(no subject)
Baseball has officially started. (So technically it started two days ago, but there wasn't Jason involved, so it doesn't count, officially.)
Braves. Derek looked fantastic. He has been the best opening pitcher I've seen. Control seems to be everyone's issue but his. And I'm very happy to see it. I wish it was for the Dodgers, but I'm still happy to see him looking so good. I could like Brian McCann if he doesn't keep swinging for those way outside pitches over and over and over. That kid outfielder, Jordan (not Logan) Schafer, should be interesting to watch. He certainly started out well. So we'll see. I'm just watching the Braves for Derek, that's it. Really.
Diamondbacks. What the freak was up with Brandon Webb?! He's not usually like that. But dear gods, he looked horrible out there. Opening night jitters or not, the D-backs were lucky to walk away with that game. And the reason they did walk away with that game was five freakin' home runs in one game. Two guys hit two, from both sides of the plate! That was just a crazy game to watch. More hits than any two bullpens should allow! Stephen looked good in the field, but his bat could have been better. Not that I don't think it will with some time. I could like some of these other kids. Chris Snyder, Eric Byrns, Conor Jackson, among others. More watching is needed. Though, the highlight was Todd Walsh saying he was going to go hang out with the Coyotes because the broadcasters were mocking him.
Rockies. Todd Helton. Dude. Also Troy Tulowitzki. That's all.
Dodgers. Kuroda is not an ace. That's just a fact. Clayton isn't confident enough to be, but someday, he'll take that spot. But for now, Kuroda is what we have. Ugh. Now, that being said, a healthy Raffy is a fantastic thing to see. He looked great, at the plate and in the field. Now he just needs to stay healthy. Matt and Andre are still Matt and Andre and I wouldn't want any less. I was sad to see that Blake DeWitt didn't start, but with Casey Blake on the roster I really didn't expect him to. But that didn't mean I didn't want him to. I want him to get more playing time and not get sent down. Casey Blake does a fine job, but I can't like him. And he's got a nerve wearing 23. Russell needs to get back into his game. He didn't look bad, by any means, and he really didn't have a lot to work with. The new backup is a vet and I can't help but wonder what he's doing there. And I liked Danny Ardoin for as little as he got to play, he did well with Clayton. And I liked Lucas May and AJ Ellis and I wanted to see one of them get a chance to be a backup, not this new guy. We're using Jonathan Broxton as a closer and I don't know what I think about that. I expected it to be Corey Wade, but he's playing as middle relief. We'll see how that works or if it lasts. Rumours had Eric Gagne hanging around. It'd be wonderful to see him back. I'm looking forward to seeing Randy Wolf pitch tonight. Maybe he'll be good for us. Clayton is pitching in the home opener. I'm really looking forward to that. All in all, the guys are the same and I'm happy for that fact. It's the bullpen I'm worried about. Still.
Red Sox. Josh is still Josh. He will always be Josh. He gets angry with men on, but handles himself beautifully otherwise. A million and six strikeouts, and the only trouble he ran into was back to back walks. I'll take that any day. He is an ace and there's no argument about that. Jason hit a home run. What better way to start the season? He's batting 9th because no one thinks he has it at the plate anymore. But he wants to prove he's got something to give there too and I loved seeing it. Of course Dustin is the best thing ever, but who doesn't know that? He'll show ESPN he can hit high and inside if it kills him. A healthy Papi is awesome to see and he looked pretty good right away. A healthy JD is also fantastic and he also looked wonderful at the plate. He didn't have a reason to look amazing in the field, so we'll hold our praise until he earns it. Jacoby was cold at the plate, but he's got time to warm up. His fielding looked just like it should. Once he gets on base, we'll see what he's got there, too. I'm not worried about it. As I said for the Dodgers, my only worry is middle relief. It was everyone's worry last season and I don't know how well we addressed it. Of course there's no worry about Jonathan, which is nice to have. Okajima looked as inconsistent as he did last season, which is disappointing, but not horrible. It's better he looked good some of the time than none of the time. The same goes for Justin Masterson. We can hope they both get better with the season. Jon is starting tomorrow and I'm very excited to see him and what he's worked on this summer.
Rays. Evan looked fantastic. He looked like Evan. RBIs and all that jazz. Didn't miss a step from last season. His throws across the diamond were beautiful to watch. Seriously, I want to watch him grab the ball and throw it to first all day long. Carlos, on the other hand, looked ice cold at the plate. Struck out four times at four at bats. His fielding was perfect, which I suppose is the better thing to have be on. His bat can warm up, his fielding is key. Jason and Aki looked like Jason and Aki. I really do like it when people come back looking like they should. They're getting on base, they're tending their positions. The double date looked great in the field. You can't ask for more. I'm not crazy about this outfield, but I don't hate it either. Shields looked nervous. I think Dustin's HR threw him. And that was right at the beginning, so he wasn't completely on the whole game. Pitching is going to be the issue here, too. Ah, what else is new?
