| 21 March 2010
Today officially marks the two-week countdown to Opening Day. It's an exciting feeling. My 20-pack season tickets arrived last weekend, and though I didn't do the Jimmy Fallon barefoot dance out on the streets, there was an undeniable tremor of excitement in the room. I now know where I'll be sitting on Opening Day (and every other game of the season) - all that's left now is to wait for the games to actually start. I'm sure I'm not the only person feeling the same way.
On Sunday, April 4, the Red Sox will host the Yankees to kick-off the season (let's hope the ancient Greek saying "As Opening Day goes, so goes the rest of the season" doesn't hold true for the 2010 season or we'll be stuck with 4.5 hour games and neverending mound visits). But the action really gets going on Monday, April 5 - the *real* Opening Day - when 26 of the remaining 28 teams kick off their seasons (the Orioles & Rays don't play their first game of the season until Tuesday). But who will be taking the mound in each of those games?
It's pretty well-acknowledged and expected that a team will elect to start its best pitcher on Opening Day. In fact, that "fact" is so widely considered to be true that certain writers and players consider "the number of Opening Day starts" to be an important Hall of Fame criterion for starting pitchers. In theory, then, the Opening Day games should be some of the most exciting pitching match-ups of the year, especially when two teams with strong pitching staffs are matched up.
Of course, that theory isn't always fact. There are plenty of reasons teams might not start their top talent on Opening Day, from youth to health to contract-status to even organizational respect due a player. Last year, for example, the Milwaukee Brewers chose Jeff Suppan to start the first game of the season despite the organization's belief in 23-year old Yovani Gallardo as their future ace. It was thought that, by choosing Gallardo to be the Opening Day starter, the club would be putting too much pressure on the young pitcher. So Suppan was given the start instead, thus depriving the baseball world of a Yovani Gallardo-Tim Lincecum duel to begin the year.
What then will this year's Opening Day match-ups be? How many of the 15 games will give us the great head-to-head duels we hope for every year? I took a look at the Opening Day schedule for this year and did my best to estimate who the starting pitchers would be for the games (if they haven't already been announced). Those estimated match-ups are listed below, roughly ranked by most interesting to least interesting. Let me know where I'm wrong...
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Justin Verlander (Tigers) @ Zack Greinke (Royals)
This is actually the match-up that I first noticed that got me excited to look into this. There aren't too many better match-ups even conceivable in baseball today. Verlander and Greinke will give the fans in Kansas City some serious electricity to kick off the season with.
Tim Lincecum (Giants) @ Roy Oswalt (Astros)
I can't say for sure if Lincecum/Oswalt is a clearly better match-up than, say, Sabathia/Beckett or Jimenez/Gallardo, but it's darn close. And, considering his back-to-back Cy Youngs, anytime Tim Lincecum is involved in a game, it's a much-watch. Roy Oswalt's not too shabby either.
CC Sabathia (Yankees) @ Josh Beckett (Red Sox)
CC and Beckett are two top-notch pitchers. Every time they lineup, there's potential for a fantastic game. I just hope the typical Yankees-Red Sox maneuverings don't get in the way.
Ubaldo Jimenez (Rockies) @ Yovani Gallardo (Brewers)
Maybe I'm a little biased here, but these are two of the best young pitchers in the game on the cusp of stardom. I'm looking forward to watching the two of them match strikeouts for eight or nine innings.
Felix Hernandez (Mariners) @ Ben Sheets (A's)
Like Lincecum and Greinke, any game featuring Felix Hernandez is a much-watch. But if Ben Sheets can get past his terrible struggles so far this spring, it would be one intriguing match-up. Otherwise, we're probably looking at a Hernandez-Brett Anderson pairing, which, while interesting, might not be quite the same.
Roy Halladay (Phillies) @ Jason Marquis (Nationals)
This might be a little optimistic on my part, since the Phillies are likely to choose Cole Hamels as the Opening Day starter after he led them to two consecutive World Series berths. But if Halladay does get the call, the intrigue of the game shoots up considerably.
Carlos Zambrano (Cubs) @ Derek Lowe (Braves)
Does Lowe get the start for the Braves this year, or will they give it to one of their young aces in Tommy Hanson or Jair Jurrjens? I hope it's Lowe or Jurrjens, but I'm guessing they'll go the way of the 2009 Brewers and choose the more "experienced" pitcher. Which would be a shame.
Josh Johnson (Marlins) @ Johan Santana (Mets)
Have we forgotten just how good Johan is? I kind of get the feeling that we have...
Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers) @ Paul Maholm (Pirates)
Last I heard, the Dodgers were very hesitant to hand-off the Opening Day duties to 22-year old Clayton Kershaw. That's understandable, I guess, but the kid is just too good. I hope they make the right call and put their faith in him.
Chris Carpenter (Cardinals) @ Aaron Harang (Reds)
I know that if I were Tony LaRussa, it'd be an easy choice between Carpenter and Adam Wainwright for the Opening Day start - I'd choose Carpenter. But, from what I've read over the winter, I get the feeling that Wainwright and his 19 victories will get the start.
Ricky Romero/Shaun Marcum (Blue Jays) @ Rich Harden (Rangers)
Is Harden healthy to make an Opening Day start? I don't even know. Nor do I know enough about the Blue Jays to know who they consider the number one guy now that Halladay is gone, though that is where the intrigue for this game comes in.
Jon Garland (Padres) @ Dan Haren (Diamondbacks)
Haren seems to be the most underrated of the star pitchers in the NL. Who gets the call for the Padres? Yahoo sports puts Kevin Correia at the top of the rotation and Jon Garland in the #2 spot. Garland sounds right to me, but what do I know?
Jake Westbrook (Indians) @ Mark Buehrle (White Sox)
Buehrle's still great, but is Westbrook? And will he be able to earn the Opening Day nod? If not him, who will take the mound for the Indians?
Kevin Millwood (Orioles) @ James Shields (Rays)
And is Millwood the go-to guy for the Orioles, or is it going to be Jeremy Guthrie?
Scott Baker (Twins) @ Ervin Santana/Jered Weaver (Angels)
Santana or Weaver? Both are good pitchers, but neither will make a match-up against Scott Baker all that interesting.
