The "Bobby Cox smacks his forehead like he's Bull from Night Court" picture is the only image of Getty I like as much as Roger Clemens in the Mitchell Report. It's totally out of context and he's just wiping his face, but it's a great tool to illustrate the frustration and utter futility that comes from being the best team in the league for a decade and a half and then immediately becoming, well, what the Braves are right now.
It's not like they're hopeless. There's still a chance they could win the division and then win it 34 more years in a row. There's also a chance that Mike Hampton is going to show up on opening day and tell us he's fine and was just kidding. There's a better chance of Mike Hampton being crapped on by a bird and having that crap infect him with Super SARS and make his head fall off.
It is said about good teams that they find ways to win when their go to guys have an off night. The Nationals are becoming the exact opposite. They're starting to find ways to lose when their achilles heel is a strong point.
Their starting pitching was not the problem in their 8-0 loss to the Braves on Tuesday night. Rookie Matt Chico had given up only a home run to Andruw Jones through the first four innings. He should have been out of the fifth as well. But Ronnie Belliard dropped a pop-up much like the one caught in this picture, and the Braves scored three unearned runs with two outs to knock Chico out of the game. With the Nats bats asleep, the rest of the game was pretty much academic.
It's becoming increasingly evident that this is going to be an ugly, ugly season for the Washington Nationals. Here's a nugget for you: The Nationals, after eight games, have not yet sent a batter to the plate with the team in the lead. With a statistic like that, it's amazing the Nationals have a win.
Meanwhile for the Braves, Tim Hudson looks gosh darn good. His sinker was darting nicely, and he threw a back-up slider that fooled Brian McCann to the point he almost didn't catch the ball (you know you're going well when you fool your catcher with a pitch he called). Jeff Francoeur drove in five runs including the two that knocked Chico out of the game. As for Andruw Jones, he puts himself in the conversation as to who will top Hank Aaron'sBarry Bonds' Alex Rodriguez's home run record. Jones is now at 343 career before the age of 30, which was more than Aaron's 342 at the same point. Of course at the rate Alex is hitting them this season, Andruw is going to have to consider a free agent deal at Coors Field to have a shot at catching him.
The Fanhouse's look at the day's most intriguing matchups
Boston Red Sox (3-3) vs. Seattle Mariners (2-1)-2:05PM Est.
It's Opening Day at Fenway Park as Josh Beckett and the Boston Red Sox take on the Seattle Mariners. For Seattle, Jeff Weaver makes his debut in a Mariners jersey. Of course, I don't think Mariners fans care who starts for their team. They're just happy they're finally going to see their team play a game after losing an entire weekend in Cleveland. The only question is whether or not Mike Hargrove will be able to convince the umpires to call the game should Seattle be losing in the fifth inning.
Cleveland Indians (2-1) vs. Los Angeles Angels (5-2)-7:05PM Est.
For the first time in nearly ten years there will be an American League game played in Milwaukee. Much like the Mariners, Cleveland has been sitting around on their butts while eleventy thousand feet of snow fell all around them. Will Grady Sizemore be able to keep the torrid pace he started the season at after taking nearly a week off? Against Ervin Santana it won't be easy, as Santana and C.C. Sabathia make up one of the day's most interesting pitching matchups.
Atlanta Braves (5-1) vs. Washington Nationals (1-6)-7:35PM Est.
The Braves received some bad news on Monday when they learned they were going to have to live without Mike Hampton this season. The good news is, things seem to be working just fine without him anyway. As if taking two of three from the Mets to gain an early lead in the NL East wasn't enough, now they get to feast on the Nationals! Sometimes life just isn't fair.
From the another pitcher with elbow problems file comes Mike Hampton, he of substandard results after a large contract fame. (To recap: Hampton signed an eight-year deal with the Rockies for $121 million. He's a pedestrian 53-48 since.)
Maybe it has to deal with some nagging elbow injuries. He underwent ligament replacement surgery on his left elbow back in September of 2005, and it looked as if he was ready to return this spring training with the Braves. But his elbow flared up again and surgery is going to keep him out for six-to-nine months. According to CBS Sports, the injury occurred during batting practice this spring.
While being evaluated by Dr. David Altchek in New York City on Monday, Hampton learned that he'll be forced to miss his second consecutive season. He has a torn flexor tendon in his left elbow that Altchek will attempt to repair during a surgical procedure on Tuesday morning.
