There is a very, very brief pause between the end of baseball’s postseason and the beginning of the offseason. This pause is a time for the World Series winners to celebrate, for players who did not go to the postseason to quietly spend time with their families, and for baseball journalists to take a long, deep breath.
Then, within less than a week of the final day of the World Series, madness sets in. Qualifying offers must be tendered. Free agency begins in ernest. The hot stove is ready and waiting to be attended to at all waking hours, and baseball writers and fans wait with bated breath to see how the rosters of their beloved teams will shape up for the coming season.