Some teams find themselves in flux between identity shifts. I illustrate that by shaving my beard.

SUNDAY REQUEST - @MichaelT162 and I do not see eye to eye on the WBC. No matter how cool the atmosphere is in the games, they will not be meaningful if the pitchers aren't giving 100%.

THE TEAMS THAT SHOULD HAVE WON: The 1993 Braves had the momentum, the pennant chase, the build up and the perfect combination of beloved players. They should have been the team to win it all, not the 1995 team.

The vastness of the cosmos is helping me deal with the inevitability of the Red Sox losing David Price for the season.

Baseball is meant to be a diversion or a distraction from every day life. But often the players, the key distractors, have real life interfere with their production on the field. Jake Peavy, dealing with a prolonged divorce is the latest example of reality colliding with fantasy.

The NL East will be won by the team that doesn't break down. Meanwhile new Washington reliever Joe Blanton has turned his nice career around and could become a closer option.

Mike Trout might never be universally recognized and that MAY just be a product of the current way we consume culture. Meanwhile Mike Scioscia might have outstayed his welcome.

From the World Series to the election to the Oscars, nothing seems predictable anymore... and a certain amount of predictability is critical for baseball.

SUNDAY REQUEST - @thestartingbloc asks about Max Scherzer's chances of making the Hall of Fame.

THE TEAMS THAT SHOULD HAVE WON: The first part of a series on the podcast that I will do for the next 31 Saturdays.

I look at the teams that if they had won the World Series, they would have done so under the best circumstances and with the best collection of players. First team I cover are my Red Sox and I look at the 1978 squad.