The 2017 World of Wadley MLB Guide

The calendar has turned to that familiar time when the sun shines a little brighter, the grass turns a little greener and the grills come out. It's baseball season, and while the excitement of a new season is nothing new, something feels a bit different in 2017. The Chicago Cubs are defending World Series champions. 99.9 percent of the world's population has never known this kind of world, but the curse ended and so too did a major story line in the game. 2017 is a new chapter for baseball and it's an enticing one.

Here are some things to keep an eye on and what to watch for this season...

Can the Cubs repeat?
This is an obvious starting point for the 2017 discussion. The Cubs open the season Sunday night in St. Louis on ESPN and may have improved from last season. Kyle Schwarber will be available for an entire season and, who knows, maybe Jason Heyward will play like a big leaguer again. It's scary if both of them produce. After all, this team already has MVP Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo plus a stable of pitchers who are downright nasty.

So can they repeat? Sure they can, but they won't. It's simply too hard. Too many things can happen such as injuries or poor play at the wrong time. As ESPN pointed out, no team has repeated since the Yankees in 1998-2000 and only one National League team (the Cincinnati Reds) has ever repeated in the last 95 years. The numbers simply aren't on the Cubs' side.

So who wins then?
The Boston Red Sox. Boston spends big and they should win big this season. Rick Porcello may not turn in another season like last season, but Chris Sale is in Boston now and he and Porcello along with David Price is a nightmare for opposing offenses. Big Papi is gone, but name a more fun trio to watch than Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley, Jr.? The Red Sox will have to overcome an always tough AL East and the Cleveland Indians, but if they stay healthy then they will win it all.

What about those Indians?
The Indians will be in the ALCS. They came oh so close last season and they have a loaded roster. It wouldn't be surprising to see them in the World Series again if they can get past Boston. But like the Cubs, it's hard to do it all over again and that's why we are predicting the Indians to be ousted before the World Series rolls around.

Don't forget about Mike Trout
Last season we wrote about how Mike Trout is stuck in Anaheim. He might be stuck on a bad team, but tune in whenever you can to see him play. He's the best player in the game and it's easy to forget that he's still only 25 years old. Trout will be an MVP front-runner once again, but like past seasons, he's going to be sitting at home watching the playoffs. Still, he's a special talent so don't miss out on his best years.

Speaking of the Angels, Albert Pujols is going to make history
Albert Pujols' star has faded since leaving the St. Louis Cardinals, but this season he should pass 600 career home runs. He enters 2017 with 591 and he's done it all clean. His name has never been linked to steroids and he will become the ninth player to eclipse the 600 mark.

Are the Dodgers ever going to win with all that money and talent?
Who knows, but they won't win this year. Magic Johnson and the Dodgers have spent big and on paper this team looks fantastic. Clayton Kershaw is the best pitcher in the game and will surpass 2,000 strikeouts for his career this season. Adrian Gonzalez, Corey Seager and Justin Turner make a great lineup. Yasiel Puig is a wild card year-in-year-out. LA hasn't been able to get over the hump in the playoffs and with the Cubs in the National League it doesn't seem like that will change this year.

Will Bryce Harper return to form?
Harper struggled last season after his MVP campaign two years ago. He hit .243 with 24 home runs and 86 RBIs last season, which is a great season for many guys in the MLB. But this is Bryce Harper, the guy who hit .330 with 42 home runs and 99 RBIs in his MVP season. Still only 23 years old, this is Harper's sixth year in the league. The Nationals, much like the Dodgers, haven't been able to get over the hump in the playoffs and without Harper at his best they don't stand a chance.

Which Astros team should we expect?
The Astros have taken us on a rollercoaster ride the past two seasons. The joy of 2015 was gone after an average 2016 season in which Houston missed the playoffs. The core of Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa and George Springer is still there and the pitching staff hasn't changed. Dallas Kuechel's shoulder is an issue, but one thing to watch is whether or not the Astros make a move for Chicago's Jose Quintana before season's end. This is a fun team to watch, but the AL West has strengthened the past few years. Time will tell if the Astros can take the next step.

