The whoLe mLB picTure

Part of what makes the arrival of Major League Baseball such a harbinger of warmer days ahead is the sheer tumult of the off-season, a barrage of news, trades, signings and other controversies.

Add to it rules changes and schedule changes that delights some and offends others….and you’ve got a 2023 season that will feel particularly welcome.

Of course, nothing might top how the World Baseball Classic ended, one Angels megastar (Shohei Ohtani) striking out another (Mike Trout) to give Japan the title…try matching that kind of drama in the fall.

The Angels themselves have a steep climb in the AL West. The champs in Houston haven’t shown any signs of drop-off and, even if the Astros did, Seattle, led by the young and amazing Julio Rodriguez, is in great position to take over.

Oh, and Texas signed the best pitcher on the planet, Jacob de Grom, the Rangers

Random Thoughts

Phil Blackwell

showing that it’s serious to turn a corner. All that Oakland can look forward to is young players developing and endless questions about Vegas.

Not that fans around here pay much attention. Most ride or die with the Yankees or Red Sox, though it’s the Pinstripes that (again) have outsized expectations and the Red Sox with much to improve after a last-place 2022.

More interesting in the AL East is whether Baltimore, finally out of its doldrums, can build upon last season’s surprising success. Not easy, since Toronto remains powerful at the plate and Tampa Bay does what the Rays always do, develop young talent and win without a budget or an actual ballpark.

Having risen to the top of the AL Central well ahead of schedule, Cleveland only needs consistent plate production to dream of ending a 75-year World Series title drought.

Minnesota, having signed Carlos Correa after all, is best equipped to dethrone the Guardians because the White Sox, otherwise ambitious, are racked with early injury concerns. What’s more, Kansas City and Detroit are deep into rebuilds, so for either of them 70 wins is progress and anything more is a bonus.

All the spending by the Mets and Phillies in the NL East doesn’t change the fact that Atlanta, through its timely signings and smart long-term contracts to its core players, is best equipped to win for a while.

Philadelphia was feeling quite good until Rhys Hoskins tore his ACL. The Mets…. well, even its own fans will not believe them until they actually win big when it counts most. Staring at all this largesse, Miami remains committed to its youth and Washington has torn everything down, making 2019 seem like a lifetime ago.

With names like Cody Bell- inger and Marcus Stroman on hand, the Cubs are serious again, making the NL Central a three-team story.

St. Louis moves on from legends but still has Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado on hand, while Milwaukee again leans on its strong pitching. Many like what Cincinnati is constructing but know the Reds are, at best two years away, something Pittsburgh has said for far too long now to really trust.

Could it be that (gasp) the Dodgers are vulnerable in the NL West? L.A. didn’t corner the market as usual, while San Diego is downright scary if Manny Machado, Juan Soto and Fernando Tatis Jr. are in the same lineup.

Having just missed out on the likes of Aaron Judge, San Francisco might find itself behind an Arizona side doing most things right to be 2023’s sleeper. Colorado is just sleeping and can’t do much about mile-high altitude that renders all attempts to build a pitching