Finally, we witnessed a meaningful full day of baseball. The overwhelming majority of Major League Baseball teams (the Yankees and Nationals were out after Thursday’s first game) played a regular-season game on Friday for the first time since September 29, 2019. It felt so good to see the best players in the world play trade. Too much time had passed.
Now this version of the Inauguration Reactions on Inauguration Day will definitely be fun, just like I had fun over the years doing it. Overreactions to a game in a 60-game season still exist, but they’re not as silly as going crazy with a game in a 162-game marathon. A game now counts almost three times more than normal. However, it should be noted, some of this is mitigated with 16 of 30 teams making the playoffs. So yes, we shouldn’t overreact yet. Let’s review some possible overreactions and analyze their validity.
I’m back! Diaz is fixed …?!
The Mets won, 1-0, against the Braves behind Jacob deGrom’s stellar work and the bullpen keeping up with the zeros. The lone run was courtesy of a single shot by Yoenis Céspedes (full story here). Edwin Diaz closed the ninth inning, gave Freddie Freeman a ride, and being careful with him and a career advantage is never a bad decision, and nothing more.
So, yeah, Mets fans, go crazy. Diaz is groomed with his new confidence and Cespedes is back, giving the Mets a ridiculously deadly power combo with Pete Alonso and Cespedes. Get excited!
The reality here is that both overreactions could be true. Diaz was an absolute beast before being traded to the Mets and falling apart last season. At 26, it’s not like he hit a wall because of age. It just blew a few games and then it turned into a lost season. It happens to the best of them. Friday’s departure will probably give him confidence that he just needed to change the schedule to 2020. I bet he will be back. The problem is that we cannot be definitive about it. We need to see more than one out of four hitters to be sure.
A similar sentiment goes for Cespedes. He only played 81 games in 2017 and 38 games in 2018 before missing all of 2019. He had not played a significant game in over two years. The home run was very exciting and looked good, but he is also 34 years old and has been out of practice for quite some time.
Cautious optimism is fine. Lastly it is a major overreaction.
Yelich is broken
Former MVP Christian Yelich, who could have won last year to go back-to-back before a broken kneecap left him out, struggled powerfully in his summer camp games. It was well documented everywhere. The reports varied as to what the actual numbers were, but it was something like 4 for 34 with 16 strikeouts. That was the most common account I found.
On Friday against the Cubs, he didn’t look good at all. He weakly hit the pitcher on his first at-bat, then struck out twice before landing harmlessly in the ninth with a runner on (technically it was a fielder’s choice). He balanced and missed five times, including twice with two punches.
Overreact!
It’s entirely possible that you have a bad year after something that could have been shown to be a career altering injury. The smart money, though, is that this is a superstar at his best and that he will eventually get things back. Even if you can’t go back to the MVP level, you were at the All-Star level before.
Reds are the break that many thought would be
The Reds have been a fashion choice to win the National League for the National League and they came out of the gates incredibly strong. They scored seven runs with nine hits while allowing just one run (a solo homer) and three hits. Sonny Gray was excellent on the mound. They didn’t burn any of their top-notch relievers. Mike Moustakas had the Reds’ debut, 3-for-4 with a gigantic home run. Joey Votto had a couple of hits, including a home run. Shogo Akiyama debuted with an RBI single in two at-bats. Nick Castellanos had a double RBI. It was a fairly complete performance with many good signs. They seemed to be as amazing as many thought they would be.
But they played against the Tigers. The first inning for the Reds scored with a walk, solo, and then two consecutive hitters before Moustakas released and Cameron Maybin summed up the Tigers 2020.
Reds could be great. However, we cannot overreact and say that defeating a heinous team proves anything.
New Parents Too!
The Padres are a team that I’ve been pushing to sleep well this season for weeks. Months, probably. The Diamondbacks were playoff contenders last year and added Starling Mars and Madison Bumgarner in the offseason, making them a formidable opponent heading to Friars Opening Day.
And the Padres, behind Chris Paddack’s dominance (6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K) on the mound, quality bullpen job and Eric Hosmer exploding with three hits that included a pair of three doubles Rides, cruises and absolutely seemed like the contender part. Tommy Pham stole two bases, Fernando Tatis looked like a star as always, Jurickson Profar made two walks to load the bases in front of Hosmer with two outs to set the table for the night of the six RBIs and this team generally only had aspect of a San Diego team will meet.
