MLB 2023 predictions: boom or bust, the Padres will be entertaining

A mixed bag. I’m already on record as being for the pitch clock. As someone who loved watching how hitters approached the shift, however, it feels like a strategic element has been removed for no good reason. HF

I dig them. Faster games! New strategies! Does the manager use one of his mound visits to prevent a clock violation? Does the batter try not to jump out of the box knowing he can’t do so again? I mostly can’t wait to see everyone lose their minds. MJ

There will be hits! Base stealing! Bunts? Action! It’ll be just as it was before we settled into the extended pacing, fidgeting and ball-scratching that has dominated the game for the past 20 or so years. And, yes, you can have drama without long pauses between pitches in the postseason. I can’t wait not to wait. DL

Exceptional. While every tweak will improve the quality (and watchability) of the sport, the pitch clock is the real gamechanger. It cut 26 minutes off gametime in Spring Training this year. That may not seem like much, but that’s 26 minutes fewer of glove restrapping, dirt kicking, and other tedious habits. JP

In the AL, let’s give it to Shohei Ohtani for being Shohei Ohtani. It took Aaron Judge beating Roger Maris’s home-run record to prevent the Japanese star from winning last year. In the NL, Juan Soto has the inside track now that he has a full year with the San Diego Padres. HF

Going with the odds-on favorite in the AL, Ohtani, and getting a little spicy with Trea Turner in the NL. As evidenced by the WBC, Turner is only getting better. He’s hitting for more power, has elite speed and plays a mean shortstop. MJ

Turner is about to become more powerful than you can possibly imagine. NL East foes should be thankful for the new balanced schedule that