A new temporada of baseball has arrived – even if the weather makes it still feel like football season. It’s known that Latinos dominate America’s past time, but as they say, with great power comes great responsibility. So as the 2014 MLB season gets underway there are expectations, question marks and we’re sure a few surprises in store. Will Robinson Cano deliver in Seattle? Can Albert Pujols regain his form? Has Puigmania reached its peak? Will Johan Santana ever don a major league uniform again? Read on through to find out.
Will Robinson Cano be Sleepless in Seattle?
Repped by Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Sports, it’s no secret that the dominicano was a big winner in the off-season. He left the Yankees for the Mariners to the tune of a 10-year, $240 million contract. While he may have won on the financial end, and even scored a front row seat to the Grammies (thanks Hova), the big question is whether there will be any hardware – World Series rings – to accompany that cash. Cano won’t be surrounded by big name bats like he was in New York. He’ll also be responsible for shouldering the offensive load, so it could make for a few early departures in the early going seasons. Yet, one can’t help but think that Cano along with Felix Hernandez on the pitching end sets the stage for a nice foundation Seattle can build upon. Now what about Cano’s production? He’s been a pretty consistent player the past few seasons and is still in his prime. A drastic decline shouldn’t occur, but he won’t have protection in the lineup and SafeCo. Field isn’t as hitter friendly as the short right porch in Yankee Stadium. A decrease in home runs won’t be a surprise.
Can Albert Pujols Get the MLB Phat Back?
Another domincano who inked a 10-year, $240 million deal, albeit a few years back, was Albert Pujols. It brought him from St. Louis to Artie Moreno’s Anaheim Angels. The results thus far, have been less than phantastic. The Angels have failed to reach the World Series his first two years, which should not be an indictment of Pujols, as he posted similar numbers his first year with the Angels as he did with the Cardinals. Yet, 2013 saw injuries resulting in only 99 games played and a significant decrease in production. At 34-years-old, Pujols still may have a few years in him, but he will need to return to his old form and see the Angels go deep into a playoff run in order to quell the naysayers.
Is Johan really No-han?
It seems like only yesterday when Johan Santana pitched his no-hitter for the Mets, a first in the club’s history. It gave the franchise a bright spot and hope that Santana would return to form and lead them to similar moments. Yet, in early 2013 Santana re-injured his shoulder and required season-ending surgery. In 2014, the Met’s brought out the remainder of Santana’s contract making him a free-agent. It’s a tough place to be for a pitcher who sat out an entire year and is coming back from his second major shoulder surgery. Enter the Baltimore Orioles. They have signed Santana to a minor league deal and invited him to spring training. While it’s pretty clear he won’t be on the Opening Day roster, don’t count him out yet. Word has it he is being closely monitored by the organization and brought along cautiously. While a long shot, we may see the venezolano as a mid-season option for the birds.
Puig Blowback
Last June, 23-year-old Cuban dynamo Yasiel Puig arrived on the MLB scene and almost single handedly turned the Dodgers fortune around. Since then he’s been under a microscope unlike no other in pro baseball. Everything he does – good or bad – is dissected, analyzed and reported on ad nauseam. Outlets like HuffPo and SBNation are already writing about Puig fatigue. Will the backlash begin this season? About a week ago, the Dodgers held a team meeting to address Puig’s performance on, and off, the field. Who called the meeting is up for debate. Many sources indicate Don Mattingly did so he could squash any beef before the season started. Yet just a few days ago, in a tweet by @DodgerNation, GM Ned Colletti confirmed to @MLBNetworkRadio that “Puig called the team meeting and asked his teammates how he could get better.” To channel Allan Iverson, we say: “Team meetings, we talkin’ about team meetings?” Who called the gathering is irrelevant. What is important, is that everything this kid does will continue to be scrutinized. Here’s a tip Yasiel, call Derek Jeter, he’ll give you the playbook on how to handle big market media on a big market team and come out on top.
Can Miguel Cabrera Live Up to the Contract?
We take back that bit on Robinson Cano winning the off-season. Somebody did a whole a lot better and his name is Miguel Cabrera. Mr. Triple Crown inked a 10-year, $292 million deal which will effectively keep him a Detroit Tiger for the rest of his career. The contract reverberated not just around baseball, but all of sports. Even LeBron James chimed in telling USA Today, “I wish we didn’t have a salary cap,” but added that, “He’s the best player in baseball, and the best players in each sport should be rewarded.” Rewarded the venezalano was. However, for the Tigers this is a must win year, anything short of a trip to the World Series will deem the season a bust, and if so, you can expect finger pointing to begin and monster contracts to be reevaluated. Just ask former Tiger Prince Fielder who was shipped off to Texas after the 2013 season.
Will Liriano Come Up Aces?
Last year the Pittsburgh Pirates had a Cinderella season of sorts. Posting a winning record and making it to post-season play for the first time in over 20 years. It was fun to watch baseball in Pittsburgh again. One of the guys responsible for that was Fransisco Liriano, the Dominican lefty went 16-8 for the Bucs and was a consistent presence in the rotation. However, things have changed a bit since 2013. Most notably, rotation ace A.J. Burnett departed for the for Phillies over the winter, Liriano inherited the Pirates’ ace role by default. There is concern and skepticism as to whether Liriano can deliver in this role because he’s rarely put together two consecutive seasons of ace production. However, if Opening Day is any indication, some of the concern may be quieted as Liriano pitched six shutout innings of ball helping the Pirates top the Cubs. We can only wait and see.