OPENERS NEEDEDCy Young Award winners Justin Verlander and Corey Kluber will start the AL Division Series between the Astros and Indians at Minute Maid Park in a matchup that figures to buck the October trend of bullpen “openers.”Verlander Walker Buehler Jersey , a 14-year veteran, believes the AL West champion Astros and AL Central champion Indians have the top two rotations in the AL. He thinks the performance of each team’s starters will be paramount to success.“Us and the Indians probably being 1 and 2, however you like to slice it, us and them, them and us,” he said. “Pick your poison. We both have very defined starters who have a great track record and have good stuff. This should be a really fun series.”ON SALEChris Sale waited eight years to make his first postseason start and then another 365 days for a chance to put that memory behind him. The Red Sox left-hander will open Game 1 of the AL Division Series against the New York Yankees, one year after he was bombarded by the championship-bound Houston Astros in his playoff debut.“Last year, obviously, I got my feet wet. Didn’t do too well. But sometimes you learn from the bad more than the good,” Sale said Thursday, a day before the AL East rivals open their best-of-five series.He’ll oppose J.A. Happ at Fenway Park as the Yankees and Red Sox begin their first postseason series since the 2004 AL Championship Series.THE ACE AWAITSClayton Kershaw pitches Game 2 of the Dodgers‘ NLDS against Atlanta showing no signs that he’s miffed about being passed over for Game 1. Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts went with Hyun-Jin Ryu in the series opener at Dodger Stadium instead of the longtime face of the franchise http://www.dodgersfanproshop.com/authentic-max-muncy-jersey , setting up Kershaw to pitch on five days of rest. Ryu responded with seven sharp innings in a 6-0 win.Roberts says the vibe with Kershaw is “great.” Kershaw can opt out of the final two years of his contract after the World Series.“Obviously, it’s a huge sacrifice for him,” Roberts said. “But to not let it influence his mind or psyche, that doesn’t surprise me.”Atlanta will counter with veteran Anibal Sanchez.QUIET COLORADOThe Rockies’ bats have gone mostly silent this October, a slump try to snap against Brewers starter Jhoulys Chacin in Game 2 of their NLDS at Miller Park. Colorado had just four hits in a 3-2, 10-inning loss Thursday, two days after beating the Chicago 2-1 in 13 innings in the wild-card game.At least they’ll get a respite from Milwaukee’s vaunted bullpen. Relief pitcher Brandon Woodruff pitched three hitless innings as the “opener” in Game 1 and the bullpen cruised until Jeremy Jeffress‘ ninth-inning hiccup. Chacin will be pitching on three days of rest against left-hander Tyler Anderson.FUTURE LOOKThree Cuban prospects, including top international free agent Victor Victor Mesa, will try out for major league scouts at Marlins Park. Also participating will be Mesa’s brother, Victor Mesa Jr., and pitcher Sandy Gaston. All teams are invited to attend. The Mesas http://www.dodgersfanproshop.com/authentic-max-muncy-jersey , both outfielders, were recently declared free agents by Major League Baseball and can be signed by any team. While some people spend the day after Thanksgiving sleeping off their humongous feasts, there’s no time for rest for the new Orioles regime."Good morning, Camden Chatters.How was your Thanksgiving? Has your stomach recovered after gorging yourself on turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, or whatever else was on your dinner menu? Did you pass out on the couch watching football? Were you able to get along with your out-of-town relatives and deftly steer the conversation away from politics?After a day off for feasting and family, newly minted GM Mike Elias can get back to work on reshaping the Orioles. He’s already checked one item off his list, bringing on his former Astros cohort Sig Mejdal as assistant GM and analytics head honcho. He’s also made a bit of roster maneuvering by adding Dillon Tate to the 40-man to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.Next on the agenda is finding a new manager, who will have big shoes to fill in replacing the popular Buck Showalter. A few candidates have been bandied about in the media, but so far Elias has kept mum on who he intends to interview. Also on the horizon is the non-tender deadline in one week Kenta Maeda Jersey , when the Orioles will have decisions to make about whether to extend contracts to Tim Beckham, Caleb Joseph, and others.It’s been a long, slow offseason up until last week. But now that the new regime is in place, we might finally see some action pick up in Birdland.LinksSeparating fact from fiction - School of RochRoch Kubatko runs through a variety of Orioles topics, including the rave reviews for their hires of Elias and Mejdal. He also includes the out-of-nowhere idea of Chris Davis moving to third base, which he shoots down as fiction. Who was even suggesting that as a possibility?With Sig Mejdal, O’s should take big leap forward in analytics - Steve MelewskiConsidering the Orioles’ previous analytics department consisted of, like, three people and a dog-eared copy of the 1977 Bill James Abstract, the Mejdal hire is a big leap forward indeed.Jones to host 6th annual #StayHungry event - Orioles.comAdam Jones’s Orioles career may be over Matt Kemp Jersey , but he’s still involved in charitable contributions in the Baltimore community, because he’s awesome like that.Oriole fans have much to be thankful for - Baltimore BaseballThis headline may seem jarring for a team that just finished a 115-loss season. But Rich Dubroff gives thanks for a bunch of recently departed ex-Orioles, as well as a few guys who are still in the black and orange.Orioles birthdaysIs today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have six Orioles birthday buddies, none of whom was a star. Well, one of them — Justin Turner — is a star now for the Dodgers, but his O’s career lasted just 17 games before the Birds let him go in waivers in 2010. That’s a decision they’d probably like to have back. Turner is 34 today.Other living Orioles with birthdays are 2010-11 infielder and cooking aficionado Brandon Snyder (32); pitcher Adam Eaton (41), a 2009 righty not to be confused with the current Nationals outfielder of the same name; and 2002 first baseman Ryan McGuire (47). It’s also the birthday of late 1983-84 third baseman Todd Cruz, who would have been 63 today, and 1960 righty John Anderson, who would have been 89.