Rain on the Scarecrow

Opening day is here and the weather is not beautiful. We have a steady light rain falling in western Jersey right now; temp is 40. In the Bronx its mostly cloudy and 45 and there's a 60% chance of rain. Rain is actually more annoying than snow. You may recall that in 1996 it snowed during the opener against Kansas City.

Mr. October does March- Reggie Jackson will be throwing out the first pitch today. A great slugger, a Hall of Fame inductee...but he's not Yogi or Whitey. Goose Gossage just got inducted in the Hall so you would think even he might be the one. Reggie probably campaigned for it.

For those of you too young remember, Reggie was, and probably still is, a piece of work. There are lot of people who are rubbed the wrong way by Alex Rodriguez. They feel there is something phony about his personality and/or he tries to please too many people. Well compared to Reggie, A-Rod is a saint.

Reggie played with a huge chip on his shoulder and they only person he tried to please was himself. A great player on the field, a jerk off of it. The ESPN mini-series, "The Bronx is Burning", only gave you a small insight into Reggie's personality.

Steins in the House - All the Steinbrenner boys, George, Hank, and Hal are expected to be in attendance for today's final season opener in "the" Yankee Stadium.

Emotions Running High - Derek Jeter is one of the most calm, cool, and reserved players, but he's expecting today to be very emotional.

"This year will be emotional," Jeter said. "I really don't know what to expect, but you'll take a look around and try to remember as many things as you can.

"This being the last Opening Day in Yankee Stadium, I'm sure people will let it soak in a little bit more. It's going to be a special year."

They say it's your Birthday - It's an extra special day for Chien-Ming Wang. Besides getting the opening day assignment, today is The Wanger's 28th birthday.

"To be the Opening Day starter is the best birthday gift I could have," Wang said yesterday.

Game 1 of 162 - Play Ball!

Speaking of "Rain on the Scarecrow"