GAME 1 - March 31: Opening Night

San Diego 4, Houston 0

Word for the Day: Inauspicious. Not auspicious, boding ill, unfortunate.

Everything did not go as planned for the Astros last night. Actually, very little went as planned. Jake Peavy won his trashtalk battle against hunting buddy Roy Oswalt, shutting down the Astros bats, as the Padres peppered Oswalt with hits. Then Peavy rubbed his nose in it, taking personal responsibility for half of the Padres' RBIs. Meanwhile, the Astros' anticipated lovefest with the bat was put on hold, as the big boys - Pence, Berkman, and Lee - together batted .000.

Fan-In-Exile Motto #2: There's always something to like in a game. (#1 is "It's not over till it's over.") Michael Bourn, acquired in the off-season for his speed, showed it off last night, getting on base twice (single, BB) and zipping off to second both time for his first 2 steals of the season. His speed also showed on an amazing running catch in center field in the 6th inning, saving the Astros at least 2 extra Padre's runs.

More to like: Miguel Tejada, a risky and expensive off-season trade, made his case on Opening Night by going 2 for 4 (single, double), accounting for half of the Astros' hits.

The Bullpen (last year's woe) also accounted well for itself. Dave Borkowski pitched himself (and Oswalt) out of trouble in the 6th, loading the bases with one out, but not allowing any runs to score. New guys Wesley Wright and Geoff Geary put up perfect relief lines. Brian Moehler, on the other hand, gave up 2 hits and a dreaded walk in 2/3 of an inning, allowing another Padre run to score.

Fashion Statement: The Astros wore the red road jerseys. Berkman has apparently abandoned the huge muttonchops that had infested his cheeks at Spring Training.

Fanning-in-Exile: It's not always being a Fan in Exile. I am a prisoner of the wiles of mlb.tv, and the victim of the dreaded Nationally Televised Game blackout. So I went into last night's game (broadcast on ESPN2) expecting to only being able to get the audio broadcast. With a starting time of 10:05 PM, and not owning a TV (let alone cable), I wasn't really in a position to ask one of my friends to invite me over. Happily, I was surprised to find that the game was not blocked, and I got to watch the Astros loss live. Unfortunately - and this is my biggest dissatisfaction with mlb.tv - I don't get to choose which team's broadcast I get to see. Of course, it was the Other Guys'.