Pregame jitters, emotional tributes and packed stadiums.

Baseball was back from coast-to-coast Monday, with Ben Sheets, Alex Rodriguez, and Adam Dunn giving enthusiastic home fans reasons to be optimistic about the new season.

"Opening day," said Sheets, Milwaukee's ace right-hander. "I've got a sumo wrestler wrestling in my belly. I was nervous."

He wasn't alone. On his first defensive play of the new season Monday, New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez misplayed a popup in the first inning of a 9-5 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

"It's good to get the opening-day jitters out of the way," said Rodriguez, who made up for his defensive gaffe with a long two-run homer. "I started out like a moron there."

The nerves were understandable, especially with everything going on at sold-out Yankee Stadium. The Yankees honored Cory Lidle by wearing black armbands, welcomed back announcer and former outfielder Bobby Murcer, who's fighting brain cancer, and held a moment of silence for former star Hank Bauer and baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn, both of whom died recently.

"Everybody had a lump in their throat before the game," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "You couldn't help but choke up."

Jason Giambi, who hit a go-ahead single in the seventh for his third RBI, was a big part of the poignant pregame ceremonies. After a touching video tribute to Lidle, Giambi escorted the pitcher's wife, Melanie, and 6-year-old son, Christopher, toward the mound before they threw out first pitches.

Lidle and Giambi were old friends and high school teammates. Lidle was killed in a plane crash Oct. 11 in New York after finishing last season with the Yankees. His locker at Yankee Stadium will remain unoccupied all season.

In Philadelphia, a sellout crowd of 44,742 turned out for the fourth season opener at Citizens Bank Park and couldn't help but get teary-eyed during a tribute for longtime coach and former player John Vukovich; former All-Star outfielder Johnny Callison; former pitching coach Vern Ruhle; Lidle, a former Phillies pitcher; and longtime organist Paul Richardson.

"VUK" was painted inside the third-base coaching box to honor Vukovich, who passed away last month. Vukovich's son, Vince, threw out the first pitch before the Phillies lost to Atlanta 5-3 in 10 innings.