It is, of course, just a game. It was 0-0 for a while. The punctuality of the Hosmer doubles was fortunate and the whole game was balanced on them. But man, it was hard not to get excited about the Padres. As I like to say, cautious optimism is probably the right lane here, San Diego.
Uh oh Phillies
Phillies ace Aaron Nola looked like an elite-level pitcher for the first five months of 2018. Since then, he’s been better than great and even closer to mediocre at times. On Friday, the Marlins caught him for four runs in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out seven against a walk, but was knocked out in a sixth of four runs.
Meanwhile, the Phillies’ offense represented just two runs with five hits. They were mostly dominated by Marlins starter Sandy Alcantara.
Nothing has changed? Are the Phillies even closer to being mediocre instead of being good? If that’s the case, that means fourth place in the National League East … or worse? The Marlins handled them with some ease.
I would say there is a certain level of concern here, but let’s not go crazy. Andrew McCutchen, Bryce Harper and JT Realmuto did nothing at the plate and are sure bets to consistently perform the rest of the way. The pitching part is somewhat concerning, but they have Zack Wheeler added to last year’s group. They are better than they played.
Tiles> Rays
Well look at that. The Blue Buffalo “Buffalo” are very young talent and brought Hyun-Jin Ryu to serve as the ace of the staff. The Rays are a playoff team believed to be the greatest threat to the Yankees in the American League East. The Jays came in and hit Rays’ ace Charlie Morton in the mouth. A home run by Cavan Biggio chased him with the following line: 4+ IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 4 K.
Legacy trio Bo Bichette, Cavan Biggio, and Vladimir Guerrero combined for four hits, four runs, and three RBIs in the top three places in the order. Maybe they have arrived?
Meanwhile, the Rays’ offense received only five hits. Sure, they were timely enough to get four races, but some of that is just good fortune. It was 5 times 33 and that is an average of .152. Frankly, the lineup doesn’t look all that impressive on paper.
So, have the Jays already outscored the Rays?
Probably not. Again, this was just a game. However, I think one conclusion of this game is that the Jays will be competitive this season and a lot of fun to watch. Even if the playoffs are lost, there is a good base.
Lucas Giolito: wonder of a year
White Sox starter Lucas Giolito was the worst starter in baseball in 2018 by ERA among qualified starters, with a paltry 6.13 ERA. Last year, he became an All-Star who finished sixth in Cy Young’s vote. Now he is expected to lead the rotation of an upstart contender on the south side of Chicago.
On Friday night Giolito received seven runs and six hits in 3 2/3 innings. He walked three. Baseball history is full of pitchers who were short-term coincidences and who never lived up to that great long-term season. Giolito is fined for a year of wonder after opening day, right?
I suppose it is possible. I don’t think it’s likely. He was a talent recruited in the first round of high school and a prospect in the top five for several years in the minor leagues. He put it all together at age 24 last season and stumbled upon an offensive by the Twins on Friday. Smart money is that it will be fine. However, there are only around 11 starts left and a stench in the books, don’t count on a Cy Young. Speaking of that award and Chicago …
Hendricks for Cy Young!
The Cubs’ Kyle Hendricks released the second close of Opening Day since 2003 and the fifth since 1993 (full story here). It was remarkable in every way. He looked like the Cy Young contender he was in 2016, though he has since added a very effective curveball.
Hey, with just 11 starts left and a shutout already under his belt, this may not be an overreaction, but Hendricks hasn’t gotten a single Cy Young vote since 2016.
Globe Life Field is a pitcher’s dream
The Rangers debuted in a new stadium and won. However, I wonder how truly excited the clubhouse is, at least on the position player side, after it. The two teams combined for one run on six hits. There has been debate in recent weeks about the possibility of this stadium playing the opposite of Globe Life Park and being a haven for pitchers. The first game sure looked like it. Lance Lynn is good. German Marquez has a good lead and has generally been a long way from Coors Field, but still, this did not exactly create a friendly hitter environment. It seems the Rangers have had the awakening the Padres had when they opened Petco Park.
Right?
Hey, let’s wait a second. It is only a game. We didn’t declare Wrigley Field a pitcher park after the 3-0 low-hitting result on opening day. We also have to keep in mind the previous mention that pitchers are good and we also have to keep in mind that Rockies in general are pretty terrible hitting away from Coors Field. It seems possible that this is a pitcher-friendly yard, but we don’t have enough to go on yet.
Tigers and orioles are horrible
Yes, that is not an overreaction. They both are. Hard to know which was worse, but it really doesn’t matter. They will pick 1-2 again in next year’s draft.
