Opening Day

It's opening day for baseball!  It's the time when every fan can still have hope that their team will win the World Series.

I'm a Dodgers fan, and they play against their big rivals the San Francisco Giants later today at Dodger Stadium.  I would love for the Dodgers to hand the Giants their first loss of the season, and with Clayton Kershaw on the mound, there is a good chance this will happen. 

I'm cautiously optimistic about the Dodgers this season.  They have a team loaded with talent after the new owners were willing to spend money, but things did not quite gel last season after all the acquisitions.  There is still a question whether the Dodgers have enough chemistry and leadership to win it all, especially since their toughest competitor and the defending World Series Champion is in their own division, the Giants. 

They do have as their starters two former Cy Young winners in Kershaw and new Dodger Zack Greinke, plus Korean sensation Hyun-Jin Ryu and Josh Beckett.  A bunch of other pitchers are vying for the fifth slot.  Their lineup is pretty solid, even with shortstop Hanley Ramirez starting the season on the disabled list.  Carl Crawford is looking to prove that he is still a good player after an awful two years, and Matt Kemp should come back strong from his shoulder surgery.  Adrian Gonzalez and Andre Ethier provide nice power in the middle of the lineup, and let's hope Luis Cruz will continue to improve.  Mark Ellis provides the veteran dependability, and A.J. Ellis is a very patient hitter as well as a great catcher. 

The best part about Dodgers games is still Vin Scully.  The 85-year-old announcer has slowed down in recent years and is now only calling home games and select road games in California and Arizona, but there is nothing like watching Dodger baseball with Scully calling the game.