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.
Seeing as how Mother Nature really hates the Cleveland Indians, Major League Baseball has taken steps to protect the franchise from her harsh outbursts of force. The Indians will be moving indoors, to the vast expanse of Milwaukee this week.
Major League Baseball decided to move the Indians-Angels series - scheduled for Tuesday through Thursday at Jacobs Field - to Milwaukee because in Cleveland, temperatures in the high 40s are forecast, along with rain Thursday. Unofficially, the games in Milwaukee will be at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday and 1:05 p.m. on Thursday.
The entire series Cleveland was supposed to play against the Mariners this past weekend was postponed due to snow, and despite the odd circumstances, most Indians players are happy just to be able to play.
"This is bizarre, absolutely bizarre," Tribe outfielder David Dellucci said. "But I think we're prepared to do whatever we need to do to play a ballgame. We just want to play. Even in Little League, you have fans in the stands, mothers and fathers and some friends. We might not have many people in the stands, other than workers. You might hear the crickets in the rafters. But at least we're going to be playing baseball."
The move to Milwaukee also makes a little more sense than the possibility of moving the series to Anaheim as was discussed also. This way the Indians don't have to fly all the way across country, instead just a short jaunt to Wisconsin.
Of course, none of this would have happened if the schedule makers had any sense to begin with. As for when the Tribe's series with Seattle will be made up, there are a couple of likely dates. Both teams have July 11th off, and the Mariners will be flying from New York to Detroit then, so a possible stop in Cleveland for a doubleheader is not out of the question. Then, the final game could be made up on October 1st the day after the season ends. Unless of course, neither team is in playoff contention.
The Indians haven't played since Wednesday after having three games this weekend and a doubleheader today wiped out due to snow. Trying to re-schedule the games will be a headache -- the Mariners weren't originally schedule to return to Cleveland this year.
The Angels are expected to come to town for a three-game series on Tuesday, but Major League Baseball may decide to take drastic measures to avoid losing another series due to inclement weather (the forecast now calls for rain through Thursday), such as playing the entire series in Anaheim. From MLB.com:
"It's very unlikely, but we are looking at all possibilities," Cleveland general manager Mark Shapiro confirmed to MLB.com on Sunday afternoon.
"We've been in touch with Major League Baseball," said Angels spokesman Tim Mead, "but no decision will be made until the morning. They will continue to monitor the situation."
Of course, doing so would literally cost the Indians a few home games. The Angels and Indians will play two more series after this one, but those are already in Anaheim and -- between tickets already sold and cross-country travel -- it's not logistically possible to just flip-flop them.
But if this series is lost, as well, the Indians will almost certainly be forced to make up the games with a series of doubleheaders late in the year. What's more of a competitive disadvantage? Not playing a series at home or, say, squeezing 10 games into a week late in the year when everyone is already tired?
Maybe now baseball will finally seriously consider putting teams in cold-weather cities with open-air stadiums on the road for the first 7-10 days of the season when it comes time to make the schedule next year.
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!)
Considering over half the teams in Major League Baseball play in warm weather climates, or have a roof over their stadium, you'd think that the schedule makers would be smart enough to plan accordingly. Listen up schedule maker person.
Next season let's not schedule any home games in Chicago, Cleveland, Cincinnati, New York, Boston, you get the point. It's just not that smart.
At least that game never started, the Indians meanwhile, got screwed. Cleveland had a 4-0 lead on the Mariners and were one strike away from an official game. That's when the "Human Rain Delay" Mike Hargrove did the smartest thing he's done in years.
He ran out onto the field and somehow managed to convince crew chief Rick Reed to delay the game a fourth time due to the conditions. Why Reed would call for a delay when the game's only a pitch away from being official, I'll never understand, but he did and a little over an hour later the game was called.
"We obviously ended up on the south side of things," said Cleveland manager Eric Wedge. "Everybody was fighting for what they wanted and what they believed was the right thing to do."
Lost in all the idiocy of the schedule makers, and Rick Reed is another factor that should be taken into consideration when playing games like these.
Injuries.
What happens if the strained left quad Cleveland catcher Victor Martinez suffered while running to first turns out to be a serious injury, and he has to miss a lot of time? The Indians could be without a big member of their team after he played in a game that didn't count, and never should have been played in the first place.
Yuniesky Betancourt's journey to Seattle, Washington was a long one. Three years ago the 25-year old was floating on a makeshift raft from Cuba to the United States. On Wednesday he received the award for his struggles as he signed a three-year extension with the Mariners.
"It is a pretty big change, and I want to thank the organization for giving me this opportunity and not having to go anywhere else," Betancourt said through an interpreter. "This is the first team that I signed with, I like the city, I like the team and I really enjoy my teammates. It would be really sad if I had to leave."
"I was surprised at how fast this came together," he said, "but this is where I wanted to be, so there was no reason to wait any longer. I'm sure [my family is] very happy, but up until today, I didn't know much about it."
Betancourt always impressed the Mariners with his solid defense, but in his first full season as a Major Leaguer he also showed that he's becoming a complete player. Yuni hit .289 for Seattle last season with 42 extra base hits and 47 RBI.
Under his current contract, he currently makes $450,000 annually, and the extension will keep him in Seattle through 2011, with a club option for 2012. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed, but Yuni should be able to afford a better boat if the desire to return to Cuba ever surfaces.
