Not that we’re not grateful to “Bottom Line” Bud Selig for all he has done, but exactly when does Opening Day Month end?
We know — or heard — MLB’s International Opening Day began in secrecy on March 20 in Australia, where the rich baseball tradition of playing before empty expensive seats was observed. The Dodgers and Diamondbacks returned in time to complete spring training.
Ten nights later, the Dodgers played the Padres on Opening Day Night, a Sunday number for ESPN (money).
The next day was U.S. Opening Day Day, this year titled “MLB Opening Day on ESPN Presented by Scotts.” While Scotts specializes in lawn care, some games are still played on artificial turf.
“Opening Day” is becoming a shallow, throw-away term, like “Have a nice day.” Anyway, before Opening Day/Night Month ends, some local and nationally broadcasted highlights:
First and foremost, Robinson Cano, in his first at-bat for the Mariners, grounded to short. Remarkably, he was thrown out by five feet instead of his Yankee-standard 10. He ran, not hard, but he did run. Apparently, it’s true: You get what you pay for.
On ESPN, Dan Shulman, calling the game between the Cardinals and Reds, somewhat wistfully noted Cincinnati, not long ago, was the traditional home of Opening Day. The city observed it as an all-in holiday. Shulman was unable to add this great tradition was eliminated by Bud Selig, who sold ESPN Sunday U.S. Opening Day Night.
By the top of the second of the Nationals-Mets opener, a growing TV tradition was observed: Being told, in finite terms, to believe what we’re told, not what we see or otherwise suspect.
When Bryce Harper was kneed in the head breaking up a double play at second, he was groggy. As Harper was escorted from the field, Gary Cohen, citing concussion concerns, declared, “He’s gonna come out of the game.”
Harper, in the bottom of the inning, returned to left field. Cohen: “I guess we spoke too soon.” No, it was more a matter of losing sight of the fact that Harper had no choice but to leave the field — he was out at second.
On YES that night in Houston, Michael Kay also chose to interpret for us what we plainly saw, losing us in his translation. With the bases loaded and two out, the Yankees’ Kelly Johnson hit a tapper toward the third-base side of the mound. Reliever Kevin Chapman fielded and threw home, as per catcher Jason Castro’s demonstrative urging, for the easy, inning-ending force.
That’s not what Kay said we saw. He said it was a tough play but that Chapman, “tried to make it even tougher by throwing home.” Kay would have had him field it while moving away from first, then turn, set, throw to first? Home was right in front of Chapman, who made an easy play of an easy play.
Opening Day Night of the Yankees on WFAN, having moved from WCBS, was seamless in that the unfit-for-human-consumption, dollar-a-holler in-game commercial interruptions and other traditional absurdities arrived early and stayed late. Heck, while the national anthem was commercially sponsored, a commercial was heard rather than the national anthem.
After Suzyn Waldman noted Astros starter Scott Feldman relies on his sinker, leadoff man Jacoby Ellsbury, on the first pitch, flew out to left, Waldman concluded — after one pitch! — that Feldman’s sinker “is not working.”
Feldman left with two out in the seventh. He had allowed two hits, two walks, no runs and many ground balls.
Of course, John (“A hit here scores the runner from second”) Sterling delivered his “You never know in baseball” speech.
During the Mets’ opener on WOR — where they moved from WFAN — Josh Lewin joined the legion of professionals who identify coincidences as ironies. Review: Coincidence is when you run into your neighbor as you’re both buying American flags. Irony is when you plan to display your flag while he plans to burn his.
Lewin suffered an “ESPN moment” when, with two out in the ninth he piped, “Bobby Parnell, one out away from knocking down his first save of the season!” Well, it’s about time! (Moments later, Parnell knocked down his first blown save of the season.)
Still, ESPN, the Big Cheese, stands alone. Its “Bottom Line” throughout “MLB Opening Day on ESPN Presented by Scotts” carried news of games won “on walk-off” something or others. It still hasn’t dawned on the “Worldwide Leader” that all games end on a walk-off something or other.
Mike Francesa, monitoring the Mets opener from his throne atop Mt. Al-Alburquerque, did what he does. He first declared that the Mets stink, then, after they took a 3-0 lead, acknowledged they always win their opener. Then, whamo!
Francesa authoritatively declared Red Sox Opening Day center fielder Grady Sizemore kaput, a has-been. Sizemore’s first at bat: Line drive single. His next: a home run.
“I’m telling you,” writes reader Raider Dave, “the guy is a machine!” (By the way, don’t miss Francesa’s show today. At 4:51 he’ll play the tape of his rude dismissal of a caller, two weeks ago, who said UConn will be tough in the NCAA Tournament.)
And if, in fact, 42,442 attended Opening Day Day at Citi Field, very few, oddly enough, chose to watch from the best seats. Have a nice Opening Day/Night Month.
Murphy’s break his business
The fact hard-working, hard-playing, good sports-citizen Daniel Murphy chose to be with his wife for the birth of their first child and for the following day, is the kind of personal matter to which no one — not Craig Carton, Boomer Esiason or someone as chronically and spectacularly wrong as Mike Francesa — should apply their thumbs-down opinion, let alone their scolding, dubious judgments.
♦ On Wednesday, it took six minutes for a replay review to determine whether White Sox outfielder Adam Eaton caught the fly ball or dropped it on the transfer. The delay seemed to have been because Replay Central was busy reviewing a call in the game between the Indians and Athletics. At the time, those were the only games being played.
♦ Newark kid Sandy Grossman, good-natured, always accessible lead director of all things CBS Sports then Fox Sports, died of cancer on Wednesday at 78.
♦ With Boston opening in Baltimore on Monday, “SportsCenter” brought in Red Sox organist Josh Kantor to play “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” into breaks. Nice!
♦ Kansas freshman basketball star Andrew Wiggins, having announced he’s going pro, can look back on his college days as the best half-semester of his life.