Now Warming Up…Opening Day!

Let's start with the Opener.

***Happy Opening Day, MLB fans.  Sure, the Dodgers and Cubs did that in the Tokyo Dome, I suppose, but today is a quasi-holiday for baseball fans.  There is a lot of talk about the Dodgers vs. the rest of the league for the World Series Championship.  However, I would still take the field over Los Angeles to win it all. Even the classic baseball poem, “Casey at the Bat,” by Ernest Lawrence Thayer, ends with the line, “But there is no joy in Mudville—mighty Casey has struck out.” So, insert Ohtani, or Betts, or Freeman instead of the fictional Casey. Play ball!

Now to the Set Up Man.

*** Predicting division winners in March is difficult but fun.  The Red Sox got better while the rest of their division got weaker. Boston wins the AL East in 2025.  The Guardians' pitching will help them win the AL Central, while the Rangers win the AL West, rebounding from 2024, behind Jacob deGrom starting 25 games this season.  Over in the Senior Circuit, the Mets will win the NL East.  Their ability to remake pitchers and the addition of the Soto hitting machine puts them over the top in a very close, exciting division.  Terry Francona will help the Reds of Cincinnati win the NL Central over the re-loaded Cubs.  The Dodgers will win the NL West, but not the World Series.   

Now the Closer.

***The Arizona Diamondbacks have a unique brand of baseball behind burgeoning superstar Corbin Carroll.  The 24-year-old outfielder lost his way for a spell in 2024- the veritable sophomore jinx.  However, the Snakes became closer to their 2023 version when he righted his season in late July. He is a true five-tool player and fun for MLB. Look for Carroll to have an MVP season that, with the help of Corbin Burnes and a very strong pitching staff, will help them BEAT the Dodgers in the playoffs and win the 2025 World Series. Who do you think will win it all in 2025?

 "I see great things in baseball. It’s our game- the American game.” – Walt Whitman