National History "X"

"Welcome back...to the same old place that you laughed about."

And what a way to be welcomed back, with a game that has to go down as one of the classic Met openers ever.

You've got Xavier Nady going 4 for 4, albeit an Alfonso Soriano aided 4 for 4, in his Met debut. You say you want X getting hot at the right time, and not at the beginning of spring training? There, you have it. Four hits, four at bats, and one very confused Nationals left fielder who is still jogging after Nady's RBI double in the fourth, and took a route to X's pop fly single which went through Brooklyn.

You've got Paul Lo Duca driving in the first run of the season in his Met debut. So much for any questions about him batting second, right? Too bad most of New York missed it because of a power outage in the production truck which has already produced one of the weirdest moments in television history as SNY started airing a Mets Classic without ever announcing what was going on. And by the time the picture game back, it was 1-0. But who's splitting hairs here?

You have Tommy Two Teeth going six strong...getting in and out of jams but never really giving the impression that he was in any real trouble, as he looked like his 1996 vintage, and not a 40 year old. Much better than his opener in 2003.

Of course, you have a David Wright dinger. Sophomore jinx my ass.

You have the mother of all relay plays in the eighth which was part Cleon Jones, part Rey Ordonez, and a touch of Don Denkinger thrown in for good measure, as Soriano should have scored the tying run on a Ryan Zimmerman double in the eighth off a shaky Aaron Heilman. But the umpire was facing the wrong way and never saw Lo Duca bobble the throw. Meanwhile, the Nationals never argue. They were asleep, as they seemingly were all game long between Soriano's antics in left field, Livan Hernandez's Rumplestiltskin type fielding, and that whole team's general lack of a pulse.

You have Country Time...Billy the Anti-Looper...coming in and getting three straight outs. Of course, the last out was Jose Vidro trying to stretch a single into a double, but what a novel concept...three up and three down from your closer. You mean closers are allowed to do that?

And you have Carlos Beltran going 0 for 4 and getting booed mightily...starting to earn his contract only with his strike to second in the ninth inning to end the game. But you can't have all cheers in Shea Stadium. You have to have some boos just to remind you that you're home...just to remind you that it's baseball season.

Yup, baseball is most definitely back. Welcome.