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Opening Day

So here we are, opening day. As I will try to do from time to time this season, I kept a running journal of the game tonight and will transcribe it for you here. If you enjoy it, let me know, and I will try to bring them to you more frequently.

PRE-GAME

I'm watching Geico Mets on Deck, and they mentioned that Steve Trachsel's player option for 2005 has now been guaranteed, and a 2006 option has been added. Trachsel is no star, but he'll eat up 200 innings and give you league-average performance or better.

Tom Glavine will face Russ Ortiz tonight, and the TV reminds us that Glavine went 0-4 against the Braves in 2003 with a 10.35 ERA, while Ortiz went 21-7 for the year with a 3.81 ERA. He also led the league in walks. He is a nice pitcher, but very overrated.

We also learn that Jose Reyes is doubtful for the Mets home opener on Monday.

Since the pre-game is kinda dull, I switch over to the Yankees/Devil Rays game. Carlos Zambrano starts for the Rays and after starting Kenny Lofton off with two nice pitches for strikes, proceeds to waste three pitches before getting Lofton to fly out to left.

Derek Jeter comes to the dish to a chorus of boos from the Tampa faithful. Jim Kaat, the Yanks color commentator tonight, echoes my sentiments on the farce that was the two regular season games played in Japan last week. He suggests that they should have been exhibition games played after the season, and I agree.

Jeter, heretofore known as Captain Fantastic, draws a walk. Zambrano looks pretty crappy thus far and, as I write that, surrenders an opposite-field bomb to Alex Rodriguez, 2-0 Yanks. It's going to be a long season. For me.

Jason Giambi, AKA The Great Giambino, draws a walk, and Zambrano looks utterly lost out there. He's thrown 8-of-20 pitches for strikes...err...make that 9-of-21 as Gary Sheffield cracks a two-run homer to right-center, 4-0 Yanks.

The Mets game is starting, so I'll leave the Yankees to wallow in their own stupendiosity (yea, that's right).

TOP FIRST

Kazuo Matsui takes a first-pitch fastball from Russ Ortiz and launches it over the centerfield wall. Ortiz left the ball up and Kaz took him to the house, 1-0 Mets. Ricky Gutierrez knocks a single up the middle, and Cliff Floyd hits a shot to right-field that I'm sure is a goner. I guess it went off the end of the bat, because, much to my chagrin, J.D. Drew catches it at the wall.

They show a replay of Matsui's homerun, and of course Keith Hernandez has something bad to say about Kaz. Something about his shoulder flying open. I don't know, I was watching the homerun again.

It's unbelievable how horrible I am at judging the ball off the bat. I make Roger Cedeno look like Mike Cameron. Every time someone hits the ball hard and in the general vicinity of the outfield I scream something to the effect of "Get out!" or "Gone!", while the ball falls safely into the glove of a waiting outfielder (or infielder in some cases). I did this on Floyd's drive and proceeded to do it again on Mike Piazza's fly-out.

Ok, this one I know isn't going out. Cameron flies out to right, inning over.

BOTTOM FIRST

Glavine is on the hill and just misses the outside corner. Misses again. Now up high. Sinker down the pipe. Nice pitch down-and-away that Rafael Furcal fouls off. Furcal dunks one into centerfield, as Cameron plays it on a hop.

First pitch to Marcus Giles and he does some yardwork, a two-run shot over the centerfield wall, 2-1 Braves. It's going to be a long season. For me.

Glavine very quickly runs the count to 3-0 on Larry "Chipper" Jones. And there's ball four. Glavine looks rattled already, ten pitches into 2004.

A friendly call from the umpire goes for Strike One on Andruw Jones. Jones then hits a comebacker that Glavine fields, starting a double-play with Matsui as the pivot.

Battery Boy himself J.D. Drew come to the plate. Don't remember the batteries? From the box score from 5/19/2001 when Drew's Cardinals visited Philadelphia:

Drew, who spurned the Phillies after being selected second overall in the 1997 draft, was booed each time he came to the plate. After homering, the ball was thrown back onto the field. In his first appearance back in Philadelphia in 1999, Drew was pelted with batteries.

