Random Observations: April 1st 2008

Random observations and notes from baseball’s “official” opening day. Including Fukudome, Thome, Bedard & others.

Mop Up Duty favorite Michael Bourn swiped two bags and made a gem of a play in last nights game vs the Padres. Astros manager Cecil Cooper said the following, which is very encouraging:

“Michael played well and swung the bat well and made a great play on the defensive side,” manager Cecil Cooper said. “Let’s just hope that’s the guy we hope he is and we were hoping for when we got him over here.”

Kelly Johnson went out with a leg injury last night. Supposedly this has been bothering him since the spring and he’s listed as day-to-day.

Victor Martinez also suffered a leg injury yesterday and is also day to day.

Jim Thome & Xavier Nady each hit two homeruns on opening day.

Fukudome is now the flavor of the month. My pre-season choice for NL ROY. After patting myself on the back, if you own Fukudome in a fantasy league his trade value is sky high right now.

Bedard shook off a bad spring and battled his way through 5 IP with 4 BB, 5 K, 3 hits and 1 run allowed.

Kevin Kouzmanoff is in the three hole in San Diego. If he stays there for a decent amount of time he’ll have a good shot at driving in 100+ runs in 2008.

Oswalt allowed 11 hits in 5 IP last night. Roy’s K per 9 ratio has dropped in each of the four previous seasons. This is a sign that his stuff may not be what it used to.