The Urena Express: 4/7/21

By Steven Urena

Six games down, 156 to go! Remember, folks, it’s a long season, and you gotta trust it.

Hop on The Urena Express for the second edition of “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.”

The Good

Los Angeles Dodgers: After a “Rockie” start, the Dodgers are off and running. The long ball was non-existent the first three games, but the Boys in Blue have hit six home runs in their last three games. Coors Field happened a bit in Colorado, but the starting rotation has looked sharp. How about Julio Urias and Dustin May? The young guns look great so far.

Los Angeles Angels (of Anaheim): Shohei Ohtani. It’s fun to watch a guy throw 100 mph and hit absolute blasts. Don’t forget Mike Trout. The only thing that can stop him is kryptonite.

New York Yankees: After an average performance in his season opener, Gerritt Cole blew the Orioles away for 13 K’s in 7 innings. Cy Young here he comes! Aaron Judge is crushing the baseball right now. My AL favorites are coming along nicely.

New York Mets: 10-year, $341 million contract for one of the game’s best players. Honestly, I don’t think any player is worth that much money, but that’s the going rate for a franchise’s savior. Expectations are high, Mr. Lindor.

Chicago White Sox: Yermin Mercedes started the season by going 8-for-8. It’s a Major League record. Not too shabby.

San Diego Padres: Eric Hosmer is red hot! The Padres keep finding ways to win.

Minnesota Twins: It seems as though Nelson Cruz dipped himself in the fountain of youth again. The 40-year-old is hitting .538 with three home runs and 7 RBIs.

Philadelphia Phillies: The Phils are playing well. Did I underestimate them and their loaded offense?

Miami Marlins: Ace, Sandy Alcantara could wind up being one of the best young pitchers in the MLB this year. His ERA in two starts is 1.50, and he has 17 Ks.

MLB: Cedric Mullins (BAL), Ketel Marte (AZ), Donovan Solano (SF), Randal Grichuk (TOR), Whit Merrifield (KC), and Will Smith (LAD) are all hitting over .500. Ryan McMahon (COL) is leading the MLB with four home runs.

The Bad

Los Angeles Dodgers: Kenley Jensen. I said months ago that Kenley will get every chance to be the Dodgers’ closer. Dave Roberts will keep looking for the best in Kenly and ignore his past struggles. I was for a closer by committee, but it looks like Roberts is adamant. It’s a long season, and you gotta trust it…I guess.

Atlanta Braves: I heard some folks call the Braves “Hot-lanta” before the season started. Right now, it’s more like “At-the-bottom of the NL East Braves.” Don’t worry, Braves Nation, the boys will right the ship.

Nationals/Mets: Series was postponed due to Covid-19. I was looking forward to this series. It featured some of the best players in the MLB in Jacob deGrom, Francisco Lindor, and Juan Soto. I hope we get as few outbreaks as possible.

San Diego Padres: Yu Darvish got shelled in his first outing. Blake Snell went 4.2 innings in his first outing. Manny Machado is hitting .230.

Toronto Blue Jays: These boys can hit, but pitching will hurt them in the long run.

MLB: Former Dodgers starting pitchers Ryu, Maeda, Greinke, Darvish, and Eovaldi all started for their respected teams on Opening Day. Why is this bad? Because the Dodgers still have the best rotation in baseball.

Cincinnati Reds: Nick Castellanos was suspended for two games for his “involvement” in the benches-clearing brawl. Why wasn’t Yadi Molina suspended? He’s the one that tapped Castellanos on the shoulder and caused the benches to clear. Bottom line…Castellanos got drilled and did not like it. He popped off a little to the pitcher, Jake Woodford after he scored. I didn’t think it was a big deal. Why was Woodford sticking a knee in his ribs and tangled up with Castellanos anyway? Bad call, MLB.

The Ugly

San Diego Padres: Fernando Tatis Jr. (my first fantasy baseball pick…shocker) is on the IL. That’s the last guy San Diego wants to see go down. We’ve seen injuries snowball with certain players. This is the second time Tatis has been injured in less than 155 games. No bueno, Nino! There’s a chance he was not ready after he aggravated the shoulder in Spring Training. If he was making the baseball equivalent of slave wages, he might have sat out until he was ready. Since he’s making the big bucks, he probably felt the pressure to play.

Los Angeles Dodgers: David Price out of the bullpen. Every time I tune in, Price is getting rocked. Many starters struggle with the transition from being a starter to going to the pen. Remember, it’s a long season. Let Price get the kinks out now so he can chew up innings in relief. Because he’s not overpowering, I don’t see Price finishing games now or in October.

Oakland A’s: The A’s are off to an 0-6 start, and the Dodgers are going for the sweep. Being 0-6 is never a good feeling. Ouch!

Chicago Cubs: Kris Bryant leads the team with a .250 batting average. Javy Baez is hitting .167. Joc Pederson is 0-for-13 so far this season. I don’t know why but when I see the Cubs this year, I see dysfunction.

Houston Astros: Fans at Angel Stadium threw an inflatable trash can and a recycling bin on the field against the Astros. My guess, it was angry Dodger fans. If it wasn’t Dodgers fans, then the Astros’ hate is much greater than I suspected.

Let’s not forget about the players that abandoned ship and went to another team. Make sure we heckle them too. What the Astros did was downright wrong, and I am glad the MLB fans have not forgotten about the sign-stealing scandal.

As long as no one is physically hurt and the hazing is in somewhat good taste, then game on. I don’t feel bad for any one of those guys. I had to sit and watch these guys celebrate after beating the Dodgers in game 7 of the World Series. They had their fun, now it’s time to pay the piper. Take your lumps like men…like men! Eventually, the MLB will forget, but it will not be this year.