How do you feel about your team this year? Still basking in the optimism of spring? Fans of the Red Sox, Cubs, Indians, Dodgers, Nationals and a few other teams have reasons to be cheerful.
While my optimism doesn’t extend to a deep playoff run, this has been the most interesting Yankees spring training in memory. I’m excited about the Baby Bombers who will be on the MLB roster: a healthy Greg Bird, Gary Sanchez and Aaron Judge. Also, the prospects run deep with Gleyber Torres, Clint Frazier, James Kaprelian, Miguel Andujar, Justus Sheffield and couple others knocking on the door.
The bullpen looks good with Chapman, Betances and Clippard, but like a lot of teams, the Yankees are a few starters short. Since this year is expected to be a part of the rebuild, I’m glad that the strategy seems to be aimed at letting some of the young arms have a shot.
Peter Gammons picked Cubs over Indians in 7 on opening day last year. He says he likes the same two teams to meet again this year.
Last year I was concerned the Red Sox wouldn’t have enough pitching. I was mostly right in that it was their overall weakness, although Porcello obviously had a great year. This year, with Chris Sale in the mix but Big Papi gone, I’m wondering if they’ll be able to score enough runs. I do think they’ll make the playoffs, but not sure how far they can advance. If Porcello can repeat, Price can figure himself out and Sale does what he does, they got as good a chance as anyone else.
Early views of the Dodgers look real good. As usual, we have more outfield talent than we can use, but that usually “fixes” itself through injuries by May. The rotation is still uncertain, but that’s because, again, we have too many good arms trying for limited spots. We know the top 3 - Kershaw, Hill, Kazmir. But after that it gets nebulous. Is Ryu going to be able to come back? Can Urias start to go long? How about Maeda?
Such fun times! They are predicted to have the best record in the MLB this year. I’ll settle for a World Series appearance and the crushing of the Giants.
I forgot to mention the clip in the OP; the second homer Bird hits lands on the roof of the “green monster.” I had no idea that the Red Sox spring training stadium has the same field dimensions as Fenway, complete with Pesky pole. Pretty cool, especially the seats inside the monster.
Don’t like the Blue Jays this year. It’s not terribly clear who the left fielder is.
As per usual, people are just assuming last year’s team will replicate its performance, which it won’t. The Jays in 2016 made the playoff in large part because they had an outstanding starting rotation. The assumption is therefore being widely made that the Jays have “the best rotation in the majors.”
This is in fact quite unlikely. The Jays DID have a terrific rotation in 2016; it is therefore quite likely it will be worse in 2017, and will win them fewer games, because that is how baseball works. It is really not likely that JA Happ will win 20 games again or that Aaron Sanchez will win another ERA title and go 15-2, and the entire staff was healthy all year and that doesn’t happen much. Those things repeating themselves are not impossible, and of course maybe they’ll be offset by Marcus Stroman improving or anyone being better than R.A. Dickey, who knows. But it is very unlikely that the team that led the league in ERA will do it again.
Of course, we saw the same thing last year. Everyone said “the Jays have a historically dominant offense” because they had one in 2015. It is true the team had a historically great offense in 2015 - and so the logical conclusion was not that it would remain that way, but that in 2016 they would be far less effective. Which is precisely what happened.
So I guess the question is, what’s the counterbalancing upside? I don’t really see it. The team is not improved at any position over its 2016 performance.
Melvin Upton, Jr. doesn’t get you excited? I don’t know if he’s the presumed LF starter or not. Kendrys Morales is probably their biggest new name for 2017. And he is probably a slight downgrade from Encarnacion at DH.
The Red Sox can’t help but downgrade their offense, too, with Ortiz gone. They went and got Mitch Moreland to play 1B so Hanley can DH. In that case Brock Holt and Chris Young are on the bench and I think I’d rather see either of them two in the lineup than Moreland.
Sad to see the premature glee among fans of the remaining division contenders get cut short. For instance, this Yankees booster who (after emphasizing that he’s not gloating about any potentially serious injury because he is, after all a baseball fan first) says:
“…the loss of Price completely shifts the American League East conversation, more so in the favor of teams like the Blue Jays, Orioles, and of course the Yankees…A little luck for the Yankees, a little downward regression for the Red Sox, and boom—-the Yankees are in divisional contention.”
Not so fast.
The Red Sox are still not shoe-ins for the division title. And I continue to like Cleveland to win another pennant.
Same assessment here - Boston has question marks about their rotation depth and the back of the bullpen, about Benintendi’s readiness, about who’s catching, and a huge one about Sandoval at 3B, but right now I’d still take their problems over anyone else’s.
Does any team really have rotation depth, though? If your sixth and seventh starter were super dependable, they’d be in some other team’s rotation.
Boston is far and away the best team in the AL East. They were the best team by a mile last year and there’s no reason to think they will be worse this year. Losing Big Papi is a blow, but adding Chris Sale offsets that and then some and the team’s stocked to the gills with talent.
I hate to say it, but I think the Yankees are being overlooked as a contender in the AL East. Their offense was average last year, but Gardner and Ellsbury both had abnormally bad years. They should improve. Plus add Matt Holliday. Plus a whole year of Gary Sanchez.
Just not hearing much hype around the Yankees. The last over/under I saw for them was 83.5. They won 84 games last year, why would they be worse? I think they’ll be better than Toronto, and Toronto’s over/under is at 85.5.
A smirking Russel Martin on today’s TimandSid show more or less confirmed that.