"It is exciting, for one," Thunder manager Bobby Mitchell said."I am excited. I am excited for the season to start."
Baseball opening night always brings out different emotions from all those that are involved, from the team on the field to the fans in the seats.
Nervousness, anticipation, and everything that comes with the unknown are just a few of the sentiments that are conjured up when the first pitch of a new season is finally thrown.
But what unites all involved is the feeling of excitement.
The new 142-game season got underway at Arm & Hammer Park Thursday, as the Trenton Thunder hosted the Erie Seawolves. Trenton dropped a 7-0 decision to the Seawolves, in front of 6,502 spectators, in first contest of a seven game homestand to get the 2016 campaign underway.
"It is exciting, for one," Thunder manager Bobby Mitchell said before the game. "I am excited. I am excited for the season to start."
Mitchell himself is one of the new debutants that took the field for the Thunder. In his first game at the helm for Trenton, beyond the excitement comes some uncertainty, as he manages his new club for the first time.
"I think the most unknown thing for me would be with some of the pitchers, because I have not seen too much of them, Mitchell said. "I saw them a few times, when they were pitching against us (in spring training). I just saw them in the (bullpen) in the last day, and that was the only time I've seen them throw.
Thunder ready to pull the curtain on 2016 season
But there were plenty of players on the diamond that are familiar to fans of Trenton. One of them, starter Brady Lail, got the honor of kicking off the campaign on the hill for the Thunder. Lail (0-1) went 4.2 innings, giving up four runs (two earned). The big blow of the contest came in the second inning, as Seawolves third-baseman Alberto Gonzalez hit a towering drive over the left field fence for a three-run home run.
Mitchell was happy to have Lail on the mound to start the year.
"It came from Rosie (pitching coach Jose Rosado)," Mitchell said of Lail's opening day start. "I'm sure it fell into that rotation from spring training. We are definitely happy to have him in that position."
Another of the returning players from 2015 is Jake Cave, but it was under interesting circumstances. Cave made his return to the Thunder, just a few days after he was bought back for $25,000 by the Yankees organization from the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds took Cave with the second pick in the Rule 5 draft on December 10, but decided to offer him back to the Yankees.
He was was right back in the lineup for Trenton Thursday night, hitting in the five-hole, and playing left field, for Mitchell.
"Parts of it are disappointing, but I am here now," Cave, who went 0-for-3 with a walk in his first game back with the Thunder, said. "It is out of my control. It has been a rough couple of days, traveling around, trying to wait around, and figure out where I am going to go. But now I am here, and it is still baseball, and I still have to play."
"Everybody raves about how he plays the game, and the effort level," Mitchell said. "I had no hesitation with putting in the lineup right away."
Cave played without some of his equipment, which had not found its way to Arm & Hammer Park prior to the game Thursday night.
"The Reds were overnighting my equipment, they said, but it has not got here," Cave said. "I will be using some random batting gloves, gloves, bats. I actually have a pitchers BP shag glove that I will be using out there in left today."
Contact Sean Miller at seanmillertrentontimes@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @TheProdigalSean