Keeping Things Interesting: April 10, 2009

Yesterday was a sad day for Major League Baseball. The news of Nick Adenhart's sudden death was a shock to everyone, and serves as a good reminder to recognize the important people in your own life as often as possible. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.

The games were played, though (outside of Anaheim, of course). In Baltimore, AJ Burnett helped the Yankees right their ship somewhat, striking out Adam Jones in the second for the first strikeout of the year by a Yankee starter. Jones and Markakis, who I highlighted yesterday, were finally held powerless, as the two of them combined to go 0-for-7 with one walk. The O's are still feeling pretty good about the pair, though. In Cincinnati, the Reds woke up enough to pound the Mets for eight runs, giving them their first win of the season and avoiding the sweep. The Dodgers lost to the Padres 4-3 after giving up three runs in the 8th, splitting the four game set. In Boston, the Rays were able to get to Dice-K early and held on for the 4-3 victory, taking 2 out of 3.

Eight teams host their home opener today. The Tigers kick off the action at 1pm Eastern, hosting the undefeated Rangers in Comerica. Tigers fans hope that the move out of Arlington will cool the Rangers bats some, after they swept the Indians by the combined score of 29-14. The Indians go back to Cleveland to host the 3-1 Blue Jays and try to get their first win of the season. The Braves and Royals return to their respective homes to try to improve on what ended up being a couple of strong first serieses, despite their bullpen woes.

In Florida, the Marlins take on the Mets and try to remain unbeaten, while the Mets try to stay above .500. The Reds, meanwhile, take on the Pirates, who managed to eke out a series split in St. Louis. The defending champions Philadelphia Phillies leave home for the first time and travel to Colorado, whose bats hope to continue to stay hot after a big opening series in Arizona.

Personally, the game that I care most about tomorrow is the Brewers home opener versus the Cubs, and that's not only because I have tickets to the game. The Crew did not play well in San Francisco, surrendering 19 runs in their three games there. That kind of thing just won't do if Milwaukee expects to compete for the division crown again. Free-agent acquisition Braden Looper will face down Rich Harden in an attempt to get the Brewers on the right track. Miller Park will definitely be rocking with excitement.

The most interesting game of the day, though, has to be the matchup between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Angels. In the wake of the terrible news yesterday, the Angels-A's tilt was postponed, and rightfully so. However, the season, like life, must go on and the Angels will have to deal with the Red Sox out of the gate. Anaheim will trot out Jered Weaver to face knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. There's no doubt that this will be a subdued and solemn game, but you can bet that both teams will take it plenty seriously. The game may have taken on a different air, but it is still the most interesting game of the day.