Strange things are afoot this baseball season. Strange, strange things. Maybe this is the weirdness of wartime? Or is it the odd culmination of some jinx? How else can you explain that Pedro Martinez, Greg Maddux, Randy Johnson, and Curt Schilling have a combined record of 0-8?

Well, okay, maybe you can explain it partly by the fact that the Diamondbacks are near the bottom of the league in every offensive category so far. But it gets weirder. How about the Kansas City Royals off to a 9-0 start? It was one thing when the Giants reeled off their best start in living memory, but the Royals? The no-hope Royals who seemed doomed in the offseason to be just another quadruple-A club, who cut salary again and let their ace pitcher go?

Oh, perhaps the Royals will come back to earth. But perhaps they won't. They have the woeful Tigers to feast on (no surprise in the Tigers starting the season without a win yet) in the AL Central, and the Twins are not firing on all cylinders either. In fact the Royals look a little like the Twins did two years ago--good young pitching and good defense. We'll see if Runelvys Hernandez can carry them to a winning record this year. History shows it is possible to go worst to first...

Not every part of the baseball world has been turned topsy-turvy. In Yankeeland, the home opener was snowed out, which was fairly bizarre, but once the rescheduled game was played the following afternoon, it was business as usual. Hideki Matsui hit a grand slam in the home opener at Yankee Stadium in one of those made-for-highlight-reel moments, after Bernie Williams was intentionally walked to load the bases in front of him. Although perhaps it is a bit strange that the one loss the Yankees have suffered this year was at the hands of the Devil Rays.

By far the most weirdness, though, took place at Fenway Park for the Boston home opener. After opening the season with a very long road trip, the Bostons came home to rainy, cold conditions. The forecast was for heavy rain to move in around 6pm, so the Sox did not postpone. Pedro was scheduled to pitch. Unfortunately, the rain started to come down heavy about a half hour before the first pitch, and the game was put off until the next day: double header. The day portion of the twinbill was cancelled also, but that night, Pedro finally took the mound. Maybe it was all the waiting, but Pedro ended up giving up a career worst ten runs in four and a third! To, get this, the Orioles! The night's weirdness didn't end there. The home plate umpire had to leave the game after being hit in the mask with a Pedro Martinez pitch that got away from Jason Varitek--he complained of pain in his neck. Pray it is only whiplash and not a fracture. Later in the game another man had to leave the field: Sox third base coach Mike Cubbage suffered a diabetic seizure and had to be taken away on a gurney. And the Sox lost the game, as well. Pedro finally got a decision, though...

The law of averages says that the Royals will come back to Earth, Johnson/Schilling/Maddux will improve, and the Tigers will eventually win a game. But if this keeps up much longer, someone better start writing tickets.