Hello Tribe fans everywhere!

Our beloved Indians own an 11-3 lead over the White Sox, as I write this missive. Don't you just love it when Cleveland opens the season with a 5-run first inning and a 4-run second inning?

To show how little spring training numbers matter, Grady Sizemore, who batted about .110 in Winter Haven, led off the game with a home run. Trot Nixon, who looked so old and decrepit that sportswriters wondered why Mark Shapiro ever signed him, rapped out hits in his first three at bats.

Of course, sitting here, listening to action in the sixth inning, I'm hoping the Indians bullpen will be able to salt this one away. It shows what little faith Tribe fans like me have in the pen.

No matter what happens today, one game does not a season make. On the other hand, I can recall how it felt in 1969 when the Indians opened the season by losing 13 of their first 15 games. The year was over before it started.

Here's wishing all my Indian-loving friends a happy 2007 season. May we meet again in October, when the Tribe will be headed for the World Series.

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The answer to the last quickie quiz: Gary Bell was an Indians hurler of the 1960's, who answered to the nickname "Ding Dong."

Today's quiz: Name the batter Sam McDowell beaned on opening day in 1969. The hitter, a first baseman, said he suffered from headaches for the next two years.

-- Kevin Cuneo