The ABCs of the 2015 MLB Season

Baseball is back! That means it’s time to dust off the tired, ABCs trope to give a quick rundown of the coming 162 games. Enjoy!

A is for A-Rod: The fitting alpha and omega of the coming season.

B is for #Buctober: Team-mandated hashtags are dumb, but there’s a soft spot in my heart for #Buctober and its little-used offshoot, #Buctoberfest. The Pittsburgh Pirates found their way into October baseball the last two years and appear in good shape to return — independent of all the headlines the Cubs picked up this winter. Andrew McCutchen, Gregory Polanco and Starling Marte are the best all-around outfield in baseball, so put that together with a strong pitching staff anchored by Gerrit Cole and this is as good a chance as any for the Pirates to raise the Jolly Roger deep into October.

C is for Clayton Kershaw: Underrated isn’t a term you throw out to label someone who’s won the last two Cy Young awards, but is it possible Kershaw’s greatness isn’t fully appreciated? Seven seasons into his career and Kershaw owns the third-best Adjusted ERA+ in baseball history (154), ahead of names like Walter Johnson. Maybe that’s not a sexy or readily digested stat, but the fact remains Kershaw is on a path to become one of the best pitchers we’ve ever seen. That said, it’s a lot easier to question his lack of success in the postseason or talk about the $30+ million he makes per season.

D is for #DyingSport: Without fail, throughout the year baseball will probably be declared dead or dying countless times, simply because it’s not 1957 or 1987 or 2007 anymore.

E is for Edgar Frederick Yost III: We know and love him as Ned. As good a feel-good story as the Royals trip to the World Series turned out to be in 2014, few expect a return in 2015. It’s easy to shrug at the additions of Alex Rios and Edinson Volquez but Eric Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain and Salavador Perez, among others in the Royals’ young core, should continue to improve. The most-pertinent question in KC is if the bullpen of Greg Holland, Kelvin Herrera and Wade Davis can replicate what it did in 2014? However it shakes out, we’ll still get a bunch of bunt jokes at Yost’s expense.

F is for Felix Hernandez: In his eight full seasons since King Felix’s 2005 call-up, the Mariners have averaged 75 wins — including two 101-loss seasons. The Mariners enter 2015 as one of the most-buzzed about clubs. Most think they’ll snap their playoff-less streak, which dates back to 2001. Hernandez, the best starter in the American League the last decade, has waited far too long to pitch meaningful games in October.

G is for Giancarlo Stanton: Sports fans love to obsess about contracts and the $325 million deal Stanton signed in the winter is one that creates headlines, never mind the fact he only makes $6.5 million in 2015 — the big money kicks in starting in 2018. The offshoot of the contract is Stanton’s found himself in the media spotlight and — most remarkably — helped turned the perception of the Marlins from a laughingstock team in an empty neon-fever dream ballpark that its scummy owner fleeced tax payers on to build into ‘hey, is this a playoff team?’ That’s no small feat to pull off.

H is for Jason Heyward: Wins Above Replacement (WAR) is one of countless baseball stats used to measure players. If you put any credance into it, Heyward rated out the 17th-best player in the sport, worth over six wins to the Braves in 2014. Atlanta, in rebuilding mode, decided to part ways with their 25-year-old outfielder. This should be the Cardinals gain, with Heyward lengthening an already stacked lineup. Heyward came up in 2010 and posted another six-win season. Perhaps this is the year he finally busts out and finds his way into the MVP discussion. That said, with St. Louis Heyward hardly needs to be an MVP-level player to make an impact.

I is for Indians, The Cleveland: There’s serious buzz and reason for optimism at Progressive Field. A potential monkey wrench? Sports Illustrated tapped Cleveland to win the World Series and we know how well that usually works out. Then again, anything that allows us to dredge of an excuse to post Major League clips, the better. Hopefully Corey Kluber, et al, earns themselves an American Experess endorsement.

J is for Jose Abreu: The 27-year-old mashed 36 ~~dingers~~ homers for the White Sox in 2014, leading the American League in slugging percentage and OPS+. There’s two ways this tends to go. In his second season Abreu gets even better and becomes one guy, in the post-PED landscape, to approach 50 home runs … or the league catches up to him and he falls prey to the dreaded sophomore slump. The yearly, intracity home run contest between Abreu and the next guy on our list should be fun for the next couple seasons. Chicago acquired a lot of talent in the winter, but Abreu’s potential to become the game’s foremost slugger should be the biggest cause for optimism — you can put that on the board.

K is for Kris Bryant: Unless you’re Scott Boras, the tedious harping over whether or not Bryant — this year’s mega/super/can’t miss prospect after 43 minor league home runs last year — starts 2015 on the Cubs roster or in Triple A is a moot point. Either way, the talk has certainly gotten Bryant’s name out there. Will his nine home run spring translate into a Rookie of the Year campaign, or like many prospects will he struggle to adapt to Major League pitching? Perhaps, big picture, we’ll look at the Cubs decision to send Bryant down as the first steps toward labor strife down the road?

L is for Lawrie, Brett: Let’s just use Lawrie’s convenient last name as an excuse to talk about the Oakland Athletics, one of the most mysterious teams in baseball. Billy Beane didn’t sit pat following a loss in the Wild Card game to the Royals, remaking his entire infield by parting with Josh Donaldson, to add Brett Lawrie, while acquiring Marcus Semien and Ben Zobrist in separate deals. Oakland also gets Jarrod Parker back, eventually. If you can accurately predict which way the A’s season goes you are from the future, or something. (If that’s the case, why are you wasting your time reading sports blogs?)

