5GoldGlovesOF,75

Didn't Clemens' ex-trainer claim #2 was the Butts Race? (sorry, didn't mean to use a crap metaphor) It may have involved his wife and Sports Illustrated, but only in reference to site injection.

Yoshida and Casas like to work counts. They like to see what a pitcher's got, and always take the first pitch fastball down the middle. Batters that do that drive me crazy, because the word gets around the league quickly and pitchers know they can always get ahead of them. I used to yell from my living room at Boggs and Betts all the time for taking Strike One. And they laughed at me all the way to Cooperstown.

With the next six games vs. Pitt and Detroit, a winning record for Boston is absolutely essential. The final 20 games in the rest of April are all against better clubs with playoff aspirations, starting with a four-game set in Tampa. The Rays are loaded with arms and young impact players: Franco, Arozarena, Paredes, Siri. The Angels and Twins are improved, while Milwaukee and Cleveland have pitching staffs with shutdown stuff. A 6-3 or even 5-4 record after the next week will set the tone for the first month. After that, if the Sox can just break even at 10-10 the rest of April, they can legitimately stay in the hunt.

Thanks for the crime report. On the one hand, people will say the O's have some speedsters. On the other foot, every club has a few -- except only one team got to run against Boston... so far.

McGuire had no chance to throw out anyone on the 10 stolen bases, but if pitchers aren't going to keep runners close, I'd like to at least see him throw behind the runners once in awhile. You know Vazquez would've thrown to first every time Mateo or Mullins was on base. Question about the new rules: if a catcher throws down to first, does that delay the reset of the clock for the next pitch?

Correct. That's nothing against Adam personally, but as usual the fault of the front office for contriving flexibility that doesn't always highlight a player's best ability. Duvall's is pull power, and being a streak hitter. His success at the end of ST wasn't supposed to matter to those who think preseason results meaningless... but ask any player if they'd rather suck the week before going North. We'd all like to see consistent contact hitters up and down the line-up, but not that many exist in baseball. Not even Raffy, who can hit a line-drive whenever he wants, but feels he has to overswing at every pitch with the game on the line. Most look better with opposite-field approaches, like we know Turner, Verdugo, Yoshida, and Casas can deploy. Meanwhile, enjoy the streaks of Duvall's final ABs in the first two games, the classic of all (walk-off HR) or nothing (walk-back-to-dugout K). And hope for a lot more streak-hitters to get hot, like Kike and Arroyo, while waiting for promising young arms to stabilize the rotation...

Yes -- and let's be glad a Red Sox manager brought in his closer down a run. Instant Karma for Duvall -- don't forget the game would've been tied when his oppo double bounced into the stands (Turner was sent back to third and stranded).

With the wind blowing out in Fenway, this one is long from over. Dean Wormer is done after four. Otter seduced his wife, Bluto and D-Day left horse heini in his office.

Nope -- Kluber and Sale are cooked placeholders. The only way to contention is if both Bello and Whitlock emerge as above-average starters.

But... Bloom's Red Sox have been interested in a lot of free agents.

What about "If we didn't trade Mookie, we couldn't have signed Garrett Richards!"

Losing on Opening Day is never the end of the world, but how it is lost can often make it seem that way. For example, longtime Red Sox fans can remember the downer of brand new closers blowing Opening Days in the last inning. This winter the front office rebuilt the bullpen. The relievers used on Thursday didn't look any different than last year. But let's not ignore the depressing fact that Boston's choice for Opening Day starter averaged around 87 mph. Fans aren't idiots, but neither are the Orioles. They both quickly realized that those weren't change-ups. But all it will take to change the outlook is one great game by Chris Sale. Or more likely, just a good six-inning start by anyone in the rotation, followed by three lights-out relief frames. And a W.

Somebody's gotta say it: Braiser and Ort did notice the clock counting down, but saw it as symbolism... Ironically, waiting until the last second every time may result in the opposite effect of prolonging the inevitable.

The thing is, slow Sox pitchers continually got down to around eight seconds on the clock to begin deliveries. When it became so predictable, all the O's had to do was count down or look at the clock -- and then take off. Even El Guapo can steal without a throw if he has an eight-second head start.

The O's baserunners immediately figured out a way to manipulate the new pitch clock rules against the Slow Sox, who let's face it, were totally out-coached. Not only didn't they adjust -- the entire game -- but they didn't catch on enough to even try the same exact strategy when they reached base... McGuire's ultimate solution doesn't instill much confidence: "It all starts with just trying to keep them off base. It starts with, get the guy out in the box and then you don't have to worry about it."

Fans aren't giving up -- even when the front office supplies the pitching staff with usual suspects that the manager feels he has to use, while trying to save better arms for relieving other brittle starters in games that might look more winnable. But it isn't hard to see how hard those concepts are to be encouraged about after Day 1.

One thing that's easy to say: they are who they are. Cora gave up early by waving the white flags -- Braiser and Ort. Verdugo had some good hits, but was his old self on the bases (didn't take third on a throw to first). Duvall roped a hanger off the wall, but struckout twice on pitcher's pitches. Devers dumped a curve into left when he wanted to, but with the game on the line swung from the heels and missed three pitches in a row. Raffy also didn't deserve his first called violation K while standing in the box, glancing at the pitcher who wasn't ready, then looking down to take a breath. It was right after he bombed an oppo blast that just missed the foul pole, and right before the Sox mounted a belated comeback rally... Just better hope this is not who they are on the mound: nine walks, and five stolen bases without a catcher throw -- with no pick-off attempts or even step-offs. With 32 employees in the analytics department, is it too much for fans to hope that just one of them would have the club better prepared?

Did the MLB make new rules to bring back stolen bases just for the O's, and not the Red Sox? Can't blame SIX SBs on the catchers - he had no chance to throw anyone out. But all those huge jumps didn't come on just one Sox pitcher who wasn't holding anyone on... none of them were -- Kluber, Kelly, Braiser, Ort. Is this something the braintrust decided to ignore in Florida, cuz our pitching is too awesome to give up baserunners?

When, in the history of the world, in any level of baseball -- after a pitch -- did a batter get a do-over from the ump from pleading, "That pitch shouldn't count, because I wasn't looking!"

Devers was in the box in time but not looking up so the ump banged him. Ok, MLB set the example on Opening Day in a blow-out. Still a dumb rule.

So unexpected. And look, the Yankees are the greatest team in the history of this year, too. They beat the Guy Ants.

At least his last Cy Young Award was in this decade.

Look at it this way: Not only did Tampa decide to move on from him, but they paid good money instead to Eflin, who hasn't made more than 18 starts in any of the last three years. Eflin was also Boston's first choice before Kluber...

Rutschman out by a mile, so he kicks Arroyo in the head? He should be a better citizen than Machado.