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. 

Mets Prove Why Teams Must Possess "Win Now" Mentality

Before discussing the New York Mets and their incredible run through the 2015 postseason, take a moment and flashback with me...

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It's September 8, 2012 and the Washington Nationals are sitting comfortably in first place of the National League East. A potential World Series favorite, the Nats have young arms in the rotation and a potent lineup that features rookie centerfielder Bryce Harper. In the rotation, the headliner is Stephen Strasburg, a hard-throwing lefty you may have heard of who owns 15 wins on the season. 

Strasburg is pitching in his first full season since undergoing Tommy John surgery and the Washington management has placed an innings limit of roughly 160 innings on him. After relenting five runs in three innings the night before, which brought him to 159 1/3 innings for the season, the Nats decided to shut down Strasburg for the season with 24 games remaining. 

Washington was home to postseason baseball for the first time since 1933 as the Nationals held off the Braves to win the NL East. Without Strasburg, the Nats headed to the National League Division Series to face the reigning World Series champions: the St. Louis Cardinals. With the series tied at two, the series finale was held in Washington. The Nationals had the series in the bag heading into the top of the ninth, leading 7-5. However, St. Louis plated four runs and went on to win the game, sending the Nationals home earlier than expected.

Was Strasburg's season-ending shutdown to blame for the Nationals' failure? Perhaps. Washington entered the postseason without one of its top pitchers and pitching wins in the postseason.

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We're back in 2015 now and the New York Mets recently dominated the sports talk shows with the possibility that Matt Harvey could be shut down for the rest of the season before the playoffs started. Harvey is currently 13-8 with a 2.71 ERA this season and has gone 2-0 with 16 strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings this postseason.

The Mets are making their first trip to the World Series since 2000 and are hoping to win it all for the first time since 1986. Harvey, like Strasburg, is pitching in his first season since Tommy John surgery and also like Strasburg, is young and considered a key piece to the future success of his club.

But despite agent Scott Boras' loudest complaints and threats, New York decided to ignore the innings limit that was set on Harvey at the beginning of the season and use him in the playoffs. Harvey was told he shouldn't pitch over 180 innings this season, but he currently sits at 202 with the World Series looming. It's unclear whether or not he will pitch in the World Series yet (he was scheduled to start Game 5 of the NLCS), but the Mets made the right decision in pitching him this postseason.

Let's forget this innings limit argument for a second and really consider what that means. Matt Harvey was supposed to only pitch 180 innings. Let's say one inning he goes out and throws a three-pitch inning and the next frame it takes him 33 pitches to record three outs. Clearly, an inning is not a true judge of the labor put on Harvey's arm. If doctors and teams want to use a figure to judge usage then may I suggest using pitches thrown.

The reality is this: teams and athletes play sports to win. Sure, the Mets or Nationals would not want to lose a young pitcher for the rest of his career by pitching him too much, but what is pitching too much? It seems that nobody has truly figured that out yet.

The Mets needed Matt Harvey to get to the point they're at now and they will need him to beat either the Royals or Blue Jays in the World Series. The opportunity to win a World Series may not come again for a long time so why waste it? People thought the Nationals would be in the World Series year after year, but they have not won a postseason series with Strasburg on the roster. The opportunity has never presented itself again. Maybe it would have in 2012 if Strasburg had been allowed to pitch in the postseason.

Maybe the opportunity would not have been here for the Mets in 2015 if Harvey was watching every game from the dugout. In sports, the chance to win a championship does not present itself often. The Mets knew they were a quality team, but they didn't know that Daniel Murphy was going to hit a home run in seven-straight games. They didn't know that they would be able to beat Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester. They didn't know the pitching staff could quiet a young Cubs offense that was on fire coming into the NLCS. 

All they knew going into the postseason was that they needed their best lineup to win the World Series.

And pitching Matt Harvey gives them the best chance to do just that.

Young Wave of Stars Rejuvenates MLB

It's a rare thing when a new wave of stars enter a sport and several become highly successful. Even more rare is a group of them making a big splash right away. In Major League Baseball, fans are being treated to a show every night with some of the game's brightest young stars doing what the do best. On the West Coast Mike Trout swipes another base while across the country in Baltimore Manny Machado makes another spectacular play in the field. In Chicago, Anthony Rizzo launches another homer and in the nation's capital Bryce Harper continues to live up to the unfathomable hype. Stephen Strasburg and Matt Harvey strike batters out with ease and that's what we've come to expect from these young players. Greatness. Is the MLB lucky or what?

There had not been a young baseball prospect as hyped as Stephen Strasburg was when he first got called up to the Nationals. The sports world shut down as he made his first career start and every pitch was broken down by every analyst imaginable. Baseball, a game that sometimes can be seen as slow-moving and boring, was all of a sudden the talk of the summer and, to make things even sweeter, Strasburg did exactly what was expected -- he dominated.

As if that wasn't enough, Bryce Harper made his debut for the Nationals last season and, despite being 19 years old, won the Rookie of the Year and was named an All-Star. Not too bad. However, he wasn't even the best rookie that season. That honor belonged to the Angels' Mike Trout. The centerfielder made spectacular plays on defense and hit towering homers on offense. There's only one way to win the MVP award over a guy who batted .326 with 30 home runs, 83 RBI and 49 stolen bases. That would be to win the Triple Crown and Miguel Cabrera somehow managed to do just that. Were it not for him then Trout would have been named the MVP along with being named Rookie of the Year.

Strasburg, Trout and Harper have garnered much of the headlines, but Machado, Rizzo and Harvey have been marvelous as well. Machado is currently leading the league in hits with 59 and he is seventh in batting average. Rizzo is a ray of hope in a rebuilding Cubs franchise and so far this season he has belted nine home runs in 40 games. Last year he hit 15 in 87. Harvey, this week's Sports Illustrated cover boy, is 4-0 for the New York Mets with a 1.44 earned run average. The 23-year-old has also struck out 62 while walking just 14.

All these young stars have come into the league at the perfect time. Players like Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mariano Rivera, Roy Halladay and Ichiro Suzuki don't have that many years left in the tank. The game needs a new wave to keep it going and they go just that. If the young players stay out of trouble off the field and continue to dominate on it then the game won't miss a beat once. Retirement for the stars of today is imminent, but luckily, the stars of tomorrow are already here.