The Boys of Summer are Back!

The long-awaited 2020 baseball opening day is finally here. Despite covid-19 still affecting society and ballplayers, the words “Play Ball” are yelled – not really heard ‘cause the stadiums are empty. What would America be without sports, especially baseball? The boys of August, the tingle in the air in September, the All Star Game, the home run race. These are things that regular people don’t notice, only fans do, but for those people who buy hotdogs in the stands, it’s amazing. However, there are many questions that still have to be answered by every team for them to be successful.

This truncated season with one-third the usual number of games is going to be debated forever. Does the Commissioner’s Trophy count? Are 60 days enough to determine an MLB champion? Should the stats count? Should there be trades? Should there be this? Does this count? Where will this happen? Where will that happen? How will covid affect the players? What happens if a team gets infected? Will teams be eliminated if they have too many sick players? What happens now? Why can’t Dr. Anthony Fauci pitch? What is the meaning of life?

But, for the teams, owners, managers, coaches, players and fans, there are still questions. So, here are my questions for every team and suggested answers. I will also do a summary of the teams that have no questions.

It wouldn’t be opening day at Citi Field if Jacob DeGrom didn’t pitch and win in a 1-0 shutout, first the Marlins, now the Braves and next year whatever team they’ll play. Yoenis Cespedes, who, as insert Quick Pitch person said, has a streak of homers, it’s only three, but in the past three games that he’s played, he’s hit a homer, he didn’t hit one on Saturday, and that’s pretty funny.

In game 2, the Mets had another beautiful win on tap, but, Edwin Diaz had to give up a homer to Marcell Ozuna when the Braves were on their final strike. Nothing good happened. Hunter Strickland, who won a UFC brawl with Bryce Harper two years ago, (who’s now earned my utmost respect) gives up 3 runs to make the Mets lose a game when every game counts. The Mets tried to mount a comeback but they couldn’t … I am horribly disappointed in the bullpen, even though it’s only two guys (so far), but every game counts and everyone thought that the Mets bullpen is impeccable. Disclaimer!!! It’s not.

As for my Q&A

New York Mets: What will they do at the leadoff spot? The Mets are a really good team by a good-sized margin, and, no bias, I think the Mets will win the NL East. The leadoff spot is up for grabs by Jeff McNeil and Brandon Nimmo. I think Nimmo should win the spot because his on-base ability is unparalleled. Jeff McNeil should go to the five spot because Pete Alonso has occupied the second spot.

Oakland Athletics: Who needs to go in the outfield? I know the limit for players on a roster is now 30, but having as many outfielders as the Athletics have? No. I think 5 is the max for outfielders on a team, and they have 7. I must say that they have a good fight for the right field position, with Stephen Piscotty, Chad Pinder and Robbie Grossman. I think that Piscotty should win, and Grossman should come off the bench with Tony Kemp. Chad Pinder and Seth Brown should go, they could be trade bait or just get sent down to the minors.

Arizona Diamondbacks: Are they going to make the playoffs with their young, powerless and inexperienced lineup? Definitely not, I give them 3 or 4 in their division. Their rotation is led by old man Madison Bumgarner. They are very young in the hitting department, they’re led by Ketel Marte but they don’t have power. Wait maybe two years for their even younger guns to come up and a few more changes by the man upstairs and then the Dbacks are going to be good.

Atlanta Braves: Is this team, that looks amazing on paper, really that good on the field? Yes, yes they are. Freddy Freeman is getting a little old, but you don’t have to be the most athletic to play first base. They have an amazing young infield, great outfield led by Ronald Acuna and Marcell Ozuna. The Braves pitching can pass as average because their offense is going to make up whatever their pitching allows.

Baltimore Orioles: Are they really that bad? Yes, they are extrrrrrremely bad. No salary cap, no bad players, their starting pitching is atrocious, their bullpen is disgusting. The position players on this team are so bad probably none of the players even were thought about to be in the Top 100 in baseball and none of them hit more than 15 homers last season. Oh yeah, sorry Anthony Santander hit 20, team leader, yeesh. Not to mention they own the worst contract in baseball in Chris Davis. Davis doesn’t perform and he’s getting paid 30 million a year. They are in a dark place right now, and I don’t see a light at the end of this tunnel.

Boston Red Sox: Can the core of the lineup hold up the weak pitching? The core of this team is really young, Rafael Devers, Alex Verdugo, and Andrew Benintendi, there’s also Xander Bogearts but that’s the core. The pitching is weak, that’s definitely a weak spot going into the short season, but I don’t think that the hitters can handle it. They’re still a playoff team, but Wild Card, if that’s even a thing in the new playoff format.

Chicago White Sox: Can the Sox handle some injuries to still make the playoffs? I think that they can, but it would definitely be borderline, in or out. They have a stacked lineup and great starting pitching, so that can hold up. And their AAA team is good and has depth for all positions especially outfield and catcher. Their pitching took a hit when Michael Kopech says he’s not going to play.

Chicago Cubs: Who are they going to roll out at the top of the lineup? Is David Ross going to follow in Joe Maddon’s footsteps and go with the really unorthodox approach, putting a first baseman leading off or is he going to change some things up? I would put either Jason Kipnis or Ian Happ leading off, both are contact hitters and both have speed.

