MLB preview 2026, conclusion: The remainder of the National League

 Moving on to the NL Central:

In order for Milwaukee to threepeat as division champions, they have to hope that Brandon Woodruff is all the way back from various ailments that kept him off the field until last summer. Last year's ace, Freddy Peralta, is gone (Mets), and Brandon Sproat, who came to the Brewers in that trade, hasn't really shown what he can do after a September audition produced an 0-2 record in New York.

The Brewers don't have enough space in the infield to accommodate off-season acquisitions Luis Rengifo (LA Angels) & David Hamilton (Boston), which begs to ask what the front office is thinking in the post-David Stearns era.

Chicago starts the season without star outfielder Seiya Suzuki, who was injured during the World Baseball Classic. That means that either Justin Dean (Dodgers) or Kevin Alcantara will join Ian Happ & Pete Crow-Armstrong in the outfield. That takes the shine off heisting Alex Bregman away from Boston (Scott Boras Badenov strikes again). Losing Kyle Tucker to the Dodgers doesn't help.

In St. Louis, the Cardinals may regret trading Willson Contreras to Boston, since the returns on that deal (pitchers Richard Fitts & Hunter Dobbins) are questionable at best. Erratic reliever Ryne Stanek (Mets), speaking of risks, proved last year he's not closer material, but trust Oliver Marmol to put him in to close games anyway. A bad start, and Marmol may be gone-zo.

Pittsburgh has to strengthen its offense to back up their rotation. Paul Skenes gets the ball on Thursday to open the season vs. the Mets, who will see former teammate Gregory Soto coming out of the Pirate pen after he underperformed for them last summer. Pittsburgh is high on rookie pitcher Bubba Chandler, hoping he's another Skenes. Offensively, the Pirates acquired Jake Mangum & Brandon Lowe (Tampa Bay) and Ryan O'Hearn (San Diego). Still got a ways to go to contend.

Cincinnati welcomed back Eugenio Suarez (Seattle) with a free agent deal. Problem is, where to put him? Ke'Bryan Hayes, acquired from Pittsburgh last year, was playing third most of the time, and that's Suarez's primary position. However, Suarez still has a short fuse....! Nathaniel Lowe (Boston) will likely share first base with Spencer Steer.

Weak sauce, yo'.

Projected order of finish:

1. Milwaukee, by default.

2. Chicago.

3. Pittsburgh.

4. Cincinnati.

4 (tie). St. Louis.

To the west we go.

Some people still hate the Yankees because they won so much back in the day. After winning back-to-back titles, and spending money like water out of a faucet to add to their already packed roster, Los Angeles is approaching that same level of apathy. In addition to Kyle Tucker (see above), they also lured closer Edwin Diaz away from the Mets, a move made because they still see Roki Sasaki as a starter, even though he was a lights-out closer during the playoffs. Given how Diaz was prone to erratic periods during his time in New York, the Dodgers should hedge their bets.

San Diego is hoping Griffin Canning can find his form after his lone season with the Mets ended due to injury. Just the same, the Padres also picked up German Marquez (Colorado) to further shore up the rotation. A bigger deal was landing Nick Castellanos as a free agent (Philadelphia), though he figures to be a DH in an already crowded outfield. Walker Buehler was invited as a non-roster player after bombing in Boston, but we don't see him pitching in Petco Park unless he's a visiting player.

San Francisco is trying something different. They went to the college ranks, and signed Tony Vitello (Tennessee) as their new skipper, after Bob Melvin bombed out in 2 seasons. The only real free agent signing they made was journeyman outfielder Harrison Bader (Philadelphia), who will platoon, since they also have a surplus in the outfield. Perennial batting champion Luis Arraez comes north from San Diego, strengthening the infield defense.

Offense is also what Arizona is looking for, so they acquired Nolan Arenado (St. Louis) and Carlos Santana (Chicago) to man the corners. Otherwise, the Diamondbacks look about the same as they did last year. Over in Colorado, 2nd year manager Warren Schaeffer is hoping Michael Lorenzen can carry over what he did for Italy in the WBC. Jose Quintana (Milwaukee) has been up & down, which explains why he's always on the move. Outfielder Jake McCarthy came over from Arizona, while Edouard Julien reunites with his former Minnesota teammate, Willi Castro (Chicago), to form a double play combo that can help the Rockies' defense. We'll see. Rookie Kyle Karros is the son of former player and current Fox analyst Eric Karros (Los Angeles, Chicago, Oakland).

