In addition to the expectations and optimism that comes from the start of the regular season, so does the abundance of gross overreactions. But since this is the only sample size to choose from, it’s still interesting to examine some early trends – as long as you take them all with a grain of salt.
10. April foolish
Since when did the MLB regular season turn into the NBA playoffs? Someone in the scheduling department got a little screwy with opening week slate for the Royals and Mets. After the two played Sunday night, the clubs had a day of rest before battling again on Tuesday. New York and Kansas City’s next game? Friday. That’s three games over a six-day span. There’s nothing wrong with adding an extra off day or two over the first month to account for the rainy and/or cold weather that occasionally pops up around this time of year. But to have two consecutively scheduled is totally unnecessary.
9. St. Louis slump not a Cardinal concern
The loss of two key contributors to free agency – and to your rivals, no less – would normally signal a concern for the immediate future. But not to the St. Louis Cardinals. This is a franchise that thrives off its innate ability in doing more with less – to tremendous results. Any slight thought of a decline, especially after dropping three straight against NL Central rival Pittsburgh, is greatly exaggerated.
8. Impact of Utley
Just as the “Buster Posey Rule” became a point of contention for many who felt blocking the plate was part of the game, the new “Chase Utley Rule” (emphasizing a “bona fide slide”) is already causing a stir. Take, for instance, Tuesday night in Tampa Bay. The Rays wound up winning over Toronto on a game-ending replay challenge, as umpires determined that Jose Bautista went out of his way to disrupt with a fielder trying to turn a double play — prompting Jays manager John Gibbons to address the situation, in a manner of speaking. A similar scenario unfolded in Atlanta, where Nick Markakis interfered with Daniel Murphy in a one-run Nationals victory.
7. Set-‘Backs
One start surely doesn’t make a season. However, it can raise an eyebrow — especially if we haven’t seen anything like it in a while. That’s the case for Zack Greinke. In his masterful 2015 season with the Dodgers, the right-hander allowed 14 homers all season. The most runs he had allowed in any appearance was five. On Monday, he gave up seven to Colorado. But at least Greinke is still healthy. The same can’t be said for center fielder A.J. Pollock, who fractured his elbow in the team’s final preseason game and is expected to miss significant time.
6. Cubs offense primed to overcome injury
Anyone who thought the expectations surrounding the young Chicago Cubs would drag them down isn’t voicing much of that rhetoric these days, especially after the club trounced Mike Trout and the homestanding Los Angeles Angels 6-1 and 9-0, respectively. Joe Maddon’s club made it three-for-three on Thursday with another road win, this time a 14-6 victory over Arizona. But it did come at a price. Kyle Schwarber, after an outfield collision with Dexter Fowler, was carted off the field and is set to have an MRI on Friday. Fortunately for the Cubs, they possess the firepower at the plate to withstand his departure for however long he’s out.
5. Enjoying the new scenery
This isn’t last year’s NLCS, but Daniel Murphy has made a seamless transition from Mets blue to Nationals red by showing semblances of his amazing October hot streak. Washington’s new second baseman went 2-for-3 with (you guessed it) a homer and drove home the winning run on Opening Day against Atlanta. For the home opener versus Miami, he provided a bases-clearing triple in the first inning. While Murphy just recently shipped his way out of New York, Starlin Castro is just getting acquainted to the Big Apple. Yankee fans are pleased to have him, already with seven hits and eight RBI in 12 at-bats.
Starlin Castro’s 8 RBI thru 3 games are most by a player in his 1st 3 games with Yankees, breaking Shelley Duncan’s mark (via @EliasSports)
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 8, 2016
4. Quite a Story
When what you’re accomplishing hasn’t been done since just after the turn of the 20th century, you know it’s something special. On Monday, the 23-year-old rookie shortstop became the first player to hit two home runs while debuting in the big leagues on Opening Day. He then added a home run the next night in Arizona and remarkably went deep again on Wednesday – becoming the first player since 1900 to begin his MLB career with homers in each of his first three games.
3. Padre plight
Well, here’s the good news for new San Diego manager Andy Green: it can’t possibly get much worse from here. The bad news is that it probably won’t be that much better. In 2015, the Padres ranked dead last in team batting average and had the 26th-best slugging percentage. The start of 2016 has given no indication of improvement. In fact, the Padres became the first team in MLB history to be shut out in each of their first three games. It didn’t help that San Deigo pitching allowed 25 runs to visiting Los Angeles. Talk about an opening series to forget.
2. Dodger dominance…until Thursday
To be fair, Los Angeles wasn’t just the beneficiary of San Diego’s swoon – it was primarily responsible for it. Clayton Kershaw, Scott Kazmir and Kenta Maeda were superb (along with whatever bullpen help was needed) in completely shutting out the Padres. The team scoreless streak reached 31 innings (just one short of the record held by the 1963 Cardinals), until it all came to abrupt halt against the Giants. A fielder’s choice groundout by Denard Span against Alex Wood would score Brandon Crawford. San Francisco then scored 11 more in a Thursday afternoon rout.
1. Homer happy
Past history suggests that pitching tends to dominate early on in the regular season – thanks predominantly to the lack of fly ball carry in the chilly air. But there are at least 72 who aren’t believing past history. That’s the amount of players who, through Wednesday, had already touched off a home run in 2016. The list ranges from the familiar (Harper, Cano, Josh Donaldson, David Ortiz) to the obscure (Story and Maeda). Over the initial three days of the season, there was a home run every 29.87 at-bats. To put that number in perspective, it was 29.39 in 2000.