Most of the big rivalries are kind of sitting out this year. Yanks-Sox is kind of quieter because both are kind of rebuilding this year. Mets-Phillies is a bit one sided on days where Vince Velasquez isn't pitching. Dodgers-Giants is one of the few that still is pretty heated.
This year, for the first time in a while, both the Cubs and the Cardinals are going for the division from the beginning. The Cubs are, somehow, the favorites, but the Cardinals have built a foundation, and are throwing more rookies and newer faces into the mix with some success.
I like the fact that it's so even, because you can get behind either team, and either one can have the upper hand at any given point. Plus, you've got a genuine hero or two on each team, so you can have people like Holliday and Wainwright squaring off against Rizzo and Arrieta.
Heck, this rivalry might be even more heated and evenly-matched than the new Captain America: Civil War movie that's coming this year.
How does Jeremy Hazelbaker fit in, then? Well, he's young, he's hot, and he's just recently arrived in town, so I'd have to equate him to Spider Man. He's on the wrong side, not because he knows better, but because it's the side that works for him.
Hazelbaker's been pretty dangerous as of late, and he's given the Cardinals some nice at-bats. I don't know what this means for his future as a ballplayer, but it's helping the Cardinals right now.
The rivalry might be in a completely different place in a span of days or weeks, so I'll be keeping an eye on it.
Coming Tomorrow- Working on a solid comeback in the West, don'cha know.
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