Projected order of finish:

1. Los Angeles.

2. San Francisco.

3. San Diego.

3 (tie) Arizona.

5. Colorado.

Of course, I could be wrong.

What Might've Been: Brothers (2009)

 Michael Strahan, in his post-NFL career, is one of the busiest men in television.

Good Morning America. The $100,000 Pyramid. Fox NFL Sunday. You get the idea. During the fall, Strahan is running up frequent flier miles between New York & Los Angeles. In 2009, Fox wanted to capitalize, and gave Strahan his own sitcom.

Unfortunately, Brothers, the 2nd series to bear that name (the 1st was a Showtime series 25 years earlier), couldn't find an audience, as Fox shifted it from Fridays to Sundays before giving it the axe.

Ted Wass (ex-Soap, Blossom) directed all of the episodes of the short-lived series. In addition, Strahan was blessed with a veteran supporting cast, including Darryl "Chill" Mitchell, who also composed the show's theme song, CCH Pounder, & Carl Weathers.

This sampler features special guest star Mike Tyson, appearing as himself.

In case you wonder, Mitchell was actually paralyzed in an accident 8 years prior to the series, but continues to work to this day.

No rating. Just a public service.

MLB 2026 preview, part 4: The rest of the American League

 Let's take a look at the AL Central:

Detroit is building their pitching around Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal. To that end, they welcomed back prodigal son Justin Verlander (San Francisco), and signed Framber Valdez (Houston) to fortify the front side of the rotation. They also brought in closer Kenley Jansen (LA Angels) to help the bullpen. Other than that, it's the same crew as last year. In contrast, Cleveland relies heavily on their offense, led by Jose Ramirez. The pitching really isn't the same after Shane Bieber left for Toronto after the 2024 season. Losing closer Emmanuel Clase (legal issues) isn't helping.

In Minnesota, the Twins have similar issues. They signed catcher Victor Caratini (Houston) and infielders Kody Clemens (Philadelphia; he's Roger's son) and Josh Bell (Washington) in the hope of fortifying their offense. The pitching, however, is on the same level as Cleveland's.

You would think Kansas City gained a few more fans in the 518 with Bethlehem product Matt Quatraro as manager, and, maybe they have. They're banking on World Baseball Classic heroes Vinny Pasquantino and Bobby Witt, Jr. to fuel the offense, with Seth Lugo anchoring their pitching rotation. They also acquired veteran Michael Wacha (San Diego). However, it's going to take time for everything to come together.

In Chicago, the White Sox are hoping speedy infielder Luisangel Acuna (Mets) can kickstart the offense. Unfortunately, there's a reason the White Sox have been trapped in the division basement the last few years.

Projected order of finish:

1. Detroit.

2. Kansas City.

3. Cleveland.

4. Minnesota.

5. Chicago.

Now, let's move to the AL West:

Major League Baseball is bent on not merchandising uniforms for Sacramento, choosing to wait until the Athletics move on to Las Vegas in a couple of years. It's this kind of short-sighted thinking that has the A's in the sad state of affairs they've been in. Houston invited Cavan Biggio (Toronto) to camp, thinking that maybe, just maybe, playing in the city where his father became an icon might help his career. As of this writing, however, Cavan hasn't made the opening day roster. With Framber Valdez gone (see above), there's a battle to fill the rotation spot in back of Cristian Javier, Lance McCullers, Jr., and Hunter Brown. The offense is basically the same.

After a magical run to the ALCS last year, Seattle looks poised to win the division again, but teams will be keying on star slugger Cal Raleigh, whose bat was MIA in the WBC. After a year away, Skip Schumacher (Miami) is back in the dugout, this time in Texas, which heisted Brandon Nimmo from the Mets, reuniting Nimmo with pitcher Jacob deGrom. Ex-Met farmhand Sam Haggerty (Seattle) came over last year. The bigger story lies in the rotation, with MacKenzie Gore (Washington) joining deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, Jack Leiter, & Kumar Rocker. Los Angeles is praying they can keep Mike Trout healthy for a full year, just to give them a chance at a playoff spot. Non-roster invitee Nick Madrigal was injured a year ago in camp with the Mets, and is a risk.

