Opinion

The Boston Red Sox made a $217 million bet that David Price would be the ace they badly needed. And at first, it seemed like he would be.

Even with Garrett Richards atop their rotation, the Los Angeles Angels were in trouble. Their lineup wasn't deep enough, and neither was their starting rotation.

But Richards was not just any other arm. He was the Angels' unquestionable ace, pitching to a strong 2.34 ERA with 34 strikeouts in just 34.2 innings.

The New York Mets had every reason to plan on Matt Harvey being one of baseball's best pitchers this season. When healthy, he generally hasn't known how to be anything else.

But now the Mets should find themselves inching back toward the drawing board. And not just so they can change the section marked "2016 Plans."

Anything can happen in seven days. Stars can shine (hello, Mike Trout) and lesser-known names can emerge (hi, Adam Conley).

That's the beauty of Team of the Week. Yes, it leans inherently on small samples. But small samples are fun; just ask the playoffs.

In case you're new to the party: We're picking one player per position, including a designated hitter and starting pitcher, based on what they accomplished between April 29 and May 5.

Many thought 2015 would be the year the Seattle Mariners finally snapped a postseason drought they'd been mired in since 2001. Those many turned out to be wrong.

But now, it's looking like they're only going to be off by one year.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — How did you meet your best friend?

Were you in the same third-grade class? Did you play on the same Little League team? Or perhaps work at the same crappy, after-school job?

It’s more likely than not it was through some sort of shared experience, one that wasn’t necessarily as exhausting or thrilling as working your way from the minors to the big leagues.

Are you for real?

That's the question we're asking of each MLB playoff hopeful a month and change into the 2016 season.

It's too early to know for certain, of course. We've got a summer's worth of injuries, trades, hot streaks and cold spells to slog through before the postseason picture becomes clear.

But it's never too early to speculate. And we've got tools at our disposal, including stats, trends, track records and, of course, a dollop of old-fashioned gut feeling.

Shelby Miller could throw a no-hitter in his next start. He could rip off a streak of run-suppressing dominance and propel the Arizona Diamondbacks to the top of the National League West standings.

Those things could happen, and if they do, what you're about to read will seem silly and alarmist and premature.

I'm willing to take that risk.

Be careful out there. 'Tis the season when you never know if a Giancarlo Stanton home run ball might come falling out of the sky.

The Miami Marlins right fielder went into Wednesday with five home runs in his last eight games. The Marlins won all but one of those, bringing themselves from well under .500 to a nice, respectable 13-12.

The National League has come here to chew bubblegum and score runs. And it's all out of bubblegum.

The first month of 2016 has indeed been a rowdy one for Senior Circuit offenses. As their American League counterparts have averaged just 3.96 runs per game, National League offenses are sitting pretty at 4.49 runs per game. That's way up from last year's average of 4.11, and it puts the NL on track for its best run-scoring season since 2008.