It's disheartening to see a guy who at one time showed much promise fall prey to the injury bug. But, I suppose this is what can happen when you make a living snapping fastballs and breaking pitches out of your elbow. Which, come to think of it, makes me really worried about my fingers right now as I type this.
And that's probably a good thing in the cold Georgia weather. However ...
It was an ominous sign when Delgado dropped an easy throw from second to let the first Braves batter of the game reach base. He would come around to score to tie the game and give the momentum back to Atlanta after Paul Lo Duca grabbed the lead with a solo home run in the top of the first.
But Green's drop of what was a Matt Diaz sac fly allowed two extra runs to score on subsequent plays in the sixth inning, and instead of 3-2 Braves after six, it was 5-2. That proved to be the difference in a 5-3 Braves win, the Mets' first loss of the season.
Delgado and Green also did good things ... Green was 3 for 5 with an RBI, and Delgado was 2 for 4. Unfortunately their defense overshadowed their bushel of hits, and cost Tom Glavine not only a win over his buddy John Smoltz, but also cost him one step closer to 300 victories.
The Fanhouse's look at the day's most intriguing matchups
Atlanta Braves (3-1) vs. New York Mets (4-0)-FOX 3:55PM Est.
Old teammates and good friends John Smoltz and Tom Glavine face off against one another Saturday afternoon in Atlanta. The Mets continued their offensive dominance on Friday with an 11-1 victory over the Braves, Atlanta's first loss of the season. In Glavine's last start on Opening Night against the Cardinals, he went 6 innings allowing only one run to get the win. The victory left the veteran lefty only 9 wins away from the magical 300.
Milwaukee Brewers (2-2) vs. Chicago Cubs (2-2)-1:05PM Est.
Another solid pitching matchup that features two possible NL Cy Young candidates. Everybody is jumping on the Ben Sheets bandwagon after his masterful performance on Opening Day. Sheets went the distance against the Dodgers last Monday, and gave up only one run. Carlos Zambrano's first day was just about the opposite. Big Z had no control of his pitches, and walked 5 guys while allowing 5 runs as he took a loss in Cincinnati. It's only one start though, and if you're a fan of pitching duels, this game is probably your best bet on Saturday.
Cleveland Indians (2-1) vs. Seattle Mariners (2-1)-1:05PM Est.
Well, these two teams will meet again Saturday night and do the whole home opener thing all over again after Friday's game was called due to snow. The Indians are bound to be a little ticked off at the way Friday's non-game ended, and they'll look to take it out on Jeff Weaver and the Mariners. C.C. Sabathia will be taking the hill for the Tribe as he looks to win his second game of the season.
(UPDATE: Both games of today's Indians/Mariners doubleheader have been postponed. Another doubleheader has been scheduled for tomorrow. Hooray,snow!)
The Mets are 4-0. And guess what, they're doing it on the strength of their starting rotation.
Let me repeat that because in the case of the Mets, it's vaguely important: their starting rotation.
Sure the Mets have scored runs ... 31 of them over four games. But in the same four games their "shaky" starting pitching has only given up three runs. Tonight they rode the arm of Oliver Perez, who went 3-13 last season, to an 11-1 victory. Perez gave up one run over seven innings with six strikeouts. Key for the sometimes wild Perez was no walks. The secret?
"I think last year I was thinking too much," Perez said. "I just try to throw strikes today."
Jose Reyes had his first two triples of the season to go along with four RBI's in the win. Reyes already has seven RBI's this season while batting .368 in this very young season. Jeff Francoeur was responsible for the only Braves run, a solo shot off Perez in the fourth. Francoeur has taken a healthy approach to the loss:
"If you're gonna get beat, you might as well get the snot knocked out of you," Francoeur said.
Saturday's game features the second ever matchup between John Smoltz and Tom Glavine, who goes for his 292nd career win in his quest for magic number 300.
But the important question is: What the heck is a whynatte? A whynatte is the hot new drink sweeping the nation, and it's literally hot! A cold shot of Jagermeister is mixed with a freshly brewed hot latte for a supposedly delicious treat. Think Starbucks meets your local pub.
