I thought that I would peruse a couple of Chicago sites and get their perspective on the opener today between the Tribe and the White Sox, and came across this feature on Mark Buehrle, the left-hander who will take the mound today in chilly, maybe-damp Cleveland and face Our Heroes.
Buehrle loves pitching on Opening Day, as he proved last year in Chicago when he combined with the relief corps to defeat the Indians 6-0.
This will be Buehrle's ninth time being first out of the gate for the Sox. Conversely, Fausto Carmona, the Tribe's starter today, will be making his inaugural Opening Day start.
“It’s like an All-Star appearance,’’ said Buehrle, whose start last year broke Billy Pierce’s franchise record. “A lot of people say it gets old, but I don’t know how it can get old. It’s the one game that’s sold out. It’s sort of like a playoff game, and after that, it goes downhill because no one ever shows up. But it’s going to be a great atmosphere, and I’ll try to get us going on the right foot.”
Can the Indians have something to say this afternoon themselves about how special Opening Day is and make it special?
We will see starting at 3:05 -- or thereabouts.