Steven Urena
By Steven Urena
Opening day is upon us!!!
Many folks say the best thing about Opening Day is everyone is 0-0 and everyone has a chance to be a winner.
That is true, unless you are the Giants, Rockies, and Diamondbacks. Your chances of making the playoffs are slim to none and slim does not look promising. The Dodgers and Padres are going to run that division.
Everyone has a shot, unless you are one of the many bottom dwellers in the MLB with zero chance of competing against massive payrolls such as the Dodgers and Yankees.
For the record, my predictions from 2/17/2021 still stand and will stand until the playoffs.
NL West: Dodgers
AL West: Astros
NL Central: Cardinals
AL Central Twins
NL East: Mets
AL East: Yankees
NL Wild Card: Padres
AL Wild Card: Blue Jays
Dodgers
If you are a football coach, the saying goes “If you have two quarterbacks then you have no quarterback.” Could this be true for the Dodgers loaded rotation? Is this abundance of talent going to cause more harm than good? If the boys in blue can find balance and harmony within the staff, watch out. They are flat out good.
The way it stands now, the starters are Buehler, Kershaw, Bauer, Urias and May. Price and Gonsolin are in the pen. Price called the powers that be after Bauer signed and offered to go to the pen. Veteran move. He’s made his money, now he just wants to win.
Padres
For a can’t miss team, they still have a lot of question marks. You can see the Pads running with it – Slam Diego, power arms, swag, excitement. You can also see them crumbling.
It almost feels like the NBA in the 80’s and 90’s. The Detroit Pistons had to deal with a ton of adversity to dethrone the Boston Celtics and later the Chicago Bulls had to do the same against the Pistons. The Padres are set to make a run but the Dodgers are not going to make anything easy for them, this year or in the future.
The Dodgers and Padres play 19 times this year. I will be watching with great enthusiasm.
Los Angeles Angels (of Anaheim)
Once again, I am at my local Stater Bros (Glendora) and I am wearing a Dodger hat. A young, hot-shot kid with an Angels shirt looks at me and says “Hey! We got you guys last night!” He was referring to the walk-off home run on Sunday, March 28.
The next two games the Dodgers beat the Angels. In baseball, you don’t have to win every game, just 2 out of 3. Rookie.
New York Yankees
Don’t think I forgot about the Yanks. So far, so good. No injuries yet. Lots of upside in their rotation and their bats. I am not ready to crown them but you better believe they are ready to contend.
Houston Astros
Hate is a strong word, but I really, really, really don’t like you. I hope baseball fans have not forgotten about the sign stealing scandal and really give it to the Houston Asterisks in 2021. Make shirts, bang trash cans, and yell borderline inappropriate insults!
Toronto Blue Jays
Cavan Biggio, Vlad Guerrero Jr, Bo Bichette. All three are sons of former big leaguers. Dads, play catch with your kids! Just remember, it’s only a game. It’s not like your kid is going to the big leagues.
Tampa Bay Rays
Should we call them the Tampa Bay Rebuilds this season? They will take their lumps this season but they have a great farm system. Expect them to be scary in the playoffs in the near future. Top prospect Wander Franco makes his MLB debut this season.
NL East
The NL East is going to be a dog fight. The Mets, Braves, and Nationals are all really solid teams. Whoever finishes in second place in this division will battle the second place team from the NL West. That playoff game will be fun to watch. A one game elimination. Loser goes home, winner goes to the NLDS.
Who I am Excited to Watch
Mookie Betts: One game I saw Betts dragging the field between innings, selling peanuts, and making micheladas. This guy does it all. When Betts is on the field, don’t take your eyes off him. You might miss something good.
Juan Soto: I heard a Ted Williams comparison but that’s just way off. There is only one Ted Williams. However, I love watching this guy hit. He hits the ball with power to all fields and I love how he gets under the skin of opposing pitchers. What are the chances Soto wins the triple crown? Really, I am asking. I looked online and could not find the odds. I’d put money on that.
Fernando Tatis Jr: Dreadlocks, big sunglasses, bat flips, and home runs. Love him or hate him, he’s ready to take the baseball world by storm. I wish the guy all the success in the world (1st pick on my fantasy team) except when he plays the Dodgers.
Mike Trout: We all wish we saw more of the greats – Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Barry Sanders, Ken Griffey Jr, etc. Baseball fans, go out to Anaheim and watch this guy! He is worth the price of admission (when Covid prices drop).
Nolan Arenado: New city, new team, same production. I expect him to have a big year.
2021 40 Homer Club
Fernando Tatis: No
Ronald Acuna: No
Cody Bellinger: No
Mike Trout: Yes
Juan Soto: No
Bryce Harper: No
Joey Gallo: No
Aaron Judge: Yes (because he’s on my fantasy team)
2021 20 Game Winners
Gerrit Cole: Yes (20)
Jacob deGrom: No
Shane Bieber: No
Walker Buehler: No (19)
Trevor Bauer: No
Yu Darvish: No
Clayton Kershaw: No
Max Scherzer: No
Last Add on Dodgers
Do you think the Dodgers can break the Seattle Mariners’s record of 116 wins in the regular season? My allegiance to the Dodgers and the barrio will not permit me to answer this.
The End of an Era
After 20 years it is safe to say we have seen the last of Albert Pujols. He has blessed us with some of the best seasons of all time and will easily be in Cooperstown one day. He’s not catching A-Rod on the all time homer list this season. Ride off into the sunset cowboy.
Fantasy Baseball
The Gashouse Gorillas (my team) start the season 0-0 on Thursday. We look to get out of the perennial gutter and make a run for the ‘ship! Everyone has a shot right? Even in fantasy baseball, right?
The Urena Express appears every Wednesday at JoeTorosian.com
Contact Steve Urena at:
Email: theurenaexpress@gmail.com
Twitter/IG: @theurenaexpress
