In year one, you feast. In year two, the bill arrives.

We're talking about the dreaded and enigmatic sophomore slump, when MLB rookies follow their breakout debuts with underwhelming second acts. 

Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo is a man of many talents.

On the diamond, the two-time All-Star can get on base, crush the ball and drive in runs.

Off the field, he is a master of the keyboard.

No team has had more fun at spring training this year than the Cubs. With camp winding down, the players are doing their best to enjoy every moment they have left together in Arizona. 

The New York Mets will try to ease worries about the middle of their defense before the end of spring training.

The reigning National League champions boast a prolific lineup that was eighth in the league in home runs last season. They also have one of the best starting rotations in baseball.

For a baseball player, MLB spring training is like hand measurements and 40-yard-dash times at the NFL combine. It's a necessary function of the evaluation process but guarantees nothing about a guy's future prospects when games get serious.

Likewise, the performance of a team or player in spring training doesn't indicate anything about how the regular season may end. There have been teams that looked great in the spring but flopped during the season and vice versa.

The 2016 MLB season starts Sunday with a triple-header of games capped by a rematch of last fall's World Series meeting between the New York Mets and Kansas City Royals on Sunday Night Baseball.

After an offseason of exciting wheeling and dealing, ongoing arguments about which team will reign supreme in 2016 and the always prevalent overreaction to spring training performances, what really matters is finally about to begin.

The countdown to Opening Day is down to mere days, and with each passing hour, the anticipation and excitement for the return of meaningful baseball only grows. That anticipation doesn't just lie with fans, either. It affects players, pundits, managers and front office executives as well.

For those last two groups, that excitement and anticipation is mixed with pressure and anxiety. Final roster decisions need to be made, putting them in potentially uncomfortable positions, especially when it involves delivering bad news to players about their Opening Day status.

Shane Victorino's brief stint with the Chicago Cubs has come to an end, at least for now, after one month.

Per Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com, Victorino was one of three players released by the Cubs on Tuesday, though he also noted the team is trying to re-sign the 35-year-old.  

The Kansas City Royals are reportedly planning to seek retribution against the New York Mets on Opening Day for a Noah Syndergaard fastball that went over the head of Alcides Escobar during last season's World Series.

The Boston Red Sox's major offseason addition will be on the mound when they begin their 2016 regular-season slate on April 4, as David Price was announced as the team's Opening Day starter Tuesday.  

The organization announced the decision on Twitter:

New York Mets starting pitcher Matt Harvey had blood clots in his bladder, which forced him to get scratched from a spring training start, but they have now passed.