SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — When Opening Day comes to mind, it signifies fresh starts, optimism and a clean slate for a 162-game season.
Except for when it doesn’t.
Although the season’s first pitch is still two weeks away, a handful of Major League Baseball teams — from all appearances — seemingly have little interest in chasing a championship in 2018 after standing pat in free agency or shedding salaries to cut costs.
It’s a practice many players, including Giants catcher Nick Hundley, deem dangerous to the game — so dangerous that the MLB Players Association filed grievances against four MLB teams in February for failure to appropriately spend revenue-sharing money.