I guess when you win three World Series in four years, you are considered big time — so big time that you can't even respond to the preseason questions.
You think he'd be excited to gloat about his title.
You think he'd be chomping at the bit to talk about his .538 franchise winning percentage; his 8-3 playoff record; his 1,496 wins in six seasons.
All of this you would expect, except all we got at the Jargon Sports Network was silence.
I don't like it. It's like standing outside on a warm summer day right before the storm hits.
You can sense it. You can feel it.
And right now, on the eve before the regular season, we all know Breakfast is about to be served.
The rotation has five legit Cy Young candidates — and at least 30 of the 40 pitchers on that top 10 list that Erik shared in Slack.
The offense features several multi-dimensional fantasy players, like Trea Turner and Randy Arozarena who can put up 20-homer, 40-steal seasons. After the WBC, both are hyped up so much, you'd think they were the best players in both of their Leagues.
And they could be if they capture that level of play they had in the WBC.
What do you think, Sam?
Oh, yeah, that's right.
He may be missing from this conversation, but there's no way he's missing from the AL title race conversation.
Topton may have that Padres-like offseason hype, but just like the real Padres, he'll have to prove it, and to me, it's going to take a lot to bring down Sam.
As Crox said, he's the two-time defending champ for a reason.
He makes great moves.
Like snagging Spencer Strider a year ago. He was all over that move and it has led to owning one of the Cy Young favorites.
Like drafting Jared Shuster in Round 6. Earlier than most thought, but it's going to pay so many dividends we'll look back and wonder why Shuster wasn't a first-rounder.
And like schooling Slammers every step of the way this offseason, making deal after deal with the gullible NL loser. He essentially got Randy Arozarena for Justin Steele and Camilo Doval.
What the heck were you thinking, Slammers?
Slammers?
Hello?
Great, now he's gone, too.
...
...
OK, in all seriousness, Sam didn't send in responses and said he would today, but he's really under the weather, so I told him to not worry about it.
Truth is, his team speaks for itself.
It's truly remarkable what he has done over the last six years and it's going to take a lot to slow that down.
Even worse — for those trying to catch him — is he has some pretty damn good prospects to either help him win or help him acquire players to win.
I'd say I'm glad I'm not in the AL, but then again, I have two Sams over here.
These Sams, however, answered my questions, which makes them better.
Comments