After a five months deep-freeze, baseball season is upon us once again
Billy Beane was right – it’s hard not to be romantic about baseball.
That infamous line from Moneyball reminds me why it’s okay if I get a bit choked up when I smell a ballpark dog, hear the sound of 108 red stitches on a baseball hitting a Canadian maple bat, and see the ballet that is a perfectly executed 6-4-3 double play.
For some, spring is marked by the Equinox on March 20, but for Canadian baseball fans, spring has only sprung once the umpire yells ‘play ball’ on Opening Day.
As romantic as the sport of baseball may be, there was no love in the story of the Toronto Blue Jays abysmal 2013 season that saw Canada’s team win only 74 games – good enough for last place in the American League East.
And as much as I hate to admit it, I don’t see the Jays winning more than 80 games this year, which will likely still put them in the cellar of baseball’s most competitive division.
However, there are plenty of worthwhile storylines to talk about going into the 2014 season.
Heading into spring training, the Los Angeles Dodgers were the team to beat (7/1 odds), and despite the injury to Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw, I don’t think those odds have budged.
The Cardinals (15/2), the Tigers (9/1), the Nationals (11/1), and the Red Sox and Rays (12/2) round out the top five, with the Yankees coming in at 6th best odds for their 28th World Series (14/1).
The Dodgers and Cardinals earned their one and two rankings in Vegas, no doubt. Nevertheless, I like the Washington Nationals coming out of the National League. Bryce Harper is a year older, and a hell of a lot bigger – he put on about 40 pounds in the offseason, and a lot of muscle. Harper, if his knee holds up, could be on pace for 35+ home runs, 110+ RBIs, 20 stolen bases, and an MVP candidacy. Moreover, once Doug Fister gets healthy, the Nat’s starting four will be Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmerman, and Fister – that’s ridiculous.
I know the Tigers appear to be the outright favourites for the AL pennant, and with the likes of Miguel Cabrera, Ian Kinsler, and Victor Martinez in the top four of the batting order, and Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, and (when healthy) Anibal Sanchez heading the pitching rotation, it’s hard to disagree, but I have them losing to the Red Sox in the AL Divisional Series.
This pains me to say (considering I’ve been a longtime Athletics fan), but the Red Sox are just too good for the Moneyball A’s to compete with. I have the Sox winning convincingly.
Lastly, I know I’ll take some flack for this, and so many variables change in the seven month marathon that is the MLB season, but tentatively, I have the Nationals winning the World Series in six over the Red Sox.