Everyone is going to win 50 games and lose 50 games, it's what you do with the other 50 games that counts.

There are varying stories about the origins of this quote with some attributing it to Yogi Berra, while others attribute it to a version of a famous line from Dodgers legend Tommy Lasorda. This quote is actually a metric I use to analyze teams and see how they're are trending.  It's easy to get too high or too low, from wins and losses, but if you look at a game as one that your team was just not going to win, you can let it go.  And, if you look at a game where everything goes right, you can keep it in perspective and not get carried away.

To look deeper at the saying, it's nearly an absolute truth that every team will win 50 games and lose 50 games in Major League Baseball.  You will have games that you win 14-2 and you will have games that you lose 8-0; there will be days every bounce goes their way, and there will be days the bouncers and bleeders have eyes.  It will happen to everyone.  What separates the rest of the teams is what happens in those other 50 (ok, 54) games - the games that hang in the balance; the games you could win just as easily as you could lose them.

It seems like the season is off to a great start, with most seemingly pleased with the three-game format on Opening Day, followed by a full slate of games today and tomorrow.

Yesterday, I think that teams pretty much held chalk.  Francisco Liriano did what many thought he'd do, and he was the most dominant player on the field.  That's one Pittsburgh was going to win (one of their 50), and one St. Louis was going to lose (one of their 50).  

Tampa Bay may have had one that fits into the "other 50" category, but against a professional softball team like the Blue Jays, that's going to happen.  It's a shame they wasted that effort by Archer and with an offense like theirs, they don't have much margin for error.

It was in the night cap that I think we learned a lot.  The Royals came out and did what they do, which cannot be measured by statistics, and they turned a game that was in their 50 win column into a game in doubt.  The Mets, however, had one of their "other 50" games.  They let a game that they could have won get away, while the Royals held onto a game they could have lost.

Now, I don't think that anyone should call out the National Guard, or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, not even teams like the Brewers, who lost 694-2 today.  

It's too early for trends, and it's too early to declare winners and losers, but it's not too early to pay attention and start keeping score.

Play ball!