C.C. Sabathia ($161M) gave up 6 runs in 4+ innings and Mark Teixeira ($180) put up a big fat 0-4 doughnut and the Yankees were eliminated by the Baltimore Orioles, 10-5, yesterday. Pathetic, really. All that talent and money .... wasted. Why did they ever leave Yankee Stadium?! Trade them all and let God sort it out, I say.

look, i realize its only the first game of the season, but most of you that say this i cant stand to hear. this is all you said last year the ENTIRE FIRST 2 MONTHS. every time we'd lose, oh its only one game, oh theres still 4 months left, oh its only the first half. look, you guys said this same BS garbage last year and we missed the playoffs.

1 GAME NOW, is the same as ONE GAME IN AUGUST. all games count as either 1 win or 1 loss, get it straight.

quit playing down losses just because its early, i mean the way you guys post its like a win in august counts for 2 or something. this is why i stay away from the boards during the season. all these posters bash people who react to losses if the season is only 2 months in, but these losses matter. and the only reason these posters do this is to psycologically relieve themselves of stress knowing the yankees are dropping games by rationalizing the losses as not a big deal in their norman bates brains.

YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME. A WIN IN APRIL IS THE SAME AS A WIN IN SEPTEMBER. THE GOAL IS TO WIN GAMES.

stop rationalizing losses.

Thank you, reasonable and anonymous message board poster! Hey Yogi ... it's over.

And they aren't the only ones. The Tigers best pitcher's arm fell off, St. Louis lost to the freakin' Pirates, I'm not even sure if Cleveland has a baseball team anymore, and the Red Sox and Devil Rays aren't even allowed to play games! The only bright spot on the planet is in Seattle, of all places, where it is now 1995 again. Baseball is ruined! Woe betide us all!

Oh, right ... 161 more games. Still ... EVERY GAME COUNTS!

YANKS' BIG-MONEY MEN MAKE POOR IMPRESSIONS [New York Post]
CC Sabathia's first-game struggles make for eye-opener for Yankees [New York Daily News]

America is supposed to be rooting for Michigan State tonight because, according to some articles I've read, it could very well save the auto industry and save the country from being swallowed up by a depression. Plus Michigan State fans know how to get their crude signs in front of the Freep photographer. You have to give them that. Also, well, there's Dash. I hear he has a rooting interest.

Good morning. It's Monday. It's raining in New York, but it's still Opening Day in America. So go crazee folks. And why can't The Runaways be 19 forever?

The World Fucking Champions will kick off the season tonight against Atlanta and not a moment too soon. The NCAA title game is tomorrow, the NBA and NHL regular season death marches are almost over and the Masters, horse racing, rec league softball and many other things that you can do outside while drunk will soon be upon us. It really is the best time of the year. It makes me so happy, I won't even take an unfounded cheap shot at the Mets in this post. That's the kind of goodwill that only this season can provide.

So enjoy tonight's fake Opening Day before the real one tomorrow, and don't be too hard on Joe Morgan. He means well. (Wow, I really am in a good mood!) Thank you for your continued support of Sunday Funday Deadspin.

A chance to be great for a whole season [Philly Inquirer]
"The Green Fields of the Mind" by A. Bartlett Giamatti [gmu.edu]

Thanks to Pete Austin and Nats 320.

The First Game [Nats 320]

Anyway, kids, baseball is starting, in full force, like, right now. The first two games of the day are Toronto vs. the Yankees and Kansas City visited Detroit. (Easy there, Coach: The Rays don't play at Camden until 3 p.m. ET.) Our Cardinals are at 4:15 p.m. ET ... if it doesn't freaking rain.

But yes: Opening Day, everyone. Yah!

There may be no parking and no development around it, but, by cracky, the Lerners got their stadium. And D.C. got to chase all the gay clubs and small businesses away from the Navy Yard. Hooray! Gentrification isn't just for Columbia Heights! America's past pastime gets underway on its own shores and we Leitch couldn't be any happier.

Interesting that the Braves should be the inaugural opponent at the ballpark tentatively known as Nationals Park for the one-game homestand. There's the obvious Stan Kasten connection, not to mention that some are saying that the stadium evokes Turner Field.

But nuts to all that. It's baseball! Let's have Lastings Milledge and Elijah Dukes beat some people up!

UPDATE: Here's video of Bush getting booed lustily by the D.C. crowd. Hey, shock of shocks that a city that went 90 percent for John Kerry in 2004 wouldn't give Bush 43 a warm reception.

H/T: 700Level

(Note: I didn't get the running presidents gig. I knew I couldn't grow up to be president! Don't try! Quit'cher daydreamin', melonhead!)

Manny Ramirez was the main hero, with four RBIs, including a two-run double in the 10th, but you have to admire Brandon Moss, who, filling in for an (amazingly!) injured J.D. Drew, hit his first major league home run in the top of the ninth. In Japan. At the Tokyo Dome. That seems like a difficult ball to get back.

The A's made a little run at Jonathan Papelbon — who looked awful, we might add — in the 10th, but Emil Brown stupidly run into an out after an RBI double, and Joe Morgan smiled a little.

So, the Red Sox grind out a win, and the A's got a lot of walks but didn't hit much. (And Jack Cust struck out four times.) We're obviously well on track.

Well, if you ignore last night's game — and we are — then it's now officially Opening Day. And there are all kinds of games today! Thirteen, to be exact, including four that start in about 15 minutes. We can't wait to fire up our Extra Innings and watch a full day of ... oh ... crap. Well, anyway, it's a MLB.tv day, it appears, and we'd like to note that the following humans are Opening Day starters:

• Gil Meche.
• John Patterson.
• Zack Duke.
• Aaron Cook.

So, should be fun! Opening Day is here; this is your last chance to get your fantasy starters set and your bets in. They're gonna be playing these things for the next seven months, so enjoy being able to muster excitement for an individual game while you can.

Well, the Mets cruised, and Fry's pretty much dead-on: We didn't weep too much last night. Chris Carpenter can't pitch like that all season, So Taguchi will eventually remember how to catch a fly ball and, hey, worst case, we've got Braden Looper pitching Wednesday! It's an odd feeling, watching Opening Day and not being the least bit bothered by a loss, but hey, that's the new reality over here. Check back in if the Birds start 0-7; we suspect the level of grump will be raised to orange by then.

Opening Night Mets Diary [Our Endless Season]
It's Opening Day! And I'll Be Bitter! [Faith And Fear In Flushing]

Number one on the list is the RBI Baseball Theme Remix, from the old Nintendo game. Excellent call. Other highlights for me include the music from The Natural, and, though it isn't a song, James Earl Jones' speech from Field of Dreams.

The first official game of the season is tonight at 8:05, with the Indians visiting the White Sox. There are also some preseason games today, which seems odd to me. In fact, I'm watching the Red Sox and Phillies right now, and they're both wearing red jerseys. I think they should go shirts/skins.

Baseball Season Will Be Starting Soon [San Diego Serenade]