Opening Day(s)

The 2012 baseball season is under way. A few thoughts from the first games.

• My Cardinals won in impressive fashion in Miami Wednesday  night with pitcher Kyle Lohse throwing 6+ no-hit baseball.
• All the pomp and pagentry that went into the introductions in Miami was cool. They even had Brazilian dancers escorting players on to the field. All very Miami. The stadium was sold out. They still need to put a good team on the field if they want that to continue.
• Miami lost to Cincinnati on Thursday. An 0 - 2 start.
• Cubs opening day was one of the coldest I've been to ...  maybe ever. The temp wasn't so bad but our seats were in a natural wind tunnel. It sucked.
• The Cubs lost 2 - 1. IIRC, the Cubs have not won on opening day since 1996.
• Clayton Kershaw, the Dodgers ace and scheduled opening day pitcher had the flu. His manager, Don Mattingly, his pitching coach, and his general manager all asked him not to pitch. He pitched anyway.

Let me comment a bit more on the Kershaw issue. Mattingly should have put his foot down and not allowed this to happen. He's the manager and it's his job. He should have skipped Kershaw's spot in the rotation and gone with his Day 2 pitcher. Kershaw would get his start in game 5.

Instead they let Kershaw pitch. He only went 3 innings and the Dodgers had to use 5 relievers. Those relievers will have limited availability over the next couple of days. If a starter gets in trouble they may  have to leave him in and take a loss. Kershaw was also visibly sick. He did not give up a run but he looked weak. Plus, adding the stress of playing yesterday may delay his recovery and he won't be ready for his next start.

A lot of people were talking about what a gutsy performance it was. I think it was a stupid performance and a poor decision. Kershaw's pride made him want the opening day start and the teams management couldn't or wouldn't stand up for what was right.