Not even a two hour rain delay could put a damper on the Cubs home opener. After waiting 108 years for a World Series, fans were more than willing to stick around until late in the evening to see the NL pennant and World Series flags raised. Speaking as a White Sox fan, Rizzo leading the team out from under the center field bleachers with the WS trophy over his head gave me chills. Such a neat moment.

In the first inning of the Giants game against the D-Backs yesterday, Buster Posey was struck in the head by a 94-mph fastball from Taijuan Walker. He left the game immediately but reportedly wasn’t hurt seriously. Said manager Bruce Bochy afterwards: “It’s one of the worst sounds you can hear in baseball, the ball hitting the helmet. It’s a scary moment.” I still think back to the Cubs Adam Greenberg, who was hit in the head in 2005 on the first pitch of his first plate appearance in the major leagues and never fully recovered.

It’s far too early to sound the panic alarm, but the Cardinals have gotten off to a dreadful start. The main reason? Their bullpen. In 7 games and 22 1/3 innings pitched, the bullpen has allowed 21 runs (8.86 ERA). New lefty Brett Cecil, along with veterans Jonathan Broxton and Kevin Siegrist, combined to give up 8 earned runs in 2 innings last night in a loss to the Nationals. The offense will be solid, maybe one of the best in the NL, but it’s hard to be better than a .500 team when your bullpen is pitching like that.