Fantasy Baseball Happy Recap - Real Opening Day 3/31/08

The first full docket of Major League games kicked off today and I for one am glad to have baseball back in my life… just wish I could say the same for my girlfriend. Let's take a look at the best and worst from a busy opening day around the Majors.

Bat Of The Night - Xavier Nady – 4/7, 4 R, 1 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI

The X man took it to Atlanta blasting two homers including the go ahead shot to lead the Pirates to a wild 12-11 win in extra innings. Nady is a streaky hitter which makes him a bit inconsistent in fantasy terms, but when he’s locked in he can be a solid contributor. Grab him if he is still available in your league.

Arms Of The Night - Jake Peavy – 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K

Peavy dominated the new look Astros lineup and outdueled Roy Oswalt pitching 7 shutout innings, allowing only 3 hits.

Bottom Lines - Mark Buerhle - 1.2 IP, 7 ER & Tom Gordon - 0.1 IP, 5 ER (BS)

The White Sox gave us the day’s best and worst performance while Philly fans count down the seconds to Brad Lidge’s return…

Honorable Mentions

The Good

Lots of good performances yesterday headlined by Jim Thome who just missed being named the top opening day batsman and Johan Santana who was dominant in his NL debut striking out 8. Kosuke Fukudome erupted on the Chicago scene hitting a game tying 3 run shot off Eric Gagne in the bottom of the ninth while Nate McLouth and Yunel Escobar rewarded the fantasy owners that believed. Ben Sheets and Carlos Zambrano’s duel at Wrigley netted them both top honors while Brad Penny earned a spot after picking apart a hapless Giants lineup.

Bats

Jim Thome - 2/5, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI
Nate McLouth – 3/5, 2 R, 1 HR, 4 RBI
Carlos Guillen – 3/5, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Kosuke Fukudome - 3/3, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Lastings Milledge - 2/4, 3 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Chase Utley – 2/3, 2 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Jimmy Rollins – 2/4, 2 R, 1 2B 1 HR, 2 RBI
Jermaine Dye – 3/4, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Yunel Escobar – 3/4, 2 R, 1 3B, 3 RBI

Arms

Johan Santana - 7 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K (W)
Brad Penny – 6 2/3, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K (W)
Ben Sheets – 6 1/3, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K (ND)
Livan Hernandez – 7 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K (W)
Carlos Zambrano – 6 2/3 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K (ND)
James Shields – 7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K (W)

The Bad

Some serious 0-fers and blown saves were put up yesterday. The Giants gave us a glimpse of what the post-Bonds era looks like on offense while Brewers and Cubs fans will never feel safe with a ninth inning lead again. Keep an eye on our guy Bobby Howry as a long patience isn’t one of Sweet Lou’s strengths.

Bats

San Francisco Giants Starting Lineup – 4-24, 4 Singles
Placido Polanco – 0/6, 6 LOB
Jose Guillen – 0/5, 2 K, 3 LOB
Mark Texiera – 0/6, 1 K, 6 LOB
Chicago Cubs 1 - 4 hitters – 1 – 18, 1 single, 6 K

Arms

Kerry Wood – 1 IP, 3 ER
Eric Gagne – 1 IP, 3 ER (BS)
Octavio Dotel – 1 IP, 3 ER (L)
Jeremy Guthrie – 5 1/3, 9 H, 5 ER (L)
Barry Zito – 5 IP, 8 H, 4 ER (L)
Manny Acosta – 0.2 IP, 4 ER
Matt Capps – 0.2, 3 ER

Making The Case...

This group includes two of our favorite Spring Training sleepers in Navarro and Gutierrez and an intriguing stolen base guy in Carlos Gomez. These youngsters have all secured starting roles so grab them now while you still can.

Dioner Navarro – 3/4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI
Franklin Gutierrez – 3/3, 2 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Carlos Gomez – 2/3, 2 R, 2 SB