Double double

Felipe Lopez and Tony Clark each hit home runs from both sides of the plate on opening day, the first time that's ever been done by two players on the same team.

Houston has no problem (economically speaking)

Despite the recession, Houston fans came out in record numbers for opening day willing to spend.

Bonafide Bonifacio

We told you about Emilio Bonifacio and his abilities as a burner at the top of the Florida Marlins lineup. Monday he turned in a Karl "Tuffy" Rhodes-like opening day, going 4-5 with 4 runs scored, 2 RBI, 3 steals and the first inside-the-park home run since 1968. His Marlins beat the Nationals, 12-6. Not a bad day.

Fantasy Impact: First, the good news. Bonifacio is a special talent. His speed is stunning. If you see the home run replay, he was alread around 2nd base when Nationals center fielder Lasting Milledge got to the ball hit over his head near the warning track. That's blazing speed.

The bad news? Bonifacio is only 23, and he's never been tested over a full season in the majors. His homers might only come by the way of the inside-the-park variety, and his career minor league OBP is just .340. He leaves much to be desired, unless he continues to get on and run like he did against the Nats.

Snowed Out

Chicagoans woke up to snow on the ground Monday morning. Therefore, no baseball between the White Sox and Royals on opening day. They'll play the opener Tuesday.

Wilson works for SF

Pitching for the first time in 10 days after a finger infection, Giants closer Brian Wilson tossed a shutout inning on Friday night. Wilson took Saturday off. He's expected to pitch Sunday in the Giants final tune up, making him available for opening day on Monday.

Twins waiting to know more on Mauer

Joe Mauer's back problem is not getting resolved, and it has the Twins making other plans for their April 6 opener.

peaking through a team spokesman, Minnesota general manager Bill Smith said Sunday that he's received no update from the doctors on Mauer.

Mauer was scheduled to return to Fort Myers, Fla., on Saturday night after seeing a specialist in Baltimore for a second opinion on his lower back. But there has been no indication as to when the Twins will get an update on the results of the exam.

Mauer was diagnosed with inflammation in the right sacroiliac joint -- where the base of the spine meets the top of the pelvis -- by team doctors following a magnetic resonance arthrogram this week. He's been unable to take part in any team workouts so far this spring due to pain in his lower back, which he first began experiencing late last season.

An MRI on Mauer's back over the offseason revealed a kidney obstruction, and he underwent surgery to eliminate the problem on Dec. 22. The hope was that it would help relieve the back pain, but that has not been the case.

The Twins' season opener is April 6 against the Mariners, and while the club has yet to declare that Mauer will miss the start of the regular season, his availability is clearly in doubt.

"The more days go by, it looks like we are going to have to ad-lib at the beginning," Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said Sunday. "But we are waiting on the latest news on Joe to see where we're at."

Mauer's fantasy draft stock should be sliding at this point. Weird that the Twins don't know anything by now.

Lachey throwing out Reds first pitch

Now this is breaking news! Nick Lachey will throw out "baseball's first pitch" when he does so for the Cincinnati Reds' Opening Day.

"Hopefully, I won't embarrass myself like our good mayor," said Lachey, a huge Reds, Bengals and University of Cincinnati sports fan. He watched Bob Huggins' homecoming ceremony, before the UC-West Virginia basketball game, on ESPN Thursday from his Los Angeles home.

"I was thrilled to see Huggs get such a great response from the crowd," he said.

I think Nick's already managed to do that a time or two, no?