Come Out And Play

(I'm starting this "typed while watching" entry a little late, so the first few notes will not have any time stamps.)

Opening Day is always a monumental moment for me, so I wanted to have a record of some sorts about the first Texas Rangers game of the year. Please indluge me. Diving right in now...

First inning: Kevin Millwood looked fearless about pitching in the launching pad that knowing fans call The Temple. He struck out Coco Crisp to start the game and the 1-2-3 inning ended with Laynce Nix tracking down a David Ortiz smoker into the right centerfield gap. I held my breath a bit as Nix approached the wall, knowing his football mentality, but he managed to soften the blow.

Curt Schilling went 1-2-3, also, striking out Brad Wilkerson and Michael Young to start the inning before getting Mark Teixeira to ground out. Dare I suggest a pitchers' duel? In this park?

Commercial break Wow. That shrimp quesadilla at Taco Cabana looks effin' awesome.

1:29pm Rookie Ian Kinsler got his first fielding chance on a grounder from Manny Ramirez. He bobbled the ball, but calmly picked it up and made the throw to first for the out. It's always good to get the first chance out of the way early.

1:31pm Laynce Nix again tracked down a well hit ball in the gap. Damn, I hope he stays healthy this season.

1:34pm Young just made a nice play deep in the shortstop hole, but his throw was too late to get Jason Varitek out. Am I really to believe that Young is the worst fielding SS in the American League?

1:39pm The closest thing to the first Texas hit of the year was a little blooper off the bat of Phil Nevin to center, caught by a sliding Crisp. I'm thinking that Red sox Nation will be won over by the speedy Coco and Grizzly Damon will turn into just a nice memory... eventually.

1:51pm Is it wrong of me to think that seeing a bunch of kids in the stands, who should be in school, is a good thing?

1:55pm Ian Kinsler's first major league at bat... line drive single the opposite way.

Bonus Knee-jerk Reaction Go ahead and give him the Rookie of the Year award now.

2:01pm David Ortiz scares the crap outta me everytime I see him at the plate. What an imposing dude.

2:06pm The collective shutout is over. 2-0 Boston after a Varitek double. The RBI hit followed a two out, four pitch walk, the first free pass of the game by either side. There is a lesson there.

2:08pm There is that shrimp quesadilla again. It is becoming my bugaboo.

2:10pm Just saw Kinsler's fiancee. The kid done good.

2:12pm I wonder, as I watch Teixeira poke a single to center, if fans of opposing teams get the same feeling of dread when they see Tex at the plate that I get when I see Ortiz or Vlad Guerrero against my team. If not, they should. And they will.

2:27pm 3-0 Boston. This Rangers team is done! (Kidding, of course.)

2:30pm My Ortiz fears manifested themselves in the form of a towering homerun off the right field foul pole. 5-0 Red Sox. He is one of those rare players, like Guerrero, who is damn good for the opposition but almost impossible to dislike. Damn him.

2:33pm Kevin Mench, while in right field, just covered his mouth with his glove... to yawn. Never a good sign.

2:34pm Typical Mench. Right after looking disinterested, he makes a nice sliding catch to end the inning.

2:35pm I'm hungry.

2:43pm Two turkey sandwiches later, I'm feeling better. Watching Ian "The Kid" Kinsler work a two out walk out of Schilling helped, too.

3:02pm What the Hell? Coco Crisp just caught Tex's long fly to center for the second out, but then he tossed the ball into the stands to a fan. That might be the first time I have seen that (other than the blooper reels when there are men on base) before three outs.

3:06pm 5-2 Boston. For the fourth consecutive home opener, Hank Blalock has homered - and this one was the absolute definition of a "frozen rope". Jeez.

3:22pm 6-2 Boston. Big Papi strikes again, this time with an RBI double. (The good news? Ortiz is on my fantasy league team.)

3:33pm I just realized something... Buck Showalter is not wearing a jacket. That it took me so long to notice is rather embarrassing. (By the way, insert gratuitous "jacket off" jokes here.)

3:44pm Through seven (admittedly strong) innings, Schilling has thrown 117 pitches. How in the world can Boston manager Terry Francona allow that to happen during the first game of the season? Who is his mentor? Dusty Baker?

3:47pm Mike Lowell, who was very nearly a Ranger prior to this season, has gone yard. 7-2 Boston now. (161 games to go. Keep the panic in check.)

4:13pm Adam Stern, playing left field as a defensive replacement for Manny Ramirez in the ninth inning, just made the biggest little league move I have seen in a big league game. After crashing into the wall on Kevin Mench's double, he reached up and tore his hat off before chasing down the ball. I guess it made him run faster?

4:16pm Coco Crisp just made even more fans in Boston after that catch of Nix's liner over his head. Wow. At least the ninth inning is waking me up a bit.

4:17pm Game over. Boston 7, Texas 3.

This entry sounded like a good idea in my head as the game commenced, but you be the judge.

Get 'em tomorrow, boys.