The White Sox stink now, but....
Okay, we know no one is tuning into White Sox games this year because they just can't get enough of the SouthSiders. Chicago is going to stink. Sure, Todd Frazier will hit some bombs, but that's about it. However, don't sleep on this team in the future. They made some quality moves this offseason (namely getting Yoan Moncada) to go along with youngsters Tim Anderson and Charlie Tilson, which means the future could be bright on the South Side. The young guys are going to get their chances this season and that may just be worth tuning in.

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The 2017 season begins Sunday, April 2nd with a tripleheader on ESPN.

Pitchers' Complaints Over Unwritten Rules Growing Old

After giving up a bomb that landed on Waveland Avenue last night in the Chicago Cubs' 1-0 loss to the San Diego Padres, John Lackey became the latest MLB pitcher to complain about a batter's post-homer celebration. Christian Bethancourt's solo blast was the only run of the game and he took a minute to watch it go. Lackey took exception and had a few things to say afterwards.

The following is from ESPN's Jesse Rogers:

""How many home runs does he have?" Lackey asked sarcastically after the game.

Wednesday was Bethancourt's third of the season, and it was a monster blast to left that landed on the street outside Wrigley Field. Bethancourt watched it for a moment before rounding the bases.

"I got a long memory," said Lackey (4-2), who took the loss after going eight innings and allowing a run on three hits, with no walks and seven strikeouts.

Bethancourt and Lackey don't have a history; this was the first meeting between hitter and pitcher, which Lackey was well aware of.

"Oh, I know," Lackey said. "He'll learn.""

You can watch the highlights here.

This is a tiresome subject that seems to be a hot topic this season. Bryce Harper made headlines for trying to make baseball fun again, and last season Jose Bautista's bat flip in the ALDS drew the ire of pitchers young and old. Harper called baseball a "tired sport because you can't express yourself" and, quite frankly, he's right. Any emotion from a hitter is seen as disrespect and it has to stop.

Goose Gossage went on a rant during spring training and called Bautista a "disgrace to the game." His comments were a perfect illustration of the old-school players and his thoughts seem to still ring true with some pitchers today.

Baseball currently is a one-way street and it's an annoyance. Pitchers can yell, scream and stare down a hitter after a big strikeout, but batters aren't allowed to take a look at a home run that travels over 400 feet. Give me a break. It seems that there is still some lingering thought that baseball should be a gentleman's game, but that went by the wayside when players started wearing hairstyles more suited for rock stars (i.e. Josh Donaldson) and teams started sporting lumberjack beards. You can forget that notion and understand that baseball has changed. Get with the times.

It's unfair for pitchers to think that hitters should show respect to them, but pitchers don't need to return the favor. A pitcher can get upset with a hitter and throw a 95-mph fastball into their ribs. What can a batter do if they feel disrespected by a pitcher? This has to be a two-way street.

When Harper first made his comments a few months ago, I disagreed with what he was saying. My stance has changed though. I'm tired of guys like John Lackey getting upset for allowing a home run. I'm tired of guys like Goose Gossage calling people a disgrace to the game because they hit the biggest home run of their life. Get over yourself, pitchers.

There certainly is a line for celebrating, and when it's crossed retaliation is warranted, but that line is not what Christian Bethancourt did last night. I side with Harper: let's make baseball fun again. For that to happen pitchers need to get over themselves. 

PEDs, Players' Ignorance Continue to Hurt the MLB

Before the season began, Bryce Harper made headlines with his comments about the lack of "fun" in baseball. The "Code" of baseball was challenged, and with it came an uproar from both current and retired players. Baseball has always been a man's game. Not "man's game" as in physical stature or strength, like football, but more towards the side of a sport being centered around respect and integrity. The game is littered with rules you'll never set eyes on in the official rule book and that's what makes the game such a beautiful sport. And while I don't agree with Harper's reasons for saying baseball isn't fun, I do believe that the game of baseball as a whole is not as fun as it used to be and Dee Gordon of the Miami Marlins is the latest reason for that.

