Tim Lincecum thought about the seismic shifts of baseball’s offseason, the ones that saw Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder migrate to the American League.
“I think it’s great,” San Francisco’s two-time Cy Young Award winner joked. “I won’t have to pitch to them anymore.”
Just 106 days after the surprising St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series, baseball returns this weekend when pitchers and catchers for the Seattle Mariners report to spring training in Peoria, Arizona.
There’s been a whole lot of change since the Texas Rangers’ David Murphy flied out to Allen Craig for the final out of the seven-game Series thriller.
Tony La Russa is gone. Bobby Valentine is back.
And no switch was bigger than Pujols’ decision to split St. Louis for a $240 million, 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels. Add Fielder’s move from Milwaukee for a $214 million, nine-year deal with Detroit, and the lives of AL pitchers just got 75 homers and 219 RBIs tougher.
“You have offenses that are going to let you know if your pitching is not up to par,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “There’s certainly been a sway to some extraordinarily deep lineups in the American League.”
The 14 AL teams have spent $776.8 million on major league contracts for players who became free agents after the World Series and the NL’s 16 clubs have committed $597.3 million. That NL lineup looks a lot less fearsome heading into the All-Star game at Kansas City’s Kaufmann Stadium on July 10.
And despite a 71-91 record last year, even the Royals are hopeful before the first pitch has been thrown ― even with the AL’s new additions.
“They make it more exciting and more challenging for all of us,” general manager Dayton Moore said. “I’m a fan, too, and like watching them play. It’s exciting.”
Seattle is first to open because the Mariners start the season in Tokyo with a two-game series against Oakland on March 28-29. (AP)
