Play ball!
Baseball at Fenway Park. College basketball at Indianapolis and San Antonio. College football at the University of Rhode Island.
What an Easter weekend!
The Red Sox will open their season this afternoon at Fenway Park, a day late because of damp and chilly conditions yesterday. I wish I were more excited about the 2021 Sox, but this team hardly resembles the team that defeated the Dodgers in the 2018 World Series. The best young outfield three years ago — Andrew Benintendi in left, Jackie Bradley, Jr. in center and Mookie Betts in right — is history. Benny is in Kansas City, JBJ in Milwaukee and Betts in Los Angeles, where he won another World Series ring last fall.
Chris Sale, the best pitcher on the staff in 2018, is still rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and probably will not be ready to pitch until summer, if then. Eduardo Rodriguez, the best pitcher in 2019, has a dead arm and is on the 10-day injured list. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts reported to spring training with a sore arm, never a good sign. Third baseman Rafael Devers started poorly last season, and designated hitter J.D. Martinez never really got started.
I am looking forward to seeing what rookies Bobby Dalbec and Tanner Houck can do. Dalbec, a power hitter who will start at first base, showed a lot of promise last September with eight home runs in 80 at-bats and continued to impress during spring training with seven homers in just 47 trips to the plate. Houck is a hard-throwing right hander who won all three of his starts last September and struck out 21 batters in 17 innings. He won both of his spring training starts this year.
I am also eager to see how manager Alex Cora performs after serving a one-season suspension for his role in the Houston Astros 2017 sign-stealing scandal. Cora was brilliant during Boston’s 2018 championship season but not so much in 2019. He will hear jeers around the American League from those who will always consider him a cheater. But the Red Sox players love him, and ownership brought him back and stands behind him. That’s all that really matters, isn’t it?
The Red Sox are promoting versatility this season. In other words they have a lot of players who can play multiple positions, super specialists as some writers describe them. Super utility men, I say. A specialist plays one position. Look for a changing cast at second base and in every outfield position, although Alex Verdugo will probably find his home in right field before long.
Pitching? We’ll see. Veteran Nathan Eovaldi gets the ball for the season opener today.
The really good news is that fans will return to Fenway this season. Due to COVID-mandated restrictions only about 4,500 will be allowed into the old ball yard, but that’s a lot better than the cardboard cutouts that occupied the seats behind home plate in 2020.
In college basketball, Final Fours are set. Undefeated Gonzaga, the small Catholic college from Spokane, an NCAA Tournament team for 22 consecutive seasons and a Final Four participant for the second time, is two victories from a 32-0 season and its first national championship. The Zags have dominated at both ends of the court during this tournament and will be tough to beat. UCLA, an upset winner over Michigan in the Elite Eight, is next. Baylor and Houston will meet in the first semifinal on Saturday.
In San Antonio, UConn is two wins from its 12th NCAA championship and its first since 2016. Paige Bueckers is the first freshman to be named the AP Player of the Year. The Huskies will play Arizona tonight. South Carolina and Stanford will meet in the first semifinal.
Action off the court has been just as intense as that on the hardwood. Controversy erupted when Oregon’s Sedona Prince pointed out the gross disparity between the men’s and women’s training facilities: a full weight room for the men, a rack and yoga mats for the women. NCAA administrators hustled to deliver more equipment to the women, but the oversight prompted critics to note that NCAA does not promote the women’s tournament the way it does the men’s. The critics are correct.
But the most significant development in college basketball — in fact, all college sports — is occurring in Washington, D.C., where the U.S. Supreme Court is considering the volatile issue of compensation to college athletes. Lawyers for both sides argued before the Court on Wednesday, and a decision is expected by the end of June. Paying college athletes to play will shake the NCAA to its core.
Finally, the University of Rhode Island is playing football this spring, thanks to COVID restrictions last fall, and playing well. The Rams, usually a bottom dweller in the tough Colonial Athletic Association, upset nationally ranked Villanova and Albany on the road and was ranked No. 18. Visiting Delaware spoiled that great start with a 35-21 victory last week. Rhody will return to Meade Stadium tomorrow against New Hampshire (0-1), which has had two games postponed. Maine (2-1) will visit on April 10, and URI will close the six-game season at Stony Brook (1-3) on April 17.
Rhode Island high schools also are playing football this spring.
So, take your pick, and play ball!