The Knuckle Curve

It seems that every year I find myself on the road for work during the first week of the baseball season. Sometimes domestic travel, sometimes abroad (like this year). Hey, I don’t expect sympathy seeing as I just got to spend 4 ½ days in Florence soaking in the gorgeous history of Italy (and working hard, of course) , but it could have been timed better since I absolutely live for the early part of the season. I always look forward to the first few weeks so we can see how the teams will get out of the gate. Will last year’s surprise team hold up and become a legitimate contender for another year? Will the powerhouse teams meet the media’s expectations and get out of the gate by opening an early lead in the standings? How will those players who impressed in the spring carry over into the real action?

So far, after about five games per team, we haven’t gotten many answers but the three things that jump out at me at this point are the fact that the Rays are atop the AL East (tied with Baltimore), the performance of potential phenom Johnny Cueto of Cincinnati and the 0-5 record of the supposedly World Series bound Detroit Tigers.

The Rays are the darlings of the league this year with many predicting a breakthrough for the perennially losing franchise and through four games (an exceptionally small sample size to be sure) they’re showing what they’re capable of. If their starting pitching continues to perform at this level (and presumably the return of Scott Kazmir in early May will only improve the situation) there’s no reason they can’t be in the middle of the Wild Card race come August and September.

As for Cueto, who knows what his major league debut will turn into? He dominated a good Arizona lineup for seven innings, striking out 10 batters, to show that his strong spring performance was no fluke. According to scouts across the baseball world, he’s got the stuff to continue succeeding at this level, but you never know with rookies. It’s good to see him get out of the gate like this but I expect a typical bumpy first season for him like most rookie pitchers.

And what’s up with Detroit? With that lineup they should be able to overcome the shortcomings of their bullpen, but so far that hasn’t been the case. Scoring only 13 runs in five games just isn’t getting it done. And with Miguel Cabrera and Gary Sheffield already banged up, it’s possible that this team could be chasing Cleveland for the rest of the season. It should be a great race throughout the summer and I’m really looking forward to it! Of course, when I head to Stockholm in mid-May I will again be relying on internet cafes and CNN International for my baseball fix!