The Closer: Rollins Keeps It Going

Leitch|published: Tue 4th April, 11:15 2006

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We're starting a daily feature for the baseball season called "The Closer," which is a rundown of the five most interesting tidbits from the previous day of baseball, in case you didn't have enough excitement in your morning. If you don't like it, let us know. We think it might be fun though.

1. Jimmy Rollins Keeps It Going. Sure, it took a 3-0 green light in the eighth inning of a blowout loss, but whatever: Rollins' hit streak is now at 37. That's an absurd number, by the way; we're of the belief that if he keeps this going for a while, it's actually more impressive than the streak being contained in one season. But let's not get carried away: Just one game.

2. Alex Rodriguez's Second Inning Clutchness. A-Rod hit a grand slam off Barry Zito to give the Yankees a 7-0 lead and completely devastate your fantasy team, if you're unfortunate enough to have Zito. We love what they're doing with the upper deck in Oakland, by the way; since they can't sell the seats up there, they've tarped it off with a huge green "OAKLAND ATHLETICS" banner. We like the idea.

3. This Is Why They Don't Have The Traditional Home Opener Anymore. Beautiful day in Cincinnati yesterday. President's throwing out the first pitch. First home game under new, more optimistic ownership. Division rival Cubs in town. ... You give up five runs in the first inning. Ooof.

4. The Glory, The Pageantry. An extra-inning game at Coors Field, between the Rockies and the Diamondbacks. A tradition unlike any other.

5. Barry Bonds. Well, we'll be getting into this a bit later.

Your thoughts on opening day?