Saturday Morning Bathroom Break (2-27-21)
This Day in Music (2-27-1981)
The Who release first single since the death of drummer Keith Moon, “You Better You Bet,” with Kenny Jones taking his place.
A returning crowd of 10% capacity was on hand at Madison Square Garden Friday night to see the Rangers rise to the occasion in an emphatic way. There was no need for self-motivation last night as the Blueshirts dismantled the East-leading Boston Bruins 6-2 in a surprising offensive onslaught. The Rangers have now won three of their last four and have managed to keep their heads above water despite issues with injury, COVID-compliance and Russian espionage. One driver of the Rangers wagon over the past week has been the franchise’s longest-tenured player, Chris Kreider. Kreider, who recorded a hat-trick in a losing effort against Philadelphia earlier this week, continued his inspired play by adding a goal and an assist against Boston. As Nick discussed earlier this week on Spitball, the Rangers must look to players like Kreider to provide the spark on the ice as much as off of it, and he has done just that. Last night’s victory was truly a team effort, though, and one of the most complete games the team has played all season. The defense was strong and poised, veteran centers Ryan Strome and Mika Zibanejad are finding their form and providing gravity up the middle and the young players are growing into confident professional players. Make no mistake about it, this has been a difficult trip through the season for the young Rangers, and it’s unlikely to get any easier from here. The division is still one of the closest in the league, with the highest goal-differential of an Eastern Division team being +6 and the lowest being -7. A remarkably small level of variance have separated these teams throughout the year, and that doesn’t appear to be changing any time soon. The Rangers are starting to look up to the fight, but they will need to find a way to keep their hair on fire if they hope to mount a playoff push this spring.
Teams across Florida and Arizona will take the field for the first time Sunday as Spring Training season gets officially underway. Beginning in early March, Spitball is going to be providing the run-down on all 30 MLB teams heading into the 2021 season. The idea is not to necessarily make predictions, though we may try in earnest, but to take a look at what the perception of each team is headed into the year. Hopefully by analyzing some statistic projections from the holy factory of baseball knowledge, FanGraphs, combined with some necessary real-life context, we’ll be able to assess how likely these teams are to meet, exceed, or fall short of these expectations. This will also (hopefully) provide a space to introduce the site to some new baseball writers and diversify the amount of teams we’re able to cover from a point of “expertise.” Though the landscape of the MLB looks fairly formulaic at the moment, hopefully through this exercise we will be able to identify the inevitable intrigue that will once again suck everyone in to the great game of baseball.