Let me tell you something about the Tampa Bay Rays' "opener" strategy: It was moderately controversial, and it required complete and total buy-in from the pitching staff. The pitchers had to be prepared to accept non-traditional roles, and had the players responded differently, the project might never have gotten off the ground.
Let me tell you something else about Tampa Bay's opener strategy: It sure seems like it has worked. The Rays were 21-22 when they started Sergio Romo for the first time on May 19. Since then, they've had one of baseball's top-10 records.