Were you nervous?

Game 2: Mets 9, Reds 7
2-0 for the season

One of my favorite things about baseball is that one day, you'll have a 2-1 game with great fielding and in which the bullpen is nearly perfect and the next, you'll have a 9-7 nail-biter complete with terrible fielding all around (though more for the Reds than for the Mets, as is reflected in the final score), the bullpen giving up three runs, and Frankie Rodriguez loading the bases before getting the last out. The rules are always the same in baseball, but the outcomes are not as predictable as statistics suggest they might be; that's why every game is its own pleasure to watch.

I was working during the opening game, which ran over its assigned bloc of time for DVR recorders, robbing me of the chance to see JJ Putz and KRod in their first innings as Mets-- so I was particularly looking forward to their innings last night. It was cold and dry in Cinci during the game, making the ball hard to grip, and that showed; all of the pitchers struggled with control throughout the game. Pelfrey couldn't find the strike zone in the first inning, Putz allowed a run in the 8th to bring the lead down to two runs, and Rodriguez allowed three base runners in the 9th.

Interestingly, I never felt all that nervous, even in the 9th. Particularly in the 9th, because KRod's confidence is so strong it seeps through the television screen and into the living room. Call it the confidence of a burglar, or just call it balls of steel; the man never looked nervous, never seemed to consider that he'd give it up, oozed confidence even with a man on each of the bases behind him. I followed his lead, and was rewarded.

Today is Oliver Perez's first game, and it looks as though it's going to be a sunny, warm-ish day in southern Ohio for the afternoon game. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Ollie having his stuff when he takes the mound.

A nearly perfect day

Game 1: Mets 2, Reds 1
1-0 for the season

Did you know that the Mets have, by far, the best opening day record in baseball? They've won nearly 70% of their opening days. Not that this matters in any way, but it's the kind of fun fact that gets bandied around all over the place during the first game of the season.

It was an awful day in Cincinnati; rain, cold, wind, looked like snow-- but it was a good game. The Mets stranded more runners than I'll ever be comfortable with, but Johan threw 99 pitches and held the Reds to one run on three hits, and then it was time for the bullpen. The bullpen, which is responsible for so many blown leads last year I stopped counting at the All-Star break. But it's a new bullpen this year, one that is completely capable of holding a one-run lead for 3 and 1/3 innings, which they did.

Also, the at-bat that produced Daniel Murphy's first hit and home-run of the season? Poetry. Nine pitches, and the kid just wasn't going to hit it fare until he got his pitch. He reminded me of Keith Hernandez up there; at the plate with a plan. I'm really looking forward to watching Murphy develop over this year.

And when it was all over, the Yankee's humiliation in Baltimore was only just beginning. April has arrived, and I'm feeling fortified.