What a great day for baseball fans!  Every team and player barometer is set to zero, and everyone is contender.  Well, except for the Pirates and Royals...two teams that might struggle in your average co-ed church softball league.

Every year, Opening Day becomes the Realm of Ridiculous.  Fans begin to make premature conclusions based on this single game...which represents less than 1% of this season's baseball action.

Pick Up the Pace

Whatever you do, please don't make stat projections based purely on Opening Day results...

David Eckstein is on pace for 125 RBI's - I'm going to wait a little longer before handing him the MVP award.  Although, if he can maintain his .750 batting average...

Kerry Wood is on pace for 162 games on the disabled list - OK, maybe some Opening Day projections are accurate.

Brian "got knocked on my ass and hurt" McCann hit the first home run of the season - Well, he may not hit 100 home runs...but expect a great season from the Braves' catcher.

Carl Crawford is fast - With such superior stealing ability, will politics be in his future?

Cy Young contenders Carlos Zambrano and Chris Carpenter had shaky outings - Zambrano will be OK, unless he starts getting advice from Kerry Wood or Mark Prior.  Carpenter will still win 16 games or more, and his biggest worry this year will be finding pants to fit his 6'6" frame.

Double Your Fun

Almost every year, some Mr. Mediocre player will hit 2 home runs on Opening Day...and fans will quickly jump on the bandwagon.  This is usually a Shannon Stewart or Dmitri Young type of player.  Who will it be this year?

Sneak Peek

My American League surprise team has to be the Cleveland Indians.  Right now, they are smashing Jose Contreras and the Chicago White Sox.  If nothing else, the Indians should be an exciting team to watch.  The AL Central will probably be the toughest division in baseball...and the Indians should turn many heads this year.  My sleeper pick for the AL MVP, Grady Sizemore, is already off to a quick start.

The Boo Birds Singing Early

I don't want to generalize, but I'm already severely disappointed with Yankee fans.  A-Rod has received some opening day boos, especially after committing a defensive error on a misjudged pop fly in foul territory.  If a Pirates player hits 35 HR and 121 RBI's, he might be elected the mayor of Pittsburgh.  But apparently that isn't enough for New York fans.  Just one more reason to despise the "Evil Empire".

The Soothsayer Rides Again

Now that I've criticized early season projections, it's time to give my own predictions:

NL East Winner - Philadelphia Phillies
NL Central Winner - St. Louis Cardinals
NL West Winner - Arizona Diamondbacks
NL Wildcard - NY Mets (does anybody still believe?)
AL East Winner - Boston Red Sox
AL Central Winner - Cleveland Indians (call me crazy)
AL West Winner - Some City in California Angels
AL Wildcard - Detroit Tigers

NL MVP - Albert Pujols (can't bring myself to pick a surprise as long as he's playing)
NL Cy Young - Brandon Webb (doesn't need big strikeout numbers to be dominant)
AL MVP - Grady Sizemore (because predicting one of the other favorites is boring)
AL Cy Young - Johan Santana (nobody else is in his class)

The "I thought you were toast" award - Oliver Perez, NY Mets (I have no logical reason to believe he'll provide any value for the Mets)
The "I can't believe he's not better" award - Delmon Young, Tampa Bay Devil Rays
The "Money isn't everything" award - Roger Clemens, somewhere (won't be the positive impact that people expect)
The "Unsung hero" award - Eric Byrnes, Arizona Diamondbacks
The "Billy Martin, angry manager" award - John Gibbons, Toronto Blue Jays
The "Kerry Wood, I should look for another job" award - Eric Gagne, Texas Rangers
Surprise pitcher award - Daniel Cabrera, Baltimore Orioles
Surprise hitter award - Ian Kinsler, Texas Rangers

So there you have it...here's hoping for a great season!  Enjoy...