A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

Interesting contrast of styles in the last night's season opener, as the Mets used their American League-style lineup to bludgeon the World Series champion Cardinals into submission, 6-1.

New York's potent and deep lineup scored six runs by getting hits in bunches; the first five runs scored in two two-out rallies. The Cardinals, on the other hand, stuck with traditional National League "small ball," but their attempts to manufacture runs -- including a failed suicide squeeze and an attempt to score from second on a short single -- didn't amount to much.

One has to wonder if the Busch Stadium grounds crew ultimately cost the Cardinals a run on that squeeze attempt. With one out in the bottom of the third inning and the Cards down 2-0, Adam Kennedy laced a Tom Glavine pitch to the base of the center field wall for a triple. With the pitcher up next, Cards manager Tony LaRussa decided to play for one run, and sent starter Chris Carpenter up to lay one down. Kennedy broke from third. Carpenter got a pitch he could handle. And the ball hit the ground in fair territory inches in front of home plate...

And stopped dead.

Met catcher Paul LoDuca easily fielded the ball and ran Kennedy back towards third, where David Wright tagged the runner. Instead of halving the Mets' lead, the Cards wound up with two outs and a man on first.

The strangest part of the play was the action -- or lack thereof -- of the ball after Carpenter bunted. Ordinarily, you'd expect even the weakest bunt to trickle out towards the infield grass or into foul territory. This one hit the bat, hit the ground, and then stopped. Watching the ESPN broadcast, it appeared that the infield dirt around and in front of the batter's boxes had been significantly watered down -- perhaps as an attempt to slow the Mets' speedy leadoff man Jose Reyes. That might explain Carpenter's ball stopping the way it did; it looked sort of like a baseball dropped into a bowl of chocolate pudding.

Of course, one game does not a season make. While the final score looks like an impressive victory for American League ball in a National League game, the tally could have been a lot closer. With one out in the bottom of the eighth and the bases loaded, Scott Rolen hit a sharp grounder up the middle that would easily have scored two runs and continued a rally -- but Met second baseman Jose Valentin made a diving stop and started a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.

Originally published at About Baseball