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I hope we see a nice turnout for dicussion on the first game of the season.
Let's hear some predictions and make sure to rep Fishercat (or at least thank him) for doing such a nice write-up on the game.
Originally Posted by Fishercat
S3F High Heat Game of the Week: Cleveland Indians (93-69) at Chicago White Sox (99-93).
On October 26, 2005, Bobby Jenks threw his final pitch of the season. Orlando Palmeiro made contract and dropped a slow ground ball past the Wellsian Jenks. The shortstop came in on a charge, picked up the slowing grounder, and barely threw out Palmeiro at 1st base. The season was over, and another "Sox" team had broken their own drought. The White Sox won the World Series. They completed their 11-2 playoff run with a game typical of their team: a 1-0 squeaker with a brillant start by Garcia and the relievers holding the lead gained in the 8th inning.
Fast forward five months. Johnny Damon is wearing pinstripes, the AL's ERA leader is in pitching hell, Jim Thome is back in the AL Central, and spring is in the air. Spring Training is over and the 19-year olds and AAA caliber outfielders are back in the minors, with 750 of the best baseball players in the world ready to play another season. A season with a more stringent steroid policy and, perhaps more significantly, without amphetamines.
ESPN is broadcasting the first game of the year on April 2nd. The World Champion Chicago White Sox are ready to defend their title with a largely unchanged team. The major movement involved a swap of Aaron Rowand among others for hard-hitting DH/1B Jim Thome. Thome was one of the most feared batters in the AL for years, and he may be again. His first test is coming against his old team and new foe in the AL Central, the up-and-coming Cleveland Indians led by young stars like Travis Hafner, Grady Sizemore, and Jhonny Peralta.
The starters for this game pit two extremely good pitchers against each other. Taking the hill for Chicago is Mark Buherle. Mark Buehrle had the best year of his career in 2005. He posted a career-low ERA at 3.12 with the second lowest WHIP of his career at 1.18. Known around baseball as one of the game's most efficient starting pitchers, he had an absurdly long streak of consecutive quality starts (At least 6 IP and no more than 3 ER) until he was thrown out of a game late last year. Anyone watching a game with Mark Buehrle should expect short innings and a quick game.
Cleveland's ace, with Millwood now in Rangers gear, is C.C. Sabathia. The six-foot seven-inch, two-hundred and ninety pound lefthanded starter may just be entering his prime at 26 years of age. Last year, he posted the lowest WHIP of his career and his second lowest ERA. He isn't exactly the epitome of fitness, but with five consecutive seasons of 30 or more starts and at least 180 innings, the Indians should know what to expect out of him.
Expect a great game for opening day, and ESPN has held some pretty great matchups recently including Red Sox v. Yankees last year and the Angels v. White Sox a few years ago, where Washburn pitched shutout. The game is on at 8:05 EDT on ESPN2 according to Yahoo, so follow the game with us.
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