The 2006 MLB season is now underway.  Which means, the season is a little more than 0.6% complete.

Sure, for the Matt Murton fan(s)...there is plenty to howl about.

But before Matt Murton builds an extra shelf for that MVP trophy, let's take a look a closer look at opening day.

The Good:  Comeback campaigns.  The stage is already being set.  Mike Lowell homers in his first game for the Red Sox.  A rejuvenated Jim Thome appears healthy and homers in his first game for Chicago.  Curt Schilling has an encouraging outing is his opening day debut.  Frank Thomas even homered for the A's, and could have led his team to victory with just 14 more big flies.   Heck, even Oliver Perez appeared impressive for the Pirates with 9 strikeouts in just over 5 innings of work.

  Though there are several stories, perhaps Jim Thome is the early favorite for Comeback Player of the Year.  He appears healthy, and will be anchoring the middle of lineup for the reigning World Series champs.  Plus, he will see a lot of time as a designated hitter...which should keep him healthy throughout the season.

The Bad:  Pitching.  OK, it's early in the season...but many aces were lit up like a Clark Griswold Christmas tree.  Barry Zito was responsible for more runs than Taco Bell in his 1.1 innings of work.  Jon Lieber and Aaron Harang were both hit harder than a Tiger Woods' Titleist.

   Didn't fool anyone yesterday, did it Barry?

Clearly, the early part of the season is more kind to hitters than it is to pitchers.  But geez!!!

The Ugly:  Boo friggity hoo, and idiot fans.  Scott Rolen was booed in Philly.  Jason Giambi was booed in Oakland.  Barry Bonds was not only booed in San Diego, but even had a syringe thrown at him.  Or maybe that was a mid-game "pick-me-up" tossed out by a BALCO employee.

If players are booed simply for being traded or signing with another team, will there be enough time for cheers?  And will someone like Reggie Sanders get booed in every single MLB stadium?

The rest of the story:  With that being said, the baseball season is off to a great start.  Even the perennial MVP candidates made some noise:  David Ortiz, Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Andruw Jones and...uhh, Matt Murton?

So sit back and enjoy...it should be one hell of a season!