Ironically, it's because of Betancourt's raft trip to the States that he won't be able to play in Seattle's next game on Friday in Cleveland. That's because he'll be in Miami to testify at the trial of Gustavo Dominguez. Dominguez is the man accused of smuggling Betancourt and 52 other players from Cuba to the United States.
The 2006 season was a lost year for Rich Harden. Thanks to elbow and back problems, the young righthander was only able to make nine starts for the Athletics last season. Wednesday night, he did everything he could to make Oakland fans forget about it.
Harden went seven innings and only allowed three hits as the Athletics shut out the Mariners 9-0 to avoid being swept to start the season.
It's not the first time Harden has left the Mariners helpless. In 10 career starts against his division rivals, he has an ERA of 1.28, and is 5-0 with a 0.86 ERA at SafeCo Field.
"I just love coming up here, pitching in that cool weather," said Harden, "I'm wanting to put last year behind me, take the focus off that. Hopefully, now I'll stop getting asked that question."
While Harden's performance could have been expected against the Mariners, Mark Ellis' came out of nowhere. The ninth hitter in the Oakland lineup went 2-for-5 with 5RBI, including a bases clearing double with the sacks packed in the second inning.
The A's were also able to celebrate manager Bob Geren's first win in style, as they doused him in beer afterwards. Such a waste....
In case you weren't aware why Seattle's Felix Hernandez is called King Felix, the young man went out and showed you on Opening Day. Hernandez pitched eight innings, gave up only three hits and struck out twelve Athletics as the Mariners won 4-0.
Hernandez lost 20 pounds over the offseason after a disappointing sophomore campaign in 2006, and so far it looks like it may pay off. The Athletics never really had a chance against Felix all day.
Lost in the performance of Hernandez was the strong start of Oakland's Dan Haren. Haren was cruising through the fifth, and induced an inning ending double play grounder that Bobby Crosby booted. Richie Sexson then came to the dish and crushed a three-run homer to straight away center, and impressive feat at SafeCo Field.
It was just the icing on the cake for Crosby on Monday, as he went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and two errors.
Still, the day belonged to King Felix. He became the youngest pitcher to start a game on Opening Day since Dwight Gooden did it for the Mets in 1985 as a 20-year old, and all he did was set a new career high with his 12 strikeouts along the way. Oh, and the win also ended a 15-game losing streak that the Mariners had against the Athletics.
Apparently I don't read spring training box scores as closely as I should, because I was shocked today to read that Rey Ordonez -- umm, he's the one hovering over Derek Jeter's shoulder -- is about to make the Mariners' Opening Day roster. From the Seattle Times:
The transformation of Ordonez, from a no-hope curiosity at the outset of camp to a guy looking like the team's backup infielder, took a giant step forward Wednesday when backup outfielder Jeremy Reed was optioned to Class AAA Tacoma.
The Mariners apparently are confident enough in the outfield skills of both Willie Bloomquist and Ben Broussard that they feel they can afford the luxury of carrying Ordonez's glove. With second baseman Jose Lopez still not at his defensive best, coming off a sprained ankle, the addition of Ordonez would give the Mariners both backup and late-game defensive insurance.
Mind you, before this spring Ordonez was last seen with the Cubs in 2004, hitting .164 in 23 games. He's a career .246 hitter with a horrifying .289 OBP and .310 SLG, and considering his bat is carrying two years of rust I'm guessing he's about as ready to contribute at the plate as I am.
It'd be one thing if he enjoyed a scorching hot spring and forced his team's hand like Sammy Sosa did with the Rangers, but Ordonez has hit just .227 in 44 at-bats. I know he's supposed to be slick with the glove (though it's and I'm hardly a big believer in spring training stats, but come on, shouldn't he have to show something with the bat to earn his keep? No? I should tried out.
Things you will not see in the Spring Training Dugout for the Seattle Mariners include:
Seeing as how Mother Nature really hates the Cleveland Indians, Major League Baseball has taken steps to protect the franchise from her harsh outbursts of force. The Indians will be moving indoors, to the vast expanse of Milwaukee this week.
Considering over half the teams in Major League Baseball play in warm weather climates, or have a roof over their stadium, you'd think that the schedule makers would be smart enough to plan accordingly. Listen up schedule maker person. 
Yuniesky Betancourt's journey to Seattle, Washington was a long one. Three years ago the 25-year old was floating on a makeshift raft from Cuba to the United States. On Wednesday he received the award for his struggles as he signed a three-year extension with the Mariners.
The 2006 season was a lost year for Rich Harden. Thanks to elbow and back problems, the young righthander was only able to make nine starts for the Athletics last season. Wednesday night, he did everything he could to make Oakland fans forget about it.
In case you weren't aware why Seattle's Felix Hernandez is called King Felix, the young man went out and showed you on Opening Day. Hernandez pitched eight innings, gave up only three hits and struck out twelve Athletics as the Mariners won 4-0. 
Apparently I don't read spring training box scores as closely as I should, because I was shocked today to read that Rey Ordonez -- umm, he's the one hovering over Derek Jeter's shoulder -- is about to make the Mariners' Opening Day roster. From the Seattle Times:
