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| The Rockies made a quick impact, too. When they claimed the N.L. wild card in 1995, their third year of existence, they set a record for an expansion team getting into the postseason, which was broken four years later by Arizona. The Rockies, however, were first-round victoms of Atlanta in 1995.
Things have been slowly disintergrating since. They have suffered through losing seasons six of the last seven years, and have finished last or next to last all seven seasons. The trend won't change in 2005.
The team is still buried under bad contracts that have tied up payroll. But there is hope on the horizon. The bad deals disappear next fall. The only player signed to a multiyear deal past this season is first baseman Todd Helton, who is on board through 2011. |
National League Action |
National League West |
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The Padres started seven of the eight position players who were in the Opening Day lineup last season. The only exception was center fielder Xavier Nady, who homered twice. San Diego lost the season-series to Colorado in each of the last three seasons. Woody Williams became the 10th Padres pitcher to make multiple Opening Day Starts. Randy Jones and Eric Show have four each. Prior to Nady, the last Padre with a multi-homer gave was Phil Nevin on September 13, 2004 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Catch Phil Nevin, Mark Loretta, and Jake Peavy with tickets from tickets.cc. |
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The additions of Moises Alou, Armando Benitez and Mike Matheney filled some key offseason holes for San Francisco, where the future is now. See baseball by the bay with seats from tickets.cc. |
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The Dodgers stormed out of the 2005 gate to a 10-2 start. Travel north on the 5 to Chavez Ravine to see Padres baseball in Los Angeles with tickets from tickets.cc. |
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Arizona opened the season at home for the sixth in their eight-year history. RHP Javier Vazquez is the third pitcher to start an Opening Day for the Diamondbacks, joining Andy Benes and Randy Johnson. OF Luis Gonzalez is only player that also was in the starting lineup on Opening Day last season. It was his franchise-record seventh straight Opening Day start. Former heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali attended the game. He was in town for a charity even that raised 4.7 million Saturday night. Tickets.cc has seats for Bank One Ballpark, a state of the art facility. |
National League Central
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Without Kent and Beltran, and questions looming about Rocket's return, the Astros' nucleus is an aging one that may not get them back to the playoffs. Catch what may be the final year of Roger Clemens live with tickets from tickets.cc. |
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Veteran 3B Jeff Cirillo made his return to Milwaukee after a five-year absence a successful one with a home run in the Brewers' 9-2 triumph over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Cirillo, Milwaukee's all-time franchise leader in batting average (.307), was in Milwaukee's Opening Day lineup from 1996-99. SS J.J. Hardy made his major league debut and became the first Brewer to do so in an Opening Day lineup since Hall of Famer Paul Molitor broke into the major leagues in 1978. Milwaukee ace Ben Sheets is the first pitcher to start four consecutive openers for the Brewers. Seats are available for Miller Park from tickets.cc. |
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The Cubs set a franchise record for runs scored on Opening Day. At 23, Carlos Zambrano became the youngest pitcher to start on Opening Day for the Cubs since Joe Niekro in 1968. It was Zambrano's first Opening Day assignment. Hall of Famer and former Cub Ryne Sandberg threw out the first pitch, kind of. It actually was the first throw because Sandberg, who lives in Arizona, tossed it from second base to his old teammate and current Diamondback announcer Mark Grace, at first base. Tired of missing out on Cubs baseball, get tix from Tickets.cc. |
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The Pirates opened their 2005 campaign against the Milwaukee Brewers without 1B-OF Craig Wilson in the starting lineup. Manager Lloyd McClendon decided to keep the slugger, who led the team with eight home runs this spring, on the bench instead of having him face Brewers ace Ben Sheets. Wilson was hitless in 13 at-bats against Sheets last season, striking out seven times. See the Pirates when visiting beautiful downtown Pittsburgh with seats from Tickets.cc. |
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The Reds are 63-65-1 on Opening Day and have opened at home in 125 of the past 129 seasons. Joe Randa's walkoff homer was the first-ever by a reds player on opening day. The Reds sold 42,794 tickets for the opener, the highest total since moving to Great American Ballpark in 2003. Get your seats from tickets.cc. |
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Strong up the middle in 2004, the Cardinals' success in 2005 hinges on how their new catcher and double-play combination respond. The 2004 National League champions look to make a repeat visit to the World Series. See the action live with tickets.cc. |
National League East
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The New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds met on Opening Day for the second time. Cincinnati won the only other season debut in 1984, when Mario Soto defeated Mike Torrez, 8-1. Kaz Matsui hit a home run in the first inning off Paul Wilson. The Mets have hit at least one homer in 18 of their last 24 opening games. Pedro Martinez made his major league debut against the Reds on September 14, 1992, as a member of the Dodgers. His first big league start was also against the Reds, 16 days later. Martinez became the fourth pitcher with at least 10 strikeouts in 100 games. The other three are Nolan Ryan (215), Randy Johnson (204) and Roger Clemens (108). See games with tix from tickets.cc. |
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The Marlins are hopeful that the return of Al Leiter to South Florida can provide their talented young pitching with the guidance it needs. The Marlins added slugger Carlos Delgado from the Blue Jays. See the 2003 World Series champs with seats from tickets.cc. |
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The Braves showed yet again, with the acquisitions of ace Tim Hudson and closer Dan Kolb, that they're baseball's best at dealing with year-to-year flux. The Braves look to make it 11 straight division titles. Watch the games with premier seats from tickets.cc. |
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Philadelphia lost its home opener last season at Citizens Bank Park, which helped lead to a disappointing 1-6 start. The Phillies went on to have a disappointing season and manager Larry Bowa was fired. Under new manager Charlie Manuel, the Phillies opened this season with a home victory over Washington. It could be a bright omen since the last time the team began a season with a victory at home was 1980, the only year the franchise won the World Series. Seats are available at tickets.cc. |
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The Expos-turned-Nationals hope having a full-time place to call home will produce a more consistent product on the field. The surprising Nationals have steam rolled out of the gates to 1st place in the N.L. East. See the return of baseball in D.C. with tix from Tickets.cc. |
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Jeff Francis was named the Class AA Texas League Pitcher of the Year, putting a cap on an impressive season |
that eventually saw him hold his own in the majors (3-2 5.15 ERA).
His plus command (6.8 K/BB) is his best attribute, as he's able to place all four of his pitches where he wants. He possesses two- and four-seam fastballs in the 86-91-mph range, complementing them with a 78-80-mph curveball, 81-82-mph slurve and 78-80-mph straight changeup. He is consistent with his arm speed and low, three-quarters delivery. |
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Major League Baseball Tix |
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"They said it" - Clint Barmes |
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"He's the type of player you root for. He's a blue-collar shortstop. You have to see him a couple times before you appreciate him, but if you watch you are going to like what you see. He has a little bit of jolt in his bat. He is a nice guy to hit second because he can drive the ball the opposite way and he'll battle pitchers. He's at least adequate defensively, and he just keeps getting better. He picks up tendencies and can move to give himself a better chance at making a play. He's the kind of guy who figures out how to get the job done." |
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