As April begins, not only is it the countdown to finals week but it is also the start to a new Major League Baseball season.
This year's opening day (and opening week for that matter) have brought the fans a lot of excitement and a lot of hope. Though a lot has changed during the off-season, some things still remain the same.
Let's take a look at some important takeaways from this years opening week.
CC Sabathia: CC Sabathia is getting old and is no longer the freewheeling, young gun that he once was in Cleveland and Milwaukee. Though CC has served as a great ace for the Yankees in past years, his struggles have developed in recent years and don't seem to be improving.
Sabathia let up six earned runs in his first two innings pitched this season.
Though it's only the first game of the season, that's certainly not the way any pitcher would like to start their season.
Sabathia did end up calming down and allowing only eight total hits through six innings, despite five in the first two.
New York Mets: As a New Yorker, it's unfortunate that the Mets have been unable to put together a successful team since the 2006 or arguably even the 2000 season.
Certainly the Mets have something to be excited for this year as they've made a big off-season move by signing of former Yankee outfielder Curtis Granderson.
However, Granderson has yet to complete his first hit in a Mets jersey through the team's first two games. On opening day, the Mets left fans with hope as they led the Nationals by one going into the ninth inning. In classic Mets fashion, the Nationals scored a run in the top of the ninth inning before scoring four runs in the top of the 10th inning to put the game out of reach for the Mets.
In essence, it looks like another disappointing season for high-hoped Mets fans.
Seattle Mariners: On opening day, the Seattle Mariners proved that Robinson Cano was well worth the $240 million dollars they paid him. Though he didn't have any runs batted in (RBI), Cano went two for four and scored one run in the Mariners' 10-3 win over the Angels.
King Felix Hernandez once again proved that he is among the best pitchers in all of baseball after allowing only four hits on six innings pitched while striking out 11 batters. Who knows ... maybe this year is the year for the Mariners?
Jimmy Rollins: What happened to Jimmy Rollins this off-season? During the Phillies' opening day game in Arlington against the Rangers, Rollins recorded five RBIs including a grand slam.
Yes, Jimmy Rollins – the man who hit only six home runs in the entire 2013 season – hit a grand slam on opening day.
However, the grand slam was Rollins' only hit of the evening so we'll have to see if he keeps up the slugging percentage this year.
Boston Red Sox: Though the Red Sox made only small moves this off-season, including the signing of veteran outfielder Grady Sizemore, it's important to look at the bigger picture in that the Red Sox aren't going anywhere.
Despite being a year older, the Red Sox still have all the tools to win the World Series this year.
Hitting, defense, pitching ... the Sox have it all.
Ortiz and Napoli are still generating the runs that they did last year after combining for all six of the Red Sox' RBIs in their 6-2 win over Baltimore Wednesday night.
Ian Kinsler: The Ian Kinsler for Prince Fielder trade was one of the more interesting moves made during the off-season, as two great baseball players with extremely different playing styles simply swapped teams.
Yet, it looks like the Tigers may have made the better deal. While Fielder is an extremely talented and powerful hitter, Kinsler is a dynamic player, both at the plate and in the field, that gives the Tigers more balance.
The Tigers are certainly not lacking in the power department with two-time AL MVP Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez and Torii Hunter. The Tigers' pitching staff didn't really change all that much either with Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer as the one-two punch in Detroit.
While the Tigers have been a threat in the American League in the past few years, look for Kinsler to be the extra spark that the team needs to make it to the World Series.
Pittsburgh Pirates: There is not a lot to say thus far about the Pirates this season, but hey, they are 2-0. Teams have learned to pitch around Andrew McCutchen, and McCutchen is looking at a Barry Bonds-esque year in walks after he drew three walks in four at-bats in Wednesday's 16 innings game against the Cubs.
Hopefully the Pirates can make as magnificent a run as they did last season, as it would certainly lead to another exciting year of baseball.
– By Adam Troyetsky
Takeaways From Baseball's Opening Week
Courtesy of Flickr/Matthew Straubmuller
Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins jogs back to the dugout. Rollins had a trying off-season, but hit a grand slam in his first regular season game.
