Opening day has come and gone, so the journey is officially underway. For a lot of people the MLB season is too long especially for how many teams make the playoffs. I like the length of the season but I do think more teams need to make the playoffs. It isn’t worth it to play 162 games and only have 8 teams in the postseason. One good thing about the season is that it allows teams to come back if they start off slow. There is enough time and games for any team to have a chance regardless of their record after the first 30 games. I am going to give a few thoughts on what has taken place thus far.
The Boston Red Sox seemed to be the favorite in most people’s eyes to head into winter as World Champions. It is with good reason most people assumed that. The addition of Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez were fantastic moves by the Red Sox. They are both great batters and field their positions well. It has been anything but pleasant for the Red Sox to start the season. They began by being swept by a powerful offensive team in Texas and then opening their series in Cleveland with a loss. It looks as though the Red Sox may take some time to become the team everybody thought they were, but when they do, the AL East and rest of the league better look out.
The defending World Champs have also gotten off to a somewhat rough start. They have one win in their first 5 games. It is believed the Giants won’t be able to produce enough runs to repeat as champs. I think as long as they have the rotation they do, they will always have a chance. They have made quite a few errors early on which will decrease with time. They have also left several men on base, where if a hit occurred probably would have resulted in 2 more wins. Brian Wilson looks to be coming off the DL today which will help their relief pitching. The Giants will be around come playoff time.
The Texas Rangers have looked very impressive, especially in their sweep of the Red Sox. They have been pouring in the runs in all ways including numerous HR’s. Nelson Cruz got off to a blazing start hitting four HR’s in the first four games. Most people had written the Rangers off when Cliff Lee rejoined the Phillies. If they continue to provide offense like they have been, I could go pitch and still have a chance to win. Their rotation can afford to give up a few runs because they have the bats to compete with anyone offensively.
Now let’s discuss the Philadelphia Phillies. According most experts we shouldn’t even play the season and just give the World Series title to the Phillies. The Phillies have one of the best rotations in MLB history. Pitching will not be an issue for this team, it will be scoring runs. The loss of Jayson Werth, I think will be a bigger issue than people think. Ryan Howard is an inconsistent hitter who plays through hot streaks. The loss of Chase Utley doesn’t help their offense either. Jimmy Rollins is off to a great start batting .467, but I think he has too much pressure on him for him to continue to play at this level. The return of Utley, I think helps Rollins more than anyone because then Rollins can relax and know it’s not all up to him.
This baseball season should be a fascinating one. We are all wondering how long the Orioles can maintain their impressive start and when the Red Sox are going to decide to show up. We can only hope that there will be some close division races at the end and that the wild card makes for a great race as well.
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