MLB Opening Day 2015: Five frank observations
Apr 6, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; First base featuring opening day graphics prior to the first inning between the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox on opening day at Citizens bank Park. The Red Sox won 8-0. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
After day one is in the books, there are still 161 games left on tap. It’s far too soon to jump to conclusions or make educated guesses as to which clubs will succeed and which will falter. The same can be said from an individual players perspective.
Opening Day has been celebrated with pageantry for many decades in MLB. It brings with it new hopes, story lines and the arrival of spring as an eventual segue into the hot months of summer — something most baseball fans north of the equator look forward to annually.
Before we get to the analytical slideshow, here are some quick takes. As expected, the Tampa Bay Rays drew the fewest fans to their home park on Opening Day with 31,042 in attendance. The Dodgers drew over 53,00 for first place which bodes well for the expensive product they are putting on the field in 2015.
Some of the more notable people throwing out opening pitches was Eric Gagne at Dodger Stadium, Joe Torre at Yankee Stadium and at Wrigley Field, the legacy of the late Ernie Banks was honored when his two sons, Joey and Jerry, threw out the ceremonial first pitch and led the way by singing ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’ for the seventh inning stretch.
Home teams went 7-7 and 29 total home runs were knocked out of the park yesterday. Last year home teams went 7-6 and clubbed 24 combined long balls.
After two days worth of games, there are some things we all learned. Here are five of the more glaring takeaways from Opening Day 2015.
Next: Tanaka is in trouble
1. Tanaka is in trouble
Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
With that, so too might the New York Yankees be if Masahiro Tanaka is to be their ace in 2015. After partially tearing his UCL in 2014, Tanaka elected to rehab it and not undergo surgery. The result will undoubtedly be one of two outcomes: He under performs in 2015, or he eventually goes under the knife for the corrective procedure.
Tanaka looked like one of the best arms the AL had to offer until his setback last season. Last year in his first start of the season, he pitched seven innings allowing two earned runs and striking out eight in a win versus the Blue Jays. According to FanGraphs, his fastball averaged 91.1 mph last season and he threw it 25 percent of the time.
On Monday against the Jays again in his first start of the season, Tanaka was knocked around in front of a home crowd. He already admitted that a drop in velocity will be something he has to deal with in 2015. But without an effective fastball, batters will be much more obliged to lay off his deadly split-fingered fastball that often drops out of the strike zone.
The Jays caused Tanaka to exit the game after only four innings and a laborious 82 pitches on Opening Day. He allowed five runs (four earned), gave up a home run and walked two. The Jays eventually won the ball game 6-1.
Most concerning was that Tanaka offered his fastball only six times out of 82 pitches, or seven percent of the time. At an average of 90.9 mph, that’s not an encouraging sign for a pitcher with a fresh arm in his first outing of the season. Jays players hit a perfect 1.000 off his fastball in that game, showing why he was quick to abandon a reliance on it.
Next: The sun is shining on Sonny
2. The sun is shining on Sonny
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Sonny Gray sported the horizontally striped socks on Opening Day, but it wasn’t luck from wearing those threads that brought about his results.
Oakland’s Gray is quickly proving himself to be one of the games more promising young pitchers. Only 25, he is coming off an impressive sophomore campaign in which he went 14-10 with a 3.08 ERA in 33 starts.
Opening Day against the Texas Rangers continued his streak of early season success. Last year’s AL Pitcher of the Month for April, Gray carried a no-no into the eighth inning against the Rangers. Outfielder Ryan Rua singled off him with none out in the inning. Gray eventually retired Mitch Moreland on a double play and then Rougned Odor later in the inning and pitched into the ninth.
Gray’s maturity levels shine through and his efficiency with his pitches is far beyond where many 25-year-old pitchers find themselves. The Vanderbilt university product scorched his way through the minors after being a first round pick in 2011 and is proving to be one of the more capable right-handers the AL West has to offer.
That’s saying a lot for a division that has featured Felix Hernandez, Jered Weaver and Yu Darvish for a number of seasons now.
