One down, 161 to go

The Good:

• Penny:  "I was a little shaky early, and didn't have the command I would like, but the guys picked me up today," he said after it was done.  Both Joe Torre and Russell Martin agreed that out of the gate, Penny's location, particularly with his fastball, wasn't particularly good.  But after allowing a leadoff walk to Brian Bocock in the third, Penny found the good stuff and didn't allow another baserunner until the seventh.  Penny has a history of strong first halves, and Dodger fans are hoping that trend continues this year... along with an equally dominating second half to even things out.  That would be gangbusters.
• Rafael Furcal: Since he started the '07 season hurt and never healed up properly, it was easy to forget the incredibly positive influence a healthy Furcal can have on the Dodgers, in the lineup and on the field.  Furcal keyed a three run first with a ground rule double down the left field line, coming around to score on a Matt Kemp single, giving everyone a quick reminder of what was missing last season.  On the day, Raffy was 3-4 with an RBI, and made a great play up the middle to rob Jose Castillo of a hit in the fifth.  Talk about the "clubhouse rift," the dropoff in pitching in the second half, and a lack of production from different guys in the lineup, but if you're making a list of things that went wrong last year, Furcal's injury needs to be near the top. 
• Jeff Kent: 2-3 with a homer and two RBIs.  He came out of the game in the top of the seventh, but just to get some rest.  While Kent says he's feeling fine, they're not going to push him unnecessarily.  With a five run lead, there was wiggle room to let him finish the day on the bench. Remember, because of his hamstring injury, Kent barely had a Spring Training.
• Blake DeWitt: Singled in his first Major League at bat (I think he should have retired, preserving a career 1.000 BA), reached base three times in total, and had an incident free day at third.  Sounds like a solid debut to me.

The Bad:  It was a bright, sunshiny day with a full house, cool breezes, surprisingly ripe honeydew melon in the press box, and a 5-0 shutout win for the Dodgers.  Not much to complain about.  Sure, if in a couple weeks Andre Ethier and Russell Martin are still batting .000 we can talk, but for today, at least, I'll let it slide.   

Notes: It was a little tough to get whatever juicy nuggets were to be had when the game was over both because of the sizable media throng on hand for Opening Day and the fact that Joe Torre has moved his office into the closetesque space once occupied by Walter Alston.  There's really not much room for media in there.  The large office in which Tommy and Grady held court (Tommy more than Grady) is now used by the coaching staff. 

• Despite the lack of a save situation, Torre had Takashi Saito pitch the ninth.  A smattering of nagging injuries kept Saito from piling up a regular Spring Training workload, so he's still a little behind.  Torre was happy with Saito's performance.  "I thought the day out there wouldn't hurt him, and that he was really sharp today.  I was really pleased," Torre said.
• After the game, I noticed in the stall next to Russell Martin's locker were his newly acquired Silver Slugger and Gold Glove awards.  First of all, I've never seen either one of those things up close before, and they're a hell of a lot cooler than anything I've ever won, and second, it must be fun to suit up for a game knowing when it's over, you'll need to ask a clubbie for some help to get two giant pieces of hardware back to the car.  "I'm going to bring those home and put them somewhere.  I don't know where," he said.  Then he looked at them and smiled.  "They are kinda sweet.  They're nice, man.  Seriously." 
• Vegas Style Prop Bet of the Day, suggested by a fellow writer:  First to 90, Giants losses or Scott Proctor appearances?
• Torre had on his desk a short note from his friend (and free agent) Billy Crystal: "We eat, we win!"  An inside joke for the two of them, close friends who get together for a meal whenever the opportunity allows.  They eat together, so goes the joke, they go out and win.  Now, Torre laughed, "If we just talk about eating, we win."  It might not seem that funny when written down, but there's a good chance I'm not reaching the essence of the line, nor the meaning it has between them.  But when the manager has a note from Billy Crystal on the desk, it makes the postgame, even if the deets aren't spot on.
• Torre talked after the game about the Dodgers trying to make pitchers work more, something the Yankees have done with great success over the years.  Today, at least, that's what the Dodgers did.  When Barry Zito left the game after the fifth, he had already thrown 87 pitches. 
• Admittedly moved by the pregame ceremonies, Torre did say one thing was missing: "I wish Don Zimmer would have been here.  There wasn't a day that went by that he didn't talk about the Dodgers."

AUDIO:

• Blake DeWitt: Download blake_dewitt_3.31 Opening Day.mp3
• Matt Kemp: Download matt_kemp_3.31 Opening Day.mp3
• Russell Martin: Download russell_martin_3.31 Opening Day.mp3

BK

*Granted, I was at the park by 9:45...