The 2009 Baseball Season

Since we last convened for the opening of a major-league baseball season, there have been many remarkable doings both on and off the field. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays, by a new name, smelled much sweeter. The Philadelphia Phillies ended a city's decades of pro sports futility. The Chicago Cubs concluded a full century without a World Series championship and will now begin another. The New York Yankees missed the playoffs. Yankee and Shea stadiums are gone. Veteran stars like Manny Ramirez, Ivan Rodriguez, Bobby Abreu and Adam Dunn settled for short dollars or short term or both, while future Hall of Famers Pedro Martinez and Frank Thomas can't even find a job. And Alex Rodriguez is now as tarnished as Barry Bonds, no longer poised to be MLB's salvation from itself. Baseball's only eternal verity is Bud Selig, commissioner for life. Here's what to keep your eye on this season:

Recession Ball: Baseball is hardly immune to the national economic woes. Major-league teams are now asking, "If we play, will they come?" There's good reason to wonder. The Red Sox, with a record sellout streak at 469 games, were recently advertising ticket availabilities in April and May, and the Yankees can't move all those pricey luxury seats in their new palace. One team executive confided that during spring training he had seen a once unimaginable sight: three young men sharing one beer. Delaware North, which handles concessions in eight ballparks, will experiment with $1 mini-items—peanuts, popcorn, hot dogs, sodas—in Cincinnati and Milwaukee.

New York, New York: The legacy of New York City's Olympic-bid boondoggle is two new baseball stadiums subsidized by local tax dollars. Gone is old Yankee Stadium, site of countless historic moments, but the new Big House in the Bronx is a glorious sight. Nobody will miss the monstrosity that was Shea. It housed far fewer glories, but those witnessed there were truly miraculous. No grand statements for the Mets, who have constructed an intimate ballpark rather than a stadium.

The Steinbrenner Way:George Steinbrenner may have passed the torch to his sons, but his influence continues. After a one-year experiment with young pitching and a mortifying third-place finish—out of the playoffs for the first time since 1995—the Yankees' front office has re-embraced the Boss's big-spending ways. The Yankees were the off-season's sole big spender, putting up $425 million to snare the sexiest free agents on the market, notably pitching ace CC Sabathia. Of the three kids—Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, Ian Kennedy—who last year represented the pitching future, only Chamberlain will start in the majors this season (though there are concerns about his pitching health).

The Red Sox Way: With a solid, young nucleus, the Boston Red Sox just dabbled in the free-agent market. Still, Boston scored some major talent at discount prices because almost all of it came as damaged goods—old, infirm or both. The most notable acquisition was 41-year-old John Smoltz, who had spent his illustrious 20-year-career with the Atlanta Braves. Smoltz, off shoulder surgery, is not expected to join the BoSox rotation before mid-May. Recalling two critical extra-inning losses to Tampa Bay, one in the ALCS, when the Red Sox ran out of strong arms and the Rays didn't, the front office also bolstered the bullpen.

Relief: The Mets' September fold is threatening to become a perennial. Few on the team were blameless, but the bullpen was indisputably the biggest culprit. The Mets went out and obtained two standout American League closers, Francisco Rodriguez and J. J. Putz. Both come with warning tags. Putz had elbow problems and was largely ineffective last year for Seattle, earning just 16 saves after saving 76 the two previous years combined; K-Rod saved a major-league-record 62 games, but the Mets took a careful look at his physical condition after scouts noted his velocity last season dropped by 4 or 5 mph. Still, hard to believe this duo won't represent a major upgrade and a likely NL East title.