Opening Day!
It's today! Finally! Feels like it's been five months since Spring Training started.
Baseball’s preseason is finally over! MLB’s Opening Day has arrived, and I, for one, couldn’t be more excited. Here are just a few of the stories that I’ll be tracking in 2020:
Which of the kids will break out?
Sure, everyone’s heard of Joey Bart and Marco Luciano and Hunter Bishop, but who is the reliever who’ll have a 0.86 ERA in Richmond for 4 months? Which of the minor league free agents stashed in Sacramento will go all Mike Yastrzemski* and force his way to the majors? How will this year’s draft pick do in Salem-Keizer? There are so many questions that only a full minor league season will be able to answer!
*Yes, I know the Giants picked up Yastrzemski in a deal for Tyler Herb. This does not affect my point in any way.
Who will the Giants flip at the deadline?
Over the offseason, Farhan Zaidi and Scott Harris acquired Kevin Gausman and Drew Smyly to bolster the rotation, but they also acquired Gausman and Smyly to potentially bolster their return at the July 31 trade deadline. Add in a number of veteran position players and a young bullpen that could potentially fetch some very strong talent, and, if the front office so chooses, they’ve got the makings of a transformative year for the Giants farm system.
Who will sign Yasiel Puig?
If I’m being honest, I really thought he’d have a home by now.
How will Giants fans react to Madison Bumgarner in a Diamondbacks uniform?
Sure, there’ll be cheers at first, but once Bumgarner is doing his thing, striking out guys with his slutter and looking ornery as hell on the mound in the process, well, there will still be cheers. But what happens if Austin Slater homers off Bumgarner and watches it for a couple seconds? What if Evan Longoria looks at him funny after taking a walk? What if Mauricio Dubon’s head snaps back after an iffy called strike? And what if Bumgarner, in time-honored Bumgarner tradition, doesn’t take too kindly to any of that? Will the cheers still echo through a packed Oracle Park? Or will he get that good-natured booing that the situation will warrant? One thing’s for sure: It’ll be fun to find out!
Can Johnny Cueto be a horse again?
Before his miserable 2017 and injury-plagued 2018 and 2019, Cueto was consistently one of the most dominating arms in the league. But after missing so much time with Tommy John surgery, it’s fair to ask if Cueto can be the pitcher he was. If he can, though, it’ll be a huge boost to a team that needs strength and leadership on the mound. Cueto is surely aiming for a 200 inning season, and if he gets there, that’ll portend only good things for the Giants.
Will a global pandemic shutter the season for months and, when it does start up, make it seem like clearly a bad idea in terms of public health?
That’s oddly specific!
Are the Dodgers going to win 100 games?
Last year, the Los Angeles Dodgers went 106-56 before losing to the Nationals in the Division Series. They responded by picking up Mookie Betts and David Price — and Brusdar Graterol to boot — and are once again the prohibitive favorites in the NL West. It seems almost a fait accompli that they’re going to run away with the division, but miracles can happen. That’s why you play the games!
Can Buster Posey return to his All-Star form?
No player better embodies the current era of Giants baseball than Buster Posey. But he’s been declining for a few years now as a result, at least partially, of a balky hip. Posey got the hip surgically fixed in 2018, then had a poor offensive year in 2019, so 2020 is a big year for Buster Posey. While there’s no question about his glove, his bat has slipped for a few years in a row. This season will be a big opportunity for Posey to show that he’s healthy and it’s not time for the Joey Bart era to start just yet.
One thing’s for sure: We might think we know the answers to all of these questions, but we’re all almost certainly wrong. But that’s the whole fun of baseball! You never know what’s going to happen. So, enjoy the season, everybody.
Happy March 26, happy Opening Day, and let’s play ball!