When MLB released its 2014 schedule and we saw the Texas Rangers were opening the season at home against the Philadelphia Phillies, a few things crossed our minds.
First of all, it would've been cool to have Michael Young return for Opening Day to get a big ol' ovation, but of course, he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers from the Phillies and is now contemplating retirement.
Second, well, it's pretty obvious we could have an epic pitching matchup between Yu Darvish and Cliff Lee, and now at least one of those guys is set in stone to pitch the game.
Ron Washington announced Darvish would be the fifth different Opening Day starter in the past five years, following Scott Feldman, C.J. Wilson, Colby Lewis and Matt Harrison — the past of which suffered season-ending injuries the year they opened things up.
We'll hope that doesn't happen this time around, but a Darvish-Lee pitching matchup would be special on many fronts. Lee was the Rangers' savior in 2010 when he was acquired and put the Rangers over the hump en route to not only winning their first playoff series, but also advancing to the first World Series in club history behind Lee's left arm.
Now, Darvish is coming off a season which saw him finish second in the AL Cy Young voting and is seen as a true, bona fide ace in the league, right up there with Lee.
