Though we had to wait a few days longer than usual, the most glorious day of spring ‘mdash; Opening Day ‘mdash; is finally upon us. Watching last night’s game between Atlanta and Philadelphia, which officially kicked off the 2009 season, even Joe Morgan’s ever-clueless commentary (R.I.P. Firejoemorgan.com; our dream will come true someday) couldn’t ruin my mood. With today marking the season’s beginning for 26 ballclubs, here’s what California’s five teams will encounter this season and some thoughts on Opening Day.
Dodgers at Padres
Eighty-four wins were enough for the Dodgers to take the NL West title last season and they’ll probably be enough for a repeat. An enviable blend of proven veterans and young talent, the Dodgers’ lineup is most definitely good enough to battle with Arizona for the division crown. Undoubtedly, the starting rotation and bullpen are Los Angeles’ weak links starting the year. Fortunately for the Dodger hurlers, they should get a confidence boost playing San Diego to open the season.
The Padres have almost no shot at making the playoffs and will probably be looking to sell their few working parts to other teams later this season. With a complete lack of offensive pop ‘mdash; no, we’re not yelling ‘Kouz’ at you anymore, we’re just booing ‘mdash; the lineup is in need of a complete overhaul. Not even ‘the little David Eckstein that could’ has enough heart and grit to save this team from a dismal showing.
Athletics at Angels
While the A’s have made no headway on building a new stadium ‘mdash; make it happen, San Jose ‘mdash; G.M. Billy Beane is essentially finished rebuilding his team. The only thing left to do for the A’s is exactly what they did at the beginning of Beane’s reign ‘mdash; let a young rotation pitch its way to the top. With Justin Duchscherer on the disabled list, Braden takes over the mound and officially begins the new ‘Big Three’ experiment in Oakland. If Braden fares well against the Angels’ lineup, Opening Day will be considered a success. My guess is that Braden will struggle early ‘mdash; as will the A’s this season. Oakland is still one year away from contention.
With the Nos. 1 and 2 starters injured, Joe Saunders takes the mound, facing Oakland’s re-tooled lineup. Los Angeles hasn’t changed much from last season, and after winning 100 games, they didn’t have to. The fate of the Angels depends on how much the offseason moves of Oakland and Texas come to light. If the Angels’ No. 3 starter can handle an A’s lineup that is no longer a complete disaster, Los Angeles is well on its way to a three-peat.
Brewers at Giants
When I went home to the Bay Area over winter break, I picked up the sports page after the Giants signed veteran starter Randy Johnson and got a kick out of the headline ‘Johnson makes Giants a Contender.’ Seriously, a team that has been abysmal for the past few seasons because of its repeated signings of players who should have retired already adds another old guy and you call it a contender?
But the NL West may just be mediocre enough to vault the Giants into contention after all. Tim Lincecum is leading the way, and their starting pitching is stellar ‘mdash; Barry Zito fills out San Francisco’s fourth spot (where he belongs) instead of second or third like in past seasons. Still, for the Giants to go anywhere this season, the team’s young hitters, such as Pablo Sandoval, will have to prove themselves. Who better to start against than the Brewers’ terrible rotation?