Some weekday evenings, the Stew looks at the happenings that will be worth monitoring that night. Feel free to discuss the night's action in the comments below. • Yu ready for a night filled with bad puns? Well, too bad because the Texas Rangers are trotting Yu Darvish out for his first big league start in the regular season and Twitter is going to full of people like me unsuccessfully landing one-liners. The big Japanese righty gets the benefit of starting his career against the Seattle Mariners at 8:05 , but we'll see how much of a luxury that actually is. The M's average more than six runs a game over their four opening contests with Oakland and will be looking to go 4-1 for the first time since 2001. • Ryan Braun's first road start : And it comes at Wrigley Field . The reigning NL MVP is sure to be booed and perhaps it'll be more interesting to see how Aramis Ramirez is received in his return to the North Side. Always a producer, but never the big fan favorite, Ramirez and the Cubs reached a natural fork in the road when the slugger was going to command way too much money for the Cubs' purposes. This one can really go either way so prepare for reports to use words like "mixed" and "smattering."

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The Texas Rangers won their first series of the 2012 season by taking two of three from the Chicago White Sox. Now, as the team prepares to start their second series, the biggest game of the early season prepares for opening pitch. In what might be the most watched MLB game in Japan history, Yu Darvish makes his Rangers' debut against the Seattle Mariners and Ichiro Suzuki.

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Baseball's opening week is finally here and if we're guaranteed one big storyline it's the official unveiling of the glittering new ballpark in Miami. The Marlins played an exhibition game in it against the New York Yankees on Sunday, will hold another one on Monday night and then they'll finally host the St. Louis Cardinals in Wednesday's nationally-televised regular season opener. Like most anything associated with the Fish since their inception, the new park is going to attract a lot of criticism and chortling during its debut. Heck, it already has for a variety of deserved reasons that I probably don't need to chronicle here again. But after reading A-Rod's take on the new stadium — "This is like, hello Major League Baseball, we're here," the native Miamian said — I somehow feel the need to pause and appreciate what we're gaining as baseball fans here.

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Ever since former WWE Diva Torrie Wilson has been dating New York Yankees player Alex Rodriguez there have been rumors of a WWE appearance. Well at the biggest stage of them all, A-Rod will be making an unofficial WWE debut as he sits ringside with Torrie Wilson to enjoy...

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Bobby Valentine smiled his big, wide smile, surrounded by media, talking about the Red Sox and the Yankees. Baseball's hottest rivalry gets a new provocateur this year. "The intensity will be interesting. Looking forward to it? Who knows?" he said. Valentine stood in the third base dugout at Steinbrenner Field before his Boston Red Sox beat the New York Yankees 1-0 Tuesday night in the...

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Mariano Rivera walked to the mound as "Enter Sandman" played before the fourth inning, his number 42 matching his age during a game for the first time. Many of the 10,810 fans in Steinbrenner Field rose for a standing ovation, a tribute to the start of what may be the great closer's final season.

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Excited to be in the Miami Marlins' new ballpark, All-Star closer Heath Bell trotted happily across the outfield grass, the entire team from Florida International University following close behind. Bell had invited the Panthers to join the Marlins during pregame warmups. He was less hospitable once the game began, pitching a perfect fourth inning in his Marlins debut to help their split squad...

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Curtis Granderson and most every hitter at Bright House Field could tell this would be a fun day. Granderson homered and doubled as the New York Yankees won their exhibition opener, beating the Philadelphia Phillies 8-5 Saturday. Granderson, who hit a team-high 41 home runs last season to go alongside an American League-best 119 RBIs, said this homer was aided by the wind.

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CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) Curtis Granderson and most every hitter at Bright House Field could tell this would be a fun day.

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By RICK FREEMAN AP Sports Writer

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