Greetings from the sports desk located somewhere below the upper decks of the Good Pirate Ship RedState. Sammy the Shark and Karl the Kraken are beating the drum and holding the phone, as the sun came out today …

In reality, these two are so inept at baseball, Charlie Brown would kick them off his team.

Anyway, the Major League Baseball season begins in earnest today, with all but two teams (the Colorado Rockies and Tampa Bay Rays, for those keeping score) in action. The offseason was replete with team owners flashing so much cash at free agents that one may be excused for confusing the transaction list on the average sports page with the Congressional Record. The differentiating factor is that, unlike Democrats, baseball team owners actually have the money to spend as they please, and it is their own money to boot.

Much was made during the most recent hot stove league of the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers throwing currency around like they really were a Democratic administration, adding previous Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell plus highly touted (to put it mildly) starting pitcher Roki Sasaki from Japan. The Dodgers payroll this year is $330M plus an estimated $148M in luxury tax. Each number would be significantly higher were it not for the primarily deferred nature of Shohei Ohtani’s salary. It’s not like Los Angeles is the only team clinking coins; for example, the New York Mets lured Juan Soto away from their crosstown rival Yankees for a cool $765M. Still, the Dodgers are the official whipping boy for all that ails baseball, mostly because they have top-notch talent to burn at all positions, plus zero hesitation when it comes to doing whatever the rules allow to gain an advantage personnel-wise.

Neither the Dodgers, nor the Yankees injury woes, are the sole stories this season, although if one watches too much ESPN they may seem that way. Speaking of ESPN, this year marks the final one of the network broadcasting MLB games live. The network believes it was paying too much for the rights to broadcast games, while baseball believes (of course) it was paying too little. One suspects that ESPN is also hedging its bets against having to scramble for something to televise down the road during the expected lockout following the 2026 season. The issues are the same as they have been: teams unwilling or unable to spend at a Dodgers or Mets-like level looking for some way to rein in the Benjamin busters, while players suffer from the fantasy that everyone involved in the sport has bazillions of dollars to dole out on .220 hitters and 5.50 ERA-carrying pitchers.

But for now, there are games on tap. 162 of them times 30, to be precise. Thus, an overview. Starting with the National League, out West, the Dodgers figure to have the division clinched by Labor Day. Yet, all is not over. The San Francisco Giants may be a pleasant surprise as long as new additions Willy Adames and Justin Verlander produce and Jung Hoo Lee comes back from last year’s season-ending injury to add some needed pop to the lineup. The San Diego Padres remain potent behind Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado, while the Arizona Diamondbacks are, if anything, better than the team that won the National League pennant two years ago and have added star starting pitcher Corbin Burnes to an already solid staff. There could be some wild action for one or more wild card spots in the NL West.

The National League Central is something of a mystery. One figures the Milwaukee Brewers should be a factor if for no other reason than they always are, but they don’t impress. The Chicago Cubs look to be decent. The Cincinnati Reds could surprise. But no one in this division scares anyone.

Back East, the New York Mets figure to have the edge over a weakened through free agency losses Atlanta Braves and an aging Philadelphia Phillies. But it’s the Mets, so there will certainly be some entertaining drama along the way.

In the American League, out West, it’s anyone’s guess. The Houston Astros are on the decline. The Texas Rangers are a mystery. The Los Angeles Angels don’t know what city they play in and desperately hope Mike Trout can stay healthy for once. The Seattle Mariners remain blissfully unaware that good enough isn’t. The Athletics are dead to me, and will be dead tired by September from playing their “home” games in the searing Sacramento heat. So, who knows?

The American League Central could be highly entertaining. Except for the beyond woeful Chicago White Sox, every team in the division — the Kansas City Royals, Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers, and Minnesota Twins — has enough strengths to win it and enough flaws to finish fourth. Should be fun.

And then there’s the National League East. The Yankees are already hurting, with stud starting pitcher Gerrit Cole out for the year and designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton on the shelf for who knows how long. The Boston Red Sox may be ready to return to relevancy. The Baltimore Orioles and the Tampa Bay Rays remain factors. However, the Rays face the unenviable position of playing in an outdoor minor league park this year, with the majority of summertime games on the road. So we’ll see.

Play ball!

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