Cleveland Indians: Are they going to make a run at the chip? Their lineup took a lot of hits, now being led solely by Jose Ramirez and Francisco Lindor. Their bullpen is solid as always, their minor league teams are loaded and ready. Starting pitching is about a 3/5 rating, not the best, not the worst. And, in a 60 game season, they could go off and get lucky. So, yes, they could win the whole thing.

Colorado Rockies: What moves should the Rockies make in the season? Immediately I see their bullpen concerns, for them to make a run deep in the playoffs, they need a middle bullpen because bullpens are very important for the playoffs. They could trade with the Yankees, they have good middle relievers. They could also go with starting pitching, but relievers are their primary concern right now.

Detroit Tigers: I couldn’t think of a question for them but I see the hitting is weak and the pitching is still bad, but it’s better. The Tigers really need hitters, like badly. Tigers probably don’t have any playoff hopes, at all. Maybe next year, if they have an amazing offseason.

Houston Astros: How many HBPs will the Astros have? Just kidding. The Astros have no questions, they are the most complete team in the MLB, they are just great. Their hitting is great from 1-9 and their pitching got worse but still great. The bullpen needs help, but for how this team looks, that’s a concern, but I wouldn’t worry about that too much.

Kansas City Royals: How many years until they go deep into the playoffs again? The Royals virtually had to start from scratch after 2015, so many of the players left, so their team is very young. If they could acquire a power bat, preferably a lefty, that’s a start to coming back into the playoffs. So I give them three years until they come into the playoffs again.

Los Angeles Angels: How will the top of the lineup look now? The Angels had a great offseason, bringing in Anthony Rendon so, the only question for the top is who’s leading off because I see Shohei Ohtani batting second, Mike Trout third and Rendon fourth. Maybe Andrelton Simmons or Tommy La Stella leading off. But, the Angels have a great season ahead of them.

Los Angeles Dodgers: Now this is a complete team, they have everything, hitting, but not at every position, but good players that hit. They have a young and fiery rotation. The only thing I would cleanup is their closer, but no one wants an aging, overpaid closer.

Miami Marlins: Will the team make the playoffs? I see potential in this team, it got much better than last year. Their rotation is young and shaky, not my cup of tea though. I would not roll out the rotation; the bullpen was never good. So l would hold off on the playoffs, especially in an absolutely stacked division in the NL East. The Marlins definitely won’t make the playoffs until the NL East cools down. 3-5 years, sorry Marlins fans.

Milwaukee Brewers: Who needs to step up in order for the Brew Crew to have a good season? I think Ryan Braun needs to come back to the dead (oldness) and have like a 10-12 homer season. Christian Yelich is going to show up no matter what. My third offensive player is Orlando Arcia, I know, he’s a wild card, but I want to see him have a breakout year. A pitcher is Brett Anderson, I want him to anchor the rotation and propel them into a good season.

Minnesota Twins: How far in the playoffs will they go with a new and improved team? The Twins got Kenta Maeda and Josh Donaldson to probably finish off their careers in Minnesota. The starting rotation is going to have to step up to the plate, they are very old except for the ace Jose Berrios. I want to see Marwin Gonzalez have one more great season as the best utility man in baseball, then he could regress, because I feel like then the Twins will have their young players step up. I think they will definitely win the division and maybe beat the next opponent depending on how good they are, so I would say the ALCS is when they’ll make their exit, or get lucky and make it to the World Series.

New York Yankees: No questions for the Bronx Bombers. They have an outstanding team, led by Gerrit Cole, who signed the biggest contract in pitcher history this offseason and Giancarlo Stanton, whose mammoth home runs are jaw-dropping. Aaron Judge and Gleyber Torres all line an amazing team who’s definitely a favorite to win the AL.

Philadelphia Phillies: They showed it in their exhibition game against the Yankees, they’re good, but are their hitters good enough to hold through the whole season? I doubt it. They have depth and solid contact hitters, but in 60 games, they look great on paper, but I just don’t think that they’re going to hold water-tight. I feel it in my gut, like Gibbs on NCIS.

Pittsburgh Pirates: No questions, this team isn’t good, but they’re straightforward. The Pirates are like the runt of the litter. The NL Central is the easiest division in the NL, but they’ve never really had a solidified spot at the top. The Brewers and the Cubs always dominated the NL Central, and now the Reds are perking up. This season isn’t looking amazing now, the hitters are all average to bad, the only thing looking up is the pitching, maybe next year.

San Diego Padres: Can they not get swept under the Tsunami of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West. Can they make it competitive for the Dodgers? Yes and Yes. They can, they’re young guns are inexperienced but good, they don’t have every position filled up with superstars, but name a team that does. Their starting pitching is highlighted by Chris Paddack and Joey Lucchesi, so that’s good, but the 3, 4, 5 in their rotation is rough.

San Francisco Giants: Can their senior citizen players step up and make them respectable? No, they can’t, Pablo Sanchez, Brandon Crawford, Hunter Pence, Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto top the list of AARP members. They have a bad team, they’re old, no young talent in the minors and a bad GM. This is a hurting unit and won’t be good for a few years. This is the cause of bad management only, nothing else.

Who will win the Commissioner’s Trophy? Stay tuned, sports fans.