Pirates’ Brault, Giants’ Belt look toward opener
Gonzalez will be counted on to provide depth and veteran leadership after being signed to a minor league contract. The 35year-old South Florida native had a 4.83 ERA in 12 games with the White Sox last season.
Milwaukee Brewers
RHP Devin Williams is over the strained shoulder that ended his 2020 NL Rookie of the Year season early. The reliever missed the wild-card series against the Dodgers. .
“I felt like I did a lot to help us get to that point last year, and to not be able to help in the postseason when it really counts, that just kind of gave me some more motivation for this year,” he said.
The Brewers have brought Williams along slowly this spring and he is expected to see his first Cactus League action sometime after March 17.
What we learned: Manager Craig Counsell has many outfield options after CF Jackie Bradley Jr. was signed to a twoyear, $24 million contract in free agency. Bradley joins a crowded outfield that includes LF Christian Yelich, CF Lorenzo Cain and RF Avisail Garcia.
New York Mets
The Mets made 32 errors in 60 games last season. That was the 10th-fewest fielding miscues among the 30 MLB teams.
The Mets still want to tighten the defense this season. Second-year manager Luis Rojas says they need good fielding so their pitchers “can trust their defense behind them to pitch to contact and be effective and be totally more economical with their pitch count. We need it in the outfield. We need it in the infield. We need it in the catcher to control the running game.”
What we learned: RHP Seth Lugo should be ready to pitch sometime in May after having surgery Feb. 16 to remove a bone spur from his pitching elbow.
Philadelphia Phillies
1B Rhys Hoskins is expected to be free of restrictions when the season begins as he is fully recovered from October surgery on his left (non-throwing) elbow.
“I felt strong, felt normal,” Hoskins said of his Grapefruit League debut. “If you’re asking me, there’s no reason why I won’t be ready for opening day, barring something really weird happening.”
Hoskins was limited to 41 games last season, hitting .245 with 10 home runs and a .887 OPS. In 2019, he led the NL with 116 walks.
What we learned: OF Odubel Herrera is in the mix to be the starting center fielder. The 2016 All-Star did not play in the major leagues, spending the season at the alternate training site. He was suspended for the final 109 games of the 2019 season for violating MLB’s domestic abuse policy.
Pittsburgh Pirates
LHP Steven Brault had never been assured of an openingday roster spot. Not only will he be on the team this year but he could start April 1 against the Cubs in Chicago.
Brault, 28, is one of the few veterans in a young rotation and coming off a season in which he went 1-3 with a 3.38 ERA in 11 games. Brault was particularly impressive in September, including pitching a two-hitter against the Cardinals for his first career complete game.
“If we had signed four bigtime starters coming into this year and I wasn’t guaranteed a spot again, I would go in with the same mentality,” Brault said. “I don’t think it changes too much.”
What we learned: Top SS prospect Oneil Cruz, who is 6foot-7, is playing some outfield this spring. The move is designed to improve Cruz’s versatility.
St. Louis Cardinals
This marks the first spring training 3B Nolan Arenado has spent with an organization other than the Rockies. Colorado selected Arenado in the second round of the 2009 draft following his senior year of high school in Lake Forest, California, and he made his major league debut in 2013.
“If anything, I don’t know what some of their faces look like (because of masks), but other than that it’s smooth sailing,” Arenado said. “We’re talking outside in the tents, sitting 6 feet apart but still communicating, talking about the game, and I love it.”
What we learned: Ali Sanchez is trying to unseat Andrew Knizner as the backup to C Yadier Molina. Sanchez hurt his chances March 5 when his throwing error in the ninth inning allowed the Nationals to score the winning run.
San Diego Padres
The Padres have signed three infielders to contracts over the last four years that are worth a total of $784 million – 14 years and $340 million to SS Fernando Tatis Jr., 10 years and $300 million to 3B Manny Machado and eight years and $144 million to 1B Eric Hosmer.
To some, that might seem like a small-market franchise living outside its means. However, majority owner Peter Seidler says the Padres would not have signed the trio if they couldn’t afford it.
“We love this city,” Seidler said. “We want to honor the support our extraordinary fans give us. In 1984 and 1998, this place went crazy. And those were real teams that went to the World Series.”
What we learned: RHP Keone Kela is among those competing to be the closer along with RHP Mark Melancon. Kela struck out all three batters he faced in his Cactus debut.
San Francisco Giants
The Giants are slow-playing 1B Brandon Belt this spring after he had surgery in October to remove a bone spur from his right heel. He also missed time early in training camp after contracting a virus that was not COVID-19.
Belt hit a career-high .309 last season in 51 games. He also homered nine times and his OPS was 1.015, also the best of his 10-year career.
The 32-year-old is entering the final year of his five-year, $72.8 million contract. Belt is one of three players remaining from the Giants’ last World Series-winning team in 2014 with C Buster Posey and SS Brandon Crawford.
What we learned: LHP Jose Alvarez, signed as a free agent, could be aided by his previous relationship with Giants manager Gabe Kapler. Alvarez had a 3.36 ERA and one save in 67 relief appearances for the 2019 Phillies, who were managed by Kapler.
Washington Nationals
While some Washington fans might be down on 3B Carter Kieboom, the Nationals are not even close to giving up on the 23-year-old.
Kieboom hit .202 with no home runs and a .556 OPS in 33 games as a rookie last season. However, Kieboom has looked better this spring after having laser eye surgery in the offseason.
“We have too many guys with too many eyes on him that think he’s going to be a really good big-league player,” general manager Mike Rizzo said.
