Another season is about to (formally) begin – with all the hope and optimism that entails.

While everyone is looking at the teams in order of Most Likely to Win the World Series, there are still other things worth discussing.

Which team will be the worst? The Chicago White Sox can’t possibly lose as many games as they did last year (can they?). Giving them a run for their money as bottom dwellers are the Colorado Rockies and Miami Marlins. In the former case, team management can’t seem to assemble a team that can take advantage of Coors Field. In the latter, team management just doesn’t seem to care. At least the A’s have an owner that seems to be putting in some effort to get a fair team on the field.

And speaking of the A’s, what effect will playing in Sacramento have on the team? The same question can be asked of the “Tampa Bay” Rays, who will be calling another team’s spring training facility “home”. At least the Rays have an excuse – hurricane damage rendered The Trop unusable. John Fisher is just screwing around with the A’s.

On a nicer note, Dodgers’ pitcher Clayton Kershaw needs a mere 32 strikeouts to reach the magic 3,000 level for his career. It’s not a matter of if he’ll get them, but when. And which opposing player will be the victim. It’s highly unlikely he’ll reach the other major milestone of 300 wins – he’s 88 away, and 37 years old….. The closest pitcher to that Magic Number is Justin Verlander, at 262. And he’s 42 years old…. We can probably say goodbye to seeing any more 300 game winners. Verlander’s the only active player with more than 250…..

If I can stay with the Dodgers for one last thought, it’s pretty clear they are the best team in baseball this year. But that means very little when it comes to the playoffs. Is there a team that can stop them from repeating as World Champions? I’d bet that there is. But which one?

We’ll have to wait for all of that. But in the meantime, PLAY BALL!