Notes from Opening Day

1. Josh Beckett, as I predicted, was excellent, striking out Ichiro three times. Over seven innings, he struck eight, didn't surrender a walk, and allowed just one run on two hits. Forget his uneven 2006 season. Beckett will contend for the Cy this year.

2. Jeff Weaver still stinks up the American League. The Mariners fell for his Derek Lowe-like exceptional post-season performance, and threw $8.3 million at him to be their Number 5 starter. Suddenly Julian Tavarez doesn't look so bad, eh? Weaver's line: 2 IP, 7 H, 7 R (all earned), 2 BB.

3. The much-maligned "bottom four" of the order (Lowell, Varitek, Crisp, Pedroia) showed some life, with Varitek leading the way by reaching base 4 times in 5 at-bats.

4. J.D. Drew is batting .400. Enough already with the big contract. He's a huge upgrade over Trot Nixon (although it does seem weird to see someone new in Trot's position, wearing Trot's number).

4. Dr. Charles Steinberg, orchestrator of familiar Sox fanfare like the predictable giant flag drop and the military flyover, outdid himself by digging up Robert Goulet to sing "The Impossible Dream" as the  '67 Sox were honored prior to the game. One can only hope he didn't hire the 80s one-hit-wonders, The Vapors, to sing before Matsuzaka takes the mound tonight.

5. Was Mike Timlin rusty or is he done? We'll find out over the next two months.

6. Brendan Donnelly thinks he's Jack Bauer, gesturing at Guillen after striking him out and then plunking poor innocent Mojo Jojo, uh, I mean, this guy. But Donnelly and Guillen go way back, so we'll see if this leads to any bench-clearing over the next two days.

7. Quote of the Day: Beckett, remarking on the 14-3 blowout after the game: “We pulled out the whuppin’ stick today a little bit.” Yeah, just a little.