Baseball: Lets Get This Thing Started

By William Coppola

No other sport has a build up to their season like baseball. It takes us from the cold dreary days of winter, into the warmth of spring and then summer. A new season of baseball brings us hope for all good things, as every team and their fans start out believe something good will happen.

Mets and Yankee fans are no different. We are one of only four cities to have two teams in town, giving us a game almost every day and with the goof ball schedule makers of MLB, we sometimes have both teams playing on the same day. Thank you Mr. Goofy! That’s a full 162 games. How crazy must it of been with 3 teams (Dodgers, Giants and Yankees) playing 231 home games over 183 days?

In a few weeks spring training will be in full gear, giving everyone an idea of just what the Yankees and Mets could look like this year. Will the Mets have the situation in centerfield, right field and catcher figured out? Is their bullpen stocked with a herd of cows and no bull? Is David Wright good to go? Are all of the young arms ready for the long season? Will we see top prospect Amed Rosario this year?

As for the Yankees, will they break camp with a prospect or two on the 25 man roster? Will one of them be a pitcher for the back end of the rotation? Will Brett Gardner be dealt for a piece of their puzzle, with left field then occupied by one of their new stud prospects? Will the Circus Calliope at the gate to Steinbrenner Field play the walk-up music this year?

Some of these questions may be answered by the middle of March, when most of the regular pitchers begin to throw more than one or two innings and the position payers bat more than two times in a game.

When the regular season starts in April, one team will be kind of the same and the other will have a new look. The Mets added nothing of significance this winter. Sure the resigning Yoenis Cespedes and Neil Walker was big, but nothing new there. The absence of Bartolo Colon will be felt in a big way. But as stated by Rich Mancuso, the loss of Jeurys Familia for what looks like the first 30 games, could be disastrous.

NY Yankees StadiumIn the Bronx, the Yankees will have a newer look. Missing from last years season opening 25 man roster will be Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Andrew Miller, Carlos Beltran, Nathan Eovoldi, Ivan Nova and Brian McCann, plus six veteran hot dog venders and Jack the beer guy in section 201.

That being said, I believe the Yankees could be on the cusp of a new dynasty. While the Mets need to stay healthy or they could be headed for Palookaville and a year of almost again.

So bring on the peanuts, popcorn, hot dogs and beer. Let me see that beautiful building in my windshield as I pull into the lot. The only time I smile in traffic is when I am going to a game.

I’m ready. Lets Play Ball!

William Coppola is entering his 41st year in the game with roles as a coach and advanced scout.  

 

 

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