MLB Delivers Thrills in Week One

Posted by James Lincoln Ray Apr 9, 2007

Who would have thunk it? The New York Yankees fans love Alex Rodriguez. How could they not? On Saturday, April 7, A-Rod hit a walkoff, game winning Grand Slam to beat the Orioles 10-7. But if they don't get their pitching in order, then my prediction for the Bombers to win it all is going to be way, way off base.

How about Felix Hernandez? The 20-year old Seattle Mariners starter brought up memories of Dwight Gooden and Fernando Valenzuela when he threw eight shutout innings and struck out twelve batters in his season debut. This kid could be something very special.

Among fantasy studs, the second hottest hitter (after A-Rod) during this first week of the 2007 Major League Baseball season was Vladimir Guerrero. Vlad hit .430 with 3 home runs and 10 RBI in just six games. Not too shabby.

The Phillies bullpen stinks, and the team is now 1-5 because of it. They aren't even in this week's MLB Power Rankings. I am not going to weasel out of my prediction that the Phils will beat out the Mets in the National League East . . . not yet anyway. But Pat Gillick has to find the Phightins' some relief help, and quite frankly, his signing of Francisco Rosario doesn't cut the mustard.

Cubs are for sale. Maybe that Soriano contract put them too far in the red to hang on. No, it's got nothing to do with that. Trillionaire Sam Zell is buying the Tribune Co., which owns the Cubs, and as part of the deal, the Cubs must be sold within a year. One rumored buyer is Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. That would be great. He'd run onto the field every time an ump made a bad call. He'd also find some way to drive Commissioner Selig out of his mind, just like he's tortured David Stern over the past five years.

Top player and fantasy stud Albert Pujols started the season 1-17. Not very Pujols-like. But he exploded on Sunday with two hits, a homer, 3 runs scored and 2 RBI. I think he will be okay.

In just one week, Baseball has shown all of us that it's okay too.

Finally, Saturday, April 15 will be the 60th anniversary of the debut of Jackie Robinson. Jackie is the most important player in baseball history. He is also one of the key American figures of the 20th Century. He broke the baseball color barrier in 1947, had a great career with the Dodgers, and was a Civil Rights advocate after his playing days. He was a great player in addition to being an American hero.