Opening Day

Nothing like opening day, is there? Royal Reflections has a new look. The Royals line up has a new look. Every team is even. Every rookie has the chance to become the next big star. And you never know if this "could be the year."

For the first time since 2001, the Royals open on the road today. The Royals are 13-23 in season openers, but going into today's game in Detroit, the Royals are looking for their third straight win on opening day. Remember Carlos Beltran's heroics on opening day last season? Who can forget, huh? I nearly lost my voice during the first game of the season.

I'm anxious to see Mark Teahen in his major league debut. Baird has expressed concerns about Teahen's ability to cope with major league pitching, but when he decided to let Randa sign elsewhere (a bad idea in my opinion) and go with Chris Truby, he set himself up for this. Truby's season-ending injury during spring training meant that we had little choice but to put Teahen in the line up. Hopefully he can stay on the major league roster all season.

I'm also anxious to see Jose Lima pitch in his first game back with the Royals. This is his first opening day start of his career. Were his last two seasons a fluke (8-1 with the Royals in 2003, 13-5 with the Dodgers in 2004)? I guess we'll find out as the 2005 season progresses.