Finally. The wait is over and today at 4:10 the baseball season officially begins. Yes there was a game last night, but baseball doesn't truly begin until it is opening day in Cincinnati. No one in all of Major League Baseball does opening day better than the city of Cincinnati. That's just how it works. Football season is over, even if ESPN doesn't realize it, and its time to start talking some baseball. Spring is here and the first pitch from Johnny Cueto is just hours away. With opening day finally here, I have a few things to go over to get you ready for some baseball here on The Flex.
First of all, like I said before, opening day begins in Cincinnati. First pitch is at 4:10 today as the Reds take on the Angels. There has been a lot of talk this off season about the star studded Angels team adding Josh Hamilton. Hamilton joins an already dynamic lineup that features Albert Pujols and rookie of the year Mike Trout. Add Mark Trumbo in there and you have the potential of a lot of runs on the board in L.A. For Hamilton it will be his first visit back to Great American Ballpark since he was playing center field for the Redlegs before he was traded to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Edinson Volquez. I expect the fans to give Josh a very warm welcome as he was very entertaining while in Cincinnati, and showed as much heart to gt back to the big leagues with the Reds as I have ever seen. Lots of fans, including myself, enjoyed his time as a Red and will always root for the guy. Now as for the game, the much hyped Angels are going to show that just throwing talent together doesn't always produce results. Remember, L.A. didnt even make the playoffs this year and they are going to run into a freight train when they have to go against Johnny Cueto on the mound, and a Reds lineup that is loaded as well, at the plate.
Outside of Cincinnati there are a few games on today's slate that jump out immediately. The defending champion Giants take on a very well paid L.A. Dodgers team where we will see Matt Cain and Clayton Kershaw go at it on the mound and plenty of star power at the plate in Matt Kemp, Carl Crawford, and the newly rich Buster Posey. Kemp will likely make some noise and Posey could have a good day but the big question mark to watch in this game is Carl Crawford. Crawford could return to form and steal bases like old times, or he could show up like he did in Boston and go 0 for 4 in his Dodger debut. Another game that sticks out is the Braves taking on the Phillies at 7:10 tonight. The Phillies are a huge question mark on this season as Ryan Howard and Chase Utley have returned to all-star form this spring, for whatever that is worth. On the Atlanta side they have a new pair of Uptons after signing B.J. Upton this off season and trading for Justin Upton late this winter. Along with Jason Heyward they make up one of the most talented outfields in recent memory and it will be interesting to see if they can make a splash on opening day.
The last note here on opening day is our new branch here at The Flex that we have added. We have created The Flex: Live, a live tweeting account on twitter where myself and Glenn Tyson will be live tweeting the biggest sporting events throughout the year. Follow along for our insight and ridiculous thoughts on the games as they happen. Our first Flex Live event will be today as we live tweet the Reds taking on the Angels at GABP. Starting at 4:10 we will be following along with the action and tweeting our usual nonsense and observations until the last out. Follow @TheFlexLive to follow along with us and make the opening day festivities even more enjoyable.
Happy Opening day everyone.
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