Brewers Fans Welcome Back Ryan Braun in Opening Day Victory

While most avid baseball fans have a general hatred for players who cheat, get caught, lie about cheating, then get caught again, it seems Milwaukee Brewers fans have found it rather easy to forgive Ryan Braun.

The fired up, sellout crowd at Miller Park on Opening Day gave their right fielder a standing ovation as he entered the batter's box. Braun went 1-for-4 with a stolen base in Milwaukee's 2-0 win over the Atlanta Braves, with his base hit and steal nicely setting up a two-run double by Aramis Ramirez in the fourth.

He was involved in one of the first calls to be overturned under MLB's new replay system as well, when his infield single to lead off the sixth was overturned to an out after the call was challenged by Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez. Thankfully, the review took only 58 seconds.

Season's Greetings: Happy Opening Day!

Back from hiatus at last. Bring on baseball season!

Longest, Most Exciting Season Opener Ever: Blue Jays Beat Indians 7-4 in 16 Innings

Thursday provided some much-need action for baseball fans everywhere. Even in Canada.

The Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Indians kicked off their 2012 seasons at Progressive Field in exciting fashion when the Jays rallied to force extras with a three-run ninth to tie it up at four runs a piece. The game then lasted another seven innings, a record of 16 total. Too bad they stop selling beer after the seventh inning.

Our favorite Blue Jay, J.P. Arencibia, was on an unfortunate 0-for-6, three strikeout roll before connecting off Indians reliever Jairo Asencio in the 16th, resulting in the game-winning three-run shot. He caught all 16 innings, so his quads must be pretty sore. He probably needs a rub down.

Of course, it just wouldn't feel right unless Jose Bautista went yard, too. There goes no. 1 of at least 50 this season.

[ESPN]

Seasons Greetings!

Finally.

Season's Greetings: Happy Opening Day!

We are firm believers that Opening Day should be considered a National Holiday. In fact, I'm surprised no President has gotten on that yet. However, to us it's more of a religious holiday chock-full of tradition, passion, and pure, unadulterated anticipation leading up to it.

We are as excited as a child on Christmas morning.

We are not going to work today. Our only mission is to watch baseball and enjoy every second. If only we had six televisions... God bless MLB Network.

Top Ten Most Awesome Things From Opening Day

Opening Day. It's like Christmas and your birthday all rolled into one. We waited all winter long for it and when it finally got here, it didn't disappoint. Whether your team won or lost, it was still a great day filled with baseball. Here are the top ten things that (at least in my opinion) made Opening Day worth the long, dreary wait..

10. Roy Halladay struck out 9 batters in his Phillies debut. Granted, those batters played for the Nationals and my grandma could have probably struck out 6 of them, but still. Phillies phans got a preview of his awesomeness and what the Doc has in store for them this season. Cliff who?

9. Diamondbacks shortstop Stephen Drew hit an inside-the-park homerun. Thanks to a combination of the overhang in centerfield, a great hit, and the right amount of wind, the ball was virtually unplayable for San Diego centerfielder Tony Gwynn, Jr., and left fielder Kyle Blanks had to come try to keep it a triple. Fail.

100 Years of Throwing Like a Girl

Happy Opening Day baseball fans!!!

Today, which should be a National Holiday in our opinion, (get on that Obama!) marks the 100th anniversary of the ceremonial first pitch. That's an entire century of grown men throwing like a girl.

President Barack Obama tossed out the ceremonial first pitch for the Washington Nationals this afternoon, donning a Chicago White Sox cap. The ball sailed just a bit outside (okay, it was way off target) of the glove of Ryan Zimmerman, who managed to make the catch.

Happy Birthday Bert!

Anyone who watches Twins baseball on FSN North knows exactly when Bert Blyleven's birthday is and how old he will be. Not because we care exactly, but because he makes a point to start the countdown the day after his birthday and then continue it throughout the entire baseball season.

Every season opener, the former curveball mastermind claims it's his birthday, and it's usually pretty close. Today, it actually is. Sometimes he gets a tie, a cupcake or golf balls from co-host and long-time partner in crime, Dick Bremer, but this year everyone is in on it.