Rizzo cited Robin Ventura, a third baseman who had a rough debut with the White Sox in 1989, then played in the majors for 16 seasons.
What we learned: RHP Jeremy Jeffress was released because of what the Nationals said only was a “personnel decision.” Jeffress led the Cubs with eight saves last season to go with a 1.54 ERA in 22 games.
Off the court, the NBA AllStars could not attend parties, host clinics or even enjoy dinner at a restaurant.
“There’s not a lot of people around. There’s no entertainment,” Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard said. “There’s no energy. There’s no excitement.”
On the court, the NBA AllStars still brought excitement and energy through the same methods that have become familiar in other showcase games. Giannis Antetokounmpo threw down endless dunks. Damian Lillard and Stephen Curry drained endless 3-pointers. Neither All-Star team played much defense.
The NBA held its All-Star Game on March 7 in Atlanta with fake crowd noise, an enclosed arena and strict safety protocols to mitigate risk with the coronavirus. Yet both AllStar teams still offered highlight reels, competitiveness and clutch performances.
LeBron James himself used the All-Star Game as a form of load management by sitting the entire second half. Kevin Durant missed the game entirely because of a left hamstring injury. So other factors influenced “Team LeBron” finishing with a 170-150 win over Team Durant.
Antetokounmpo won his first All-Star MVP Award by posting a team-leading 35 points on 16 of 16 shooting. Lillard made the game-clinching shot from near halfcourt, which capped a 32-point performance while shooting 11 of 20 from the field and 8 of 16 from 3-point range. And Curry joined in on the longdistance frenzy with 28 points while going 10 of 19 from the field and 8 of 16 from deep.
“The game itself felt the same. The only thing is you can’t
really see the crowd in normal years like outside of the courtside rows,” Curry said. “The energy is definitely louder and more engaged with more people, but the only thing that really was really missing was the who’s who sitting down there and just the energy around the court.”
In normal times, NBA AllStars would stay in a host city for three days. They would spend the first days fielding interviews, hosting clinics and making sponsorship appearances. They would spend the next two evenings enjoying the city’s culinary delights, nightlife and VIP events.
Instead, the league required various protocols that mirrored their resumed season last summer on a campus bubble. All participants had to resume daily COVID-19 testing, mask wearing and social distancing practices. They had to stay quarantined at the hotel before the
game. And they could bring only a small handful of friends and family members.
Hence, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic spent most of his weekend just playing cards with his wife and his two brothers in his hotel room. Others just played video games. James didn’t even bother bringing his family.
“Everyone in basketball in the world usually comes to one city and we all enjoy it,” James said. “We all really sit back and think, ‘Wow, this is really what the game has built. This is a beautiful weekend in all walks, on the floor and off of it.’ ”
James and other NBA AllStars hardly felt as nostalgic, though. James even called it “a slap in the face” for the league to have an All-Star Game after starting a compressed 72-game season only two months after the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA title. On the day of the game, the NBA ruled out Philadelphia
76ers center Joel Embiid and forward Ben Simmons from playing after they were exposed to a barber who tested positive for COVID-19. Although that exposure happened in Philadelphia, that development partly explained why some AllStars questioned the idea.
Still, the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association pushed forward.
They knew it would maximize its television contract and keep its sponsors happy.
They knew it would help historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) with over $3 million in donations and endless exposure.
And they knew that the frustrations would soften once players stepped on the court.
“There’s always a lot of back and forth on these different decisions,” said Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul, the president of the NBPA. “But once guys get here, I think they’re grateful for it.”
The pregame festivities included Grammy winners singing the U.S. national anthem (Gladys Knight) and Canadian national anthem (Alessia Cara). It featured rapper Common introducing the Clark Atlanta University Philharmonic Society Choir before it performed an original rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” And it showcased the marching bands with Grambling State and Florida A&M performing during lineup introductions.
The players could feed off the 1,500 front-line workers, HBCU students and additional family members who sat inside.
So before the game started, James performed his customary chalk toss. Then the All-Stars put on a show. Curry, Lillard and Paul rose to each other’s challenges to throw down alley-oop dunks. Antetokounmpo mostly dominated in the paint, but he also banked in a couple of 3pointers. Curry and Lillard drained shots from the logo. Though Curry insisted the plan was not premeditated, he tried to clinch the game with a deep 3. After Curry’s miss, Lillard took the lead in ending the game with his own long-distance heave.
“Given the circumstances with COVID and the kind of season it’s been, it was fitting,” Lillard said of his game-clinching shot. “We came in last night, I didn’t leave the hotel room all day or all night, other than going to test, and they brought the food to us and everything. The game was pretty much it, and watching the skills and 3-point and dunk contests. But it was pretty quick.”
Some All-Stars actually kind of liked this setup better. As Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic said, “It’s better. It’s quicker; you’re in and out.”
When Curry visited his hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina, two years ago, the Golden State Warriors star squeezed in visits to his alma mater (Davidson), Under Armour clinics and appearances in the 3-point contest and AllStar Game without much time to actually see his hometown friends and family members. This year, Curry appeared in both events without all the added stress.
“The prior experiences are more exhausting. I would love this experience with just fans and more energy around the city and the building but in a safe manner,” Curry said. “But having everything in one night was kind of cool.”
It goes without saying, however, that the NBA All-Stars never want to have a game like this again. Clarity soon awaits on if the NBA and the rest of the world can return to normalcy after spending the past year feeling far from it.