M is for Meet the Mets: Is this the year the Metropolitans snap their string of six-straight losing seasons? Matt Harvey is back, that’s a good development for both the Mets and New York tabloid writers. The Mets contending for a Wild Card spot is attainable, but as usual the franchise always deals with the lingering cloud of Wilpon ineptitude — meaning an LOLMets headline is always simmering below the surface. We know David Wright will be there to lead the ship regardless of the record.

N is for Natitude: The last three seasons Washington’s finished with win totals of 98, 86 and 96. Now, with the game’s best starting rotation (in theory), the Nationals look like the only team that might reasonably chase 100 wins — thanks in no small part to the status of the National League East. Even if the Nationals top 100 wins, questions will linger about their postseason success since the previous two 90-win seasons resulted in ousters during the Division Series. Should Washington falter again in the playoffs its more an illustration of the crap-shoot nature of modern day postseason baseball, rather than an indictment of the team itself. The potential breakout seasons from Anthony Rendon (sidelined with an MCL strain) and Bryce Harper along with that Max Scherzer-led rotation makes Washington the surest bet of any team to make the playoffs.

O is for Olde English D: Is the end nigh for the current Detroit Tigers core? It looks that way since the aging core of Justin Verlander, Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez are all signed to massive contracts through at least 2019. Verland might begin the season on the DL — the first time the former MVP’s career.

P is for Parity: The days of the Yankees and Red Sox dominating baseball year-in, year-out are gone to the dustpan with a bunch of used James Blunt CDs. On paper the American League lacks a dominant team, while you might be able to make cases for the Dodgers and Nationals in the Senior Circuit. Bud Selig finally got his wish: as we hit the season only a handful of the 30 fanbases don’t think their favorite team has a shot to make the playoffs.

Q is for Quackenbush, Kevin: The Padres made roughly 789 moves in the offseason, acquiring an entirely new outfield of Justin Upton, Wil Myers and Matt Kemp. San Diego also inked James Shields. Above all else, they’ll trot out a dude named Kevin Quackenbush to the mound, which is simply quack-tastic. (Sorry. I hate myself too.)

R is for Ratings: People are going to analyze the ratings of the All Star Game in July and the World Series in October, as if they are the Dead Sea Scrolls since clearly Nielsen ratings are a be-all, end-all for everything in sports.

S is for SkyDome: Technically the Rogers Centre, but allow me a little creative license. The Blue Jays own the longest playoff drought in baseball, dating to 1993. Once again Toronto made a lot of noise in the offseason (Josh Donaldson, Russell Martin). Will it make a difference? The American League East is wide-open, but perhaps it’s best to proceed with caution in regard to the Jays until they’ve officially got an X next to their name, denoting a playoff berth has been clinched. The starting pitching staff is worrisome, to say the least, even if that offense could turn the Dome into a mid-90s level launching pad.

T is for Trout, Mike: No argument anymore: Mike Trout is the best player in baseball. The better question is whether or not the Angels are bound for their second consecutive postseason?

U is for ulnar collateral ligaments: UCL is becoming ACL of baseball. The elbow ligament is the bane of many pitchers and likely leads to Tommy John surgery. Yankees starter Masahiro Tanaka opted against surgery following an UCL tear and is penciled in as the team’s Opening Day starter. Jose Fernandez, the Marlins’ young ace, should be back pitching come June. The Mets already lost promising righty Zack Wheeler to the injury in March. Once again, many pitchers will be lost to elbow and shoulder injuries in 2015. Once again lots will be written about how to fix this. Once again, we’ll collectively be unable to figure out a perfect solution to solve the human anatomy’s underlying dissonance with throwing a baseball 90 mph overhand repeatedly.

V is for Joey Votto: The stats wonks vs. old school baseball types debate reached its natural progression with the Reds first baseman. Somehow, we’ve come to the point where a guy getting on-base at a near 40-percent clip could be considered a negative. All signs point toward a long season in Cincinnati, however the team could impact the postseason if it ever decides to trade off Aroldis Chapman to the highest bidder in July.

W is for Wrigley Field 2.0: When a century old ballpark noted for its charm, aesthetics and history loses that to make way for new bleachers, scoreboards, etc. (which won’t be finished on time) what exactly do you have left?

X is for Xander Bogaerts: With youngsters like Bogaerts and Mookie Betts, coupled with new editions like Hanley Ramirez, Pablo Sandoval and Rick Porcello along with holdovers like David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia and Mike Napoli, are the Red Sox once again primed to go from worst to first? Most projections predict Boston touches on 90 wins, even without an established “ace” or No. 1 starter in the fold. My best guess? The Red Sox roster we see today compared to Aug. 1 might have some significant additions.

Y is for Yasiel Puig: Maybe you’ve heard of the Dodgers outfield? Perhaps? Rings a bell? Eh, you’re better off watching, since he’s the most exciting all-around player in the game.

Z is for zero: The amount of times I’d like to hear people kvetch about the game being boring or games being too long or the season being too long, a pipe dream admittedly.

Play Ball!

[Photos via Getty]