This 5 Minute Misconduct originally ran on April 5, 2007. At the time, the baseball season was one day old and Brandon Webb’s shaky start was merely a blip on his way to successful season. In 2009, of course, Webb’s shaky start against the Rockies on Opening Day was his only start of the year. And look, he’s still hurt!

A full 2010 preview is coming next week.

===========================

With Opening Day behind us, it’s time to take a look at where we stand.

The Diamondbacks started things off right with an 8-6 win against the Rockies in Colorado on Monday. More importantly, they did so despite a shaky start from reigning Cy Young winner Brandon Webb and no home runs from the offense. The lack of long bombs will probably be a recurring problem this season, but if the D-backs can manufacture enough runs, it won’t be too bad.

Other points of interest from an afternoon of watching Opening Day on TV:

-Gil Meche and his $55 million contract beat Curt Schilling and the Red Sox 7-1. The contract is still ridiculous, but against a tough Boston lineup, Meche shined.

-Young Zach Duke matched Roy Oswalt through seven innings, and both came away with a no decision, only giving up two runs apiece.

-Barry Bonds didn’t homer. I’m visibly weeping right now.

-Four teams didn’t play on “Opening Day”: St. Louis and the Mets (Sunday night game), and San Francisco and San Diego (Tuesday). Yes, this is absurd. Every team should start their season at the same time, since Opening Day has pretty much become its own holiday.

It’s going to be an exciting season. At least half of the teams in the MLB have a legitimate shot at winning it all this year, and that’s not just counting all the American League teams, no matter how imbalanced the two leagues were last year.

Time to get in the box and stare down a pitcher or two. Baseball season is finally here.

MINOR PENALTIES:

• Greg Oden had the performance we were looking for (re: last week’s column) in Ohio State’s loss to Florida in the national championship game: 25 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks while staying out of foul trouble. Regardless of what happens, the Suns will have some decisions to make, potentially holding three first-round picks.

• Look for the results of the bracket contest in next week’s Lumberjack. Lest you hold your breath in suspense, I wasn’t the winner — although if the Buckeyes had beaten the Gators, it’d be a little different story.