Glavine runs the count to 3-2 on Drew and gets him swinging at a nice changeup.

TOP SECOND

Jason Phillips leads off and plunks one in between the Joneses (Andruw and Chipper) as the ball rolls to the wall. It looked like Goggles might get three, but he retreated, content with a leadoff double.

Karim Garcia has a nice productive at-bat, moving Phillips to third on a groundout. Ty Wigginton is up, and looked foolish on a breaking ball. A foul ball, and he's quickly down 0-2. Another foul, and he goes down swinging on the high cheese. Way to put the ball in play, Ty. Way to get the run home.

Glavine grabs some twig and heads to the plate. Looks at the first three pitches and finds the count 2-1 in his favor. A foul and a fastball up and it's a full count. He rolls a grounder to Mark DeRosa at third who makes a nice diving stop following by a piss-poor throw to first as the ball gets by Julio Franco. Jason Phillips trots home to tie the game at 2 and 2. Glavine goes to second on a single and an error.

Kaz comes up for the second time in two innings, and Kaz rips the 1-1 pitch down the right-field line. Glavine scores easily and Kaz is standing on second with a two-bagger. For those keeping score, that's 2-2, 2 RBI, and a 4.000 OPS for Mr. Matsui.

Gutierrez grounds out to Furcal to end the inning, Mets lead 3-2. Now lets see if Glavine can put the Braves back on top. I'd like to note that it's nice to see the Mets score a couple of runs with the bottom of the order.

BOTTOM SECOND

Any truth to the rumor that Julio Franco had a cameo in The Passion Of The Christ as himself? Glavine is missing his spots early on, but three groundouts and he's out of the second. Gutierrez looks pretty sharp at second, and Wiggie is fine at third as long as the ball is hit no greater than six inches to his right or left.

TOP THIRD

Floyd leads off. Let's see if he can get me to prematurely scream "Gone!" on a lazy fly to right field. No dice, as Floyd grounds out to Ortiz.

Gone! Finally it pays off, as Mike Piazza annihilates a first-pitch hanger, depositing it into the left-field bleachers. Larry didn't even flinch, 4-2 Mets.

Cameron (M-Cam or Cammie) rips one through the hole for a single to left.

Goggles (Phillips) comes to the plate. Cammie almost got picked off at first, but takes off on the 2-1 pitch and swipes second base easily.

New Brave Juan Cruz is already getting loose in the bullpen. Goggles takes ball four, and it's 1st and 2nd for Karim Garcia.

Garcia lines one off of Furcal's glove. Cammie had to hold up to make sure it wasn't caught, so he stops at third. Sacks are juiced for Wiggie.

Met announcer Ted Robinson reminds us that Wigginton has struggled against Ortiz. In nine frickin' at-bats! Jebus.

Wigginton chases ball four high and outside, so the count is full. Thank God, Ortiz walked him. 5-2 Mets, and Ortiz gets the hook. Ortiz' line:

2.1 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 1 K

Julio Lugo just hit a 2-run bomb, D-Rays tie the game 4-4.

Juan Cruz enters the game, and Glavine looks foolish at the plate against him. This guy flat-out throws gas. Glavine gets good cut in and lines one to short that Furcal makes a nice catch on.

Matsui draws a walk on a full count, Goggles trots in, 6-2 Mets. Matsui now has 3 RBI in his Major League debut.

Gutierrez (R-Gut) grounds to Julio Franco to end the inning. The Mets bat around and score the minimum possible, plating three (two on walks) and leaving the bases loaded. Nevertheless, they're winning.

I'm eating dinner now, so the notes get a little erratic.

TOP FOURTH

Piazza K's looking on three fastballs on the outside corner. Cameron walks on a full count. Cruz is being given a very generous strike zone. Goggles drives one off the base of the left-field wall scoring Cameron from first, 7-2 Mets.

TOP FIFTH

Matsui ropes a double and is now 3-3 with a walk.

BOTTOM FIFTH

Two fly balls, two outs land in Mike Cameron's golden glove. Jesse Garcia pinch hits for Cruz and is called out on a bunt that apparently hit him in the hip.

