Gameday Thread, #0: MLB Opening Day special

There's an argument to be made that the start of the season has been diluted, by spreading it out. There are six teams who get their campaign under way today, while the other 24, including the Arizona Diamondbacks, will not see action until tomorrow. I can see that: there was something glorious about going from zero to an enormous tidal-wave of baseball, but the demands of television - ESPN in particular - have triumphed as usual. Still, this will mean you can sit on your couch all day and watch which should be an interesting trio of match-ups, culminating in a rematch of last year's World Series.

Let's take a look at each game, and see what former Diamondback interest there might be.

Cardinals at Pirates: 10:05 am AZT (ESPN)

Adam Wainwright will get to throw out the first pitch of the 2016 season, as two teams face off, knowing the Cubs have already won the division, according to just about every pundit. Seems odd, given both these sides finished ahead of the Cubs last year, but muh narrative. So much for the whole "what former Diamondbacks interest there might be" thing though, since neither side have anyone on their roster with Arizona in their playing history. Still should be a good contest: the Cardinals have the best record in the major leagues since the start of 2013, and the Pirates possess the second-best.

Blue Jays at Rays: 1:05 pm AZT (ESPN2)

Okay, I'm regretting the "what former Diamondbacks interest there might be" idea about now, as Toronto has no-one and the best I could find for Tampa was Dana Eveland. He pitched five innings for us in 2007, arriving with Doug Davis and departing to get Dan Haren. Since being drafted in 2002, Eveland has been part of ten different franchises, including four in 2015 alone (Boston, Atlanta, Baltimore and Tampa). Chris Archer starts for the Rays, and Marcus Strohman for... the AL East defending champions Jays. This is the first Opening Day since 1993 that last clause could have accurately been written.

Mets at Royals: 5:35 pm AZT (ESPN)

Ah, finally, the "former Diamondback interest" concept strikes pay-dirt! Hello, Addison Reed, losing pitcher for the Mets as the Roylas clinched the World Series last October. Good times. Meanwhile, we won't see him in action today, but the Royals signed former D-back Ian Kennedy as part of their rotation. Instead, it will be Edinson Volquez taking the mound for Kansas City, while Matt Harvey, having overcome a health scare resulting from a bladder infection, seeks to get on the revenge trail for New York, having been the starter in that final Game 5. Both sides here will be looking to make a statement, and this will likely be the most intense of the three games.