We interrupt baseball’s self-immolation to bring you an old-school spring training preview.
Because you know you’ll feel better about this sport as soon as you see stories about slimmed-down players and photos of pitchers throwing to catchers under the hot Florida (or Arizona) sun, right?
We’ll continue to raise holy hell about Bryce Harper and Manny Machado remaining unsigned, and to cover potential changes in play on the field and in business off the field. Yet spring training remains an important moment in its own right, and it’s time for our annual “30 teams, 30 questions” feature.
Quite simply: What is the most important question that each team must answer by the time camp closes late next month?
Let’s go from first to worst:
1. Red Sox: Who’s going to close for the defending champs? Last year’s closer Craig Kimbrel remains available on the market.
2. Dodgers: Will catchers Austin Barnes and old pal Russell Martin, both coming off underwhelming seasons, show enough proof of life to convince the two-time defending National League champions that they have enough behind the plate?
3. Astros: Will they depart West Palm Beach with a pair of high-priced returnees in lefty Dallas Keuchel and Swiss Army knife Marwin Gonzalez?
4. Brewers: Do they have sufficient infield depth after dispatching Mike Moustakas and Jonathan Schoop over the winter?
5. Yankees: Who will start at first base: Luke Voit, Greg Bird, D.J. LeMahieu, Miguel Andujar or Bryce Harper?
6. Indians: Can an outfield fronted by Matt Joyce, Jordan Luplow, Leonys Martin and Tyler Naquin promote confidence that they won’t serve as a seriously weak link on this otherwise strong roster?
7. Rockies: Will franchise player Nolan Arenado complete the long-term extension he has been negotiating with team ownership and therefore pass on free agency and a pursuit from the Yankees, among others?
8. Braves: Can they find enough loose change under their couch cushions to bring Kimbrel back to his original team?
9. A’s: Do they have the starting pitching depth necessary to return to the playoffs? You can go with the opener only so many times.
10. Cubs: Will new hitting coach Anthony Iapoce start to fix an offense that “broke somewhere along the lines” last year, as per president of baseball operations Theo Epstein?
11. Rays: How will they formulate their starting rotation after last year’s Grapefruit League action produced the wonder of bullpenning?
12. Mariners: What will a winter’s rest do for beloved franchise icon Felix Hernandez, who pitched his way into irrelevance last year?
13. Cardinals: How does new arrival Andrew Miller look after a poor, injury-prone 2018 with the Indians?
14. Nationals: Is Harper returning triumphantly, his agent Scott Boras convincing the owners to re-up with their icon, or not? Of course, this theoretically could (ugh) last even beyond spring training.
15. Diamondbacks: Can Wilmer Flores win the everyday job at second base and stay healthy, all while wiping tears from his face?
16 Pirates: Will trade acquisition Erik Gonzalez win the starting shortstop job now that Jordy Mercer has left for Detroit?
17. Angels: Can Shohei Ohtani hit effectively even as he rehabilitates his pitching elbow from Tommy John surgery?
18. Phillies: When is owner John Middleton going to start being a little bit stupid with his money already?
19. Twins: Can youngsters Bryon Buxton and Miguel Sano show signs that they have shaken off last year’s disastrous campaign?
20. Mets: How will new general manager Brodie Van Wagenen handle his first Mets-esque crisis (a mind-boggling injury, an ill-placed sex toy or an inflammatory quote)?
21. Blue Jays: Will stud rookie Vladimir Guerrero Jr. make it easy on his superiors to start him in the minors, giving them an extra year of control over him, or will he force the issue?
22. Giants: How much will they spend on bubble wrap to ensure that eventual trade chip Madison Bumgarner stays intact through the Cactus League?
23. Rangers: Can left-hander Drew Smyly, who has missed the last two seasons due to left elbow problems and eventual Tommy John surgery, be ready for the start of the season?
24. Reds: How will rookie manager David Bell prepare this team, coming off a productive winter, for its first real shot at contention in a long time?
25. Padres: What can Eric Hosmer do to show that he’ll be better in Year 2 with San Diego after his very disappointing Year 1?
26. Tigers: Will the Tigers gift opposing teams’ scouts free lunches as they try to drum up trade interest for Nick Castellanos?
27. Marlins: With J.T. Realmuto finally gone and no other obvious trade targets remaining, can the team use camp to come together with a shared vision and expectation for the present and future?
28. White Sox: Who shall win their stare-down with the Phillies, Machado, Harper and other teams lurking on the periphery of this sweepstakes-turned-sleep-stakes?
29. Royals: Will Danny Duffy look healthy after a terrible season that ended with a left shoulder injury?
30. Orioles: Given the massive hole out of which they must dig and create another window of opportunity, must they face the sobering reality that they honestly don’t have a crucial spring training question to answer?
—This week’s Pop Quiz question came from Elmer Smiga Jr. of Dorrance, Pennsylvania: Name the future Hall of Famer who appeared as himself in a 1970 episode of “The Brady Bunch.”
— On Tuesday, Feb. 12, HBO will debut “The Many Lives of Nick Buoniconti,” a documentary about the former NFL player whom folks from my generation might remember best as the co-host (with Len Dawson) of HBO’s “Inside the NFL” in the 1980s. What I didn’t know, and what you can learn from this film, is that Buoniconti succeeded as a baseball agent as well. Watch for testimony from Buoniconti Hall of Fame client Andre Dawson.
—The Pop Quiz answer is Don Drysdale. If you have a tidbit that connects baseball with popular culture, please send it to me at [email protected].
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