The Yankees are losing 6-4 in the bottom of the sixth. 1-161 here we come.

TOP SIXTH

C.J. Nitkowski, who, much to my surprise is NOT lying in a ditch in Dubuque, IA, comes in to retire Floyd and Piazza on first-pitch grounders. Cameron flies out to J.D. Drew to end the inning. KLarry Jones pokes one down the right field line that Jason Phillips looks just awful on. Showing terrible range and an awkward dive, the ball shoots into right field. arim Garcia is inexplicably playing Chipper to go the other way and holds him to a single.

We're just informed that Tom Glavine is on a strict 90-pitch limit for this game.

Tommy walks Andruw Jones on a 3-1 count, bringing J.D. Drew to the plate. Drew drives one the other way to the wall in left ... into the waiting glove of Cliff Floyd.

TOP SEVENTH

Antonio Alfonseca, his big gut, and his 5.83 '03 ERA take the hill to start the seventh. Alfonseca still gets it up there in the mid-90's, but he's a little wild and walks Jason Phillips on five pitches. Phillips is now 2-2 with two doubles and two walks.

Karim Garcia knocks Alfonseca on his ass as he shoots one up the middle into centerfield. Wigginton gets sawed off but is able to move the runners to second and third.

Glavine is done for the day as Rule V draftee Eric Valent pinch hits. Valent backs up Julio Franco at first, but can't score Phillips from third on the ground out.

Matsui, already getting some respect, is being walked intentionally to load the bases and bring up Ricky Gutierrez. Alfonseca runs the count to 3-1; now 3-2; now a backwards K. It's like the Mets are up there looking for walks with the bases loaded.

In my picture-in-picture I see Kenny Lofton horribly misplay a ball into a Jose Cruz triple. I guess that's Gabe White in there, but he looks kind of like Jeff Foxworthy.

BOTTOM SEVENTH

Matt Laughlin is talking to Tom Glavine's wife Chris who, by the way is a total MILF.

David "Stormy" Weathers comes out of the pen for the first of 70-or-80 appearances this season, and K's Julio Franco on a 3-2 fastball. Matsui ranges into left field to catch a flare off the bat of Johnny Estrada, and Weathers strikes out Mark DeRosa to end the inning.

TOP EIGHTH

Will Cunnane makes Floyd look silly on a breaking ball. Foul ball. Strike Three.

Breaking News: Yanks are being doubled up by the Rays, 8-4.

Piazza gets into a 2-1 hitters count and gets fooled on a breaking pitch, popping out to Julio Franco.

The Braves are also wearing a patch this season. Theirs has a home plate with the number 21 within, representing Warren Spahn, the winningest lefty of all time, who passed away this year.

Cameron flies out to his counterpart Andruw Jones to end the inning.

Yankes are now losing 9-4 after 7.

BOTTOM EIGHTH

Stormy Weathers is back out there for the eighth. Grounder to third, grounder to second, and a great sliding catch by Karim Garcia and Atlanta is out 1-2-3.

TOP NINTH

Two up, two fly balls to Andruw Jones. Wigginton at bat, Todd Zeile steps into the on-deck circle. Wiggie lines out softly to Marcus Giles at second, and we go to the bottom of the ninth, Mets still leading 7-2.

BOTTOM NINTH

The Braden Looper era begins with a terrible pitch that bounces at Larry Jones' feet. He follows that up with a 94 MPH heater and another one at 95, both fouled off. And a single into right field, and here we go.

Did anyone notice Armando Benitez picked up a save for the Marlins this afternoon? Did you also notice he gave up two hits, including a homerun? The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Looper induces a broken-bat double-play from Andruw Jones, and J.D. Drew breaks his bat, picking up an infield single. Julio Franco grounds to Gutierrez who steps on second to end the game. Mets win! Mets win!

Final score, 7-2. Mets are 1-0 and are tied for first place in the NL East. Tom Glavine is over .500 for the first time as a Met.

Need some more good news? A-Rod strikes out swinging against Danys Baez to end the game. Devil Rays 9, $200-million men 4. Good night everyone.