For the first time in months, I have found myself turning on the TV on a regular basis in the evenings. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not, but the reason for it is delightful – I can usually find a baseball game to have on while I work on projects, apply for jobs or put together an article for Baltimore Sports and Life.

There has always been something comforting about the sounds of a baseball game buzzing away in the background, and that hasn’t changed one bit. Even if the announcers are making the kind of mistakes that are to be expected when you’re not on site, and even if the crowd noise is piped in over speakers, I enjoy it all the same. I’ve really missed it.

(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)

Of course you still have to acknowledge the bizarre nature of this season – remember we are embracing the weird – as well as the nagging feeling that this experiment could very well be short-lived. Enjoy it while you can, folks. It’s quite possible that they shouldn’t be playing anyway.

But while it’s tempting to pen another piece on COVID-19 and the difficulties the pandemic presents, I’m going to take a more broad approach with this one. Since we’re roughly 15 percent into the season, as crazy as that sounds, let’s look at some things that have surprised us so far this season, as well as some things that have not. I know it seems too quick for this, but in a regular season we’d be heading toward mid-May. What are you gonna do? (On a related note, I realize the sample size is miniscule. Don’t @ me. Try to find some joy, OK?)

Surprise: The Orioles!

This is a Baltimore-focused site, so we have to acknowledge the job the O’s have done in racing out to a 5-3 record, good for second place in the AL East. So what if second place in August doesn’t mean what it used to? So what if they’ve been outscored by their opponents? So what if they’re 0-2 against the Yankees?

Fact is the O’s are averaging 5.1 runs per game, good for 10th in all of baseball. Will it last? Of course not! But remember, it’s August!

Not a surprise: The Yankees

To quote Dennis Green, The Bombers are who we thought they were. They have the fourth-best run differential in baseball. They have the offense. They have the pitching. They have it all. Oh, and Giancarlo Stanton, who managed to play only 18 games last season, has an OPS+ over 200. Get away while you can.

Surprise: The Rockies can pitch!

Colorado’s young pitching has been intriguing of late, but it would have been a stretch to say you expected this. Kyle Freeland, German Marquez and Jon Gray each has two starts under his belt, and each has an ERA below 3.00. Freeland and Marquez are actually under 2.00. If struggling closer Wade Davis could find his sea legs, they might have something here.

And we’ll just ignore that they’ve only played three home games. The Rockies are in first place, what more could you want?

Not a surprise: Cleveland can also pitch

We knew these guys were going to be good, so it’s no shocker they’re leading MLB in runs allowed. Shane Bieber has struck out 27 in his first 14 innings, making him the Cy Young leader through two starts (embrace the weird remember!?). Zach Plesac struck out 11 in an eight-inning outing in his first start. If Mike Clevinger and Carlos Carrasco can get their acts together, look out.

Surprise: Yoenis Cespedes goes AWOL, then opts out of season

Well, this certainly surprised the Mets, who weren’t informed that their outfielder was going to quit the rest of the 2020 season. They went looking for him when he didn’t show up for Sunday’s game. They checked out his hotel room and discovered he and his things were gone. Then they got the news from Cespedes’ agent. All we know at the time of this writing is that the decision is based on “COVID-related issues.” I don’t know what that means and I’m not going to speculate. I’m just going to say that I hope he’s OK.

Not a surprise: COVID has turned this season into a circus

I know I said I wasn’t going to make this about COVID, but its presence is so pervasive that it’s impossible to ignore altogether. We all know about the Marlins at this point, who had a massive outbreak and have only played three games. So have the Phillies. The Cardinals might be heading down that same path, as they’ve had an apparent outbreak of their own and have already lost this weekend’s series in Milwaukee.

So it would make sense that some players, like Cespedes, would opt to sit out the rest of this grand experiment whether they have the virus or not. You can’t blame them, and to the Mets’ credit, they don’t appear to hold any ill will toward Cespedes, even though this wraps up his contract with them.

Maybe this whole idea of sending teams all over the country was a bad one. Maybe they should have tried a bubble strategy. Maybe they shouldn’t be playing at all. All I know is that the schedule is a mess, with some teams playing three times as many games as others so far, and at this point we’ll be lucky to complete this season.

But hey, as long as they’re playing, I’m going to watch.

Surprise: Mike Trout is returning the week!

Well this is a surprise to me at least, given some earlier comments he made about being worried about the safety of his family, including his newborn son. Perhaps he feels an obligation to MLB as the sport’s best player, perhaps he realizes the struggling Angels need his presence. Perhaps he just loves to play and believes he can do so safely. Best wishes to you, Mr. Trout.

Not a surprise: Mike Trout’s first child has the initials B.A.T.

Beckham Aaron Trout. How cool is that?

Bob Harkins
Bob Harkins

Orioles Analyst

Bob Harkins is a veteran journalist who has worked as a writer, editor and producer for numerous outlets, including 13 years at NBCSports.com. He is also the creator of the Razed Sports documentary podcast and the founder of Story Hangar, a network of documentary podcasters.

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