AT LAST team sports are back…well, at least, for now! As much as I enjoy golf, NASCAR, and horse racing, I’ve missed my baseball. Who would’ve ever expected that it would be mid-July, there would be no players or owners strike in Major League Baseball, and yet we have seen no games? Welcome to 2020…where the nightmare can’t end soon enough.
I don’t know if we’ll have the NFL or especially college football but I’m confident enough to say that the MLB abbreviated season will be played fully. And with that, here are my not-so-expert picks for what we’ll see over the next several months.
Regular Season Awards
MVP:
AL: Austin Meadows (OF, Rays)
NL: Ronald Acuña (OF, Braves)
Cy Young:
AL: Shane Bieber (Indians)
NL: Walker Buehler (Dodgers)
Rookie of the Year:
AL: Jesus Lazardo (P, Athletics)
NL: Dylan Carlson (OF, Cardinals)
Five random thoughts on the upcoming 2020 season:
1. I hate that it’s so short…but can’t we all agree that this will be the most compelling MLB season in at least two decades?
2. Kevin Cash of the Rays is the best manager in baseball. He relies on young, underpaid talent to succeed…as well as various creative tactics (i.e. the pitching opener). I, like many others it seems, have a good feeling about them when it comes to the postseason.
3. I love the Braves’ roster…the hitting is stacked, the starting pitching goes at least eight deep, and the bullpen has enough solid pieces to get by. The Dodgers will be a tough out for Atlanta…unless someone else does their dirty work (as I predicted above).
4. As a diehard Cubs fan, I’m so dismayed by the lack of notable moves last offseason. The pitching depth stinks…and will be the team’s downfall in 2020. Time for a retooling this upcoming offseason.
5. Sadly very few will think about baseball’s ugly 2019-20 Astros / Red Sox scandal by the time September starts. And that’s a shame. MLB missed the boat by not stripping Houston of their postseason eligibility considering it still has the nucleus of the cheating core still active.
One bonus prediction:
Each 2020 playoff game will have no less than 8,000 spectators in attendance.
Make sure to follow me on my new Twitter handle, @CohensCornerAZ.
Cohen's Corner 
Wow, it’s been a long time since you put out a Cohen’s Corner. I’m glad there is finally something for you to write about.
I don’t think there will be as many teams over .500 as you do.
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The 5 teams I don’t think will make it to .500 are:
Mets, Phillies, Padres, Athletics & Blue Jays.
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