The Beautiful Game Returns

By Mark Brown/Citizen Columnist

In South America, association soccer is dubbed “the beautiful game.” To me however, those of us in North America have another sport that is worthy to be called “the beautiful game.”

Baseball.

The game that features the graceful swing of a bat, the smooth follow-through of a pitcher’s arm and the flight of an outfielder as he dives for a falling fly ball. Remembering my experiences growing up in Detroit and attending games at old Tiger Stadium, I can certainly still smell the freshly cut grass as well as the stale beer scent that permeated that concrete and steel structure. I can still certainly taste the plump hot dogs and pop, reminiscent of a perfect summer afternoon. Yes…the beautiful game is about to return for another regular season.

There will soon be 162 games played by 30 Major League Baseball teams and with each game played, the graceful yet athletic back-and-forth ballet between two teams of nine players each.

Of course, as this game is played out, there are the usual questions going into the season. Which players are going to rise to the occasion? Which ones will go in with high hopes only to disappoint? Which will be unexpected surprises on the diamond?

Let’s start with the local teams…the Detroit Tigers and the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Tigers certainly have what it takes to compete for their fifth straight American League Central Division title. A healthy Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez would complement the addition of Cuban juggernaut Yoenis Cespedes and provide the team with the offence required. Pitching is a different story. The Tigers did not make a deal for a starting pitcher to replace the departed Max Scherzer, so the dilemma is who will join Justin Verlander, Anibal Sanchez and David Price in the rotation. If the Tigers’ rotation isn’t solid, their quest for another division championship could be called into question.

The Blue Jays face a problem that has plagued them for the past several years…how to compete with the strength of the AL East. The Jays finished third in the division in 2014, though just four games above the .500 mark. Another issue the Jays face is finding a closer. The latest dilemma out of Dunedin is whether to use Brett Cecil or Aaron Sanchez to close out games. But as the Toronto Maple Leafs have learned since the firing of head coach Randy Carlyle, the committee approach isn’t always the best way to go. Unlike the Leafs, perhaps Toronto’s baseball counterparts will prove us wrong.

As for the rest of the American League, fans will expect the Kansas City Royals to give the Tigers a run for their money in the Central, as they attempt to repeat their improbable run to the World Series last year. Cleveland and Minnesota will certainly be in the mix as well. In the West, the Angels remain favoured with defending MVP Mike Trout. But can second-year manager Lloyd McClendon and his Seattle Mariners make things difficult for them?

The National League has storylines of its own. In the East, the Washington Nationals are the favourites, now with perhaps the best rotation in the game. Max Scherzer joins Stephen Strasburg and former Tigers teammate Doug Fister. I think this is the closest to a sure thing for a division championship this year.

The St. Louis Cardinals are expected to go for the NL Central title, but the Cincinnati Reds and amazingly, the Chicago Cubs could pose a challenge. Why? The addition of Jon Lester to Chicago’s rotation and a decent offensive corps suggests that they shouldn’t be counted out. The San Francisco Giants will face competition from the Dodgers and Padres in the NL West.

Regardless of how these storylines play out this season, it won’t change the fact that the ballet of baseball will be played out time and time again on diamonds across North America. I can’t wait for it to get started. In the words of the Song of Solomon, the late great Ernie Harwell ushered in a new season this way, and I still get a lump in my throat when I hear it…

“For lo, the winter is past, the rains are over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of the singing of the birds is come and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.”

The beautiful game…play ball.