Three games on the docket simultaneously:

Coverage map after the jump.

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Opening Day Game Thread: Lincecum vs. Kershaw

San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers

This is the first of hopefully many Beyond the Box Score national broadcast game threads, where we invite fans of teams not involved to come in, discuss, analyze, make fun of, and enjoy the game together in a unified thread. All the usual community rules apply, so be generally nice to each other and have fun!

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Right now the standings are a blank slate, all across baseball.  Starting tonight, that all changes, because real baseball is coming to your tv*, a one-game warmup before the flood gates open tomorrow**.  So after you find your Easter basket, finish gnawing on the ham bones, and get your fill of the nice weather (hello, northeast), stop by BtB to talk about the game and the upcoming season with fellow BtB readers.  You'll need something to replace the actual broadcast.

Placeholder -- Jeff's hoping to provide a more in-depth preview of the game, starting with umpire stats.  If he gets to it, it'll go here.

* Well, not my house, unfortunately.  I don't have cable, and while the MLB.tv/Roku combination is pretty sweet, those pesky blackout restrictions are still in place.

** BtB will have an open thread all day tomorrow where we can discuss the onrushing season and all the day's game.  Plus, Fangraphs is running an all-day live chat starting at 9am, with appearances by their Fangraphs and RotoGraphs writers, well-known saber-friendly panelists from other arenas, and me.

Lastly, if you're wondering about the 32 Predictions contest, it's still on, and looking to be better than ever (i.e. better than last year.)  Look for the announcement later in the week, most likely coming with information on a tangible prize.

Welcome to BtB's pre-game analysis of the playoff game between the Minnesota Twinkies and the the Detroit Tiggers (sorry, the Royals fan in me is still bitter both teams just beat us out for a playoff chance).  This postseason, BtB plans on having a gameday thread for each game along with some advanced analysis.  I will be putting up umpire, lineup and defensive analysis.

Lineups

TIGERS (86-76)

1. Curtis Granderson, CF
2. Placido Polanco, 2B
3. Magglio Ordonez, RF
4. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
5. Carlos Guillen, DH
6. Ryan Raburn, LF
7. Brandon Inge, 3B
8. Gerald Laird, C
9. Ramon Santiago, SS

TWINS (86-76)

1. Denard Span, CF
2. Orlando Cabrera, SS
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Jason Kubel, RF
5. Michael Cuddyer, 1B
6. Delmon Young, LF
7. Jose Morales, DH
8. Matt Tolbert, 3B
9. Nick Punto, 2B

Full analysis after the jump.

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ESPN's Sunday Night Evening Game of the Week is actually at 6pm EDT this week, as it looks like they've decided to ditch an American League matchup featuring two competitive teams in favor of a National League matchup featuring two somewhat competitive teams (although the Braves are my darkhorse pick in the NL East.)  While I'd like to see Francisco Liriano pitch against the Rangers lineup, Javier Vazquez and his ginormous whiff rates should also be entertaining.  All the creative speculation as to why the Mets are underperforming?  Not so entertaining.  I am hoping Jeff Francoeur hits a walk-off home run, though.  Your starting pitchers:

* - Please note that while Nieve has a 3.03 ERA, his K/BB ratio is 1.3.  Vazquez's K/BB ratio is 5.9.  Day-um.

Pre-game discussion suggestions:

• Holes that should be addressed on teams in contention but that probably won't be.
• Players deemed off limits in deadline deals but who probably shouldn't be.
• Trade targets who aren't getting enough attention.
• A trade rumor you'd like to get started.

The All-Star Game starts at 8:30 tonight, but pre-game festivities are probably already under way.  I'm not going to present the stats for tonight's starters because Roy Halladay and Tim Lincecum will pitch two innings max, and, well, we already know they're both really damn good.  (Question to stir the pot: what would their ERAs look like if they switched divisions?)

While I'd love to see the players and managers take this game seriously and focus 100% on winning, I realize that's not going to happen and I'm actually a sucker for the pageantry of it all.  As a celebration of baseball and many of the game's best players, it's a pretty fun night even without the on-field action.

In addition to discussing the game, feel free to use this thread to ask BtB authors and other readers their opinion on anything -- the first half of the season, trade deadline possibilities, predictions for the rest of the season, or anything about saber-slanted analysis.  I know I'll be around all day and all night and enjoy answering questions and making stuff up.

With the All-Star Game in St. Louis, this game is a great choice by ESPN for Sunday Night Baseball.  It's part two of a day/night double-header so we might see some odd lineups, but with Lou Piniella and Tony LaRussa managing the game, oddity was already a given.  Adam Wainwright goes for the Cardinals, opposed by Randy Wells of the Cubs.  Wells, I was surprised to find out, has been pretty good this year.

* Well ain't that cute.
** Includes some bullpen data from recent minor league seasons.

To beat the Independence Day meme to death, is there a matchup more American (in the rags to riches sense) than the Rays and Rangers?  The Rays will put Matt Garza on the mound, who's having a good year by ERA standards but whose peripherals aren't quite as hot.  The Rangers counter with Scott Feldman, who, well, has the same storyline -- only difference is Feldman didn't become a national hero after his playoff performance last year.

Since I worked yesterday, today is my Fourth and I plan on enjoying all of the food and beverages I made this morning: Bloody Mary's, Texas caviar, green bean/mango/red pepper/potato chipotle salad, and cold dill carrots, along with a burger or two.  Depending how long the party goes, I may or may not be around tonight.  (It's also the last hoorah until I move back to upstate New York, where we just bought a house.)  What's that, enough of my personal life?  Ok, sorry.

Go Pirates!

Happy East Coast Bias Night!

We took a break from our Sunday night game threads for the NBA Finals and Fathers Day, but we're back.  Count on this being a weekly feature from now until the end of the year.  And count on the NY/ESPN Yankees being a part of things a few more times.  Tonight's starters could provide a lot of scoring opportunities:

As usual, the comments section is for discussing anything baseball-related from a saber-slanted perspective, whether it's the Yankees-Mets game tonight or not.  Game time is 8:05 EDT.  Go Pirates!

Welcome to our second BtB Sunday Night Game Thread Extravaganza.  Or whatever.  Here are your starting pitchers:

Anyone have interesting stats or other pieces of information about these teams to carry us to the 8pm EDT first pitch?  Here's one about Roy Halladay: He has a career .298 BABIP in front of some pretty good defenses.  That's so pedestrian.