Next: Mets' closer role might be cursed
3. Mets’ closer role might be cursed
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Relief pitcher and interim closer Jenrry Mejia is headed to the disabled list after Opening Day. He was given the opportunity to close in 2014 only because Bobby Parnell, the Mets’ projected closer, found himself on the DL in 2014 after throwing only 25 pitches on Opening Day of the 2014 season.
The stint on the DL led to Tommy John surgery for Parnell and he missed the remainder of the season. Mejia played well in Parnell’s absence, but questions have to be mounting with regards to the developmental procedures within the Mets camp. Despite no structural damage evident in Mejia’s arm, the club may need to re-evaluate things moving forward.
Before Parnell suffered his torn UCL, star pitcher Matt Harvey went under the knife late in 2013 prematurely ending his stellar season. In spring training this year, reliever Josh Edgin was discovered to have a bone chip in the UCL of his left throwing arm. He had TJ surgery last month, followed by promising young starter Zack Wheeler when an MRI revealed a torn UCL in his throwing arm.
That’s four valuable arms in the last two seasons for the Mets to fall victim to the dreaded procedure. While Mejia’s injury should not keep him sidelined for an extended period and Parnell is expected back in a few weeks time, it will be interesting to see who fills the void in the meantime.
Hey, at least Opening Day is out of the way for now. Stay tuned for the 2016 season opener, Mets fans.
Next: The Padres want to show us all how the West is won
4. The Padres want to show us all how the West is won
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Despite an Opening Day loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the San Diego Padres again turned heads less than 24 hours before that game when it was announced they had acquired one of the best closers the game has to offer in Craig Kimbrel.
GM A.J. Preller has been swift and succinct in letting Padres fans know he wants to put a product on the field that can compete in 2015 with the defending champion Giants and the powerhouse Dodgers in the NL West.
Kimbrel, along with Melvin Upton Jr., will join fellow newcomers Matt Kemp, Wil Myers, Justin Upton, Will Middlebrooks, James Shields and Brandon Morrow on the active 25-man roster.
The ‘win now’ approach also has some insurance behind it, as only the younger of the two Upton’s (Justin) is scheduled to be a free agent of the bunch after the 2015 season. Bringing aboard his brother may entice Justin to sign an extension or a new deal altogether with San Diego rather than look to the free agent market before the 2016 season.
The Friars ranked dead last in 2014 in team batting average (.226) and runs scored (535) and finished third last in home runs hit (109). All that will certainly change in 2015.
After the Kimbrel trade, closing out ball games at Petco Park and on the road should also be an easier task for the club. Whether all these moves are enough to catapult them ahead of everyone else in NL West come October remains to be seen.
Granted, after all the work the front office had done prior to Opening Day, surely they would settle for a Wild Card berth.
Next: Huge pay days are coming for Cueto and Price
5. Huge pay days are coming for Cueto, Price
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Both Johnny Cueto and David Price are prized pitching commodities coming off of very good years in 2014. Since both failed to reach an extension with their respective clubs in the offseason, it’s likely they will use the leverage of the free agent market next offseason to cash in.
They will be the Jon Lester and Max Scherzer of 2016 — possibly better. Lester signed his Cubs contract in his age 31 season and Scherzer inked his Nationals deal in his age 3o season. Cueto and Price will both turn 30 next year and both have lower career ERAs than both Lester and Scherzer.
Price has a Cy Young from his 2012 season with the Rays and finished in the top six in voting two other times. Cueto, in spite of winning 20 games last year and leading the NL in strikeouts, finished second in NL Cy Young voting to Clayton Kershaw. It was a somewhat controversial win for Kershaw granted that he made only 27 starts in 2014 to Cueto’s 34, but the Dodgers probably would not have won their division if it weren’t for their ace southpaw. The Reds missed the postseason last year.
Cueto was sharp on Opening Day against the Pirates in a no-decision. He spun seven innings of scoreless ball and struck out ten.
Price too was equally as impressive in his Opening Day start for the Tigers, the first time in seven years Justin Verlander has not held the honor. Price — a former Vanderbilt pitcher just like Sonny Gray — went 8.2 innings allowing zero runs, zero walks, struck out five and picked up the win.
If health is on their sides and both of these two pitchers Opening Day starts foreshadow a sign of things to come in 2015, you can bet that extremely lucrative deals will be signed by them both sometime after the World Series.