Happy Opening Day!!

At long last the day is upon us. We wait all off-season and Spring Training for this day to arrive and it's finally here. Opening Day! It should be a national holiday. I'm at work now, but am cutting out at about 2pm EST to enjoy the day. It's raining here in Buffalo I think it's also raining in Baltimore. If today's game gets rained out I'm going to be really depressed.

Back at the end of February, I took a crack at predicting the Opening Day roster. Now that it's finalized, let's see how I did:

Predicted roster:
The offense: Jorge Posada, Jose Molina, Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, A-Rod, Derek Jeter, Johnny Damon, Xavier Nady, Hideki Matsui, Nick Swisher, Brett Gardner, Cody Ransom, Angel Berroa

The pitching: CC Sabathia, Chien-Ming Wang, A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte, Joba Chamberlain, Mariano Rivera, Brian Bruney, Damaso Marte, Dan Giese, Jose Veras, Phil Coke, Edwar Ramirez

Actual Roster:
The offense: Jorge Posada, Jose Molina, Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter, Johnny Damon, Xavier Nady, Hideki Matsui, Nick Swisher, Brett Gardner, Cody Ransom, Ramiro Pena, Melky Cabrera

The pitching: CC Sabathia, Chien-Ming Wang, A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte, Joba Chamberlain, Mariano Rivera, Brian Bruney, Damaso Marte, Jonathan Albaldejo, Jose Veras, Phil Coke, Edwar Ramirez

I was close. I had Angel Berroa on the roster as the extra infielder, saying that the job was his unless a "dark horse candidate came out of nowhere." I guess Ramiro Pena is that dark horse. I'm a little surprised because I thought Berroa had a great spring. Admittedly, I don't know much about Pena. Could he be the next Alberto Gonzalez? Here today and gone before the year is out? Regardless, I don't expect either to get much PT.

I had A-Rod on the roster. It was before his injury. I didn't have Melky on the roster. I didn't think they'd carry 5 OFs, and I was wrong. I'm a little surprised but understand they don't want to lose him by releasing. Melky had a great spring and I'm sure that saved his neck. I don't think he'll get much PT, but who knows? I think Cody Ransom will do just fine as a fill-in for Alex. Steve at Yankees: Minor To Majors doesn't think so.

I also had Dan Giese on the roster as the long man. Girardi and company decided a long man wasn't needed and I can see that. They've got some horses in the rotation. With the exception of Joba, they all should be able to pitch deep into the ball games. There really isn't a need for a long man. The days of blowing out the bullpen early in the season are behind us. Knock on wood. So Jonathan Albaladejo gets the nod and I am down with that. I was a fan of that trade when Cashman made it before last season. I hope he stays healthy.

So first pitch is hopefully about 5 hours away. I'm really hoping the rain stays away. I'll probably be live-blogging the game. So feel free to stop by and watch.

The road to #27 starts today! I think it'll be a tough year with tough competition. As I predicted yesterday, I think they'll finish tied with Boston for first, but finish 2nd because of head-to-head records. But I think they'll win it all. I feel better about their chances this year then I have in recent years. They have the pitching and that's the key. Get the Canyon of Heroes ready cuz the boys are on their way!

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie