The Red Sox and Yankees just finished up the first game of the 2010 season and while I usually dislike watching this rivalry, it was the first baseball game of the year. Watching this game got me thinking of the national storylines that I'm looking forward to the most.
The very first storyline I'm looking forward to is the debuts of Stephen Strasburg and Aroldis Chapman. Both of these guys look to be future studs in this game and I'm excited to see what they have against top notch MLB talent. Strasburg is carrying the future of the Nationals on his back, but he looks to be unhittable at times and I know I'll be watching Nationals games when he is starting this season. Chapman had a good Spring and made him an intriguing player to watch this season, as long as Dusty Baker doesn't destroy his arm.
Jason Heyward, simply because he is getting so much hype. I really want to see how good this kid is. I've heard all the hype of him being compared to Albert Pujols and hitting moon shots that land in parking lots, but I really want to see him with my own eyes. I'm really excited to see what he has and I hope I'm not disappointed.
Target Field. The Twins are opening up a new stadium this year and I want to see how they handle the move. The HHH Dome was always good for a few extra wins whether it was piped in crowd noise, the bounces the Twins got off the turf, or even opposing outfielders losing fly balls in the ceiling. The offense definitely has the power and speed to be successful wherever they play, but I'm interested to see if the Twins lose some of their edge when they lose the certain home dome advantage that the Metrodome brought them.
The Rays. I talked about this in the AL East preview, but the Rays are in an interesting situation this season. They could possibly (probably will) lose Carl Crawford and Carlos Peña in the offseason so if the Rays struggle out of the gate, will the Rays front office try to trade Crawford and/or Peña to try to get something for them before they bolt for big pay days? It's definitely something to keep an eye on if the Rays struggle early in the difficult AL East.
My last storyline has to deal with the Texas Rangers. They have had the offense of a contender for some time now, they just lacked the pitching. Well it seems as if they may have the pitching to compete and the talent to surprise some people who are convinced the Mariners are going to win the AL West. Some are saying Ron Washington is on the hot seat in Texas, but his players seem to genuinely enjoy playing for him and I'm looking for them to rally around their skipper and win the AL West this season.
The one thing I don't want to see this year is a player get busted for taking some sort of PEDs. Not because it's bad for the game, but because the media runs with it and makes a huge deal out of it and I'm just burnt out on steroid talk. Here's to a great 2010 baseball season full of exciting moments that can be enjoyed by all baseball fans.
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