"We're all taking a collection we're going to give it to him later. We'll have about seven cents when we get all done," said Wally the Beer Man.

We wish you a Happy 58th Birthday, Bert. Someday, hopefully sooner than later, you'll celebrate it as a Hall of Famer.

[WCCO] | [30-Year-Old Cardboard]

And We're Off!

Happy Opening Day!!! It's a glorious day people.



I was in attendance last night at the Nationals Inaugural game at their new stadium and despite the chill, it was a great game. Here is a pictorial of a few things I learned.

George W. Bush's well thrown first pitch was by far the most impressive thing he's done during his presidency.



The scoreboard listed Cristian Guzman at 195 pounds. And I'm Santa Claus.



A Ben's Chili dog tastes waaaay better than it looks.



When the stadium runs out of fries and pretzels in the 7th inning, you need the SWAT team to control the riots.



A walkoff home run is still the most exciting thing in baseball.



Here's to a great season for all of us. Except the Red Sox.

Ah One, Ah Two, Ah Three!

Take Me Out To The Ballgame, written by Jack Norworth in 1908, has become a staple of America's Pastime.

Everyone from Ann Murray to Bill Murray have sung the famous ditty, so it was ridiculously hard to choose a video to post.

But really, who sang it better than Harry Caray, and all the Chicago Cubs fans at Wrigley Field? This one in particular is from from 1984 (we think?) the year the Cubs won the NL East title.

Happy 100th birthday to Baseball's National Anthem.

Happy Opening Day!

I think all of our posts should be punctuated with exclamation points today. Why? Because it's god damn Opening Day! For real this time!

Now that we've survived the trifecta of retardation in the booth while the Washington Nationals enjoyed their first victory in their brand new park, and the Atlanta Braves have tasted the long road to not winning their division, it's time for the rest of baseball to join the party!

It's officially the last Opening Day of the season, and baseball fans everywhere (outside of Boston, Oakland, Washington and Atlanta) are flipping out with Spring Fever.

So, it's a good thing we don't have to wait any longer.

Anyway, this Bud Light commercial always cracks me up. It's funny cause it's true... especially if you're the Mayor of Cincinnati.

[Mind Pinball]

Diary of a Total Masochist

So today, in the spirit of the bloody awesomeness that is baseball, I decided that I was going to get up at 5am and head out to a bar to watch the Red Sox open the 2008 season in Japan. Above you will see the obligatory "I just woke up at fucking 4:45am" on the left, and on the right is the
"OHMYGODITSOPENINGDAYANDIJUSTHADTWOREDBULLS" shot.

4:43 a.m. - Inner baseball alarm clock goes off. I am slightly peeved by this as I was hoping to sleep until five to get a full four hours. But fuck it. It's REAL BASEBALL SEASON.

5 a.m.- Brush teeth. Drink Red Bull #1 and 2. Shoo cat away from clawing Sox hat. Put on Beckett Jersey.

5:02 a.m.- Frantically search for housekeys.

5:05 a.m. - Find housekeys in pocket of pants I am currently wearing.

5:07 a.m. - Read NY Daily News interview with A-Rod. Snicker to self.

5:10 a.m. - Leave apartment. Get to lobby of my building and notice someone has puked on the floor. God bless NYC.

5:20 a.m. - Get to 145th Street Subway station. On the way to station, "Tessie" comes on iPod. Totally an omen.

5:35 a.m. - Fuckin A train. Get on Subway. Snooze till 34th Street.

5:50 a.m. - Arrive at Dunkin Donuts. Order coffees for myself and my bartender. Have to repeat order 77 times because non-english speaking Dunkin Donuts man can't seem to get a grasp on the concept of "two medium coffees, milk and no sugar."

5:59 a.m. - Get on 1 Train.

6:07 a.m.- Arrive at Riviera. But not until some crackhead attacks me on 7th Avenue demanding $9.50. because, and this is verbatim "I paid some girl 10$ for freaky sex and now I don't know how I'm going to get home." I fuckin hate New York sometimes.

