First in an occasional series

Game 1: Orioles 4, Athletics 0

During the entire winter, Orioles fans chanted for one thing: pitchers. There were plenty of good options out there, highlighted by Tim Hudson. Yet the GM duo chose to upgrade the relieving corps and bring in Sammy Sosa to an already powerful hitting lineup.

You can't judge a season by its first game, but if you could, the Orioles may end up doing okay, possibly ending its consecutive losing season streak at 6. Rodrigo Lopez pitched a strong 6 innings and Manager Lee Mazzilli brought in his closing lineup of Steve Kline, Jorge Julio and B.J. Ryan to close the deal, shutting out the A's on Opening Day. Under pitching coach Ray Miller, the O's did show improvement in the last half of 2004 and we may just be seeing a continuation of that work.

Even without a home run from its power hitters, the O's offense was strong, led by Sosa's 2 hits and a home run by Luis Matos. Something to keep an eye on is Javy Lopez's exit in the 7th inning, giving way to Geronimo Gil. Either Kline prefers Gil, Kline doesn't prefer Javy, or something is amiss. It couldn't be exhaustion...it's opening day! (Update: It was something amiss. The official line is "lower back stiffness". I just hope this doesn't plague him for the rest of the season.)

All in all, a strong start.