MLB Week 1: Relax, It's Only Been 6 Games

Tim Lincecum’s ERA is hovering around 13.00, the Boston Red Sox have one win and the St. Louis Cardinals are better without Albert Pujols? 

One week into the season and the apocalypse has struck. 

When the Braves started 0-4, their worst start since 1988, as a Braves fan I was close to throwing in the towel. But that's what fans do—we overreact. 

Boston is still reeling from their epic collapse last season, and after one week and a 1-5 start, Red Sox Nation is spinning their wheels. With a bullpen on the verge of implosion and unacceptable results from their starters, things could get a lot worse before it gets better. 

Other MLB superstars and their teams are hitting some bumps in the road. 

The Freak Tim Lincecum is off to a rocky start. With two bad outings and numbers that are very uncharacteristic, the most diehard Giants fans are shaking their heads. His fastball is topping out at 90.0 mph, down 2.3 mph from last year. This could be a long-term problem (thanks FanGraphs). 

Remember the Toronto Blue Jays' home opener, when Sergio Santos had one of the worst Blue Jay home debuts ever? After just one game, Santos was on the next train out of town, another in a long line of failed closers since Tom Henke and Duane Ward took the mound. 

Albert Pujols left the St. Louis Cardinals for Los Angeles, and his former club is playing exceptional baseball. Off to a 5-2 start, Lance Berkman, David Freese and Carlos Beltran are lighting up the stat sheet, all with numbers exceeding that of Pujols. 

This is where we all have to take a step back and realize that it’s only been one week and the baseball universe will right its own ship. Situations aren’t as good as they seem, and aren’t obviously as unlikely as we make them out to be. 

• Boston will rebound and will challenge in the AL East  
• Tim Lincecum will work out the rust and regain his form 
• Sergio Santos will hang tough for the Jays and nail down 30-plus saves  
• St. Louis will maintain their dominance of the NL Central but will undoubtedly miss their former slugger in crunch time 
• Pujols will again put up numbers that rival the game's greatest 

If you thought the first week was bizarre, what does next week have in store?

Devon is the Founder and Executive Director of The GM's Perspective. He is a former professional baseball player with the River City Rascals & Gateway Grizzlies. Currently, Devon is a manager at a financial institution in Northern Ontario, Canada, and can be reached at [e-mail]. You can follow The GM's Perspective on Twitter and Facebook. His full bio can be seen here.

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