Now that the Major League Baseball season is officially under way - and in conformity with modern media's rules of knee-jerk, way-too-early reactions - it's about time for some thoughts and reflections regarding the first weekend of the 2011 season.
Let's start with a look at several of the early favorites to make a run at the World Series. The Boston Red Sox opened the season with a disappointing three-game set against the Texas Rangers. The Rangers swept the Sox, and in the process exposed some early flaws that just might be an Achilles' heel for Sports Illustrated's runaway favorite to win the AL East. None of Boston's top three starters emerged from the opening series with an ERA below 5.68, while a suspect bullpen showed its defects, as well. If Jon Lester, John Lackey and Clay Buchholz continue to struggle, then the Red Sox's season hinges on the questionable right arms of Josh Beckett and Daisuke Matsuzaka. Matsuzaka hasn't even eclipsed the 10-win mark during the last two seasons. Those are some scary thoughts for Red Sox Nation.
Meanwhile, in the NL Central, the Cincinnati Reds are showing that last season's surprise run was not merely a fluke. Joey Votto, a chic preseason pick to repeat as National League MVP, started off the season right where he left off last year. He currently sports a .300 batting average and blasted a massive home run in the Reds' opening weekend sweep of the Brewers. Second-year pitcher Travis Wood, meanwhile, recorded one of the most impressive opening-weekend starts of the season, throwing seven innings of one-run ball. If Wood can build off his opening weekend success - and judging by highlights of this left-hander's fastball, he can - then he can help the Reds navigate their first weeks without injured ace Johnny Cueto. I think the Reds likely will be playing ball deep into the fall.
A handful of less heralded teams also provided us with some nice surprises during the weekend. The Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, San Diego Padres and New York Mets all took their opening series despite garnering preseason predictions of sub-.500 records. Each gave its fans a real reason to hold on to optimism looking ahead toward this season. The Orioles took three from the Rays and looked like they were eager to continue the success they found at the end of last season. Ever since Buck Showalter took over the reigns as manager last August, the Orioles have tallied the best record in the AL East. With a trio of excellent performances from their starting pitchers, great defense - you must YouTube Nick Markakis' catch if you did not see the Orioles play this weekend - and solid hitting, I think the Orioles might finally take the leap this year and emerge from their perennial spot in the cellar of the AL East.
The Kansas City Royals also might buck their losing ways this season. The Royals took three of their first four games during opening weekend behind the hitting of once super-prospect Alex Gordon. Gordon currently leads the Royals' offense with six base hits during his squad's first four contests, boasting a .316 average. Could this be the year the former No. 2 overall pick in the MLB Draft puts it all together and leads his team to a playoff berth?
And in the senior circuit, two teams on opposite coasts - the Padres and the Mets - have proven preseason prognosticators wrong with strong opening series. The Padres, generally picked to finish last in the NL West, continued their winning formula and proved true the old baseball adage that good pitching beats good hitting every time. Even with ace Mat Latos on the DL to start the season, the Padres took two of three from the St. Louis Cardinals thanks to superb starting pitching from Clayton Richard, Tim Stauffer and Dustin Moseley. If you could have named any of those three pitchers before reading this column, then I'll eat my shoe. If San Diego's rotation can continue to give the Padres' quality starts until Latos and his 2010 season 2.92 ERA return, the Padres definitely can bring about some sleepless nights in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
And last but not least, we have the Mets. After spending an offseason dealing with everything from a $1 billion lawsuit to a much-needed roster purge of remnants from the Omar Minaya regime, the Mets surprisingly did not look that terrible. The Amazins received quality starts from Jon Niese and R.A. Dickey, and a finally healthy Jose Reyes seems poised for a big contract-year season with a handful of solid hits and some excitement on the basepaths. Like the Padres out west, if the Mets can remain in the hunt until two-time Cy Young award winner Johan Santana returns from injury, they certainly have a realistic shot of stealing the NL East division from the Phillies.
Alright, I know, I know. None of these predictions are very likely. The Red Sox probably still will win the division, and the Mets and the Orioles are still, well, the Mets and the Orioles. But we can dream for at least one weekend, can't we?
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