Ouch, that's gotta hurt!

Have you ever had a bad day? Well, we know Daniel Powter has, but what about you? Ever had a bad sports day? Mike has, and Sunday might have taken the cake.

Let's start from the beginning.


The day started at about 1 p.m., when Mike watched his favorite team's "ace," Johan Santana, give up five runs in the first three innings to the lowly Washington Nationals.

Then, at 3 p.m., he had to watch an excruciating hockey game, the equivalent of a Game 7: Rangers vs. Flyers for a shot at the playoffs. The game went to overtime and the Rangers lost in a shootout. Mike's day got worse.

And to cap it off, he was in a back-and-forth fantasy baseball battle with Dave. Mike stressed all week about how pumped he was for opening week and how important it was for him to win.

Tim Lincecum threw a great game, giving him a chance. It seemed like he would turn a 10-8 loss into a 9-9 tie. But then Trevor Hoffman took the mound.

Two outs, and all was looking good. Ut oh. Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday hit back-to-back homers, losing WHIP by 0.01 for Mike. And, in essence, the matchup.

"Losing that chance for the tie hurts us a little," Mike said. "We wanted to come out strong in Week 1, and I thought we did. Our hitting lived up to our expectations, and Tim's performance was huge. Hoffman had an up-and-down week, and we aren't here to fault him for the L, just looking forward to him helping us get W's throughout the season."

It had to bring down team morale, though, right?

"Mood was a little somber (in the clubhouse)," Mike said. "Guys worked their tails off all week, and we knew it. Just something that will help us grow as a team down the road."

OK, so Mike's saying the correct things and doesn't appear to be panicking. But still, that was a rough day, right?

Twice, I questioned Mike about the bad losses from the Mets and Rangers. Twice, he refused comment.

"The heartbreaking loss to Mo Vaughn did hurt," Mike said. "But we know what we have to do from there. I will not comment on the teams I am not involved with."

I tried one more time.

"I'm here to help my team succeed," Mike said. "If you want to write a Rangers article, you can contact Glen Sather."
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That's a wrap: Opening week in the books

Well, it was quite an opening week in the Keeper League.

We had some interesting pickups, some tough managerial decisions, and some late-inning drama. As we look back on the opening week, here are the top three storylines.


1) Trevor Hoffman's blowup leads to a loss for Mike
Two outs, a three-run lead, and Trevor Hoffman can't get the job done. He blows the save, and more importantly, loses WHIP by 0.01 for Mike. Brutal. More on this in a later post Monday.

2) Adam shocks Jack
Clearly motivated by the lack of preseason respect, Adam made a statement this week by crushing Jack 13-6. "This is the year we prove something and make something of ourselves," Adam said, adding that expectations for his squad are at the highest they've ever been.

3) Joe exacts a small measure of revenge
Surely, Bob still has bragging rights with a victory over Joe in last season's championship. But Joe got a small bit of revenge by beating Bob to start this season.
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