas up 3-0.

Cubs (Lilly) @ Houston (Moehler) : cubs up 8-0 in the second. Expect a lot of Cubs 8-0 leads over the awful Astros.

The Rays have opened up a nice fat 5-1 lead over John Lester and the Bosox. And the Orioles have opened up an even bigger 7-1 lead on the Yanks.

Ian Kinsler doubles and the Rangers are up 4-0 now.