Hands off the Panic Button

The 2006 season got off to a disappointing start to the season last night with a 10-4 loss to the ChiSox, along with an injury to C.C., and a bomb by Thome. A few observations:

• I don’t want to hear about C.C.’s training regimen and how he’s out of shape. Last night, I thought he actually looked slimmer than I remember (maybe it was because he wasn’t wearing his usual parachute pants), and seemed to be motoring through the first two innings. Who knows why he’s prone to abdominal strains? Just don’t say that he needs to lose 50 lbs. because it’s never happening. C.C. is, and always will be, a big guy. That’s just the way he’s put together. I suppose that Bartolo Colon needed to lose weight last year, en route a Cy Young.
  
• C.C.’s injury is eerily similar to the injury that sidelined at the beginning of last season, which caused him to miss about 6 weeks. He still rebounded to make 31 starts and carve out a nice season, but even so let’s hope that this is a lesser injury.
  
• If the Tribe does put C.C. on the DL, expect Jason Davis to be called up to be the long man. The Indians have enough off days in April that they can go with a 4-man rotation, but they don’t have an arm in the pen that can consistently throw 3+ innings until Davis is around.
  
• If Davis does get the call, expect him to stick around instead of Danny Graves, who didn’t do much to impress, either in the Spring or last night.
  
• Being a workingman, I was unable to make it through the rain delay, and in no way saw the final innings of the game, as it ran past 2AM. Which begs the question, with an off day today – why didn’t the White Sox postpone the game and pick it up in the 4th today? According to reports, even when the game restarted, it was a veritable monsoon. So, why insist on finishing the game last night. Is it really, as WTAM reported, because the Comiskey workers were not scheduled to work today and the White Sox were forced to finish the game last night? If that’s the case, that’s ridiculous.
  
• Another brilliant marketing move by MLB to have “Opening Night” start at 8:15 Eastern time and end after 2AM. Nothing quite like appealing to the next generation of fans, whom I’m sure saw every last pitch.

Still 161 games to go. It’s a long way to go. Everybody just relax.