ARLINGTON — If the Texas Rangers can take solace in anything that happened on Opening Day, it’s the knowledge that the rampage at the Alamo was not the end but only the beginning.
And in loss one in game No. 1 of 162, a 12-4 defeat to the Chicago Cubs, there was nothing of the sort of hysteria that would follow, say, an announcement that Starbucks had poured its last Frappuccino.
As optimist Hunter Pence reminded, the eventual World Series champion lost their opener a year ago, and the zealots wanted to hang the new manager by his toenails from a street lamp on Yawkey Way or whatever they’re calling it these days.
No one, of course, believes these Rangers are Boston Red Sox material, but Thursday was merely the beginning – granted, lingering in some minds of the peptimists (a cross between a pessimist and optimist) was the thought of the beginning of what.
One beginning was the beginning of the end of Globe Life Park in Arlington, the august grande dame about to be put out to pasture at the tender age of 25. She hosted her last Opening Day, providing the hospitality we’re all accustomed to.
There were many other firsts in this beginning, some not so memorable.
Gov. Greg Abbott threw out the first pitch. If we had known at the time how this was all going to go down, Rangers officials might have held him for middle relief. He threw a little wide to former Arlington Mayor Richard Greene, but otherwise received high grades from the critics.
The governor, it was believed by the head of the press box think tank, was the second Texas state executive to toss out a first pitch at a Rangers game. Rick Perry was the other. Someone thought Mark White might have in the 1980s, but that seemed wildly illogical considering that then-owner Eddie Chiles inviting a Democrat for the ceremonial occasion was tantamount to Rosie O’Donnell inviting Donald Trump to dinner.
In those earlier days, it also wasn’t good politics to affiliate with the Rangers.
The first third baseman to handle a fielding attempt since Adrian Beltre was Asdrubal Cabrera, who fielded Javier Baez’s grounder and threw across the diamond to Ronald Guzman for the third out of the first. Cabrera followed that up with a backhanded glove in the second, which he also handled successfully, helped along by a good dig by Guzman at first.
This game is easy.
The first shift put on by an opponent was against Rougned Odor, who handled it by striking out swinging.
The game was Chris Woodward’s first as Rangers manager.
His Fitbit worked overtime as he walked back and forth from the dugout to the pitcher’s mound trying to tourniquet the hemophiliac that was the fifth and sixth innings, which could have inspired a new promotion, a fifth for the fifth. That’s the way Billy Martin would’ve handled it.
Mike Minor made his first career Opening Day start and all was going well until the Cubs’ six-run fifth, which he started by plunking David Bote on the first pitch. He lost all of his control after that.
He wasn’t the only one to have issues with control. Minor and a host of relievers walked seven hitters between the fifth and the seventh innings. Earl Weaver would have sent the batboy for another pack of cigarettes.
After Minor hit Bote, he gave up consecutive hits to Ben Zobrist, Jason Heyward and a double to Mark Zagunis. Woodward made his first trip to the mound.
“It just seemed he was missing more the middle of the plate. I felt like he was throwing the ball really well going into that inning. A leadoff hit-by-pitch with the curveball just kind of, I wouldn’t say derailed him, but started an inning that wouldn’t otherwise be started if he executed some pitches against him. That put him behind the 8-ball.”
At that point, the Cubs started coming over the walls.
Jesse Chavez got the call in relief of Minor and brought his glove and a gas can with him. Baez dumped Chavez’s first pitch of the season into the Rangers’ bullpen in right-center field for a three-run home run. Lefty Kyle Bird made his major-league debut, and his first pitch was a ball as was his second, third and fourth pitches. The walk drove in the Cubs’ ninth run.
“As I’ve gotten older, it’s easier for me to move on because I know it’s a long season,” Minor said, looking at the bright side of a pitching line that read 42/3 innings, five hits, six runs – all earned – two walks, six strikeouts and a home run, Baez’s first of the game in the fourth.
“It doesn’t feel good on Opening Day to get beat that bad, but it doesn’t deter our confidence because everybody here knows it’s a long season.”
He also undoubtedly feels better than William Travis and Davy Crockett, or the guy who washed down one of those 2-pound chicken strips with eight beers.
It’s on to game two and a meeting with Yu Darvish on Saturday.
No one who puts hand to plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of baseball, it is said, I think.
