C'mon, guys, this is Philadelphia. We're used to guys like Freddy Garcia coming in as the latest anointed savior only to go down with arm problems ten million dollars and a few outings later. Saenez has some medical skeleton in his closet, you can be sure of it. If his arm falls off after a few appearances, don't say I didn't tell you so.
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Meanwhile, to make room for Saenez and his mystery ailment(s) Wee Helms ended his brief and uninspiring tenure here by being given his outright release. Some team will wait ten days until he clears waivers before signing him. Helms picked his first and only year in a Phillies uniform to revert to form, i.e., a lousy glove and arm and mediocre bat.
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Jimmy Rollins picked up right where he left off last season with his two-run, game-tying (at the time) home run on Opening Day. Sure, the usually sure-handed Rollins had his fielding lapses, but that won't last. What will last is his having turned into a real clutch performer.
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Johann Santana had a great opening day as a National Leaguer, but it is just a wee bit premature for guys like Jayson Stark to announce his victory erased the colossal collapse of his teammates last autumn. Lest he forget, that collapse was of historic proportions and, frankly, nothing erases that kind of mark permanently. The best Mets fans and players can expect is to get over it and move on, but one outing hardly qualifies.
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Let's see, the Red Sox and A's opened the MLB season in Japan splitting a two-game set and then the Red Sox returned stateside and played an exhibition game before resuming their regularly scheduled season. Meanwhile, the Phillies remain stuck in their inexplicably odd season-opening ritual of playing one game and taking the next day off before resuming their initial series. What is the point of taking a day off when you are fresh as opposed to, say, August or September when everyone could use the break?
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