It is April 6th, and cities across the nation are tuning in to their team(s) as opening day begins. I’ve got the MLB.TV cued up and I’m ready to go! Today’s Full Court Press is all focused on Opening Day.
News and Notes:
For those of you hoping that Marcus Thames is going to be the full-time designated hitter, it looks like Jim Leyland is going to prove you wrong. Newly acquired Josh Anderson will start in left field today.
Matt Kemp is chirping that he plans on being the center fielder all season long. That could shut down the hope of getting 40+ steals from Juan Pierre. It seems that Joe Torre is backing this statement.
The Cubs are looking to trade relievers, mostly Angel Guzman and Chad Gaudin. Gaudin had a horrible spring but their might be some interest from the Detroit Tigers, who are looking for any type of Bullpen help. According to the Chicago Tribune, there has been a lot of interest in in Angel Guzman. He is someone to watch if he moves up in his role.
More on the Tiger Front: A guy you might want to start is Mr. Gerald Laird. In his career against the Blue Jays, he has hit .353.
For those of you loving the Missouri Switch- Skip Schumaker is not in today’s starting lineup, but new Royals second baseman Mark Teahen will hitting third in the lineup. What does that mean for hot hitting Mike Aviles? He will be hitting ninth. Wow, is that the way to treat your best contact hitter from 2008?
Speaking of young stud hitters, Blue Jays slugging outfielder Travis Snyder will hit ninth in the starting lineup. I wonder how long that will last.
According to many sources, Alex Rodriguez feels about seventy percent right now, but he has started swinging the bat. If the Yankees allow him, he could return in late April. I still don’t like what Alex Rodriguez has in store for him this season. It is going to be more of a battle than a success. We will see how it goes though.
Marlon Byrd will be starting for Texas today.
Pitching Probables:
Johan Santana vs. Aaron Harang- Tough draw for Harang, who I think is going to have a bit better year than last year.
Cliff Lee vs. Kevin Millwood- If Lee is on his game, and pitches like he did in 2008, then that offense is in trouble. Millwood is going to give up a lot of hits today. Should be an interesting matchup. This is Millwood’s fourth stratigh opening day start.
Brandon Webb vs. Aaron Cook- Webb won his first 9 starts in 2008, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him do that again. Webb was 3-0 against the Rockies in 2008, holding them to a .191 average. Cook, who totaled the most wins in a season throughout his career in 2008, will face a lacking lineup that will be missing Justin Upton and Mark Reynolds.
C.C. Sabathia vs. Jeremy Guthrie- This matchup has me torn between history and reality. Throughout the years, the Orioles are 2-0n opening day when facing the Yankees. Meanwhile, Jeremy Guthrie didn’t get the workload he should have due to the world baseball classic. The way that Yankee lineup is hitting, I would stay away from starting Guthrie. Meanwhile C.C. could put up an interesting clinic.
John Lannan vs. Ricky Nolasco- It’s the battle of the fantasy sleeper on opening day! You got to love it. Lannan had 21 quality starts in 2008, which is why Manny Acta gave him the opening day start. What is scary is that all the runs he gave up in 2008 came from the 0-0 count. Rick Nolasco meanwhile held a fantastic .99 whip after the all-star break.
Paul Maholm vs. Adam Wainright- nothing to write home about here. Wainright is going to be a consistent pitchier in 2009, especially with match ups like this. Pujols is 8-for-16 against Maholm with three doubles, one homer and three RBIs and five walks. Maholm might be a true sleeper. He was a 3.00 ERA type pitcher against the Cardinals last season.
Carlos Zambrano vs. Roy Oswalt- I swear I have seen this matchup on paper more than any other pitching matchup in the league. Both have been workhorses and though Oswalt struggled in the WBC, he had a tremendous second half last season. Ultimately though, Zambrano seems to be the better out of the two for 2009. Even though Zambrano is usually a slow starter, who seems to always struggle on opening day.
Hiroki Kuroda vs. Jake Peavy- You have to love this matchup, especially knowing that the Padres will have to dig deep to bring out their best offensive effort. I really like Peavy to show early that he can shut down the best offenses, especially if he wants to be traded to a team who has a chance to win. Kuroda is a good groundball pitcher worth throwing in the lineup today. His WHIP will be fantastic considering he doesn’t walk many and the Padres can’t hit.
Justin Verlander vs. Roy Halladay- Twenty wins versus the hope for at least 15 and a decent season. Halladay has been known to shut down the Tiger offense and pitch well on opening day. In 15 outings against his Opening Day opponent, Halladay has gone 11-2 with a crisp 1.93 ERA. Yikes. Verlander will hope that this season doesn’t start out like the last, where he started the season 1-7.
Dallas Braden vs. Joe Saunders- This is the most interesting match up to me. Ok, not at all , because both will struggle throughout this season, and Saunders could lose his job by mid May. It will be intersting to see if Braden can fit the bill of a number one starter. Braden posted a 3.97 ERA as a starter in 2008. Meanwhile Saunders had the best season of his career in 2008, going 5-0 to start the season last year.
Felix Hernandez vs. Fransisco Lariano- Could this be a preview of the 2009 A.L. Cy Young chase? It certaintly has the potential. Both youngsters are coming off fantastic seasons that didnt quite pan out fantasy wise. For Lariano it is all about staying healthy. With recent injuries to the Twins staff, his rotation spot is his to lose. Felix Hernandez showed this spring in the WBC that he could dominate hitters. The problem could be the offense behind him. King Felix ended up with 11 no decision starts in 2008.
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FanSided
Zach Thompson