Well, it must be a popular drink, because none other than Andruw Jones is a fan, as evidenced by the video below from last October. As you can see: when it comes to whynatte, he's been there, done that, bought the t-shirt! (From whynatte.com
Some athletes endorse breakfast cereal, Andruw Jones is connected with a spiked coffee drink ... not exactly the breakfast of champions. But thanks to Andruw, we can now seem just a little bit cooler to our friends because we now know what a whynatte is. Who needs Wheaties anyway when you can hit forty dingers mixing Jager and coffee?
The Fanhouse's look at the day's most intriguing matchups
Kansas City Royals (1-1) vs. Boston Red Sox (1-1)-2:10PM Est.
The wait is finally over. Sure, you saw him in spring training, but we're experiencing the real thing now. Daisuke Matsuzaka makes his Major League debut for the Boston Red Sox this afternoon in Kansas City. Will we finally get a chance to see this magical pitch they call the Gyroball or is it just a myth? Unfortunately, overshadowed in this game is Zack Greinke who's making his first start of the season after battling through a severe case of depression last season. Greinke had a strong spring to regain his spot in the Royals rotation, and says he's worked through his problems. The good news is that if he relapses, he can follow the lead of women everywhere, and sit in the dugout with a gallon of Dice-Kream.
Philadelphia Phillies (0-2) vs. Atlanta Braves (2-0)-3:05PM Est.
If the third game of this series is as exciting as the first two, you'd be a fool to skip it. The Braves have rallied from behind in both games so far before winning each contest in extra innings. A win today would give Atlanta it's first 3-0 start since 1994. Ahh, 1994. Remember that magnificent 1994 World Series? That was easily the best World Series of all time. What? You're kidding? Wow. That's messed up.
San Francisco Giants (0-2) vs. San Diego Padres (2-0)-10:15PM Est.
Barry Bonds hit home run number 735 last night to move within 20 of the great Hank Aaron, but unfortunately the Giants still lost. The way that Barry has treated the Padres over his career--86 home runs, his most against any opponent--it's not too crazy a notion that he'll hit number 736 tonight against Clay Hensley. More importantly for the Giants, they're looking to avoid their first 0-3 start since 1984.
So, a priest, a rabbi, and Tiger Woods walk into a bar ...
That's not really a joke (and I apologize for the tease), but Jason Sobel's latest blog entry at ESPN.com (Insider, sorry) is all about how Tiger Woods is a funny guy. I think "funny guy" may be overstating (it's more like "capable of typical cheeky golf humor") but it is nice to be reminded sometimes that Tiger Woods is composed of actual human flesh, not just metal, graphite, and titanium. From Sobel's blog:
On a recent Duke University symposium that discussed his social impact: "They have nothing else to do, do they?"
On the upcoming U.S. Open venue: "Just very curious to see how Oakmont is playing. We're going to play, what, the eighth hole, a 900-yard par 3?"
On his professional breakthrough being responsible for golf's technology boom: "I guess it's all my fault, huh?"
On how rail-thin Charles Howell III has changed since he first met him: "He's probably put on 1.5 pounds."
On Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz, from whom (along with Jeff Francoeur and Adam LaRoche) Tiger won some money on the golf course recently: "He's my ATM."
Why John Smoltz is playing golf against Tiger Woods for money, I couldn't tell you ... but it's my guess that Tiger Woods would be smart enough not to engage in a pitching contest against Smoltz for money.
The "Bobby Cox smacks his forehead like he's Bull from Night Court" picture is the only image of Getty I like as much as Roger Clemens in the Mitchell Report. It's totally out of context and he's just wiping his face, but it's a great tool to illustrate the frustration and utter futility that comes from being the best team in the league for a decade and a half and then immediately becoming, well, what the Braves are right now.
It is said about good teams that they find ways to win when their go to guys have an off night. The Nationals are becoming the exact opposite. They're starting to find ways to lose when their achilles heel is a strong point.
From the another pitcher with elbow problems file comes Mike Hampton, he of substandard results after a large contract fame. (To recap: Hampton signed an eight-year deal with the Rockies for $121 million. He's a pedestrian 53-48 since.)
And that's probably a good thing in the cold Georgia weather. However ...
The Mets are 4-0. And guess what, they're doing it on the strength of their starting rotation. 
So, a priest, a rabbi, and Tiger Woods walk into a bar ...
