Opinion

It didn't take long to catch the first violators of the season.

Just days away from the opening of the 2015 season, the performance-enhancing drug monster that Major League Baseball cannot escape from has snatched up its first wave of offenders.

For a while there, it was possible that Josh Hamilton would not be seen on a Major League Baseball diamond in 2015.

Now we know he'll be playing ball as soon as he can, and that has ramifications for the Los Angeles Angels and, eventually, for MLB and the MLB Players Association.

The Detroit Tigers begin the 2015 MLB season in less than one week.

The Cincinnati Reds are getting no love.

In the most recent season outlook, Grantland writer Ben Lindbergh's NLC Preview uses a lot of data and makes mathematical projections, and not even the numbers are improving this team's outlook. In case you haven't got around to it, here's an excerpt on why we can expect the Reds to suck in 2015:

GLENDALE, Arizona – New season. New twists. New rules?

Allow me to nominate the first-ever walkup song for a commissioner. That's right. For new commissioner Rob Manfred, a clip from John Mellencamp's "Minutes to Memories":

"Days turn to minutes

"And minutes to memories

"Life sweeps away the dreams

"That we have planned

"You are young and you are the future

"So suck it up and tough it out

The San Francisco Giants embark on the 2015 campaign with one goal in mind: They want to defend their World Series title and win it again.

The baseball season is a long, arduous process, which makes the Giants' three world championships in the past five years a tremendous accomplishment.

It's no secret that the Chicago White Sox had an impressive, efficient offseason. A lot of attention went to their additions of right-hander Jeff Samardzija, closer David Robertson, outfielder Melky Cabrera, first baseman Adam LaRoche and even lefty reliever Zach Duke. And deservedly so.

The Boston Red Sox's outfield crunch was billed as one of the spring's hottest storylines. In the end, it wound up less an epic battle and more a peacefully negotiated ceasefire.

As the San Francisco Giants embark on their quest to defend the 2014 World Series title, there are many questions that must be answered over a very long season.

The fact that the Giants have three world championships in five years is nothing short of amazing. Every season is a grueling marathon, both mentally and physically. 

Mental toughness, clutch execution and team chemistry are all critical factors behind the Giants' success.

For the last month, your head and heart have been engaged in an epic battle. Your head tells you spring training stats don't matter. But your heart—oh that silly heart!—wants to believe. 

Here's the thing: They're both right.

Yes, every year tantalizingly hot spring performances evaporate in the heat of summer. At the same time, plenty of players carry their scalding exhibition output into the regular season.