Sorting through some shocking starts
Major League Baseball is back in full swing (it was a low hanging fruit), and the first few weeks have given us a lot to digest.
Are the Red Sox having a World Series hangover or is it something more? Are the Orioles *gasp* average? Is Mike Trout powerful enough to wield all six Infinity Stones?
We won’t be able to accurately answer these questions for a few months, but let’s have some fun with it. Here are some early questions and takeaways from the MLB so far.
Has Boston become the city of ‘Loozahs’?
The short answer here is no, but why have the Red Sox been so bad?
Well, for one, their starting pitching has been awful. Chris Sale, Rick Porcello and David Price are all former Cy Young winners, but are a combined 1-7 to start the year.
The Red Sox offense has not been much help either. Defending AL MVP Mookie Betts is hitting just .233 so far.
Really, the only positive the Red Sox have going for them right now is J.D. Martinez’s hot start. Their 6-11 record is peculiar, but Sox fans shouldn’t panic yet.
There is too much baseball left to be played, and this team is far too talented to count them out at any point in the year. A few quality starts from their studs and a couple series victories and they’ll be right back to where everyone thought they would be.
Didn’t anyone tell the Orioles they were supposed to be bad?
Who do the Baltimore Orioles think they are? Do they think they can just come out and play mediocre baseball without raising a few eyebrows? Before the season started, the Orioles were being pegged as potentially one of the worst teams of all time. So, what should we make of their 7-10 start?
I am going to go with this team read all the newspapers and heard all the talk shows saying how bad they were going to be, and it torqued them off.
Sure, they won’t make the playoffs. They know that. Their fans know that. However, it is good to see a team that did not roll over and submit just because people said they were supposed to.
Mike Trout is better than you are
Mike Trout is the best baseball player on the planet. There is no debate. The two-time MVP is off to a scorching start.
In just 12 games, Trout has 5 home runs and 12 RBIs to go along with a .406 batting average. His AL leading 1.8 WAR is mind-boggling considering he missed a week of play with a groin injury.
Sure, when the season ends, there will be guys that will have hit more home runs or hit for a better batting average or both.
But Trout is the most complete five-tool player in the game, and the world deserves to see him in the playoffs. Hopefully, the rest of the Los Angeles Angels can figure it out and help get him there.
Something is brewing in Milwaukee
The Milwaukee Brewers were one game away from the World Series last year. This year, they are out to prove it was not a fluke. The Brewers are just … solid.
They do not have an alarming weakness in their lineup. Christian Yelich is once again playing like an MVP and is the biggest reason the Brewers are on a short list of teams that can win it all. The one thing they could use is a starting pitcher.
This team has the potential to be playing deep into October, so when the trade deadline rolls around expect them to be big time buyers.