On Deck: It's Opening Day!

On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing matchups

Florida Marlins (0-0) vs. New York Mets (0-0) - 4:10PM Est.

Let me just start off the first On Deck of the season by pointing out that it's extremely difficult to pick only three games on Opening Day. Every game you look at on the schedule is deserving of a spot here today, but I can only pick three. We'll start off in Miami where the Mets look to put the collapse of 2007 behind them starting today, and they'll be turning to the crown jewel of their offseason to get it done. Johan Santana will be making his first start as a member of the Mets, and the Marlins are hoping to spoil the party. Of course, for the Marlins, they're starting a season without Dontrelle Willis on the mound, and Miguel Cabrera at third for the first time since 2005. They still have Hanley Ramirez, though, so not all hope is lost. Taking the ball for the Marlins this afternoon is Mark Hendrickson, who may in fact be the worst Opening Day starter in the history of baseball. Oh, and let's not forget, these two teams got into a bit of a brouhaha during the final days of the season last year. So there may still be some scores to settle out there today.

Seattle Mariners (0-0) vs. Texas Rangers (0-0) - 6:40PM Est.

While Johan Santana will be making his debut for the Mets earlier in the day, Erik Bedard will be making his first start as a Seattle Mariner this evening at SafeCo Field. Things will be a bit different this season for the Mariners. They surprised a lot of people with their 88-74 record in 2007, but they're not going to be able to sneak up on anybody this season. That's why the team traded for a guy like Bedard, they realize if they're going to compete with the Los Angeles Angels, they need more pitching. The Mariners will be hoping that Bedard performs better today than he has been this spring. In nine starts this spring Bedard had an ERA of 8.63. Texas may be just what he needs, though, as Bedard dominated the Rangers last season. He went 2-0 and allowed only two runs while striking out 26 Rangers in 16 innings of work. For the Rangers, they're hoping to be this season's version of the Mariners. Nobody is expecting much from them this season because the Rangers didn't do much to improve themselves this offseason. Their starting rotation was ranked in the bottom third of baseball last season, and they start 2008 with essentially the same exact roster of hurlers. Kevin Millwood gets his third consecutive opening day start for the Rangers.

San Diego Padres (0-0) vs. Houston Astros (0-0)

It had to be a very long offseason for the Padres. After all, they lost the one-game playoff with the Colorado Rockies last October, and then had to watch their division rivals get to the World Series. It's been six months since that game, but the Padres are still waiting for Matt Holliday to touch home plate. Of course, the real reason I chose this game was because of the pitching matchup. Two of my favorite pitchers in baseball will be squaring off tonight at PetCo Park in Cy Young award winning Jake Peavy and Roy Oswalt. Peavy and Oswalt are pretty good friends, the two go hunting together during the off season, and really, why wouldn't they be good friends?. I'm not convinced they aren't the same person. This is Peavy's third consecutive Opening Day start for the Padres, and for Oswalt, it's his franchise record sixth straight Opening Day start.

Everything Else

Tigers vs. Royals 1:05 PM
Yankees vs. Blue Jays 1:05PM - ESPN
Reds vs. Diamondbacks 2:10PM
Cubs vs. Brewers 2:20PM - ESPN2
Orioles vs. Rays 3:05PM
Indians vs. White Sox 3:05PM
Phillies vs. Nationals 3:05PM
Dodgers vs. Giants 4:10PM - ESPN
Cardinals vs. Rockies 4:15PM
Twins vs. Angels 7:05PM - ESPN2
Braves vs. Pirates 7:10PM