I feel as though that we here at TwinkieTown would be neglecting our duties if we didn't mention that tonight is the opening night of the 2006 season. After lots and lots of spring training games where a lack of injured players is the only real desired outcome, we finally get some games that matter.
As it so happens, opening night gives us a look at our two biggest division rivals in the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago White Sox. C.C. Sabathia and Mark Buehrle will be taking the mound for their respective teams. I guess I don't have a lot to say today about this particular matchup, except that I find it kind of interesting that amongst the Indians, White Sox, and Twins, each team's ace is left-handed.
From what I can tell, the game will be broadcast on ESPN2 at 7 pm CDT. (Did you remember to "spring ahead"?) Ideally, there would be some way for the Indians and the White Sox to lose this game, but I haven't figured out a way to make that happen yet. In lieu of that, I'll be watching as much of the game as I can on mlb.tv, hoping for shaky starts by Sabathia and Buerhle, and lots of extra innings to deplete each team's bullpen, hopefully making it tougher for them to win their games after this series.
The long, long offseason is over -- let the games begin!
[UPDATE: From espn.com (and as brought to my attention in the comments by Twinsboy14):
"Cleveland Indians starter C.C. Sabathia left Sunday night's game against the Chicago White Sox with a strained right abdominal muscle in the third inning."
Sabathia has long been considered an injury risk, with a delivery often described as "violent," so this probably isn't a big surprise. If I was an Indians fan right now, I'd be pretty worried. They don't have anyone like Francisco Liriano to just plug in the rotation to mitigate the loss of their ace if this becomes a long-term issue.]