Gordon will serve an 80-game suspension this season

It was announced this morning that the 2015 National League batting champ and current second baseman for the Marlins will serve an 80-game suspension as a result of a failed drug test. While taking PEDs is pathetic and dishonest in its own right, Gordon made matters worse when he claimed that he did not know that he had ingested the drugs. How do you not pay attention to what you're putting in your body? I don't think people are secretly spiking his food or sneaking pills into his meals, which either means Gordon is lying or he's just flat out clueless. It not only hurts Gordon's physical health in the long run, but it kills the reputation of an All-Star and shows a complete disrespect to the game.

That's why baseball has become so hard to trust and be viewed as fun. PEDs have become a constant reminder that even when things are going so well in baseball, there are still players who feel it necessary to cheat and ruin the integrity of the game. And what makes this even worse is that guys like Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa, and Mark McGwire have now ruined the perspective of fans and analysts whenever a player enjoys success. Take Chicago Cubs ace Jake Arrieta for example: Arrieta has become the best pitcher in baseball over the past year and has had historic outing after historic outing. He has been an irreplaceable piece of the rise of the Cubs and has provided more excitement than any other player on the roster. Yet Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless spoke about Arrieta on ESPN First Take earlier this week and wondered aloud if Arrieta was using PEDs.

While it's ludicrous to think that someone would undermine a guy's work ethic with an accusation like that, you can hardly blame Stephen A. Smith for calling attention to Arrieta's rise to stardom. Was Smith careless in how he phrased his accusation? Yes. Was the thought behind his words justifiable? Probably. That's the way the baseball world works now and that saddens me. If you have any sort of success, the assumption is almost always that that player's success is due to PEDs of some sort, not his own work ethic and improvement. The cheaters of the late '90's and early 2000's created that culture, and it has stuck with baseball ever since.

Arrieta's meteoric rise has recently raised questions about PEDs

Gordon's suspension is the first of its kind for this season, but it falls in line with a long list of other suspensions past cheaters have served. The biggest issue here is that the MLB is not doing anything to make an example out of anyone that will leave a lasting impression. Sure 80 games seems like a big number, but in the grand scheme of things it's only half a season. Who cares? Dee Gordon is 28 years old and in his sixth season. Once he serves this 80-game suspension he'll come back and serve no further punishment. In the grand scheme of what could be a 12-15 year career, is 80 games without pay really a big deal? No. It is estimated that Gordon will lose about 1.65 million dollars during this suspension, but in comparison to the 50 million dollar contract he signed this past winter, 1.65 is pocket change.

The bottom line is that suspensions and fines are not punishment enough for the guys who don't play the game the right way. If you want to stop the use of PEDs or at least lower the number of guys using them then you ban the guys who break those rules. It's absolutely inexcusable to have guys like Pete Rose banned from baseball for betting on his team to WIN, yet the guys who cheat and set a bad example for younger athletes basically get a slap on the wrist in the long run. The MLB has its priorities real mixed up, and baseball will not recover unless the discipline does more damage.

To connect this all to Harper's desire to make baseball more fun, there is no way that that can truly happen. Players can do all the bat flips they want, they can celebrate in any way they desire, but if players continue to cheat and call the integrity of the game into question then baseball will never be as fun as it should be. I absolutely love the game of baseball and it is a sport I follow faithfully, but why should I enjoy watching America's oldest sport if my favorite player will be questioned about PEDs any time he has a successful season? There is no trust in baseball, it has become guilty until proven innocent and it should not have to be that way. It's time the MLB starts taking itself and these PED violations more seriously because, ironically, taking things more seriously would translate to more fun in baseball.

