These days, Major League Baseball is truly a 365-day-a-year endeavor — with plenty of overlap. The offseason truly never ends, as players remain unsigned even after the season begins. The so-called championship season stretches into October, followed by a postseason that will bleed into November.
And the concept of players “working their way into shape” once spring arrives is long gone; nowadays, it’s just a few weeks of recuperation and then back to fine-tuning their bodies to gain — or retain — any edge.
Still, while the grind never stops, there’s something to be said for the days pitchers and catchers report. The informal becomes just a bit more formal. Friendships are rekindled, and awkward greetings among new teammates commence.There’s also this: Conflicts are either resolved or grow more worrisome as teams prepare to head for their permanent homes come April.USA TODAY Sports examines the festering issues that will play out in the sunshine of Arizona and Florida.
They were eliminated by their rivals and then weakened by them. Now, the St. Louis Cardinals have six weeks to gear up for the chance to prove the Chicago Cubs have not left them behind.
It was the Cubs who eliminated the Cardinals in four games in the National League Division Series, even after St.Louis had won a major league-best 101 games to repeat as NL Central champion.
It was the Cubs who lured All-Star outfielder Jason Heyward away from more guaranteed money to sign with a club that had, as he put it, “winning attitude and culture” and was “such a young group that I could grow myself with.”
And it was the Cubs who snared steady veteran starter John Lackey, who gave the Cardinals 218 innings, 26 quality starts and a 2.77 ERA in 2015.
But the Cardinals remain eager to show that they are far from decimated and, until proved otherwise, remain the NL Central champs.
