Matsui, Glavine, Piazza Start Off In Style



I think Russ Ortiz should blame the jet-lag after the Japan trip. I'm well aware that neither he or the Braves went to Japan, but he could always say that he got empathy-lag after hearing so much about how it would fuck up the Yankees.

From yesterday's New York Daily News :

Matsui recalled his first at-bat for the Seibu Lions in 1995, a base hit that scored a run. He will lead off tonight's game, making an RBI difficult, but not impossible. Told through an interpreter he could duplicate the RBI feat with a leadoff homer, he said in perfect English: "No chance."

Kazuo Matsu's MLB debut (a home run on the first pitch he saw, two doubles, 3 RBI's) has to rank as one of the more dramatic --- certainly beats Rick Burleson's 3 errors. And to repeat what I said earlier, this from a guy who looked so totally overmatched in spring training. Perhaps he was faking it?




The new, fully flexible Mike Piazza hit his first home run in something like a million regular season at bats...and he called a decent game, too. Save for a rocky first inning, Tom Glavine was dominant, retiring 15 out of 17 at one stretch.

I'd say something about Julio Franco being the George Blanda of baseball, except you can't wheel Franco out for field goals. Any team that has Larry and Andruw-with-a-"U" Jones in the lineup has a chance to contend, but this looks like the weakest Braves squad in years.

Posted: Wed - April 7, 2004 at 11:36 AM      

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