Now, I know I am probably clinically insane for dragging my ass downtown to a bar to watch a game at 6 a.m., but apparently there are plenty of people who are just as batshit crazy as me. Bar is pretty much full. Riveria gives us free coffee and breakfast. But cannot serve liquor legally until 8 a.m. BOOOOOOOO.

6:20 a.m. - God, Dice K sucks at baseball. How can a guy have 24 strikes and 25 balls BY THE SECOND INNING.

6:27 a.m. - Hah. JD 'Nancy' Drew must have woken up with a hangnail, as some dude named Brandon Moss has started in right field.

6:30-7:15 a.m. - Mainline coffee. Eat tons of free and delicious fruit. The sun comes up.

7:45 a.m. - The bartender's brother and this nice feller Billy and me start a countdown till we can drink bloody marys. We're going to need them the way Dice K is pitching. And also after listening to the mind-numbing, self-oral fellatio that Bud Selig has given himself.

7:52 a.m. - The consensus is that the broadcast would be far more entertaining with Jerry Remy. Well, because he's probably drunk out of his mind.

8:00 a.m. - Bar opens. Bartender Beau makes me the strongest bloody mary I have ever consumed in my life. It'll go well with the coffee, three Red Bulls, and quart of strawberries I have already consumed today.

8:30 a.m. - AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH KYLE SNYDER. aka, 'Bizzaro Bronson Arroyo.' Snyder proceeds to suck like usual, and gives up a two-run homer. Sigh, its so nice to see things never change.

Now, this is when I kind of stopped taking notes as to what was going on (as far as times go) I DO know that I was interviewed for television. WNBC 4 in NYC. So if you're in the area, tune in at noon. The guy next to me knocked over his Guinness while I was talking. Also, that Moss kid hit a homer to tie the game in the 9th. The highlight for me by far, was when Manny hit that two run double off the wall, and in typical Manny fashion, assumed it was a home run and spent at least 3 seconds standing at home plate admiring it before he realized that well, HE NEEDED TO RUN. Although I suppose we're lucky that Manny even realized there was a game going on.

Welcome back to baseball, everybody.

Here's a bunch of pix from today's festivities in Japan

Opening Day For The Rest Of Us: AL

I'm such a homer. Johan Santana will take his first step toward a third Cy Young in four seasons when the Twins open the season against lefty ace Erik Bedard and the Orioles.

Most of last season's team will return for Minnesota, led by Santana, who went 19-6 with a league-leading 2.77 ERA and league-best 245 strikeouts last season, tying the Yankees' Chien-Ming Wang for the big league lead in wins. Johan has a 2-1 record and 3.18 ERA in eight career starts against the Orioles, having not faced them since 2005.

Opening Day For The Rest Of Us: NL

Speaking of the Mets, the Atlanta Braves' incredible run of 14 straight division titles ended last season with New York's takeover of the NL East. While the Braves think they have what it takes to return to the top, the Phillies believe they're ready to become the new team to beat in the NL East.

The new underdogs will face an optimistic Phillies club Monday in the teams' season opener.

After finishing third in the East last season - six games behind Philadelphia and 18 behind the New York - the Braves found themselves under .500 for the first time since 1990 - one season before their run of division championships began.

The Braves ranked second in the league with 849 runs and first with 222 homers in 2006 with a potent middle of the order in Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, Jeff Francoeur and Brian McCann. They lost Adam LaRoche, however, who hit 32 homers and drove in 90 runs, and last season's leadoff hitter, Marcus Giles.

Veteran righty John Smoltz, who turns 40 in May, will take the hill for Atlanta. He went 16-9 with a 3.49 ERA last season, leading the team in wins and (232) innings pitched.


The Phillies, meanwhile, haven't reached the playoffs since 1993, but have stayed in contention for the wild card until the final weekend of the last two seasons. They led the NL with 865 runs last season and ranked third with 216 home runs, so the goal is to duplicate that performance this year behind a lineup led by 58-homer-hitting Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins and hard-hitting second baseman Chase Utley.

Philly upgraded its pitching to complement its powerful lineup, adding Freddy Garcia and Adam Eaton to a rotation that includes Brett Myers, Cole Hamels and veteran lefty Jamie Moyer, a late-season acquisition from Seattle.

