Welcome to the newest addition to our baseball coverage here at RealGM with our new daily notebook. The Baseball Notebook will examine player and team trends as well as take a more in-depth look at the games. This is interactive, so feel free to email your opinions or questions to [email protected], and your thoughts may just appear in this space. April 4 It?s only April, but a non-household name starting pitcher is set about dominating major league hitters. Johnny Cueto, a 22-year-old right-handed pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds, went seven innings against the Arizona Diamonbacks giving up just a solo home run to Justin Upton in the sixth inning and had 10 strikeouts to no walks. Cuesto threw 68 of his 92 pitches for strikes and never went to three balls on any hitter. He only went to two balls six times in 22 batters on the day in Cincinnati?s 3-2 win. So, who had an opening series' sweep by the Kansas City Royals over the Detroit Tigers in the Motor City? Well, no one. The Tigers scored five runs in three games and had 11 walks to 24 strikeouts in them. It is just one series, but it just shows the ebb and flow of baseball. Atlanta Braves? left-handed pitcher Mike Hampton missed his first start since 2005 on Thursday when he strained his left pectoral muscle while warming up for his start against Pittsburgh. Hampton is the lynchpin for Atlanta?s chances of winning the National League, and if he isn?t healthy, the Braves can?t win the National League. With him, the Braves have four veteran starters ranging from above-average to very good. This throws the rotation into flux and is a tough break for Hampton. He has worked harder than many players and, hopefully, will be given the chance to walk off the mound on his own terms. April 3 San Francisco Giant?s right-handed pitcher Tim Lincecum made his 2008 debut in relief as both the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants held their probable starters due to weather in Los Angeles. When Lincecum did get into the game, he struggled early, including a 28 pitch fourth inning, his first of the game. He also only got two swing and misses in the fourth, which isn?t right considering his stuff. He ended up going four innings, giving up four hits, four walks, and a run to go with four strikeouts. However, he settled down and helped the Giants pick up their first win of the season. The Washington Nationals are 3-0 after a 1-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies when all the scoring was done on a sixth-inning home run by third baseman Ryan Zimmerman. Washington starters, a definite weakness on this roster, have been solid thus far. Between Odalis Perez, Matt Chico, and Tim Redding, they have compiled 17.1 innings and given up just four runs with a WHIP of less than one. The star of the group has been Redding, who pitched seven innings of one hit, shutout ball on Wednesday. New York Mets' pitcher Pedro Martinez is back on the disabled list with a left hamstring injury, which occurred in his Tuesday start against the Florida Marlins. The Mets aren?t crippled by this news with Johan Santana on the roster, but it has to be deflating to the team as a whole. Hamstrings are injuries which stay with you for a season, so temper your expectations of Martinez for 2008. April 1 New York Mets? left-handed pitcher Johan Santana was very good in his Mets' debut at the Florida Marlins on Monday. He went seven innings while only giving up three hits on two runs, both of which came on a fourth inning home run by outfielder Josh Willingham. Santana retired his first nine hitters and threw 68% of his pitches for strikes. San Diego Padres? ace Jake Peavy might have been even better as the Padres won their home opener over Houston Astros 4-0. Peavy went seven shutout innings and gave up only three hits. The Astros have a solid line-up, and Peavy held Miguel Tejada, Carlos Lee, and Lance Berkman to 2-10 with a strikeout. Chicago Cubs' outfielder Kosuke Fukudome had a great debut in the states, going 3-3 with a game tying home run in the bottom of the ninth. He added a walk to his day and never had a swing and a miss against Milwaukee. In fact, his double in the first inning and single in the seventh were first pitch hits to centerfield. On the negative side, he struggled on the base paths by getting picked-off at second base and caught trying to steal third. The new and improved Detroit Tigers' offense was tamed by Kansas City Royals? ace Gil Meche. They scored four runs and had six walks while having eight total batters which took the count to three balls. However, the 11 strikeouts are alarming because it shouldn?t happen for a line-up with so many professional hitters. March 31 We only had one game on Sunday, but it was a good one as the Washington Nationals opened up their new ballpark with a 3-2 win over the Atlanta Braves, thanks to a walk-off home run by third baseman Ryan Zimmerman in the ninth inning. Braves? starter Tim Hudson had a tough first inning but left the game after seven innings having retired his last 19 batters. Twelve of his 21 outs were ground balls. Nationals? first baseman Nick Johnson had a nice season debut after missing all of 2007 with a broken leg. He had an RBI double in the first inning and had a few good cuts against Hudson. With Johnson and Dmitri Young, the Nationals have a good one-two punch at first base. Finally, we will leave you with three games to watch on the ?real opening day.? The Toronto Blue Jays open at the New York Yankees as both teams have something to prove in 2008. In Los Angeles, the Dodgers start the Joe Torre era by hosting the rival San Francisco Giants with Barry Zito taking on Brad Penny. As the night wears down, check out the Houston Astros at the San Diego Padres with Roy Oswalt going up against Jake Peavy.