Published: March 31, 2008 11:52 pm            

Arrival of new season special

CINCINNATI — Even for the most diehard of baseball fans, Opening Day isn’t about who wins or loses. It’s everything but that in fact.

On Monday, the Cincinnati Reds played in their 132nd Opening Day game, hosting the Arizona Diamondbacks at Great American Ball Park.

The winner? Who really cares?

What matters is spring was officially ushered in with America’s pastime.

The skies were gray and on-and-off rain showers heckled fans at the ball park as the first pitch was delayed for close to an hour. The spirit of Opening Day would not take a back seat however.

By the time the first pitch was actually thrown at 3:09 p.m., the seats were filled — and the fans were ready.

The grass was green.

The hot dogs were hot.

Kids skipping school were sitting next to their parents’ sides.

Play ball!

Webb effect

Ashland native and former National League Cy Young award winner Brandon Webb was on the mound, clad in Arizona’s road grays, to lead the Diamondbacks into the 2008 season.

Not far away from the mound, Webb’s family and friends were mixed among the Reds fans, leading their own charge of support.

Webb’s parents, Phil and Dreama, were on hand. So was his wife, Alicia, and young daughter, Reagan.

Webb also had other family and a handful of friends from the Ashland area in seats at Great American.

In all — after he traded tickets with some of his teammates — Webb had about 30 tickets for family and friends.

Webb has been Arizona’s Opening Day starter for three straight seasons now. His counterpart on Monday, Aaron Harang, has also pitched three straight season openers, all with the Reds.

Webb pitched six innings and got the win as Arizona beat the Reds 4-2. Webb allowed three hits, two runs, walked four and struck out six.



Nuxhall tribute

As Cincinnati’s starting lineup was being announced, the entire Reds roster wore jerseys with the No. 41 and “Nuxhall” on the backs.

The tribute was to the “Ol’ Lefthander,” Joe Nuxhall, who passed away in November.

Nuxhall spent 60 years in the Reds organization, as a player and in the broadcast booth. His last partner in the booth was Hall of Famer Marty Brennaman.

Harang was granted permission by Major League Baseball to wear No. 41 during the game. His usual number is 39.

New look

Great American got some renovation work in the offseason and is offering some new promotions for the upcoming season.

Nearly 400 Mezzanine seats have been designated the All You Can East section ($30 ticket) to highlight a number of new ticketing packages that can be researched online at www.reds.com.

The Riverboat Deck and Machine Room Grille have been remodeled to accommodate fans and there’s also a new GameDay ProShop along the third base concourse, where you can watch other live major league games on high-definition TVs.

The Reds Hall of Fame and Museum — next to Great American — has two new exhibits: A tribute to Nuxhall and a celebration of the city of Cincinnati and the Reds.

Hit it a Tun-dra

Also new this season is the opportunity for fans to win a Toyota Tundra with one swing of the bat.

A Tundra pickup truck is sitting on a platform high above the left-center field wall, estimated to be nearly 500 feet from home plate. Any player who hits it with a home run wins a brand new Tundra for a randomly selected fan.

The longest home run at Great American came off the bat of outfielder Adam Dunn. He hit one 535 feet out of the park to right field during a game in 2004.

Former Red Wily Mo Pena hit the second longest — 498 feet — in 2005.

Roster moves

Forced by the start of the season, Dusty Baker’s 25-man roster is set and includes five non-roster invitees.

The most talked about roster moves in recent days included who would be in the starting rotation and bullpen as the team was trimmed.

As expected, Harang will be followed in the rotation by Bronson Arroyo, Johnny Cueto, Josh Fogg and Edinson Volquez.

The bullpen includes lefties Jeremy Affeldt and Kent Mercker and righties Jared Burton, Todd Coffey, Mike Lincoln, David Weathers and closer Francisco Cordero.

Pitchers Matt Belisle and Bobby Livingston, catcher David Ross and shortstop Alex Gonzalez open the season on the disable list.

Home stand

The Reds will continue their series with Arizona on Wednesday (7:10 p.m.) and finish the three-game set on Thursday afternoon (12:35).

Cincinnati continues its home stand with three games against Philadelphia (April 5-7) before heading out on a nine-game road trip.

ADAM VANKIRK can be reached at avankirk@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2664.

        

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