Myers, 12-7 with a 3.91 ERA last season, will get the start for Philadelphia in his first opening-day start. He's 4-5 with a 4.14 ERA in 16 starts against Atlanta and went 1-1 with a 3.55 ERA in five outings against them last season.

[MLB]

Burning Questions For 2007

Dudes and Bitches, the day is upon us. The day that most of us have been waiting for since the Most Boring World Series That Nobody Cared About: Opening Day 2007. Professional baseball players and their entourages have vacated Florida (well, except the Marlins and the Devil Rays, but they're barely professional anyway.)

Some burning questions to ponder for 2007...

1. Oh A-Rod, how my heart bleeds for you. You make more money in the time it takes to wipe that ice cream scented poop out of your fanny than I will make in an entire lifetime. But New Yorkers hate you. Derek Jeter won't come over and play Clue anymore.

Will you finally get the love and affection from all of New York that you rightly deserve when you hit .170 in the playoffs? Perhaps this year, oh pretty purpled-lipped one, this year, will be your year to earn those pinstripes.

2. Princess Carl Pavano, the baseball equivalent to Britney Spears. You started out so promising, as a NAAAtional League pitcher who so badly wanted to go and play real baseball. Kind of like Miss Britney in her bustier and school girl skirt.

However, as time went on, it became increasingly obvious what a complete and total headcase you were. You haven't pitched in a major league game in two years, and in a few hours, you will get your chance. Give Carl a chance. See if he can get back into that jailbait, pleated skirt and kneesocks form.

3. The Chicago Cubs. Now, the most pathetic lovable losers in baseball. Will this finally be your year, with Sweet Lou at the helm and Alfonso Soriano taking over at 2nd?

Kill that billy goat, Cubbies fans.

Oh wait...sorry, my phone just rang. Satan says it's still a balmy 2,000 degrees in hell. Hasn't frozen over yet. No World Series rings for you.

4. Dice-K, (whose name I cannot spell, so I won't even try) will you be worth the GNP of a third world countries equivalent that the Sox paid to talk with you? You have been hit or miss in spring training, and the debate on whether the gyroball exists outside of Greek restaurants is still fine blogger fodder. Do we believe the hype?

Not to get all serious, but the beginning of baseball season is the most glorious time of year for those of us who live in colder states. It's a reminder that the dark, frigid, snow-blanketed days filled with North Face parkas and boots are behind us, and the wait is not long for 8pm sunsets, long walks, ice cream cones and fireworks that explode in the night.

Happy Opening Day, bitches. And Go Red Sox!!!

Carl Pavano Gets the Ball on Opening Day

Carl Pavano is pumped. Not only because he has been considered for the New York Yankees' Opening Day starter, but that he's actually pitching, at all.

Due to a variety of injuries, Pavano has made only 17 starts in the first two years of his four-year, $39.95 million contract with the Yankees. He hasn't pitched in the big leagues since June of 2005, forcing Bronx Bomber fans to question his desire and elasticity. In fact, they'd rather see anyone but Pavano pitch Opening Day, although he's had a good spring thus far.

With Chien-Ming Wang and Andy Pettitte both hurt last week, Pavano has the chance to make his glorious, long-awaited return on Opening Day. He is scheduled to make his final spring training start Tuesday against Minnesota, which sets him up for the Devil Rays game with an extra day of rest.

Teammate Jason Giambi knows what it's like to have to pick yourself up and dust off...

I hope he embraces it. This is a chance for him to stand up front and just show everyone the kind of pitcher he is. I'm excited for him, and I hope he's excited about it if he gets that opportunity. This is a big chance for him.

There's a sliver of a chance that Pettitte could pitch the opener, but he has been out for a week with back spasms, penciled in for a bullpen session Monday. He says he's feeling better, but manager Joe Torre doesn't expect him to pitch until Friday, leaving him not exactly enough time between starts to pitch the Opener.

Wang, who will the start the season on the disabled list with a strained right hamstring, made 70 throws in the outfield - some from about 120 feet. Last year's 19-game winner is expected to be out until at least late April.

[Newsday] | [River Ave. Blues]