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2018 MLB SEASON PREVIEW Friday, March 30, 2018 East Oregonian Power rankings KEY Based on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the best ranking Teams listed in order of last season’s finish (2017 record) SP Starting pitching A M E R I C A N C E N T R A L E A S T Red Sox Yankees (93-69) (91-71) 4 4 4 4 SP BP OFF DEF (80-82) gives them someone to replace long- time slugger David Ortiz after finishing last in AL in homers (75-87) 3 3 2 3 3 3 3 1 2 3 3 9 17 (out Hoping J.D. of 20) Martinez, (76-86) 2 3 5 17 TOT Blue Jays Orioles Rays 5 5 L E A G U E 11 Indians Twins (102-60) (85-77) 5 5 5 11 (101-61) (80-82) (67-95) (64-98) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Arguably baseball’s strongest rotation; the Indians are poised to possibly end long champion- ship drought 2 3 14 19 Improve- Figure to Sport new look Expectation is the Blue ment will score a lot after winter Jays will rest on a and strike of trimming be left to power-laden out a lot; payroll; the can new Rays have a compete for lineup that manager chance to be the second needs Chris wild card; Davis and Aaron Boone a lot more health Mark handle the competitive concerns Trumbo to pressure than it remain rebound cooker of appears on plentiful New York? paper Astros 4 4 4 (78-84) 3 Biggest suspense this year might revolve around how GM Al Avila approaches the next few steps in the rebuild (78-84) (75-87) 2 1 3 2 4 4 5 2 3 13 1 9 12 With almost Made several everyone savvy back from offseason last year’s moves and champion- are in ship team, position to the Astros end the fully expect eight-year to contend stretch for another without a title playoff victory 3 3 1 2 3 17 7 Have the Supposed Going all-in talent and to be on a rebuild spunk to rebuilding before last be right in year but season has the playoff unlikely sparked belief mix after return better days their of Mike are ahead; massive Moustakas loaded with 26-win and Alcides promising turnaround Escobar young last season give hope players (80-82) 2 3 5 Angels Mariners Rangers Athletics 5 5 5 2 1 6 BP Bullpen OFF Offense DEF Defense W E S T Royals White Sox Tigers 3 3 Page 3B 8 Talented Coming off Signs of enough to their second a potential compete losing turnaround for a wild season in but card, but nine years, rebuilding probably should be will take not good able score time, enough to runs again, especially catch the but rotation in a division Astros is a question with multiple mark contenders 52-homer-hitting AL MVP runner-up and new 59-homer-hitting NL MVP teammate get ready to muscle up aron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton will take the field for the New York Yankees as just the second pair of teammates coming off seasons of 50 or more home runs. The only other time that happened was in 1962, when the Yankees’ Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle attempted to follow up their historic season. In 1961, Maris set the single-season home run record with 61. Mantle kept pace until illness and injury limited him to 54. They remain the only teammates to hit 50 or more home runs in the same season and their 115 combined home runs remain a record for two teammates. In 2017, Stanton racked up 59 home runs for the Miami Marlins and Judge, as a rookie, hit 52 for the Yankees for a combined 111 home runs. With this slugging duo, along with Gary Sanchez – who missed a month and still finished with 33 homers – the all-time record for most team home runs in a season might be in jeopardy. A DYNAMIC DUO Pair of teammates to combine for 100 home runs in a single season: YEAR TEAM PLAYER HR PLAYER HR TOTAL 1961 Yankees Roger Maris 61 Mickey Mantle 54 115 2001 Giants Barry Bonds 73 Rich Aurilia 37 110 1927 Yankees Babe Ruth 60 Lou Gehrig 47 107 70 Ray Lankford 31 101 Rafael Palmeiro 43 100 1998 Cardinals Mark McGwire 2002 Rangers Alex Rodriguez 57 BIG BOPPERS In 2017, the Yankees hit 241 home runs. With Stanton in the fold, can the 2018 pinstripers break the single-season team HR record? MOST HOME RUNS HIT BY A TEAM IN A SEASON 1997 Seattle Mariners 2005 264 260 Texas Rangers 2010 Toronto Blue Jays 1996 Baltimore Orioles 257 257 2016 Baltimore Orioles 253 DINGER-LINGS 18 Home runs in 2017 by month: Judge (52) A look ahead in anticipation of some milestones that are within reach during the 2018 season: MILESTONE WATCH 10 3,000 2,000 250 3,000 300 Hits RBIs Wins Strikeouts Saves Albert Pujols – (needs 32 hits) With 2,968 hits, the veteran slugger is within striking distance to become the 32nd member of the 3,000-hit club. Pujols – (needs 82 RBIs) Should join Hank Aaron and Alex Rodriguez as the only players in history with 600 homers, 3,000 hits and 2,000 RBI. Bartolo Colon – (needs 10 wins) and CC Sabathia (needs 13 wins) The top two active leaders in career victories. If healthy, they should