With Johan Santana and Stephen Strasburg facing off today, the player that in my mind had the most to prove was Santana. Strasburg is going to be nasty. He proved in September last year and that was the indiciation on Opening Day as well. His teammate Jordan Zimmermann came back just fine from the exact same rehab plan from the exact same surgery. Santana's situation has less precedent and did not come with a September showcase. So while Strasburg was dominant for a second outing in two tries, the bigger story here was Santana. 

Santana hit 90 MPH on just one occassion. It was a far cry from the 93 MPH he would average in his prime with Minnesota, but the results through 10 innings are favorable nonetheless. Santana has struck out 13 in just 10 innings - he struck out 4 in a row at one point today. He threw just 99 pitches, but it's important to note that Terry Collins let him come out for the sixth inning. Here are some other notes from around the league:

And there goes the Met's perfect season. I make no secret of who my favorite team is, so keep that in mind when I go through player ranks and pitching match ups and whatnot. In any case, last night was a double whammy for fans of the orange and blue, in that not only are we no longer tied for first place in all of baseball, but David Wright has a broken pinkie, has the finger in a splint, and may be headed for the DL. Disastrous for not only the real baseball team, but fake teams everywhere, as Wright was off to one of the hotter starts in baseball. If you have the space, you can make a preemptive move and pick up a replacement if your roster will allow you to do so, but others may not be so lucky and could have to wait for the DL-15 label to be officially applied to him. Potential band-aids for now could be Chipper Jones (owned in 31% of Yahoo! leagues), Chase Headley (30%), Chris Davis (7%), Mike Aviles (48%) and Chone Figgens (34%). If I had to give you an order of guys to target from that last, I would go Figgens, Jones, Aviles, Headly, Davis. Figgens only gets the nod over Chipper because of the steals and roster flexibility. 

Hey all! Work is crazy today so I don't have quite as much time as I would like to delve into the notes. We'll be going quick like a fox today and then run through tonight's pitching matchups.

• Tommy Milone didn't get the K's like he did in the minors last night, but he made it through 8 IP in his debut giving up 3 hits and walking 3, without allowing a run. We always like it when a pitcher can get a WHIP below 1 in games. 
• Henderson Alvarez, one of my favorite sleepers this year also had a strong debut going 6 inngs, giving up 1 run on 4 hits and a walk while striking out 2. 
• Omar Infante had a 2 HR day. We all saw that coming...
• Despite fanning 9 Marlins, Cole Hammels only made it through 5.1 innings and gave up 8 H's and 3 earned. No walks through.
• Sergio Santos blew his 2nd save of the season.
• David Freese continued his torrid start, picking up another HR and 2 more RBI to give him 8 on the year. He is batting .417 now. Rafael Furcal had an 0-for-4 night to drop his avg to .435
• Yu Darvish gave up 4 runs in the first inning but still got the W in his first MLB game. He was really shaky throwing his first 6 pitches, all fastballs, for balls. The Texas offense backed him though with HR's from Nelson Cruz, Mitch Moreland, Josh Hamilton and Ian Kinsler.
• My streak is back up to 2 in Beat The Streak with yesterday's Josh Hamilton/David Wright double down. Tonight I'll double again with Ryan Braun vs. Paul Maholm and Matt Holliday vs. Mike Leake.

There were some fireworks from notable prospects playing in the Pacific Coast League.  On the bump, a Mariners farm hand turned heads in his Double-A Southern League debut.  Meanwhile, in the low-minors, a Twins youngster found the seats twice in a High-A Midwest League contest.  no comments

What is up with the closers this year? I was psyched to see Alfredo Aceves get the closing gig in Boston if only for the fact that he has both SP/RP eligibility, then he promptly goes ahead and gives up 4 hits and 3 earned across two appearances without recording an out. His ERA and WHIP (which coincidentally are tied to my head to head week 1 performances) were infinity. He's been dumped, and I don't care. I'll use his roster spot to pick up two start pitchers each week. Melancon hasn't done much better. In fact lets look at the relief pitchers that are most commonly rostered who have blown saves or taken a loss so far this year...

Sergio Santos, Chris Perez, Heath Bell, Jose Valverde, Carlos Marmol, Mark Melancon, Kery Wood,  Joe Nathan, Mariano Rivera... there are probably others, but I just caught those names with a quick glance. How about the pitchers that have been reliable this year?

Frank Francisco (3 saves!), Jim Johnson, Fernando Rodney, Brett Myers, Jonathan Broxton. 

I know it's early and I'm not drawing any conclusions from these lists. The names on either one could flip flop at a moments notice. Chasing saves is a volatile practice gamers. It takes nerves of steel, ice in your veins, bravery in the face of danger...

I hope you ate your Wheaties.

While most of the baseball world's attention is on the majors, the minor league season is under way as well. Some of the best prospects are already off to a hot start and showing why they are held in such high regard.  Not all news is good news in the minors, though, as one of the top prospects in the Nationals organization had to be helped off the field in his second game of the season.

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The St. Louis Cardinals decided to let Albert Pujols walk in free agency and the move is paying off. The defending champions are off to a 2-0 start and their "great" first baseman is hitless in his new home.

Ok maybe I'm jumping the gun a little. Pujols lined out in his first Angels at-bat, but you can sense his impact to the culture and atmosphere around the whole Angels team. And the Cardinals are just a good team. I don't think anyone expects them to run away from the Brewers and Reds, but they have the right mix of veterans and youth to make another push toward the playoffs. Here are some other nuggets from the last 24 hours to consider.

• The man that played first base for the Angels last season was across the diamond for the first time in his career last night and made an error on a very routine play on his very first chance of the game. Mark Trumbo is just one of several Angels that could be a movable part throughout the season. What the team does to give Albert Callaspo (starter last year), Bobby Abreu (starter his whole career), and even Mike Trout (already raking one game into minor league season) at-bats will be interesting to see.
• Andre Ethier continued where he left off in Spring Training last night by belting two extra base hits. He is in a contract year and has said he wants to stay with the Dodgers. It will be the first test for the new ownership group. 
• For those managers that have a coin flip of a decision to make on who to start the wind will be blowing out today at Wrigley Field.
• J.P. Arencibia is back in the Blue Jays lineup after catching 16 inning on Opening Day. Not exactly shocking given that he had a day off inbetween. 
• The teams that are in the running for Roy Oswalt include the Cardinals, Angels, and Red Sox. The Red Sox would have money to spend according to Larry Lucchino. Signing Oswalt would enable the Sox to send Daniel Bard back to the bullpen where they know he can be successful and where they need someone that they know will be successful. Alfredo Aceves was valuable last year in long relief - who knows if he can handle the role the Red Sox have for him right now.
• Jorge De La Rosa threw a 45-pitch simulated game as he tries to make his comeback to the mound.