Major League Baseball's 2020 season was always going to be different. But a shortened 60 games and a bunch of rule changes and obviously the circumstances we are all dealing with won't be the only things different as MLB announced the playoff field will be expanded from 10 to 16 teams. Sports Illustrated host Robin Lundberg discussed the move and whether it is a positive for the sport with SI's Ben Pickman and "The Fantasy Exec" Corey Parson.
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00:00 Alex Rodriguez said the Houston Astros were his sleeper team on ESPN's opening telecast.
00:05 Not exactly a bold prediction, Cotton.
00:08 For more bold predictions, real ones, I'm joined now by Emma Batcheleri and Max Goodman
00:12 of Inside the Pinstripes.
00:14 Emma, let's start with you.
00:15 What's your bold prediction for the MLB season?
00:18 You know, it feels kind of hard to calibrate this because like something like the fact
00:22 that you could see someone hit 400 would ordinarily be a really hot take and now not so much.
00:28 But I had one originally that I thought was pretty spicy that I said that I thought it
00:34 was going to be a really bold prediction to see more than one pitcher throw a complete
00:38 game this year with the way that pitching staffs are being managed.
00:41 Just what it's going to mean to really go the distance here.
00:43 I didn't think many people were going to get that chance.
00:46 And then here on opening day, because of the rain shortened opener between the Nationals
00:50 and Yankees, technically both Garrett Cole and Max Scherzer were credited with a complete
00:54 game for five innings.
00:55 So have to be a little spicier than that.
00:58 But yeah, there's so much weirdness here that almost anything can be bold.
01:02 They completed an incomplete game, if you will.
01:05 Max, how about you?
01:07 I'll give you two, Robin.
01:09 First, just specifically with the Yankees, I think four different Yankees will finish
01:13 in the top, let's say, 10 in MVP voting.
01:17 That's Garrett Cole, Gleyber Torres, Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge.
01:21 Maybe in the top 10 is a little bit too, too bold, but maybe top 15.
01:24 I think all four of those guys are going to have monster seasons.
01:27 And we saw all four of them specifically with Stanton's home run.
01:31 And then, like Emma said, the complete game, incomplete game, whatever you want to call
01:35 it from Garrett Cole.
01:36 And then with the new rule about the expanded postseason, I think that several different
01:41 teams that finished with 90 or more losses last year are going to get into the postseason
01:46 this year.
01:47 And that's maybe not as bold when you consider the Angels and Padres lost 90 or more games
01:52 last year.
01:53 Why not like the Marlins or the Royals?
01:55 Who knows?
01:56 They could go on a hot stretch and accelerate their rebuild and sneak in.
02:01 Those would be some true sleeper teams.
02:03 The New York Yankees, of course, are not.
02:06 Max, Emma, appreciate your time.
02:08 [BLANK_AUDIO]