achieve their goal this season. Sabathia – (needs 154 strikeouts) Enters the season with 2,846 Ks, third-most among left-handed pitchers in major league history behind Steve Carlton and Randy Johnson. Craig Kimbrel – (needs 9 saves) Had 35 saves in 39 chances last year and led major league relievers with 16.43 strikeouts-per-nine innings. FIELD GENERALS 15 Stanton (59) 12 10 7 7 7 7 8 7 3 APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUG. SEPT. Source: Major League Baseball TRAFFIC CONTROL Major League Baseball has imposed stricter limits on mound visits to six per game, per team without a pitching change in an effort to speed up games. The number of visits by a manager, coach or player in recent years has contributed to longer games. Heading into the 2018 MLB season six new managers lead the charge for their respected clubs. AVERAGE TIME OF A 9-INNING GAME Aaron Boone New York Yankees Mickey Callaway New York Mets Alex Cora Boston Red Sox Ron Gardenhire Detroit Tigers Gabe Kapler Philadelphia Phillies Dave Martinez Washington Nationals Succeeds 10-year manager Joe Girardi. Never been a manager or coach at any level. A polished communi- cator. Spent a lifetime immersed in baseball, affording him a unique and intimate understanding of what fosters team success. Replaces 68-year-old Terry Collins, the longest-tenured manager in Mets history. Driven by analytics and modern baseball philosophy, Callaway completed a five-year run as pitching coach for the Indians. In first major league managerial job. At 42, one of the youngest managers in franchise history, Cora has a unique chance to connect with his players. Retired as a player after failing to make the Cardinals in spring training of 2012. Won over 1,000 games with the Twins but this is his first chance to manage since 2014. Tigers finished tied for the worst record in baseball a year ago, and not much is expected in 2018 from what is now a rebuilding franchise. First time managing in MLB. Phillies are hoping that Kapler’s energy – along with several analytical philosophies – will be enough to get the team back to the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons. The 53-year-old Martinez was the bench coach for Joe Maddon and the Cubs the past three seasons and was with Maddon and the Rays for seven years before that. Played for nine MLB teams over 16 years. 5 1 2 4 5 1 4 Mets (72-90) (70-92) 4 4 2 2 2 Cubs (66-96) (92-70) (86-76) 4 4 3 2 3 3 3 3 3 2 Phillies 2 W E S T Brewers Cardinals Pirates 5 5 6 9 13 11 18 A World Series is the stated goal, and that’s certainly not an outrageous aim, given all the talent assembled on basically the same team as last year New CEO Derek Jeter is used to winning but that is about to change after trading away half of last year’s starting lineup Still at least a year away from contending in the NL East, but improved starting pitching could push them closer to .500 New manager Mickey Callaway had great success with Cleveland’s arms and Mets are counting on his methods Can not only end their five-year run of losing seasons but maybe even make a surprise push for a postseason berth World Series or bust; acquisition of Yu Darvish, gives Chicago a strong rotation, and the lineup is young, deep and dangerous (83-97) 4 4 2 13 (68-94) (104-58) (93-69) 4 5 4 4 4 2 3 5 3 9 Dodgers D-backs Rockies Padres Giants Reds 1 2 2 2 2 3 12 (75-87) 3 4 18 TOT Teams ranked by AP Baseball Writer Mike Fitzpatrick 11 Have lost Expectations To snap GM Neal at least 90 are up after that 2-year Huntington games for finishing one postseason insists three straight game out of “drought” he’s not seasons; the playoffs they’ll need rebuilding, would be in what was bounce- but traded considered a supposed back Andrew to be the seasons McCutchen breakthrough simply to second full from and Gerrit move out of season of a several Cole last place rebuild players (87-75) (71-91) (64-98) 2 1 2 5 5 3 4 2 2 2 4 2 17 13 16 Favorites to win a sixth straight NL West title with a roster that returns mostly intact; multitude of vets will be vying for playing time With all five starters back and nearly every position player returning, they expect to be in thick of NL West race Enhanced their bullpen in an effort to earn back-to-back postseason berths for the first time in franchise history 7 Should be more fun to watch this season with the addition of Eric Hosmer but still not expected to contend for another year 3 3 AP (77-85) (97-65) SP BP OFF DEF Braves 3:05 3:00 2:56 3:02 2:58 2:55 2:51 2:50 2:51 2:50 2:51 2:48 2:46 Source: Baseball-Reference.com C E N T R A L E A S T Nationals Marlins L E A G U E TIME 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 4 12 Added Evan Longoria and Andrew McCutchen; Madison Bumgarner out 4-6 weeks with broken bone in pitching hand SOURCE: Major League Baseball N A T I O N A L Listed in order of 2017 record YEAR