The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same

Sinickal beat me to the punch on my opening day thoughts, but I still feel mine need to be reduced to the written word for memorializing. Sinickal wrote about his beloved Cubbies and his hometown Braves (for now at least). Myself, I think I need to comment on Sinickal's beloved Cubbies, and my beloved and hometown Marlins.

For the Cubbies, change seems to be on the horizon. Oh, several normal ailments exist in Cubland:

1. Big Z, Carlos Zambrano being taken off the field with an injury while throwing an absolute gem;

2. At least one fan has already uttered, "Wait 'til next year;

3. The bullpen collapsing with Kerry Wood doing his best Ryan Dempster impersonation; and

4. Cubs fans worrying about what Kerry Wood has left.

However, the Cubs have been afflicted with a much more serious ailment than these. They have caught FUKUDOME FEVER. Cubs right fielder Kosuke Fukudome (whose jersey I will be purchasing post haste), had a tremendous game, finishing 3 for 3, with a walk, 1 run scored, 3 RBIs and a home run in the 9th inning off Brewers reliever Eric Gagne. On top of all that, he had a double off Ben Sheets, and threw out 4 runners on the base paths. (OK, I made that last part up). But Cubs fans, be careful, if left untreated Fukudome Fever can lead to an even more dangerous disease, Optimism. The more things change, indeed.

With regard to my Marlins (and yes they might as well be mine, nobody else likes them), I could not attend in person because I am now in the middle of changing jobs, but I listened to the broadcast in the office. What was the most astonishing fact from this game? It wasn't that Johan Santana absolutely hammered the fish, as that was to be expected. Nor was it that 35,308 people attended the game, since they were all New Yorkers anyway. Could it be that the Marlins payroll is $21 million dollars, $7 million less than A-Rod is scheduled to make this year? No. The most astonishing fact is that Luis Gonzalez, the Marlins starting right fielder with Jeremy Hermida on the DL, has played in 479 more games than the rest of the Florida Marlins starters, combined. That is absolutely ridiculous. It just goes to show that there are lots of kids on this team who nobody knows, and it is going to be a really long year. The more things stay the same.

Cubs and Braves...Opening Day

What song would you want playing when you are introduced? It doesn't matter what you are introduced for, what would you want playing? I will explain why I am asking this question a little later, but let's just say that I am still stunned by some things that happened at the Braves game last night....

I should mention that I am kind of a sports junkie. Maybe more of a competition junkie. I will watch just about anything if it will guarantee to finish with a winner and a loser. This probably explains why I don't watch a lot of hockey, and why I think soccer is only for girls. Or boys who can't make the football team. By the way, for those of you who know Hopps, you also know that was a direct shot at him.

My favorite sports are football, then baseball. And there are few events that I love more than Opening Day. So, yesterday I plopped down in front of the television to watch my beloved Cubbies home opener against the Brewers, then went to Turner Field to watch the Braves open against the Pirates. A great day all around despite heartbreaking losses by both home teams.

Here are a couple of thoughts on the two games:

I am really happy with the Cubs this year. Yeah, I know that 2008 MVP, Kosuke Fukudome was 3 for 3 with a double, a homerun and a walk, while the rest of the team was 2 for 31. And, I know that Kerry Wood and Bob Howry did not look great in there opening stints. No matter, I like this lineup, I really like the pitching, and I am expecting really nice things from this team. I am going to stop talking about this game now since I don't want to be too optimistic before the Cubs have their first win.

Onto the Braves.

The Atlanta Braves are now 0 and 2 and if the season keeps up like this we will be admitting Gondee from Talking Chop into a mental institution by the beginning of May. On Opening Day in Washington, DC, the Braves got a gem from Tim Hudson and lost on a heartbreaking walk-off homerun in the bottom of the 9th.

Last night was just sureal! The Pirates squandered a 5 run lead in the 9th inning, which included a routine pop-up that was allowed to drop between the left fielder and center fielder that scored the tying runs. Then in the top of the 12th, the Pirates get a 3-run homerun only to nearly squander the lead again. Braves catcher Brian McCann called it the craziest game he has ever been a part of. It is certainly one of the craziest games I have seen in person.

With that, here are the things that caught my eye last night during the pomp and circumstance of opening day:

1. Braves relief pitcher, Peter Moylan was introduced last night to "Down Under," by Men At Work. Seriously, is this the music you really want to be introduced to? Does this inspire anything? I can't imagine that it does. Of course, this got me to thinking what song I would want to be introduced to. I came up with....wait for it....Jay Z and "Show Me What You Got"
2. Okay, time out for trivia. Who is the winningest pitcher to ever play in the Braves organization? We will come back to this, but his number is NOT retired by the Braves!
3. Time out for trivia, part II. How many dffferent names have the Atlanta Braves had in their history? How about nine. That right, nine different team names since the organization started playing baseball in 1871 as the Boston Redstockings. I am not going to lie, I was dumbfounded by this.

The answer to the first question is Cy Young. Yeah, that Cy Young. He actually won game 511 as a Boston Rustler in 1911. Just some information that I found fascinating last night.