Crisp.

A lot of things jumped out at me during the final minutes leading up to the first pitch on Monday, many of which I'll get to shortly, but not among them was the thought that as a few dozen men in Indians uniforms lined the chalk between third base and home plate for the pregame introductions, only one of them would get the chance to trace those same steps during the game. After Kevin Millwood needed 19 pitches to get to the dugout for the home half of the first inning (the first 18 of which produced only one out), that possibility was the furthest thing from my mind. Here's the thing about Millwood. He's not a classic ace, never has been. He doesn't miss a ton of bats. He gives up lots of base hits. He doesn't have overpowering stuff. But the stuff is good enough, and belonging to a pitcher as tough mentally as Millwood, there will be days like yesterday when, even if he isn't what you'd think of as an ace, he's clearly what you want from your number one. From where I sat, even though the fastball had life and the curve was sharp, I'm not sure Millwood had his A game on Monday – but you wouldn't know it from the results. One walk, five hits, all singles, five strikeouts, 113 pitches over seven innings. He seemed to have a little more tempo than usual, and though he regularly fell behind in the count, he battled all day and never let Cleveland find a rhythm. Millwood dictated the pace. He absolutely set a tone. Only one pitcher (Aaron Harang, with 114) threw more pitches than Millwood in what has been 24 games started around the league, and only two (Felix Hernandez and Derek Lowe, eight innings each) went deeper into the game. The message that Nolan Ryan sent to the pitching staff this off-season about conditioning and workload and swagger was delivered by a second messenger on Monday. Millwood told reporters after the game that he and Jarrod Saltalamacchia were in sync all day. Saltalamacchia was in sync at the plate as well. A career .199/.249/.304 hitter against lefthanders coming into the game, after his first at-bat he was a career 1.000/1.000/1.000 hitter against lefthanders who won the 2008 Cy Young Award. With Cliff Lee scuffling a bit in the second inning, starting Saltalamacchia off with a pitch outside the zone to make it eight balls and eight strikes for the frame, the 23-year-old catcher jumped on the next pitch and shot it the other way to right field, scoring Hank Blalock and Marlon Byrd to open the game's scoring. Six innings later, batting from the left side with righthander Jensen Lewis on the mound, Saltalamacchia destroyed a 2-1 pitch – again going the other way – driving a ball on a line over the fence just left of center. His last home run was on June 3. Off of Jensen Lewis. The impressive 4-6-3 double play that Elvis Andrus turned in to finish the top half of the first not only gave us a glimpse of his fluid quickness around the bag but also gave the 20-year-old an opportunity to get involved before his first at-bat, which you had to like. When he stepped to the plate in the bottom of the second, I thought back three years to Ian Kinsler's first big league at-bat, when he faced Curt Schilling on Opening Day and dumped a single to right field. The difference between Kinsler using the opposite field (at least back in 2006) and Andrus using the opposite field is massive. Kinsler was a dead pull hitter his first two seasons in the league. Andrus is an accomplished opposite-field hitter. Digging in after Saltalamacchia's two-run single, Andrus fouled off Lee's first pitch, watched two offerings miss the zone, spoiled another one, and then put a charge into a fastball up, raking it down the right field line for a double that moved Saltalamacchia to third. They'd both score two pitches later, as Kinsler singled to left center, opening up a 4-0 lead that, even that early, felt like it just might have been enough with Millwood on the hill. For all the pub that Neftali Feliz's arm speed gets, Kinsler's crazy bat speed doesn't get enough. The topspin he naturally has may rob him of a few home runs, but it also turns a bunch of F-7's into doubles. Andrus and Michael Young each made plays that should have you very comfortable with what the left side of the infield will provide for the next hundred years. Millwood's hits allowed would have been higher yesterday if the infield hadn't been realigned. The thing about those two is not going to be their flashiness, but their steadiness, their ability not only to make difficult plays but to make them look routine. Andrus finished his afternoon 1 for 4 with a strikeout but served notice, for those who haven't had the pleasure of watching him play before now, that he's one of those players whose box scores and Rotisserie league value will never come close to matching what he brings to every game. Read the feature on Andrus that D Magazine's Jeff Miller wrote last night. Maybe Blalock got the start against the left-handed Lee rather than Andruw Jones because Blalock was a .400/.455/.800 career hitter against Lee. Or maybe because he'd homered in four out of six home openers. Make that .462/.500/1.000. And five out of seven. I'm not sure what to make of this:

Maybe it was Desi himself. This struck me as something new, and not just the color of the uniforms and the ribbon panels: For years, after the Anthem and the ceremonial first pitch, like clockwork you'd see Young and Kinsler hop onto the stretch of grass between the warning track and the first base line, throwing for three or four minutes, ending with Young hitting Kinsler on what amounted to a sideline out pattern, with Kinsler hauling it in while getting both feet down on the grass just short of the warning track sand, facing the dugout.

