Some observations on Opening Day

Hey, here in Cincinnati, Opening Day for baseball is a holiday. And on Monday, the Cincinnati Reds played the Los Angeles Angels in the first inter-league Opening Day game for major league baseball. The Reds lost 3-1. And well, it's one game out of 162 games. Not going to give up on the season yet. :-) Anyway, here's some observations for Opening Day for the Cincinnati Reds.

1. We have a kick ass parade. Yeah, there could be nicer floats but is there any city in America that has the community involvement for baseball's opening day? Cincinnati does it right. Those are neighbors marching on the streets of downtown Cincinnati.

2. Reds manager Dusty Baker really loves Opening Day. I was watching the game on TV and the camera had a shot of Reds manager Dusty Baker. From the joy on his face, I could tell he was excited about the day. I know Dusty loves baseball and this day obviously is important to him.

3. The Reds were terrible with runners in scoring position. The Reds went zero for ten with runners in scoring position according to Lance Mcalister of 1530 Homer. That was like last year. Folks, you're going to have a hard time winning and getting to the playoffs if you can't hit with runners in scoring position.

4. Opening Day Cincinnati Reds fans suck. The Cincinnati Reds fan who goes to Opening Day is usually all about the party. Yeah, there are some real baseball fans but a whole bunch of the Reds fans at the park didn't really care about the game. It' just time to party. My proof? The game went into extra innings. The camera panned the seats. And it looked like half of the park was empty. Yeah, I know it was cold but it wasn't that cold. I mean I went to a Cincinnati Bengals game where the temperature was in the teens with a wind chill factor. The Reds were tied with Angels who again were big spenders during the off season. And half of the park couldn't endure temperatures in the forties?

5. Reds centerfielder Shin-Soo Choo can get on base. Choo was on base three times. Too bad, nobody drove him in. I mean the run he scored was on a wild pitch with Choo hustling.

6. Johnny Cueto is fearless. In the seventh, he loaded the bases with one out. He then struck out the side to get out of it.

7. Reds closer Aroldis Chapman destroyed Angels Josh Hamilton. Chapman struck out s the vaunted Hamilton with four pitches. Two fastballs and two sliders. Bye, bye.

Reds Nation, one down. One hundred sixty one to go. Reds still can win the World Series.