One down, 161 to go.
Losses, that is. We're one game into the 2007 Red Sox' season, and I'm already freaking out.
There's nothing quite like a loss to the Royals to turn even the most optimistic fan into a nervous wreck.
Unfortunately, the frustration of Monday's 7-1 loss in Kansas City is compounded by the fact that Opening Day woes are nothing new in Boston. In fact, in eight season openers dating back to 2000, the Red Sox are 1-7, despite the fact that most Sox seasons open against doormats like Tampa Bay, Baltimore and the aforementioned Royals.
Obviously, none of this really matters. Opening Day is just one game out of 162, and there's a lot of baseball left to be played over the next six months. There's no need to panic.
Just kidding.
This is New England, the land of infinite pessimism - where any setback, no matter how small, is cause for a panic attack. And when Curt Schilling, the staff ace, gets out-dueled by Gil Meche, a man with a 4.65 career ERA and perhaps the most absurd contract in baseball history (five years, $55 million!), it's never too early to start fearing the worst.
What if the rotation falls apart? What if Coco and Varitek never bounce back? What if Julian Tavarez has no business starting a major league game? What if Jonathan Papelbon never finds a reliable setup man? What if everyone gets hurt in August again? What if this team is destined to once again finish - Theo forbid - in third place?
I'm tired of worrying. This could have easily been avoided with an Opening Day win over baseball's worst team, but no - Schilling had to get pummeled for five runs in four innings, Hideki Okajima had to give up a homer to John Buck, and the dreaded Coco/Varitek duo had to go a combined 0-for-7.
But this year, I'm going to try something different. I'm refusing to give in to all the paranoia. No more worrying, no more panicking and no more giving up on the season by Patriots' Day.
Because here's the thing. This year is different. This year, there's no reason to worry. This year, the Boston Red Sox are the best team in baseball.
Am I biased? Yes, of course I am. But I'm also right. From top to bottom, the Red Sox' roster is more stacked than that of anyone else in baseball.
At the moment, the Red Sox and Detroit Tigers appear to be the only two teams in baseball with no visible holes in their rosters, from the lineup to the rotation to the bullpen. The two squads were the two best in baseball on July 31 last year, before both faltered in the season's final two months - the Red Sox due to injuries, the Tigers because Jeremy Bonderman and Justin Verlander lacked the experience to finish the season strong.
This year, the Tigers are back with a year of experience under their belts, and the Sox have returned with an (almost) empty trainer's room. Both have added heavy-hitting right fielders to their already stacked lineups, with the Tigers adding Gary Sheffield and the Sox tacking on J.D. Drew, and both teams look to have 900-run offenses in '07.
Both teams have stellar 1-2-3 punches in their starting rotations, with Bonderman, Verlander and Nate Robertson in Detroit matching up with Schilling, Josh Beckett and Daisuke Matsuzaka in Boston. Both have young studs in their bullpens (Joel Zumaya and Papelbon), both have future ace starters waiting in the wings (Andrew Miller and Jon Lester), and both have good reasons to enter this season with a chip on their shoulder (a five-game loss to the Cardinals in the World Series, and a sudden drop from first place in the AL East to third in the season's last two months).
Both teams are potential 100-game winners this season, and they're the only two teams that can make that claim. One, however, is better than the other, and the difference-maker is none other than David Ortiz.
At this point, there's not much I can say about Big Papi that hasn't already been beaten to death. But here's one fact you may not have noticed about baseball's best DH: the man never stops improving.
If you don't believe me, check out his home run totals in each of his nine major league seasons (excluding 1999, when the Twins sent him back to the minors only to recall him as a September call-up). His totals are: one, nine, 10, 18, 20, 31, 41, 47 and 54. An increase every single year, without fail.
This is a man who is never satisfied with his own accomplishments. The word "complacency" is not even in his vocabulary. As hypocritical as this might sound, coming from someone who's always preached to the team chemistry rather than the individual star power of the Red Sox, I can't help but look to Big Papi this year to carry this team. If 54 wasn't good enough last year, where does the guy max out?
In just six months, we'll know. So that's why I've decided not to worry about Opening Day jitters. The man who drove in Boston's only run on Monday afternoon is about to drive in 150 more, and he's about to establish himself as the most dynamic hitter, in one of the most dynamic lineups, in baseball history.
Opening Day may have been a flop, but I'll choose to take comfort in the words of Kevin Youkilis, who scored on Ortiz's RBI double in Monday's first inning.
"We want to win them all," Youkilis said Monday night. "But I don't think anybody ever went 162-0."
Don't worry, Youk. You'll come close enough.