But yesterday it was Young throwing with Chris Davis. And Andrus in Young's old spot, throwing with Kinsler. Including the sideline out. Other observations: It occurred to me as Taylor Teagarden jogged out to the first base line for the first big league player introductions of his career, that he might have been on hand to watch a dozen of those in Arlington growing up. Had to be a little surreal. And maybe a little surreal for Omar Vizquel too, as he jogged out seconds later for what might be the final player introductions of his amazing career. Does anyone realize this was Saltalamacchia's first big league Opening Day, too? Not just his first Opening Day start. His first Opening Day. I'm digging the ribbon panels and how they're being used. Especially during hitter intros. Who do you think had the task of leading the team out of the dugout to take the field? The "fourth outfielder." You watch this team often enough, read enough quotes, pay attention to how the players go about their business, and key in from time to time on how Marlon Byrd simply carries himself, you understand why the 31-year-old's importance to this team goes beyond what he does with the bat and the glove. The left field data panel (just under the Diamond Club) looks great (particularly the pitch count, broken down by balls and strikes). It really pops. But somewhere on that display we need the hitter's balls-and-strikes count posted, too. The only place I could find the count was on the right field video board, and not very prominently displayed. The left field scoreboard: the amount (and timeliness) of information you get on out-of-town games in progress is great. The batter-against-pitcher lifetime numbers, also great. I've now seen a lot of photo galleries from the Ballpark yesterday. The best may be Joe Siegler's. Check it out. Good crowd, too. There was a moment in the Indians seventh when most of the nearly 50,000 fans got to their feet – without any scoreboard prompting – to get behind Millwood as he tried to maintain a shutout with two outs in the inning. The buzz in the building yesterday was different. The last time I felt the same kind of wire-to-wire electricity in Rangers Ballpark (not counting snapshot moments like last year's walkoffs against the Angels and Yankees) was September 2004. The two new rows of seats behind the plate and brick façade made their first play of the year, robbing Cleveland catcher Kelly Shoppach of a full-count F-2 with Young up in the bottom of the second. Young walked on the next pitch. That summertime home field advantage that we have with the Rangers bullpen getting lots of daytime shade and the visitors' pen baked in the sun was reversed yesterday. It was uncomfortably cold in the shade. The wall advertisement for The Dump needs to be moved from in front of the Rangers bullpen to another part of the fence. Love the return of the red. Love it. Tuffy Rhodes. Felipe Lopez. I remember hearing, either last year or the year before that, that there were relievers in our bullpen who actually didn't want the ball. Who were hoping when the bullpen phone rang that their name wasn't spoken. Jason Jennings had exactly the opposite look yesterday as he warmed in the seventh. I like the veteran leadership and looseness that Eddie Guardado brings, and the swagger that Frankie Francisco and C.J. Wilson add, but I think we're going to benefit in a big way from Jennings and Scott Feldman sitting in those chairs that peek over the right center field fence. Aside from the ability they'll have to save wear on the bullpen on nights that the starters don't go deep, those are two guys who want the ball, have had success as starting pitchers, and, I bet, will throw down some infectious workhorse attitude. I heard Ryan say in a radio interview before the game that he'd like to see Derek Holland and Neftali Feliz eased the big leagues this year in the Rangers bullpen. Interesting. There's a 95 percent chance you've been pronouncing Feliz's first name wrong. If for no other reason than that, pay attention to the Newberg Report Feliz feature that will run on the video board later during this series. Not sure if it will always run after the top of the second, but that's when yesterday's Justin Smoak package ran. Frank Catalanotto cleared waivers and was officially released. He'll find work soon. Texas released righthanders Kendy Batista, Josh Giles, and Alfredo Gonzalez and outfielder Grant Gerrard. Thwarted in its effort to outright Joe Koshansky, Texas signed former Atlanta first baseman Scott Thorman to play for Oklahoma City. The 27-year-old is a lifetime .273/.334/.454 minor league hitter, with 415 big league at-bats that came in 2006 and 2007 with the Braves (.222/.260/.407). Jimmy Gobble signed a minor league deal with the White Sox. Brad Wilkerson accepted an assignment to Boston's AAA club in Pawtucket. Laynce Nix and Danny Ray Herrera made the Reds roster. Jesse Chavez and Edwin Moreno made the Pirates and Padres bullpens, respectively. Ryan Roberts earned a spot on the Diamondbacks bench, and Andres Torres is a backup outfielder for the Giants. Pittsburgh released lefthander Daniel Haigwood. Florida released first baseman Phillip Hawke. The Windy City ThunderBolts of the independent Frontier League signed catcher Brandon Harrigan. The Kalamazoo Kings of the same league signed infielder Kyle Higgins. The Winnipeg Goldeyes of the independent Northern League signed righthander Jordan Stewart. If you're on the mailing list, you got Scott Lucas's flashes yesterday detailing the full Oklahoma City and Hickory rosters. Frisco and Bakersfield to follow. Wilson needed 10 pitches to get through a quiet eighth, Francisco 11 to close it out in the ninth, each retiring the side in order. If we get the Good C.J. and the Good Frankie this year, that's huge. Wilson had this to say after the game, assessing what Millwood had done to the Indians' lineup: "By the time Frankie and I got out there, they were demoralized." I hope Ben Sheets was able to take some time out from his rehab work down the road to watch that. One game doesn't make a month, of course, but Millwood and the defense behind him and the offense supporting him set a tone yesterday. Everything about that game was as crisp as the weather. As a fan, I hate baseball off-days, but this one's going to feel pretty good. The Rangers acknowledge that getting out of the gate fast takes on added importance this year, for a number of reasons, and yesterday seemed like somewhat of a statement win, if there can be one of those with 161 to go. =========================================================== To join the free Newberg Report mailing list so you can get e-mail deliveries of every edition of the newsletter, daily minor league game recaps, and frequent Newberg Report News Flashes, go to www.newbergreport.com and click the "Mailing List" link on the top menu bar. (c) Jamey Newberg http://www.newbergreport.com If you want to be removed from this list, please e-mail me at newbergreport@sbcglobal.net