If you are expressing surprise that I am writing this, hold it until you’re done. Normally, I care for baseball about as much as Wes Mantooth for Ron Burgundy (super psyched for Anchorman 2 by the way). But, like Wes, I must conquer this irrational disgust and as everyone looks to the Final Four on Saturday, it makes sense to write about the MLB season, now underway. So, sit back and peruse the following things to watch for as the baseball season begins.
Power Moves to the AL
If you’re not eagerly watching Albert Pujols in Anaheim and Prince Fielder in Detroit, you’re missing a huge shift in baseball. All of a sudden, the two best power hitters in the game right now (for Ryan Howard to qualify he must actually make contact) switched leagues, seemingly adding to the wisdom that the AL is more of a hitter’s league. Both guys lit it up in spring training, so while they are the biggest story coming into the season they also require little introduction.
Musical Manager Chairs
For a 162 game season, the manager of a team can have a profound effect upon his players. His attitude towards their play, perspective, and conduct will shape the dynamics of the clubhouse for the entire organization. This season, we will see prime examples of how managers will affect their teams, though the results won’t be noticed until October.
Interestingly enough, new managers are all located in big media markets this year, ratcheting up the pressure for the teams to play well but also to keep themselves out of the tabloids. Bobby Valentine leads the Red Sox this year after the epic, historic collapse last year. His reputation precedes him as a no-nonsense kind of guy who generally allows his personality to impede baseball progress. Many scouts wonder about his ability to manage the team, and what looked like a great idea might be in reality an overreaction on the part of BoSox management. Also, Ozzie Guillen, after numerous transgressions with the White Sox, starts in Miami. News is positive for him: he has somehow convinced Hanley Ramirez to be happy, no easy task after the acquisition of leadoff superstar Jose Reyes. Ozzie, hoever, gave a similar first impression in Chicago before talking his way into management’s doghouse. But, I think Miami will benefit.
On the other side, first time managers will cut their teeth this year. Replacing Hall-of-Famer Tony La Russa will be difficult, but Mike Matheny possesses the necessary organizational familiarity to lead the Cards. He served as a bench coach for La Russa and also played catcher there back in the pre-Molina days so knows St. Louis fans and players well. Keep an eye on their performance (more on this to come), but I think he’ll do well. New White Sox manager Robin Ventura, on the other hand, may not have such a bright future. The franchise hired him as a “consultant” last year before promoting him to manager, with no MLB bench experience.
Most exciting division will be the AL West
For years the teams in the East divisions of both leagues dominated the headlines. The baseball world seems to care a lot about the Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, Braves, and Mets. All big markets so I understand, but your eyes should look West. The Angels and Rangers are beginning a rivalry close to that of the Sox and Yankees of 5 years ago---spending egregious amounts of money for the same talent. My initial guess: the Angels hit it big not only by adding Pujols but also CJ Wilson (the best Rangers pitcher last year) as Kendry Morales returns from injury. Add in Jered Weaver, Ervin Santana, and Dan Haren, and the Angels have a wicked roster and rotation.
Don’t sleep on Texas though. Their powerful offense remains entirely intact from last season and catcher Mike Napoli continues to shine. Will Josh Hamilton’s personal troubles of the summer equate to poor play? Not sure, but he will probably feel a little pressured to make up for his mistakes. Still, the dude seems to find a hit in big moments. And, lest we forget, the Rangers added Yu Darvish, who posted a 1.44 ERA last year in Japan. Not to totally deflate Ranger fans, but I would expect one or two great years before he goes the way of many other pitchers from Japan: injury or poor performance. We haven’t heard from Dice-K in a while, but one difference to note is Darvish can overpower hitters, very atypical compared to other recent Japanese transfers.
Can Theo turn the Cubs around?
Theo Epstein, former GM of the Red Sox, moved to the Cubs this summer, trying to revive a franchise with top 5 salary and bottom 10 wins in 2011. While Theo moved away from his value investing methods by the end of his tenure in Boston, he might want to consider similar tactics to start the Cubs. Sign perhaps one big player to build around and acquire players who do everything solidly. Alfonso Soriano continues to rot in Chicago, but people like Starlin Castro and Aramis Ramirez provide a good blend of young talent and veteran leadership already on the team. Time to build around those!
DC Improvement
I’m obviously biased, but I think the Nats will finish third in the NL East this year, barring a spate of injuries. The team finally can boast a decently potent offense with some overpaid folks (Jayson Werth) being paired with dedicated youngsters. It helps Ryan Zimmerman wants to play for this team as well. The issue has always been pitching, and since Strasburg will only pitch 160 innings this season, you might think they have issues. Oh no…Jordan Zimmermann and Gio Gonzalez are great starters and the Nats quietly picked up Edwin Jackson, a solid 4th starter who won the World Series last year. We might actually see fans at Nationals Park past May this year.
The only reason to watch the A’s
Yeonis Cespedes, a Cuban defector, will play in Oakland this season and should be dynamite. I don’t have much more to say on that, but might be a great young talent for a while.
Bit #1: Should we listen to McNabb?
Yesterday Donovan McNabb, on ESPEN’s First Take, said he didn’t think RGIII would work well with Mike Shanahan’s system, implying that Shanahan does not like changing his system for the sake of the QB, especially one with the disparate athletic abilities of Griffin.
Clearly McNabb thinks he and Griffin are of the same mold and if he couldn’t work in DC than a similar quarterback won’t either. McNabb brings up a few good points like “is he gonna institute the spread offense?” but ultimately I have difficulty taking those opinions from a QB who played poorly enough to be roughly thrown out the proverbial door in DC. I have doubts about RGIII, but we should not view him in any way as second coming of Donovan McNabb.
Bit #2: New rule in baseball
Last season if you remember Derek Jeter skipped the All-Star Game for no real apparent reason other than to rest. Alex Ovechkin did the same in the NHL this year, sparking an intense debate about the role of these exhibitions and whether players, given their central role, can take liberties with their attendance. MLB showed remarkable dexterity, instituting a little know rule that players cannot skip the All-Star Game except for injury or other extraneous circumstances. I think it makes sense---baseball actually uses its All-Star Game to determine home field advantage in the World Series, so the game actually has meaning and gets some viewers as a result. And, it creates more revenue for them while not depriving fans of big names. Makes sense to me, but as long as other All-Star games mean very little, the issue isn’t too salient.
Bit #3: More flock to the Heat
Both Steve Nash and Jason Terry expressed desire yesterday to join the Miami Heat next year as they will be free agents, though Nash did say his first choice is a vastly improved Suns team. I look on this a little bit like the Lakers of 2004, which added Gary Payton and Karl Malone, before being beat by the underdog Pistons in the Finals. Obviously, Terry and Nash are better now than those fogeys in 2003, but the NBA for some reason hasn’t truly rewarded teams that add a hodgepodge of veterans to “contending teams.” Then again, if Nash ran the offense in Miami that would be quite a show. Regrettably, he would need a huge pay cut to make it work for the Heat, but at this stage that might not be out of the realm of possibility.
Bit #4: March 30, 2001 – Phelps breaks world record
In 2001, Michael Phelps became the youngest American swimmer to set a world record, finishing the 200m butterfly in 1:54.92 minutes. I’m looking forward to seeing Phelps in London this summer, as we are looking at one of the best swimmers ever.
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