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Top 9th:
That's it for my blog, guys. I hope you enjoyed it, and we'll be looking forward to a great season for the Mets and a great season here at Crosstown Rivals.
Let's Go Mets!

Bottom 8th:
VALENTIN. TO REYES. TO DELGADO. boom. double play.
Uh-oh. Joe Smith just walked Pujols... was this the right time for Willie to give him his MLB debut?
Here comes AARON HEILMAN and his GAME FACE. Let's pray.

Bottom 7th:
Glavine's out, Feliciano's in. Let's see if the Mets bullpen can hold the lead.

Top 6th:
-Reyes looks like he's really hustling. NOT.

Bottom 5th:
-Glavine's looking great... so are 'Tin and Reyes in the field. Only four more innings.

Top 5th:
Hmm... I'm hoping for a more exciting inning than that. Moises looked pretty bad on that curve.

End Bottom 4th:
-Glavine just dropped that filthy change on Preston Wilson. Am I allowed to love a ton of things about this game? I do.
-Our ace looks better than Chris Carpenter... I'm tired of hearing about how great Dave Duncan is. Talk about the Jacket.
-Odds on whether or not they will ask La Russa about his DWI rap? What about no chance in hell?

End Top 4th:
-More love for the team. They're getting the pen cranking. On an aside, wouldn't you love to go up to Josh Hancock and ask him for his John Hancock? I think that would bother him.
-Carlos Delgado looked like vintage rookie Jose Reyes on that curve in the dirt. Ooph.

Middle Top 4th:
-Good job by Green and 'Tin there. Maybe they'll become a rhyming one-two punch.
-It's funny to listen to these guys speculate about Willie calling a squeeze; any Mets fan/broadcaster would know that Willie never calls squeeze plays. He will, however, bring Shingo Takatsu in during a tie game.
-Boy, it sure didn't look like Chris Carpenter was pitching around Reyes there. At all.
-Hmm... watching this Lo Duca at-bat, maybe CC is losing it. I have faith in the Duck. You must, as well. BOOM. DUCK.
-And here comes Beltran.

End Bottom 3rd:
-So-Tag didn't look so hot.
-I thought Kennedy had some Jack there, but uh, thankfully that wall's pretty close.
-That was an embarrassing squeeze play. I hate Tony La Russa and his squeeze plays, and I hate that horrible bunt. Duck and D-Wright handled it well.
-Glavine showed a lot of resilience in getting out of that jam there. 1/3 of the way there, he's at a very managable 38 pitches.

End Top 3rd:
-Wow... did anyone think that Tom Glavine would outhit Jose Reyes on the season? I just adore small sample sizes.
-Hmm, Reyes didn't look so good there. One could even say he was punk('d).
-I hate Scott Rolen and the defensive acclaim that invariably follows him around everywhere. It really took a lot of Gold Glove-style brilliance to know that an aged pitcher was running from first base. Oh, Scott Rolen, could you please teach me in your art of judging how slow people are?
-Beltran's blast looked fair, initially. If he can do a little more of that, but keep 'em fair, can we top 41 jacks this year? Probably. Maybe Carpenter got a little angry on that one, with the pitch nowhere near the strike zone.
-Part of me has to feel sorry for So Taguchi on that one, but it was one hell of a shot. I thought it was gone, but a two-run double isn't all that bad.
-Boo, Pujols. Nice hand.

End Bottom 2nd:
-Does Jose Reyes have the year's first Web Gem? I love it.
-Do we still have to face Yadier, after last year? I'm not sure I can get through an at-bat without cursing.
-And Tom Glavine notches a strikeout on the change. I love that, too. Here's a serious question: Is it possible that Edmonds has been rushed back from a severe injury a little too soon? He didn't play much at all this spring, and he's already got the natural fade of age on him.

End Top 2nd:
-Already my beloved Metsies are tearing at my heartstrings... here's a question. Who put the money on Moises Alou and Shawn Green having the Mets' first two hits (and Moises being the first to take an extra base)?
-Also... this is two straight regular season at-bats for Valentin without being clutch. Is it too late to bring Kaz Matsui back?

End Bottom 1st:
-Look at David Eckstein grit out that hit. All grit, hustle, etc.
-I thought Wright wouldn't have that ball on the short hop, but... whew.
-Okay, well, at least Pujols has been kept in check. I would say that's the key to winning, but that's obvious.

End Top 1st:
-Tragic. Reyes' batting average has now dropped 300 points from last year.
-Duck's has fallen 318. Two weak groundouts on the game.
-I thought Beltran was safe...

*Only 24 more outs for Carpenter to get the Opening Day perfect game!

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It's 4:33 P.M. on the East Coast.

I'm liveblogging the game tonight. I hope you will join me.

See you at 8.

Happy Opening Day!

EDIT: I'll be returning with series previews throughout the season, but it's too late to cover this one. Oops.

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