A lot has happened in just one week of the MLB season. So
let’s take a look at some of the early surprises that have happened around the
big leagues.

One of the biggest surprises so far is the fact that the
Detroit Tigers are 0-6 after the first week. Making this even harder to believe
is that all six games were at home. After pulling off the trade for Miguel
Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis, many experts picked the Tigers to make the World
Series this season.

With the middle of Detroit’s lineup consisting of Cabrera,
Gary Sheffield and Magglio Ordonez, many figured the Tigers would score plenty
of runs this season and that Justin Verlander, Jeremy Bonderman, Kenny Rogers
and Willis would be enough pitching to get by. However, Detroit has only scored
a total of 15 runs so far, good for 28th in the league. And their pitching
staff hasn’t been much better with their ERA of 5.70.

Yes, the season is still young, and the Tigers can rebound.
But now history is no longer on their side, as no team in history starting 0-6
has won the World Series, and only two have made the playoffs.

Last year’s World Series participants aren’t off to a much
better start either. The Red Sox and the Rockies are a combined 4-9, and both
find themselves in last place in their respective divisions. Colorado –fifth
in baseball in scoring last season — has scored a Major League-low — 10 runs
in six games — and has failed to top three runs yet. Boston’s potent lineup
with David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez in the middle hasn’t done much better,
scoring only 23 runs in seven games.

Kosuke Fukudome has made an impressive debut in America for
the Cubs on opening day, hitting the first pitch he saw back up the middle for
a single. He went 3-3, including the game-tying three-run home run in the
bottom of the ninth inning in his first big league game. And while the Cubs
went on to lose the game, Fukudome has had an impressive first week, batting
.421 and driving in five. Fukudome is proving that his presence in the
five-hole of the Cubs lineup will make it difficult for opposing pitchers.

St. Louis’ pitching has been another surprise this season.
The rotation of Adam Wainwright, Kyle Lohse, Brad Thompson, Branden Looper and
Todd Wellemeyer didn’t look that promising heading into the season. However,
the Cardinals currently have the second best ERA at 1.83 and are holding
opponents to a .235 batting average.

Despite all the surprises during the first week, one of the
biggest surprises for me has been the play of Gabe Kapler. In the first week of
the season, Kapler is batting .438 with two home runs and six RBIs, helping
Milwaukee to a 5-1 start.

What makes his play so surprising is that Kapler took a year
off to manage a single-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox last year. Now after
signing a minor league deal, Kapler played his way onto the team during spring
training, and in the first week of the season he has hit as many home runs as
he did in 72 games with Boston in 2006.

So there you have it. While there is still plenty of
baseball to be played, and a lot can change between now and the end of the
season, it should be another exciting year in baseball if the first week is any
indication.

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Greg is a senior
majoring in communication arts. Let him know what you think has been the
biggest surprise of the first week at [email protected].