So that's baseball for the past three days. Welcome to the season.
Braves. Derek looked fantastic. He has been the best opening pitcher I've seen. Control seems to be everyone's issue but his. And I'm very happy to see it. I wish it was for the Dodgers, but I'm still happy to see him looking so good. I could like Brian McCann if he doesn't keep swinging for those way outside pitches over and over and over. That kid outfielder, Jordan (not Logan) Schafer, should be interesting to watch. He certainly started out well. So we'll see. I'm just watching the Braves for Derek, that's it. Really.
Diamondbacks. What the freak was up with Brandon Webb?! He's not usually like that. But dear gods, he looked horrible out there. Opening night jitters or not, the D-backs were lucky to walk away with that game. And the reason they did walk away with that game was five freakin' home runs in one game. Two guys hit two, from both sides of the plate! That was just a crazy game to watch. More hits than any two bullpens should allow! Stephen looked good in the field, but his bat could have been better. Not that I don't think it will with some time. I could like some of these other kids. Chris Snyder, Eric Byrns, Conor Jackson, among others. More watching is needed. Though, the highlight was Todd Walsh saying he was going to go hang out with the Coyotes because the broadcasters were mocking him.
Rockies. Todd Helton. Dude. Also Troy Tulowitzki. That's all.
Dodgers. Kuroda is not an ace. That's just a fact. Clayton isn't confident enough to be, but someday, he'll take that spot. But for now, Kuroda is what we have. Ugh. Now, that being said, a healthy Raffy is a fantastic thing to see. He looked great, at the plate and in the field. Now he just needs to stay healthy. Matt and Andre are still Matt and Andre and I wouldn't want any less. I was sad to see that Blake DeWitt didn't start, but with Casey Blake on the roster I really didn't expect him to. But that didn't mean I didn't want him to. I want him to get more playing time and not get sent down. Casey Blake does a fine job, but I can't like him. And he's got a nerve wearing 23. Russell needs to get back into his game. He didn't look bad, by any means, and he really didn't have a lot to work with. The new backup is a vet and I can't help but wonder what he's doing there. And I liked Danny Ardoin for as little as he got to play, he did well with Clayton. And I liked Lucas May and AJ Ellis and I wanted to see one of them get a chance to be a backup, not this new guy. We're using Jonathan Broxton as a closer and I don't know what I think about that. I expected it to be Corey Wade, but he's playing as middle relief. We'll see how that works or if it lasts. Rumours had Eric Gagne hanging around. It'd be wonderful to see him back. I'm looking forward to seeing Randy Wolf pitch tonight. Maybe he'll be good for us. Clayton is pitching in the home opener. I'm really looking forward to that. All in all, the guys are the same and I'm happy for that fact. It's the bullpen I'm worried about. Still.
Red Sox. Josh is still Josh. He will always be Josh. He gets angry with men on, but handles himself beautifully otherwise. A million and six strikeouts, and the only trouble he ran into was back to back walks. I'll take that any day. He is an ace and there's no argument about that. Jason hit a home run. What better way to start the season? He's batting 9th because no one thinks he has it at the plate anymore. But he wants to prove he's got something to give there too and I loved seeing it. Of course Dustin is the best thing ever, but who doesn't know that? He'll show ESPN he can hit high and inside if it kills him. A healthy Papi is awesome to see and he looked pretty good right away. A healthy JD is also fantastic and he also looked wonderful at the plate. He didn't have a reason to look amazing in the field, so we'll hold our praise until he earns it. Jacoby was cold at the plate, but he's got time to warm up. His fielding looked just like it should. Once he gets on base, we'll see what he's got there, too. I'm not worried about it. As I said for the Dodgers, my only worry is middle relief. It was everyone's worry last season and I don't know how well we addressed it. Of course there's no worry about Jonathan, which is nice to have. Okajima looked as inconsistent as he did last season, which is disappointing, but not horrible. It's better he looked good some of the time than none of the time. The same goes for Justin Masterson. We can hope they both get better with the season. Jon is starting tomorrow and I'm very excited to see him and what he's worked on this summer.
Rays. Evan looked fantastic. He looked like Evan. RBIs and all that jazz. Didn't miss a step from last season. His throws across the diamond were beautiful to watch. Seriously, I want to watch him grab the ball and throw it to first all day long. Carlos, on the other hand, looked ice cold at the plate. Struck out four times at four at bats. His fielding was perfect, which I suppose is the better thing to have be on. His bat can warm up, his fielding is key. Jason and Aki looked like Jason and Aki. I really do like it when people come back looking like they should. They're getting on base, they're tending their positions. The double date looked great in the field. You can't ask for more. I'm not crazy about this outfield, but I don't hate it either. Shields looked nervous. I think Dustin's HR threw him. And that was right at the beginning, so he wasn't completely on the whole game. Pitching is going to be the issue here, too. Ah, what else is new?
So that's baseball for the past three days. Welcome to the season.