Ah, Opening Day. I hope you had as much fun as we did (full report at Ducksnorts). Beyond the thrill of a packed house at Petco Park watching Jake Peavy spin a shutout, here are a few items from Monday that caught my eye:

The Mets beat the Marlins, 7-2. The planet’s best pitcher against a Triple-A squad — who could’ve have anticipated such a result? Uh, everyone.
The Pittsburgh/Atlanta game was insane. The Pirates took a 9-4 lead into the bottom of the ninth, but the Braves tied. Then the Bucs jumped ahead in the 12th, 12-9, before allowing two runs …read more

Fourteen games are on tap for Opening Day 2008. Sure, the Red Sox and A’s played some games in Japan, but nobody on this side of the pond watched, and the Nationals opened their new ballpark in the made-for-ESPN Sunday night game, but today is when the season really begins.
Ordinarily in this space I would tell you which games are most worth watching, but on Opening Day, they’re all worth watching. The first games (Blue Jays at Yankees, Royals at Tigers) start at 10:05 a.m. PT, while the last (Astros at Padres; of course, I’ll be there!) gets going at …read more

While we’re waiting for Kosuke Fukudome to decide what he wants to do with his life, we may as well catch up on some recent transactions, haiku style:
Nats and Yankees trade –
Clippard, Albaladejo,
anonymous arms
Cincy trades Buck Coats
to Blue Jays for Justin James –
who are these people?
Cards drop Taguchi –
they are So over that guy,
you wouldn’t believe
Padres sell Terrmel
to Japan’s Pacific League,
where he will fight ham
(Yes, I know, but don’t ruin the joke.)
Brewers sign Riske
to a big three-year contract –
seems kind of risky
(Ugh, they’re getting worse.)
Cincy waives Cantu –
I sure can understand why
they did that, can’t you?
(Seriously, this is terrible.)
Nationals sign …read more

Vitals

Name: Ross Detwiler
Throws: Left

Pos: LHP
Bats: Right

Height: 6′4″
DOB: 6 Mar 86

Weight: 175 lbs
School: Missouri State

With the sixth pick in the 2007 draft, the Washington Nationals have selected Missouri State left-hander Ross Detwiler. Although there are concerns about Detwiler’s small frame, many observers considered him to be the second best southpaw in the draft, behind only Vanderbilt’s David Price.

2007 Stats

IP
H/9
HR/9
BB/9
K/9
ERA
BAA

Stats are through May 25, 2007, and are courtesy of Missouri State University.

89.0
6.47
0.61
3.84
11.12
2.22
.198

What they’re saying:

He showed the ability to command the ball better this year than in the past to go along with raw stuff better than the average pitchability southpaw.
–MiLB.com

Additional reading:

Player Bio …read more