Old Time Family Baseball

As one of our fellow bloggers is wont to say, it’s a long season. We get 162 games of sweet, sweet baseball even before the excitement of the playoffs, and as such, the narratives within the sport can shift and constantly take on new meanings. With the sheer amount of playing time and players involved, it’s easy to latch onto these stories and use them to shape a larger, more general feeling of the season. A slugger can slump during April and May and still emerge as an MVP candidate come October. A team that bumbles its way through most of the season still has a chance to sneak into the playoffs and take the ultimate prize. Simply put, there’s no end to the scenarios, long and short, that unfold.

There are a few things I’ll be keeping my eye on in 2012. I’ll admit that I like to keep it simple. Lists like this one often are. But I do find a lot of joy in attaching myself to these storylines.

Is Ike Davis All-Star material?

I’m a fan of Ike Davis. I’ve been one ever since I picked up in fantasy baseball in 2010. That’s just how it happened. He put up impressive numbers his first time out and looked primed to break out in 2011 with a .302/.383/.543 line, 7 HR, and 25 RBI through 36 games. And then, in happenstance truly befitting a Met, he collided with David Wright. The subsequent injury sidelined him for the rest of the season. But it’s 2012, baby, and as Hardball Talk’s Matthew Pouliot points out, Ike Davis could very well be the NL’s second-best first baseman (due to the departures of Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder).

Can the Brewers repeat?

It was the feeling of unease that hung over Milwaukee all season: when the Brewers had played their last game and the World Series had wrapped up, fans would have to  face the fact that the team wouldn’t be able to re-sign Craig Counsell. The Brewers clinched the NL Central and won 96 games, some of which Counsell appeared in. While he’ll be manning his post as a special assistant in the front office, one wonders whether this team’s window to win has closed.

The Curious Case of the Angels and Marlins.

Early in the off season, when Miami was linked to every free agent out there, it sounded like a lot of noise. But the team came through by inking Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle, making the two the team’s biggest acquisitions in a very busy off season. Florida won 72 games in 2011, and I won’t try estimate how many wins they’ve purchased with these two signings. I am interested in seeing just how they stack up in with a number of other competitive teams in the NL East. Something similar can be said about the Angels, who upped the ante for winning the AL West in the form of a monster contract to Albert Pujols and a deal for C.J. Wilson. While Oakland and Seattle won’t factor into this playoff race, Texas still looms large with most of its 2011 World Series team in place and the potential for an improved rotation with the signing of Yu Darvish. It will be great to see just how much better either of these teams can do in the context of all of the money they spent to upgrade their rosters.

Higher number on April 30th: Red Sox wins or Marlins Clubhouse Freakouts?

The Red Sox got off to a laughably bad start in 2011, and while you might not expect the offense to slump quite as much, the pitching will arguably be worse. Couple that with the ignominy the team has carried around since September’s epic collapse, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see a similar “slow” start. Going back to Miami - all that needs to be said is Ozzie Guillen and Carlos Zambrano will be in the same dugout, and, though it’s shameful, I’m sort of hoping for an ego clash of epic proportions.

The Champions.

What, you think I wouldn’t be interested in who wins the World Series?