1. Umps and strike zones.
Agree. Let's get balls / strikes called correctly using technology so far as possible and take the umps out of the equation so far as possible. Then work on redefining the strike zone if necessary to the interests of the game.
2. Russell Wilson.
I feel like things will get done in such a way that both sides protect their interests and neither side feels bitter. But that could just be gas.
3. Tom Brady
From the NFL press release (quoted in Boston Globe): http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/07/28/nfl-upholds-tom-brady-four-game-suspension/fhOdVIaay3E0lPOIyt4A1J/story.html
“On or shortly before March 6, the day that Tom Brady met with independent investigator Ted Wells and his colleagues, Brady directed that the cellphone he had used for the prior four months be destroyed. He did so even though he was aware that the investigators had requested access to text messages and other electronic information that had been stored on that phone.
“During the four months that the cellphone was in use, Brady had exchanged nearly 10,000 text messages, none of which can now be retrieved from that device. The destruction of the cellphone was not disclosed until June 18, almost four months after the investigators had first sought electronic information from Brady.
“Based on the Wells Report and the evidence presented at the hearing, Commissioner Goodell concluded in his decision that Brady was aware of, and took steps to support, the actions of other team employees to deflate game footballs below the levels called for by the NFL’s Official Playing Rules. The commissioner found that Brady’s deliberate destruction of potentially relevant evidence went beyond a mere failure to cooperate in the investigation and supported a finding that he had sought to hide evidence of his own participation in the underlying scheme to alter the footballs.”
My opinion? As so often is the case, the coverup is worse than the crime. What might have been looked at the way you suggest, Doc, is superseded so that most of us now feel the way you feel about Brady. To me a 4-game suspension is getting off easy.
3. Montgomery
I'll withhold judgement until I see how he responds to the league's ability to "book" his game. Can he / will he make his own adjustments successfully?
4. Edgar
How much is Edgar and how much is AL Central and AL East pitching? As with Montgomery, I'll withhold judgment for now. Nobody loves Edgar more than me, but I feel like everybody connected with the M's (including fans and even players) is anxious to believe that Edgar can and will turn around this offense just like he turned around opponents' pitches. But it's far too early to draw such conclusions. How many hitting coaches have been brought in in the Zduriencik years and got good initial results (and press acclaim) only to get the same old same old in the end? I know, I know, I'm being a fuddy duddy today. I WANNA believe, just like I wanna believe that cream on the late night commercial will really cure baldness. But past experience teaches me not to get carried away with results that might be just temporary. I believe Edgar was a SUPERIOR hitter. Whether he is a superior hitting coach is still an open question.