Welcome to Spring 2014!

There are 30 baseball teams. Fifteen teams in each league, five per division. They will each play 162 games regular play in 2014. The rules are changing for the first time in decades. This year we will see the use of instant replay. It is still being debated among the talking heads whether this will slow the game down too much. I will withhold my opinion until the all star break. (maybe) This is also a year that a major rule change involving home plate plays and catchers goes into effect. 

Home plate collisions will no longer be allowed in major league baseball. I am for this decision. No, I am not a person that thinks this will adversely affect the outcome of a game. This new rule will allow catchers to play a couple seasons longer due to the decrease in concussions caused by overly aggressive base runners. The most outspoken person against this rule change has been Pete Rose; one of the most vocal persons for the change has been Johnny Bench. Oh the irony there. Pete Rose made the home plate collision a mainstay in baseball in the 1970's when he played for the Cincinnati Red's Big Red Machine. They were the team to beat. Fortunately, Johnny Bench was the catcher for the Big Red Machine and did not have Rose plowing into him. Unfortunately for Bench, he was the catcher for the Big Red Machine, the dominant national league team in the 1970's. This meant that Bench had more than his fair share of collisions. 

The collision happens when there is a close play at the plate. The catcher is geared up to protect against the run, no matter what. The runner wants to get the run, no matter what. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Runners will still be aggressive. Catchers will still be protective. How far will managers argue the collision remains to be seen.

What does Spring Training look like...

The St Louis Cardinals are entering the season defending their NL Pennant. The Boston Red Sox enter the season defending the World Championship. Let’s breakdown what that all means…

Generally coming into spring training you don’t see the same team that you had been cheering for the previous season. Men retire, men get traded, men go through free agency and sign a crazy huge contract with the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, or Dodgers. You very rarely get even 75% of your team back.

The 2014 St. Louis Cardinals suffered only one loss that is notable to their lineup. Carlos Beltran gave St. Louis the strong bat that they need when Albert Pujols left. Beltran became a free agent after the 2013 season ended and signed with the NY Yankees. The Cardinals have added a few key players with a track record of strong bats to their roster. Mike Matheny has the difficult task of placing players in the spots they best fit on the field. This team has a track record of re-creating players. The middle in-field was the weak spot for the Cardinals in 2013, much attention has been focused there. This is where the real battle of spring training will take place for St. Louis.

The key component for the Cardinals is their pitching staff. For a third season in a row, St. Louis has basically the same squad. With Adam Wainwright leading the way once again as the ACE and Yadi Molina behind the plate, the Cardinals are once again looking like the team to beat in the National League. It still remains to be seen where Chris Carpenter, the heart of the Cardinals pitching staff for the last decade, will find his place moving forward.

Bottom line: the Cardinals haven’t changed much. They have traded a couple of fan favorites, but gained better players. They look very strong going into the 2014 season.

The defending World Series Champion Boston Red Sox?

I have no idea what they have done in the off season. It’s Boston, don’t care.

However, the Texas Rangers have added a true Prince to their roster. They are a team to really watch in the 2014 season. Prince Fielder looks and acts like a true Texas Ranger already. Ron Washington has signed on to skipper the Rangers again. This is shaping up to be a good year for Texas. The possibility of a St. Louis / Texas world series is very possible!

Finally, I have to give a shout out to the KC Royals. (I may have family following this blog) I hear they could win the world series this year. That's good for a belly roll...

Tam’s Baseball Nugget: The war between King Albert and the Prince may be back on this season. The AL West may be wild this season.