mark buehrle play

Play ball! Obama, Big Mac highlight opening day
Tim Lincecum hoped to avoid another hairy start. So the Giants ace with the long locks told himself this was just like any outing in June or July.

That worked, mostly.

“It wasn’t that uncontrollable hype-ed-ness where I didn’t know what was going on,” the two-time Cy Young winner said after pitching seven shutout innings Monday to beat Houston. “I kind of had an idea what was going on. Obviously, opening day can be a little overwhelming, a little bit more exciting than a usual game.”

A year after struggling in the opener, Lincecum did fine. Ditto for World Series MVP Hideki Matsui, Roy Halladay, Jason Bay, Vladimir Guerrero, Placido Polanco and other stars who made neat debuts for their new teams.

Albert Pujols launched two more home runs and President Barack Obama tossed another ball. Yet no one enjoyed the day as much as Jason Heyward.

Billed as the majors’ next phenom, the Braves prospect bridged baseball’s past and future Monday when he caught the ceremonial first pitch from Hank Aaron.

Then with the Atlanta crowd chanting his name, the 20-year-old Heyward mashed a three-run homer on his first swing in the big leagues.

“I had a blast,” the rookie said.

Mark McGwire made a more quiet return. Back in baseball after admitting he took steroids, Big Mac drew little reaction in Cincinnati when he was introduced as the new hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals.

In New York, there were a few boos. After seeing their club crippled by injuries last season, Mets fans heckled — of all people — the team trainers. Tough crowd!

Cubs manager Lou Piniella didn’t seem real pleased, either, when the umpires’ call went against him on a dropped fly ball. After a postseason dotted with missed calls, there are sure to be more shouts this year for extra instant replay.

Milton Bradley was a bit perturbed, too. He broke his bat into several splinters after slamming it to the ground in frustration after a strikeout. Now with Seattle, the often volatile outfielder was jeered all game in Oakland by his former fans.

A day after Boston beat the World Series champion New York Yankees in the major league opener, most every team swung into action. Reds Hall of Famer Johnny Bench and NFL Hall of Famer Roger Staubach joined in opening-day festivities.

On a huge sports day in America — the NCAA men’s basketball championship game, the Tiger Woods news conference — baseball delivered a full first serving.

For 40-year-old Ken Griffey Jr., it was time to enjoy an opener.

“They’re always special, the start of six months of baseball,” the Seattle star said.

There were 13 games on the schedule, plus a bid for history. Toronto pitcher Shaun Marcum took a no-hitter into the seventh inning at Texas before it got broken up by Guerrero.

All over, the weather held. Rather than the dreary, upper 30s temperatures that often dampen openers, it was a beautiful day to play ball. In Milwaukee, this was the earliest the Miller Park roof was open for a regular-season game in its 10-year history.

Obama drew a loud ovation when he continued a tradition that started 100 years ago with William Howard Taft — the presidential first pitch. He warmed up with some practice tosses at the White House but, really, the lefty could use a little more time in the bullpen.

Obama double-pumped, rocked on the mound a few times and made a high-and-wide flip to the plate that Washington third baseman Ryan Zimmerman snared. It probably helped that Zimmerman was coming off winning his first Gold Glove.

At least Obama, whose smooth stroke on the basketball court is well documented, put more oomph into it. Last year, he barely reached the plate at the All-Star game.

“If I had a whole inning, I’m telling you, I would have cleaned up,” he said.

A White Sox fan, Obama waited until he got to the mound to put on a Chicago cap. The play of the day — of the year, perhaps — came from Obama’s pal on the White Sox, pitcher Mark Buehrle.

Tracking down a ball that caromed off his leg into foul territory, the Gold Glove winner made a blind, between-the-legs flip with his glove to get the out at first base.

“You run over there saying, ‘Do I slide and spin, or do I grab the ball and throw it?’” Buehrle said. “I think every thought went through my head. It just happened the way it did.”

McNabb Trade Bargain Compared Cutler Deal Eagles Greatly

The trade of Donovan McNabb from the Eagles to the Redskins is bad for Sam Bradford, bad for the Detroit Lions and could be either good or bad for the St. Louis Rams — depending on whether they’re willing to spend No. 1-pick money to secure Bradford. The deal gives the Redskins some flexibility at the No. 4 spot in the first round and has little if any impact on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are picking No. 3. And it’s hard to say for sure what it means for Jimmy Clausen.

The Washington Redskins have acquired quarterback Donovan McNabb from the Philadelphia Eagles for their 2010 2nd round pick 37th overall and either a 3rd or 4th rounder in 2011. While the real Redskins went 4-12, the re-simulated ‘Skins did better, averaging six wins though still last in the NFC East. They even made the playoffs in 5.4 percent of simulations.

With only two and a half weeks left before the NFL Draft, this is a deal that has shaken things up at the top of the first round. Here’s a look at how the McNabb deal impacts the way things will unfold when the draft gets underway on Thursday night, April 22.

After adding McNabb and running backs Willie Parker and Larry Johnson, the Redskins improved by an average of 8.7 percentage points per game, which translates to 7.4 wins and a 14.1 percent occurrence of making the playoffs. The logic behind this deal, which PFT discusses in detail, is that the Rams would have to agree to a long-term contract extension with McNabb before the trade could be made.

One factor that could cause the Eagles to underperform vs. this forecast is the pressure Kolb will have in replacing McNabb. If the Eagles’ schedule is front-loaded with tough opponents, Philly could get off to a rocky start, which could affect Kolb’s confidence. Eagles fans should hope for two early games against sub-par opponents to allow Kolb to build that confidence and gain their full support.

New York Yankees Active Roster MLB Diary 2010

The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York and are a member of Major League Baseball’s American League East Division. One of the American League’s eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Baltimore, Maryland in 1901 as the Baltimore Orioles, and moved to New York City in 1903, becoming known as the New York Highlanders before being officially renamed the “Yankees” .

The Journal provides minute-by-minute analysis of the Boston Red Sox’s 9-7 victory over the New York Yankees in tonight’s Major League Baseball regular-season opener at Fenway Park. Guest blogger Nando Di Fino offers commentary on the game and the YES telecast.

The 2010 Major League Baseball season begins tonight the way it should every year: with the Yankees and the Red Sox dueling it out in Fenway Park. We would have also accepted Giants-Dodgers and Cubs-Cardinals. The Yankees are preparing to defend their 27th World Series title with a team that is just a few tweaks away from their 2009 squad. Granted, at this time last year,

Cody Ransom was their third baseman and Johnny Damon was patrolling left field, but with some mid-level moves trades for outfielder Curtis Granderson and pitcher Javier Vazquez and naming Phil Hughes as their fifth starter they return essentially the same core group of players.

So pay no attention to that final exhibition game today between the Giants and Mariners, dangling above the real seaon opener on the schedule like a confusing, low-hanging fruit. Instead, re-read former Commissioner Bart Giamatti’s paen to the game, “The Green Fields of the Mind” and prepare yourself for the start of a new season with one of the game’s oldest rivalries.

The Major League, Major League Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League, American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations, and slogans designating the Major League Baseball clubs and entities, and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions.

red sox

Nearly five months after the Yankees’ Mark Teixeira closed his glove on the 2009 World Series, the 2010 Major League Baseball season opened Sunday night with a game that always has Series-level passion: Yankees-Red Sox.

Anytime the Yankees and Red Sox face off, the tension rises. The A.L. East race, playoffs, pride — a lot more rides on each game. Throw a World Series title defense in the mix, it gets even more interesting.