Sharing a few thoughts on the Red Sox and MLB while preparing for today's Opening Day to be rained out.
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My first thought is with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Rich Hill, who turned 41 a month ago, begins his 17th MLB season with Tampa being his 11th MLB team. After a promising start to his career with the Chicago Cubs, arm injuries derailed his career and, for a few years, forced him to the bullpen before a 2015 career renaissance that has seen him have great success as a starter.
The Rays are trying to bounce back from a disappointing loss to the Dodgers in the World Series and Hill will play a big role in doing so, being able to provide veteran leadership (including his own experiences in coming back from World Series losses as a Dodger in 2017 and 2018) and solid pitching. After dealing Blake Snell to the Padres during the off-season, Hill will help solidify the pitching staff behind ace Tyler Glasnow.
I would expect to see Hill taking the ball to start a playoff game, either for the Rays or another playoff team if he's traded, come October.
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With many questions surrounding their starting pitching, the success of the team in Alex Cora's return to the dugout will rely heavily on the offense.
The Red Sox are going to need big seasons at the plate from Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers, and JD Martinez while hoping that Alex Verdugo, Bobby Dalbec, and Franchy Cordero can also have productive years at the plate.
Boston should be much improved from a year ago, but competing with the Yankees, Blue Jays, and Rays in the AL East will be difficult with so many holes in the pitching rotation.
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It will be interesting to watch Cora manage this year, as Chaim Bloom has built a roster with great positional flexibility.
Kike Hernandez, Christian Arroyo, and Marwin Gonzalez all have the ability to play across the infield and the outfield, allowing Cora many options for his lineup from game-to-game and for in-game substitutions.
Bloom's fingerprints are all over this type of roster flexibility. A graduate of the Tampa Bay School of Roster Building, Bloom has stressed depth on the roster. It is a different type of roster building than most Red Sox fans are used to, but it should help generate more wins than in 2020.
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As disappointing as it has been to follow the Red Sox since they won the 2018 World Series, better days are ahead.
The payroll issues, that led them to trade future Hall of Famer Mookie Betts to the Dodgers before the 2020 season, seem to be settled. Bloom has a vision for how to build a sustainable long-term winner. Cora is back in the dugout. There is a good core of young veteran leaders.
And there is also a promising farm system.
In addition to Dalbec, who used a successful Spring to make himself a favorite for the 2021 AL Rookie of the Year, Boston is poised to add Tanner Houck and Jay Groome to the pitching staff as well as Triston Casas, Jeter Downs, and Jarren Duran to the everyday lineup over the next 18 months.
Hold tight Red Sox Nation, the Sox should be back in title contention by 2022.
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As he nears his 30th birthday, it's still hard to believe that Mike Trout has only appeared in one playoff series.
Outside of the Red Sox, this is the team I most want to see have success in 2021. Trout is the best player of his generation, but the lack of October success has been disappointing.
Here's hoping the 2021 Angels make a deep playoff run.
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Imagine being a young baseball fan in Southern California right now?
Mike Trout. Mookie Betts. Fernando Tatis Jr.
Enjoy!
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Enjoy Nathan Eovaldi tomorrow. Happy Opening Day.
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