Projected order of finish:

1. Seattle.

2. Texas.

3. Houston.

4. Los Angeles.

5. Sacramento.

Of course, I could be wrong.

Tomorrow: We close out with the NL Central & West.

Musical Interlude: 'Til I Hear it From You (1995)

 Gin Blossoms scored another hit with 1995's "'Til I Hear it From You", off the soundtrack to "Empire Records". This got a lot of play on adult contemporary channels after it left the top 40.

On The Shelf: Old school crime noir, Dick Tracy celebrates St. Patrick's Day, and a creator passes on

 Rather than do another Valentine's Day special, Mad Cave decided to give Dick Tracy a St. Patrick's Day special as an interlude before the next story arc, launching next month.

88 Keys makes his first appearance in the series, rebooted as an Irish pianist turned serial killer, or, vigilante, depending on how you look at it, as he's going after some smaller crooks. Craig Cermak is the guest artist on this one, and it looks great. Tim Seeley wrote the backup, drawn by Rebekah Isaacs, about a leprechaun causing some trouble. Begorra!!

Rating: A-.

Marvel may be preparing for a new slate of Ultraman adventures, which might explain the misleading title, The Fall of Ultraman, in a 1-shot special. Hopefully, when they do reboot, they'll find better writers.

Rating: C-.

In relaunching Vertigo, DC brings out a modern take on old school crime noir.

The Peril of The Brutal Dark: An Ezra Cain Mystery is a 6 issue miniseries which introduces Cain to readers. I don't think I'd read that it was originally marketed as a miniseries, but learned a week ago that it has been cut to 6 issues, due to poor pre-orders. Artist Jacob Phillips captures the mood and the aesthetic of Chris Condon's script. Get ready for a wild ride.

Rating: A-.

Zorro has found a new home at IDW, starting in May, with Howard Chaykin writing, but not drawing. Thank goodness, since Chaykin has a particular look for his lead characters (i.e. American Flagg!, Dominic Fortune) that wouldn't work with Zorro.

We have to close on a sad note.

Sam Kieth, co-creator with Neil Gaiman of the acclaimed Sandman series at DC/Vertigo in the late 80's, and creator of The Maxx, later adapted by MTV for a short-lived adult animated series, passed away at 63.

One of Kieth's last works with The Maxx, for IDW.

Originally published at Image in 1994-5, The Maxx was a surrealistic fantasy in a dream world of some sort, as if Kieth was using his work with Gaiman as a template. His style was modeled after Berni Wrightson,  and fell along the same lines as a contemporary, Kelley Jones. He will be missed.

Remember Korkers? (1972)

 In 1972, Nabisco thought they had a snack to rival Bugles, which was a General Mills product.

54 years later, Bugles is still with us. Korkers, Nabisco's corn snack, isn't.

This ad feels like a sketch lifted from Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. Patti Deutsch & Edward Herrmann are featured. Depending on when this was filmed, Deutsch had either joined Laugh-In or soon would.

Weasel of The Week: Bari Weiss

 She has no broadcasting experience in mainstream media. However, Bari Weiss is overseeing the destruction of CBS News as we know it, in order to please president Trump.

On Friday, Weiss announced that she was slashing 60-70 jobs at CBS News, AND closing down their radio division, effective in May, claiming economics and "changing radio strategies".

BOLLOCKS & BALDERDASH!!

Weiss has tasked herself to clear out any opposition to Donnie Diapers at the network, which prompted Anderson Cooper of CNN, a contributor to 60 Minutes, to leave the network recently, keeping his dignity intact. With CBS & CNN soon to be under the same roof if the merger goes through between Warner Bros Discovery & Paramount-Skydance, Cooper may leave CNN, too.

Locally, CBS radio news briefs on WROW only run for about a minute or so per hour between 5 & 8 am weekdays, and it's been that way since before Weiss came along to ruin things further. Come the end of May, CBS Radio will be no more, and that's a shame.

We know that Trump doesn't like it when he's being criticized. He doesn't understand that constructive criticism is meant to help him, not hurt him, but he can't see it. With the help of ill-prepared types like Weiss, he is ruining this country, bit by bit, because at the end of the day, he is a miserable old man who wants to remold the country as he sees fit, even if his vision is skewed.

Bari Weiss, on the other hand, gets something that Trump has a lot of. A Weasel of The Week award for her contribution to the destruction of American tradition. Deal with it.