The Youth of the MLB Continues to Shine While the NBA Struggles to Figure it Out

If you pay attention to any sports-related news outlet, you've surely heard the name Trevor Story by now. The Colorado Rockies rookie has wasted no time in making a name for himself this past week as he's already belted seven home runs in his first six major league games, including one in each of his first four games. The season is only eight days old, yet Story already has his batting gloves and helmet displayed in Cooperstown at the Hall of Fame. And while Story's week is certainly one for the record books, his instant success is further proof that the MLB has more than enough young superstars on the rise.

Story has become a household name very early in the season

You hear the argument in college basketball and the NBA about college athletes being "one and done" meaning they attend school for their freshman season then declare for the NBA draft immediately following the conclusion of the season. It's become a trend and it has become an issue not only for the NCAA and its universities, but also for the NBA. The league is watered down with these kids that have no business leaving after one year of college and it's also killing the college game. Kids don't hang around, they treat college as if it's a one-year sentence and then chase the money that very few of them actually end up getting long-term.

Don't get me wrong, every now and then you get a Kevin Durant, a John Wall, or an Anthony Davis who become All-Stars and some of the best in the league. But for every Kevin Durant there's a Greg Oden, for every John Wall there's an Anthony Bennett, and for every Anthony Davis there's a Michael Beasley. The young guys that come into the NBA rarely have any staying power and if they do, they don't make the impact that they were projected to. What's worse is that once these young guys get cut from the NBA they have nowhere to go in order to truly improve and work for another shot at playing professionally. The D-League does absolutely nothing for the players and rarely if ever do we see players get called up to the pros. I understand that there aren't as many players on an NBA roster as there are in the MLB, but the NBA and NCAA don't give the younger players who could have potential any help. They're cheating them by allowing them to leave after one year and they're cheating them by allowing them to rot in the D-League after they're cut from the NBA.

Bennett, once a number 1 pick, averaged 4 minutes in 19 games this season

This is where the MLB has made all the right moves. Trevor Story has already been mentioned, but before Story even came to the league there were guys like Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, Kris Bryant,  Manny Machado, and Giancarlo Stanton. These players have already reached a high level in the MLB and have had more than enough individual success in their very young careers. But what sets these young stars apart from the young stars in the NBA?


The difference is that the MLB's minor league system is set up with more intention of teaching and allowing adjustment to the professional game than the NBA. In the NBA, you are drafted straight to the pros. You play in the summer league and that's all well and good, but there's no way to adjust to the physicality or speed of the NBA when you're playing other guys your age who are also just coming off their college experience. In the MLB there are three levels of play you could possibly go through before you even set foot in an MLB ballpark. Even Bryce Harper, as successful as he has been, spent time in the minors after he was drafted. There is no rush for players who are drafted into the MLB and rarely if ever are they drafted straight to the professional level. The ball clubs draft their players and then send them through the minor league system so that they learn from multiple coaching staffs and get plenty of higher level experience before being called up to "The Show".

That's what makes the MLB's young stars so exciting. It's the excitement of watching a player grow through AA and AAA ball before they get called up. Being a Cubs fan, I can't tell you how many conversations I've had these past couple years that have involved the sentence "Have you seen how so-and-so is doing in AAA?" Guys like the aforementioned Bryant, Kyle Schwarber, Addison Russell, and Jorge Soler have all made a big impact on the Cubs at some point in time because they were ready for the challenge when they got called up. They weren't treated like the one-and-dones from the NCAA in that they weren't thrown into the fire at age 18. And because of that we see far more success stories in the MLB than we ever will in the NBA.

With the embarrassing way the NCAA handles itself and its business combined with a watered down NBA, there's no fix to the problem coming anytime soon. Players who have no business leaving after one year will still leave and the majority won't even be heard from two or three years from now. That's really sad, especially when you're able to look at how many young stars there are in the MLB who haven't even turned 25 yet. The overall excitement over baseball will most likely never trump that of basketball, but it's no secret that the MLB gives fans more to look forward to in the way they foster the young talent. Players are given a chance to succeed in the MLB and if they don't pan out immediately, they're sent right back down the minors where they can figure things out and gain more experience. The NBA doesn't look out for the young players and because of that the league will continue to struggle to find consistent, productive draft classes.