The interminable post-Opening-Day-off-day is behind us, and Cubs baseball returns tonight in Texas. Edinson Volquez is starting for the Rangers, his first start following mid-2017 Tommy John surgery. That was the second Tommy John surgery of his career, and he turns 36 later this year. Good on him for making it all the way back again, and I’m sure if he were a little rusty tonight, everyone would understand.

• This seems like a pretty awesome sign about Kris Bryant’s shoulder and power:

thread: Kris Bryant's first 2019 homer

Kris Bryant's Opening Day homer was the first time in his career that he blasted a fastball at the knees to the opposite field. If that's a sign to come, then, um, look out. (1/…) pic.twitter.com/ZTI9QJqi4p

— Brendan Miller (@CubsRelated) March 29, 2019

• Going down to reach out and push one the other way is probably the most strain you’ll feel on your front shoulder, so, yeah, that’s good to see.
• Random, but any time I think of a Bryant opposite field homer, I think of his walk-off against the Indians in 2015:

• So, Paul Goldschmidt had himself a night:

.@Cardinals Paul Goldschmidt is seeing the ball well today. He has batted balls of:

106.4 MPH
105.8 MPH
107.3 MPH
104.9 MPH
105.0 MPH pic.twitter.com/pjUvqcktj0

— Daren Willman (@darenw) March 30, 2019

Paul Goldschmidt is the first player ever with a 3-homer game within his first two games with a team.

h/t @EliasSports pic.twitter.com/9tcoH4NZv9

— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) March 30, 2019

• At least two of those pitches were absolute meatballs, and the other one was a missed spot by two feet.
• It’s not like we didn’t know Goldschmidt was one of the best hitters in the league when he joined the Cardinals this offseason, but I sure do remain chippy that they got him in one of those “volume” trades that people propose on message boards but that never actually happen in real life. And then of course they signed him to an eminently reasonable extension before he even played a game for them. That’s some Cardinals voodoo magic right there.
• Charging gear, storage gear, and much more are your Deals of the Day at Amazon today.
• An FYI on lefty Tim Collins’ contract with the Cubs, which is just a shade under fellow lefty Xavier Cedeño’s $900K:

Tim Collins gets 850K in majors #cubs

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 29, 2019

• The Myrtle Beach Pelicans unveiled their Opening Day roster, and Bryan has your breakdown here.
• Baseball is fun:

I really can't overstate how much I've missed baseball. This is just so much fun. (via @MLB) pic.twitter.com/8c9yVOc2Sv

— Baseball is Fun (@flippingbats) March 30, 2019

• Hey, Cubs baseball is back tonight, and it’s a big one:

Happy Yu Darvish Season Debut Day!

Perhaps more than any one player in recent memory, I really hope he shows today everything that he can be. The dude is SO GOOD. He's healthy now, and he's comfortable. It was such a difficult first year, and he deserves this moment. Dominate. pic.twitter.com/RcsfmwZFHB

— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) March 30, 2019

• Let’s go. I’m ready. Start the game right now.

• The MLBPA responded to the story of The Belt, and it’s a response that tells me they definitely already knew about it, but understood they had to say something:

Executive Director Tony Clark issued the following statement in response to the revelation in The Athletic’s story today that MLB awards a “championship belt” to the club that does the “best job” in arbitration: pic.twitter.com/4x8OezF3PF

— MLBPA Communications (@MLBPA_News) March 29, 2019

• It’s just such a foolish thing that the league was still doing in this era, and they deserve to be embarrassed about it. I’m not so sure it’s as much a matter of COLLUSION!!! as some people think, but even if not technically collusion in an actionable sense, it’s just a gross thing to do. You can commend good work performances without making it out to be some literal championship won over the very players that play your sport.
• On the Bears side, with Jordan Howard off to Philadelphia, what happens to the run game now:

With Jordan Howard Gone, How Will the Bears Address Their Running Game? https://t.co/Jz45y1VeqP pic.twitter.com/2LPFXbGlg4

— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) March 29, 2019