Imagine trying to forecast a season when you can’t even, well, forecast a season. Will this major league schedule start, continue, finish? Those are mysteries…
Imagine trying to forecast a season when you can’t even, well, forecast a season.
Will this major league schedule start, continue, finish? Those are mysteries that dominate 2020 more than who will win a division or an award.
But for the purposes of sanity and normalcy, let us go through the exercise and appreciate that the teams at Citi Field on Saturday night — cue New York,New York — are capable of being the last two playing this year.
The Yankees probably have the most talent in the American League, the Mets as much as any National League club not named the Dodgers.
It always takes more than talent to be playing at the end. But never like this year. Players have familiarized themselves to the strained, suspended, traded that infiltrates their season. The long rain delay, the day-night doubleheader, those dreaded two words — Tommy John (sorry to the actual Tommy John).
What is coming in 2020 has no precedent, no manual, no wiseman who has seen this all and can pass along knowledge. Rick Porcello has pitched more than 2,000 major league innings and knows what it is supposed to sound like when heading to the bullpen to prepare for a start. But Saturday night, nothing and he very definitely noticed the sound of silence. Then on the way to the dugout, teammates sitting under the canopy erected behind the home dugout gave him a warm applause and Dom Smith broke out with, “Let’s go Mets.
