Braves 11 Dodgers 10
Well, that got interesting in a hurry. Hudson was staked to an 8-1 lead, thanks primarily to 3-run-HRs from LaRoche and Andruw, but couldn't escape the fifth after having thrown a lot of pitches (83 in 4+ innings) and running the bases in the fourth.
After that, we got an almost complete look at our new bullpen, and may wish that we hadn't. All six relievers gave up hard-hit balls, and Reitsma reprised his tightrope routine from last season, eventually recording a very shaky save. New guys Cormier and Villarreal didn't particularly impress, and Blaine Boyer does not appear to be fully recovered from injury -- he had nothing. Joey Devine viewed the proceedings with great interest, we assume.
There was, however, much good news to report offensively. In addition to the above-mentioned, Langerhans went deep, Chipper looked healthy and relaxed and put some good swings on the ball, and Marcus warmed quickly to his new role as leadoff hitter, reaching base three times.
Finally, it was Edgar Renteria's Brave debut, and he impressed at the plate, getting two hits (and getting robbed of a third). In the field -- well, it's going to take some getting used to. If Furcal (who reached base five times, though I tried not to notice) is a waterbug, Renteria is a praying mantis -- tall and lanky, all elbows and knees, and rather stiff (though the FOX folks referred to him as smooth, which I'm not sure I see). He made one very weak throw that LaRoche had to scoop, but at the end of the day all the plays got made.
One more thing -- do you think baseball players get excited about Opening Day? They say they do, and I think most of them are telling the truth. They've waited months to get back onto the field and play a game that counts, and finally they get to do so. Now imagine if you've changed teams in the offseason, and you get to play in front of your new home fans for the first time -- many of those fans are probably waiting to give you a warm welcome, and just how cool would that be? I think most of us would say that nothing would keep us off the field, at least for that one day.
Anyway, Nomar Garciaparra missed the game with a strained rib muscle. That sounds like it hurts, I suppose.
After that, we got an almost complete look at our new bullpen, and may wish that we hadn't. All six relievers gave up hard-hit balls, and Reitsma reprised his tightrope routine from last season, eventually recording a very shaky save. New guys Cormier and Villarreal didn't particularly impress, and Blaine Boyer does not appear to be fully recovered from injury -- he had nothing. Joey Devine viewed the proceedings with great interest, we assume.
There was, however, much good news to report offensively. In addition to the above-mentioned, Langerhans went deep, Chipper looked healthy and relaxed and put some good swings on the ball, and Marcus warmed quickly to his new role as leadoff hitter, reaching base three times.
Finally, it was Edgar Renteria's Brave debut, and he impressed at the plate, getting two hits (and getting robbed of a third). In the field -- well, it's going to take some getting used to. If Furcal (who reached base five times, though I tried not to notice) is a waterbug, Renteria is a praying mantis -- tall and lanky, all elbows and knees, and rather stiff (though the FOX folks referred to him as smooth, which I'm not sure I see). He made one very weak throw that LaRoche had to scoop, but at the end of the day all the plays got made.
One more thing -- do you think baseball players get excited about Opening Day? They say they do, and I think most of them are telling the truth. They've waited months to get back onto the field and play a game that counts, and finally they get to do so. Now imagine if you've changed teams in the offseason, and you get to play in front of your new home fans for the first time -- many of those fans are probably waiting to give you a warm welcome, and just how cool would that be? I think most of us would say that nothing would keep us off the field, at least for that one day.
Anyway, Nomar Garciaparra missed the game with a strained rib muscle. That sounds like it hurts, I suppose.
posted by Sam Bass | 9:44 PM
2 Comments:
Good Morning Gentlemen!
I am glad to see the blog back up and running...enjoyed the banter last year and look forward to this summer's reads.
A dominating victory if you turned it off in the fourth inning like I did! I think that will be the key this year, running away before the starter gets roughed up. Up 8-1, my smart ass wife (god bless her heart)actually asked me if they still had that "chump" (read kolb)from last year and then predicted a loss. Upon seeing the 11-10 final this morning, she actually gave me her October snicker in April...it hurt. Extrapolated over a full 162 games, I am afraid my hairline doesn't stand a chance.
All kidding aside, I am excited about the mix of youth and experience on this team. I am very enthusiastic about the prospect of an exciting divisional race with the Mets. Although I still scratch my head that they didn't do more to shore up the bullpen. I recognize there weren't many legit opportunities to address the closer role with the corporate budget and maybe in-house talent will save the day. But this was the flaw with last years effort and if yesterday were any indication... I guess we just have to count on Shuerholtz and Cox pulling the right string and produce a Berenguer, Wohlers or Pena come September. Is McDowell too old to lace em up?
Welcome back david!
Glad to see you checking in once again. I thought Cormier and Villarreal was a decent haul for Estrada -- two young veteran arms. The injuries to McBride and Boyer (who doesn't look ready) really rob us of our organizational depth at reliever. You can include Foster in there too, I guess. Short of trading for help, it looks like the key will be to get the hurt guys healthy before any more healthy guys get hurt. And bring up Devine, of course.
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