TOO MANY INJURIES TO STAY COMPETITIVE ...
The Sox fight back in the opener

April 4, 2010 ... The Red Sox were all things to all people when they opened their 110th season with a 9-7 victory against the Yankees at Fenway Park.

The Sox trotted out 2004 icon Pedro Martinez for the ceremonial first pitch. With no cornfield handy, Pedro emerged from a makeshift white tent in the left field corner, wearing his old No. 45. He milked the moment, then threw one last pitch to his old catcher, Jason Varitek.

Rapper Dr. Dre posed for photos around the cage during batting practice and ex-Sox Curt Schilling and Nomar Garciaparra came over to the dark side, appearing as analysts on ESPN's "Baseball Tonight." Mike Lowell, who was traded in December received the loudest pregame ovation, and 90-year-old Johnny Pesky celebrated his 68th anniversary with the club. A 5-year-old Herb Brooks clone delivered a pregame motivational speech and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler sang "God Bless America" in the seventh. LeBron James and his entourage watched from John Henry's box. For good measure, Neil Diamond himself (wearing a Sox cap and a "Keep the Dodgers in Brooklyn" jacket) appeared in person to sing "Sweet Caroline" before the home half of the eighth. Yeesh. What a circus..

The first pitch of the 2010 season yielded a routine grounder by Derek Jeter. New Sox shortstop Marco Scutaro handled the chance flawlessly. Nick Johnson was next and he hit a can of corn to Mike Cameron in center. It was as if the baseball gods wanted all the Sox' new defenders to make a play right out of the gate. Alas, no play for third baseman Adrian Beltre; Mark Teixeira grounded to first to end the inning.

Hope seemed lost in the Red Sox after Josh Beckett had allowed a dispiriting five runs, getting just 14 outs. Then hope returned with the Sox scoring four runs in the seventh and eighth innings to take down the Yankees in a topsy-turvy 9-7 win, the first of the Major League Baseball season.

Dustin Pedroia had played a big role, the ball lofting off his bat and over the Green Monster in the seventh inning, the second straight year the second baseman had taken one out to left on Opening Day. This one brought home Marco Scutaro, tied the game at 7, and recharged the crowd of 37,440 filling Fenway Park for the landmark's first night season opener. Pedroia was simply making good on his early spring training promise to increase his home run total, helping the Sox and Yankees kick off the season in a fashion only they can provide.

Pedroia's shot off Chan Ho Park was followed by Kevin Youkilis's third extra-base hit, a double off the Wall. Youkilis moved to third on a wild pitch by Damaso Marte, then came home on a passed ball by Jorge Posada. The Sox led, 8-7, though there were no guarantees it would remain that way.

The much-discussed Sox offense already had come back once, handing a tie score to the bullpen in the top of the seventh. It didn't stick, with Ramon Ramirez allowing the first two base runners and Hideki Okajima helping them home.

Youkilis already had figured prominently when his stand-up triple to right field in the sixth put CC Sabathia's night in jeopardy, a shot aided by an interesting route to the ball by Nick Swisher. That strike brought home two runs to make it 5-4 and brought the crowd back into the game. There were no outs, Youkilis was on third, and Sabathia's pitch count was nearing triple digits. Youkilis came home on a one-out single by Adrian Beltre, who made his introduction to Boston a good one after a less-than-stellar spring. The score was tied at 5-5, and neither starter had performed as anticipated. Cameron said the Sox wore Sabathia down, making him throw more breaking balls than usual.

The pressure was needed after Beckett had failed to get through the fifth. He gave up five runs on eight hits and three walks, with just a single strikeout. Not that Sabathia was much better, lasting just 5 1/3 innings and also giving up five runs.

There. After one day of baseball, the Red Sox are in first place and the Yankees are in the cellar with the worst record in the majors (OK, nobody else has played yet but it still sounds good)