Nothing has been normal about 2020 and that goes for the MLB season. Opening Day took place on July 23 in front of no fans and without Juan Soto in the lineup. Despite it being August 19, some teams have played only 11 games (Cardinals) and there is no guarantee they will be able to finish the 60 games that were scheduled. Plenty of other teams have been able to get in all of their games – and even so losing players to the COVID-19 injured list has been the norm.
While it did appear that there was a legitimate chance the season was going to be cancelled after the outbreaks that occurred with the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals, it does appear that the protocols and guidelines are now being adhered to and are working. Additionally, with more than $1 billion on the line in terms of TV revenue for the postseason, you’d have to be a fool to believe that the commissioner would allow the sport to lose out on that money.
Below are some of my takeaways from this season so far:
Are we destined for a Yankees-Dodgers World Series?
With all the success that the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers have had in this decade in terms of winning baseball games, it is shocking to believe the two teams have yet to collide in October. The teams met in the Fall Classic in 1977-’78 with the Bronx Bombers coming away with rings in both years.
Since then, the Dodgers have won one World Series – the famous Kirk Gibson year in 1988 – while the Yankees filled Derek Jeters’ hand with five rings. With the way the two teams have looked so far, I would be shocked if either loses a postseason series before the Fall Classic.
The Dodgers have been red-hot , winning seven in a row, and now lead the NL West by 4 games over Colorado. They have won seven consecutive NL West titles as well. Their 2.64 ERA is lowest in the Major Leagues and their pitching depth is absurd. They were able to replace Opening Day starter and future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw with top prospect Dustin May in a moment’s notice. They have been able to withstand the loss of Kenta Maeda and Rich Hill to Minnesota and the struggles of Ross Stripling and Walker Buehler. In the bullpen, they are loaded with nasty pitchers like Blake Treinen, Brusdar Graterol and Kenley Jansen.
Offensively, they have been led by Mookie Betts – who is now locked up long-term. They have been able to weather the struggles of Joc Pederson and Cody Bellinger thanks to Justin Turner, Corey Seager and A.J. Pollock.
The Yankees continue to churn out wins – last night notwithstanding. Somehow, the injuries sustained to Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and D.J. LeMahieu have not slowed them down. They are loaded with offensive firepower. The most recent player to come up and overperform is Clint Frazier, who probably would be a middle-of-the-order hitter in any lineup.
They will have to fend off the feisty Rays, but I would bet the Yankees are able to lock up the top spot in the AL. I’m also curious to see what Gerrit Cole’s final numbers look like. He recently won his 20th consecutive decision – which puts him in elite company. He’s 4-0 with a 34:5 K:BB ratio. With Aroldis Chapman back from the Covid IL and Zack Britton leading baseball with 8 saves, the back-end of the bullpen is fine even without Dellin Betances.
The Pursuit of .400
It has been a long time since a player has even flirted with batting .400 – let alone actually do it. I remember in 2008 when Chipper Jones was hitting .436 into June. Before that, it was Tony Gwynn in 1994 and George Brett in 1980 who flirted with the magic number but didn’t achieve it. Ted Williams was the last player to actually eclipse it and that was back in 1941. The game has changed substantially and it has devalued batting average in favor of on-base percentage. Pitchers throw harder, they are less concerned with going deep into games verses letting it fly for two times through the order. Bullpens are deeper and every reliever is a challenge to face. No more soft underbelly of the bullpen.
With that said, it’s 20 games into the season and we have Charlie Blackmon, Donovan Solano, D.J. LaMahieu all hitting above or near .400. Last week this was more of a conversation because Blackmon’s hot streak put him at the ridiculous figure of 34-for-68 (.500 AVG). Do I think it will happen? No. Hitters don’t sustain those types of streaks anymore. Ty Cobb batted .368 over a 23-year career, and in 2019 it was Tim Anderson’s .335 that led all of baseball. It is just something that we have to accept that batting average is simply not viewed in the same light that it used to. Personally, I am more impressed that Bryce Harper and Juan Soto’s on-base percentage are flirting with .500.
Steven A. Cohen the Savior
There’s not much that you can say about the Wilpons that hasn’t been said. Since acquiring majority ownership of the New York Mets in 2002, the franchise has not won a World Series title. They only made the World Series in 2015 and it ended in cruel fashion as they were defeated in five games by the Kansas City Royals despite leading for 89 percent of the innings. They only made the playoffs two other times. The rest of the time has often been filled not just with cruel on-the-field losses that have been on display for the baseball world but also bizarre public relations disasters that have been self-imposed and magnified by playing in New York opposite of the most successful franchise in North American sport history. They haven’t spent on free agents often, but when they do it backfires in their face (see Jason Bay, Michael Cuddyer, Yoenis Cespedes and Jed Lowrie. The team lost their best homegrown position player in franchise history to a series of debilitating injuries including spinal stenosis. Their franchise ace, Jacob deGrom, can’t get his offense to score any runs for him. The list goes on. Often when a franchise is in a two-decade funk it comes from the top because that’s how professional sports work. Ownership sets the tone. They hire the right people and get out of the way. The on-the-field success follows. We have seen this happen from the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs. When a franchise is sold to an owner or ownership group that is willing to spend and hire the right people, sustained winning is usually the result.
