This isn’t Easter. This really is Christmas.
I mean, I just can’t resist. Lenny and I have both used the Christmas comparison with Draft Day, but the way the Openers have been scheduled this year, I can’t help but make the analogy one more time.
This year we have joined the “Let’s open one present on Christmas Eve” tradition.
When you know you only have that one pick, you want it to be a good one. You size it up. You shake it. You weigh it. You try carefully to choose the right one.
Opening Night’s present seemed like a great choice at the time. We all thought we picked a good one to “open” – it didn’t have a cheap rattle and it was heavy.
The present was a rivalry almost as old as the game itself, in one of the holiest shrines in the game – The Cards at Wrigley? You kiddin’ me? All that renewed hope for the Cubs. Wrigley Field was buzzing with anticipation and expectation, perhaps more than we’ve ever seen in our lifetimes.
The key word being “was”, because the Cards then did what they do best. They took the ravenous North Side crowd out of the game. They did it early and they did it with their arms, their bats and their legs:
Adam Wainwright - (6 IP/5 H/0 R/0 ER/0 BB/6 K) Wasn’t as untouchable as his line suggests and did have some luck and a very generous umpire on his side, but his usual control was present. Earned first W of the year.
Trevor Rosenthal - Struck out the side for first S of the year. It was the bottom third of the order, but impressive nonetheless.
Matt Carpenter - 2/5 with 1 R and 1 RBI. Both hits came off Lester in a lefty/lefty match-up. Solid start.
Jason Heyward - 3/5 with 2 doubles and one steal. As I queried in my Comebacks post, “this is just gut instinct (Cubbies fans should stop reading here), doesn’t it seem like the Cardinals get more out of their players?” It’s early, but it’s great to see him in the two-spot where he should be. More rib-eyes in the forecast this year, and I’m not talking about a dodgy idea for a kid’s animation.
Matt Holliday - 2/4 with 2 RBI, a BB and a steal. Steady healthy production is his default persona.
Jhonny Peralta - 1/5 and one of the many victims of lousy umping.
Matt Adams - 0/4 Meh.
Yadier Molina - 0/2 with 2 BB and 2 SO
Kolten Wong - 0/3 with a run and a steal. No hits, but looked ever bit as good as he did in last year’s post-season.
John Jay - 2/4 with a double
John Lester - (4.1 IP/8 H/ 3 R/3 ER/2 BB/6 K) If anyone can take the weight of the world on his shoulders it’s Jon Lester. Which is why Fantasy owners and Cubs’ fans should be a little concerned. He had a hard time settling in last night, and never looked comfortable despite the generous strike zone. He wasn’t pounded by any means, and a few hits just dropped in the right places, but even the lefties seem to have no problem getting around on the southpaw – they had 6 of the 8 hits that Lester allowed. Perhaps the most alarming stat of all was the 3 SB against Lester. He rarely throws to first base to hold the runner and it looks like the Cards did their homework regarding this. That doesn’t bode well, but Lester is a World Champ two times over. We won’t hit the panic button just yet. (That comes in mid-May)
Dexter Fowler - 1/4 with a double
Jorge Soler - 0/4 Not to worry. He was another victim of a very sloppy strike zone and was robbed by Holliday on a very hard hit liner to left.
Anthony Rizzo - 0/3 with a BB One of several frustrated Cubs last night. The combo of Waino and the generous ump is too much for anyone. He didn’t really have to throw many strikes at all.
Starlin Castro - 1/4 Hit in the clean-up spot. He was the forgotten one in the pre-season, but with all the new support Castro could be an excellent undervalued pick this year.
So, don’t worry, all of you who came away a tad disappointed with your first present last night. (And, I’m willing to bet there’s a lot of you who have a soft spot for the Cubbies) Maybe it wasn’t all you thought it would be, but there’s plenty of presents still under the tree left for you to “Open” today.
