Finally, the moment we’ve all been waiting for, Major League Baseball's opening day 2005. The day the title defense officially begins. Regular season action begins in under 24 hours with a repeat of the 2004 ALCS matchup, which of course ended with a pivotal Boston victory (a great link...i suggest you check it out). The Red Sox will face the Yankees in the first of 19 regular-season matchups, with this one to take place in the boogie down Bronx. If you happen to have been under a rock for the last 6 months, here's a little reminder of what went down during that fateful October series.

Like many other teams, the Sox don’t have the same 25 man core so let’s take a look at the most recent scouting report.

• Position Players
• Pitchers
  

I don't have a similar report for the Yanks, but check out what si.com had to say this time last year. I did find an AL report, in order of predicted finish. Note that this is from a BOSTON paper and they put the Yanks first, so it must be unbiased ;-).

Given the current injuries (Schilling & Miller vs. Brown), I admit the first series may not go so well (Wells vs. RJ in the opener?!), but remember, it's not a sprint, but a marathon!

-->Catch the game Sunday at 8:05pm ET on WSBK/NESN/ESPN2/MLB TV

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In related news, for the first time ever, "both sets of duelists in the previous October's League Championship Series are facing off to launch a new season." On April 5th, the Cardinals head to Minute Maid park to face the Astros in a rematch of the 2004 NLCS. Can the Cards top the 'stros yet again? Time will only tell. What a way to tip off a season. Let's hope that regardless of the outcome, that the teams put up a good fight.

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Quote of the day: "July 1, Yankee Stadium ... Bloodied, battered, but beaten? Never." - mlb.com's Tom Singer

Fun Fact: RP Mariano Rivera's ERA against the Red Sox is 4.22 and 1.59 against all other teams.