Enter Steven A. Cohen.
The Great Neck native who is worth an estimated $14.6 billion made $900 million in 2006 and over $1 billion last year. He is widely considered the best stock trade in history. In fact, the HBO show Billions is loosely based on him. He is a ruthless win-at-all-costs business man. To make matters better, he is a die-hard Met fan that currently owns 8 percent of the team.
Basically, he’s the guy you want in charge. Teams want their owners to spend money, hire smart people to make the decisions and if possible – care as much as they do. Check, check and check. Cohen is bidding against A-Rod and J-Lo to own the team. The latter is interested in making Citi Field an entertainment epicenter for the music industry and develop Willets Point into a tourist attraction complete with shopping centers and a casino. You know what that plan doesn’t include? Competing with the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies for top talent.
Mets fans should want Steve Cohen in charge. Recent reports suggest he is intending on being that guy. Here’s an article that outlines why.
A Young Man’s Game
There was a time during my youth that baseball seemed to discriminate against younger players. When you look at the league leaders in the early 2000s, you see players like Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling, Jim Thome, Jason Giambi, Rafael Palmeri, etc. All players performing exceptional well into their 30s and 40s. Players hit free agency at age-29 or 30 and then cashed out with their big contracts. Almost every team had the veteran clubhouse guy that was barely holding on. Jamie Moyer and Julio Franco approaching 50 and still playing roles. Top prospects were traded for veterans at the deadline to help make a playoff push. Future value was disregarded in exchange for playing meaningful home games in September. This was during the Steroid Era, and essentially the game has completely changed since then. Every front office is run by Ivy League graduates and every decision is backed by data. Prospects are held onto because they have more future value and some teams will hoard them in hopes that some of them will form the basis of a championship core as the Chicago Cubs did with offense in 2016. Players no longer play into their 40s, and free agents don’t always cash out when they actually hit free agency. With the exception of the undisputed best player of this generation, Mike Trout, all of the best players in baseball are under 25. The future of the game is players like Fernando Tatis Jr, Ronald Acuna and Juan Soto. Earlier this week, Luis Garcia became the first player born in 2000 to hit a home run! It’s a young man’s game more than ever and teams are wise to invest major dollars not just into scouting but player development so that the players that they do have can reach their full potential – because the advantage no longer exists in free agency as less impact players will hit the market.
The Padres are Coming
The San Diego Padres have been an afterthought for a while in Major League Baseball. They have been somewhat nondescript franchise being that they play most of their games after the folks on the east coast and central time are sleeping. They are not the Los Angeles Dodgers or Lakers so they don’t get the headlines and they have not won a World Series in franchise history. In fact, they haven’t made the postseason since 2006. That’s all about to change. After years of accruing top talent in the minor leagues and routinely being ranked as the top farm system in baseball, they are about to reap the benefits of patient. GM A.J. Preller made a big push to acquire veterans in 2015 with players like Craig Kimbrel, James Shields, Matt Kemp and Justin Upton. That strategy did not work and he quickly unloaded those players and began to replenish the minor league system. Major League Baseball started to see that last season with the promotion of Fernando Tatis Jr and Chris Paddack. The thing is, that’s just scratching the surface. You don’t get named the top farm system in baseball just with a couple of first round picks. Once MacKenzie Gore gets the promotion, they may have the best 1-2 punch in baseball. Luis Patino just got called up. Adrian Morejon was on Pitching Ninja last night. C.J. Abrams and Taylor Trammell are coming. Robert Hassell was the best prep hitter in the country. Ryan Weathers was a first round pick in 2018. Now it won’t be easy to just overcome the Dodgers, but the only way to do it is with a loaded system and that’s what they have built.
The Disappointments
In a 60-game season, it was almost a certainty that teams would run away from the pack but it was unlikely that a team would actually be considered a “seller” at the August 31 trade deadline. So I was surprised to see how badly the Boston Red Sox, Seattle Mariners, Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants have looked. All four have essentially eliminated themselves from postseason contention already. The Red Sox – just two years removed from their best season in franchise history and another World Series title- waived the white flag this season when they traded franchise cornerstone Mookie Betts before the season and lose Chris Sale to Tommy John. They have the worst pitching in franchise history and they will be looking at a bit of a rebuild with Chaim Bloom tasked with shedding some salary. The Mariners have not been in the playoffs since 2001, which is the longest drought in baseball currently. They have Long Islander Justin Dunn in the rotation so at least that is a plus. The Pirates, who had begun to turn the corner as a franchise with postseason appearances in 2013-2015 are now staring at their fifth consecutive playoff-less season. The Giants, who had their run of three World Series titles in the 2010s, are headed towards missing out on the playoffs for the fourth straight season.
