Just Forget It

All the hype leading up to this game, an entire offseason of anticipation, all the pressure of unanswered questions, and we get a 7-1 beating by, of all teams, the Kansas City Royals. That's what everyone's going to be saying. Not me. Sure, it was painful, but it was one game. One game does not decide the outcome of an entire season. I wish I could find some stats somewhere to see the percentage of World Series champs who won their first game, just out of curiosity. It probably is completely unrelated. Seriously, though, relax. We'll be just fine. Once we get the nerves out, some hitters get hot, our pitchers get in a groove... we'll be everything we anticipated.
So instead of focusing on the disappointing score, let's focus on the bright spots. Our bullpen, though nothing spectacular, let up only 2 runs in 5 innings. Pedroia and Youk had two hits apiece, and Ortiz and Lowell each had a double. And my Indians beat the White Sox 12-5, with the lovely Grady Sizemore himself (who shaved his gorgeous curls, sadly) setting the tone with a homer on the game's second pitch. Trot Nixon went 3-3 with three runs scored in his Indians debut, prompting White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen to say, "Thank God this only counts as one game." Paul Konerko chimed in, "The good news is it was only one loss. It felt like it should have counted for more."
But my point was, don't get all flustered. Don't start asking what's wrong with Schilling, don't start insulting our offense. There is no problem. It's Opening Day. We have months before we need to start worrying. Right now is the time to enjoy baseball for the sake of enjoying baseball.
Oh, and a random question: Does anybody know what a pitcher's ERA would be if he gave up a run but didn't get any outs, in his first outing of the year?