It's clearly a cliche, but the best part about Major League Baseball's Opening Day is that each of the league's thirty teams starts undefeated. For some, like the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers, expectations are unusually high and confidence is abundant. For others, like the New York Mets and the Houston Astros, there's a "Hey, you never know!" atmosphere surrounding tomorrow's games - the fact that each and every year, at least one team comes out of nowhere to capture a division crown produces an aura of optimism in every Major League clubhouse. That optimism - combined with the knowledge that the first baseball games mean that Spring and warm weather are just around the corner - make MLB's Opening Day a sporting event worth its capitalization.
Personally, I've been looking forward to tomorrow night's Atlanta opener against the Philadelphia Phillies - nationally televised on ESPN2 - pretty much since the New York Giants season ended in December. No offense to the Knicks (and only limited offense intended to the Islanders), but the indoor winter sports lack the significance that I associate with big dates on the MLB and NFL calendars. This year, my anticipation around Opening Day is especially high. Coming off of a disappointing exit to the 2012 MLB playoffs (you can read my post on the Infield Fly Rule Game here), the Braves have recovered and reloaded. In a perfect scenario, guys like Kris Medlen and Mike Minor will build on their late season successes, acquisitions like B.J. and Justin Upton will pay dividends and youngsters like Julio Teheran and Freddie Freeman will continue to grow. As things currently stand, the Braves seem poised to be an NL pennant contender in 2013 and beyond.
Of course, for most teams Opening Day will soon become little more than the start of a disappointing season that results in losses, injuries and a September finale. For my Braves, there's a realistic possibility that Justin Upton continues last season's negative statistical trend, Jason Heyward again fails to live up to his tremendous potential and Brandon Beachy is unable to recover from Tommy John surgery. For every great thing that might happen, there's an equally likely negative scenario that, combined with other rough outcomes, could realistically derail Atlanta's season. But while these downside scenarios are certainly possible, the beauty of Opening Day is that no one (outside of maybe the occasional self-deprecating Mets fan) spends April 1 thinking about them. MLB's Opening Day is a day for optimism, hope and "what ifs."
I've already cleared my calendar for tomorrow night so that I can make sure to be settled on my couch at 7 PM when Tim Hudson throws the season's first pitch. Hopefully all of you will be doing the same, convincing yourselves that tomorrow will be the start of something special for your team. After all, that's what Opening Day is all about.
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