Opening day roundup
posted in Central Division wrap, link roundup |
A record crowd of 44,297 saw the Tigers raise their 10th American League championship pennant in franchise history. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
As I listen to the Oakland A’s while watching the Minnesota Twins on this fine Monday…
– It wasn’t just Opening Day for the MLB. Ballhype officially opened its doors, as well.
I was fortunate enough to receive an invitation from Matt of Detroit Bay Boys to help beta test, a task which I failed at pretty much because I forgot to bookmark it and forgot I was a member for a week or two. But now it’s open to all.
It is one part an aggregate of stories and blog posts, including props, links and criticisms. But it is one huge part community. Once you sign up, you can join a group of like-minded fans to trade links, point out stories, just chat, or whatever. You can also attempt to pick the winner of games and see how many people of the Ballhype Nation agree or disagree. If you sign up for the Detroit group, you’ll see Matt, Ian of Detroit Bad Boys Bless You Boys and Sweaty Men Endeavors, Eric of DTown Baseball, and quite a few others. Give it a look. It could become a first sports stop. The more I use it, the cooler and more useful I find the technology to be.
– Speaking of Ian, his season preview is up at Bless You Boys.
– Greg Eno writes about the specialness of Opening Day in Detroit… or is that Opening day, he asks.
– Taking a moment to look around the AL Central, Cleveland blew the doors off Chicago and starter Jose Contreras, putting up eight runs on him in 1+ innings. CC Sabathia didn’t handle the White Sox handily, but he did enough to get the 12-5 victory. … Kansas City newcomer Gil Meche topped Boston starter Curt Schilling, 7-1. … The Twins are currently tied with Baltimore, 3-3.
– Baseball Prospectus has its preseason Hit List “power ranking” up. (Free for all to view)
– You’ve heard ESPN’s Jayson Stark, Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal both picked the Tigers to win the World Series over the weekend. SI’s Jon Heyman added his agreement. On, and Peter Gammons, despite what he said on BBT Sunday, also picked them. It really doesn’t matter whether the national media picks you to win or not. But I certainly enjoy seeing some of the baseball writers I enjoy reading pick them. It sure beats being tabbed for fourth.
– A little self promotion, of sorts, but I was asked to answer a few questions about the Tigers for a Blue Jays blog, The Batters Box. Here’s the Tigers 2007 preview. Hopefully I’ve represented our guys as best I can with a minimum of navy blue glasses. Go check it out. Long as you’re over there, they’ve got their look at the Tigers, too.
– Finally, your requisite Curtis Granderson link. He moved his blog — to ESPN.com.
– And one more. I liked John Lowe’s imagery for why we enjoy baseball.
Sphere It
