Early season surprises signal 2009 as a memorable one for Major League Baseball

Through two weeks of the major league baseball season, there is already a sense that this year is going to be different than any other season previous.

Sure, it is easy to say that in a sport that has over 130 years of history, but all it takes is to look at what has already happened through two weeks.

Last week alone, three different players hit for the cycle: Orlando Hudson of the Dodgers, Ian Kinsler of the Rangers, and Jason Kubel of the Twins. In Major League history, there have been a total of 260 cycles, the first occurring in 1885. That is an average of two cycles hit PER SEASON since the first cycle was recorded by Dave Orr for the Giants. We just had three in one week.

In just two weeks, there have been four pitchers who have taken a no-hitter into the seventh inning or later, but none of them have completed the feat yet. The no-hitter is just as rare as a cycle, but no pitcher has been able to finish a team off hit-less.

The other side of pitching has also reared its ugly head so far this season. Chen Ming-Wang after three starts, currently has a 34.50 ERA. He is 0-3 right now and has only pitched six innings total on the season. He has allowed 23 hits and earned runs. In order to get his ERA down to 4.08, his career ERA number, Wang must pitch 48 straight scoreless innings. He won't get that chance on Friday, as the Yankees have already said they will bypass his start against the Red Sox this weekend.

The 2009 season has seen the best and worst starts by a team since the 2003 season.

The Florida Marlins, currently sitting at 11-1, are off to the best start since the San Francisco Giants started 13-1 that year, making a march for 100 wins and a division title. The Marlins are currently on track for 143 wins against 13 losses. In the same division, the Washington Nationals are currently 1-10, the worst start since the 2003 Tigers started 1-17 on their way to a 43-119 record. The Nats and Fish played last weekend in Washington, with Florida obviously taking all three games. Florida couldn't lose, even when they tried, and Washington couldn't win despite their best efforts.

These are just some of the story lines to watch as this season enters week three and the Marlins are working on that magic number of 142. Of course, in baseball, anything can change in a week, and the odds of that happening are always quite high.