LYNX: SOLID SHOWING IN HOME OPENER

Second baseman Joe Thurston warmed a lot of hearts -- and given the temperature, everyone in the ballpark appreciated it -- in the Lynx's 3-2 win (box, play-by-play) over the Charlotte Knights in the home opener tonight.

Thurston made a great backhanded stop to rob Charlotte's Andy Gonzalez in the top of the seventh, which was big since the Knights collected three hits in that inning, but scored only once. It was still 1-1 an inning later when Thurston dropped a drag bunt into the Bermuda Triangle between Charlotte reliever Ehren Wassermann and the first and second basemen, setting up the winning two-run rally. Thurston's another one of those guys who was major-league skills, but can't get a job since the 24th and 25th spots on so many rosters are taken up by extra pitchers. He hasn't started hitting (4-for-21), but once he does, he could be a popular player.

Other shallow, fairly obvious observations:

• Calling for three bunts in a row in the bottom of the eighth -- 3-4 hitters Lou Collier and Chris Coste were asked to sacrifice -- was smart on manager John Russell's part, since the teams could have been there all night if they had waited for someone to hit a home run in that cold. It took the bat out the hands of Gary Burnham (2-for-3, RBI), since he walked to load the bases after the Lynx's back-to-back-to-back bunts put runners to second and third with one out (Collier's sac bunt was mishandled by Charlotte catcher Wiki Gonzalez, who tried to barehand the ball in the cold), but it worked.
  
  After the free pass to load the bases, Wassermann hit Brennan King to force in the go-ahead run. Jason Jaramillo's two-out single off another reliever, Paulino Reynoso, brought in a tack-on run which proved to be the difference. Charlotte scored once in the ninth before Lynx closer Brian Sanches struck out Casey Rogowski with the tying and winning runs aboard for his second save.
• Rogowski, by the way, was the only Charlotte position player not to take the field wearing a balaclava. Then again, as the first baseman, he had the shortest trip between his position and the dugout. Thurston was the only Lynx wearing the head covering.
• Lynx lefty J.A. Happ has thrown 10 2/3 scoreless innings to start the season -- and one of these times, he'll get a win. He had four bases on balls against five strikeouts, and got 11 of his other 12 outs on ground balls.
• Joe Bisenius gave up the game-tying hit in the sixth but showed he has it in him to reach back for something extra when he struck out Charlotte's Pedro Lopez on a 3-2 fastball to leave two guys in scoring position in the Charlotte seventh.
• 1,025 fans out despite the cold and a Senators playoff game isn't actually that bad. How about the Croix du Coventry for the people who made it through nine innings?
• Whipping boy: The fans behind the Lynx dugout were giving it to Wiki Gonzalez all night. Charlotte's DH, Kenny Kelly (the one-time Miami Hurricanes quarterback), was also hearing it: "Hey, Kenny Kelly, why don't you get a last name?" That was just weird -- don't the Senators have a Chris Kelly?
• There's another blast from the past: Charlotte's pitching coach is Juan Nieves. Twenty years ago this week (Sunday, to be exact), Nieves threw the first no-hitter in Milwaukee Brewers history.
• Ehren Wassermann throws sidearm and he has an oddly spelled first name -- for that alone, you want to find out what he's all about.

That's all for now. Send your thoughts to neatesager@yahoo.ca.