One week into the 2026 MLB season is as good a time as any to overreact to things.
Everyone hears for weeks about how improved the team is in spring training, and any stumbles out of the gate usually lead to serial harrumphing.
So many Chicago White Sox fans are already up in arms over the team’s ice-cold start, which got even colder Wednesday after a 10-0 loss in Miami. Cubs fans, meanwhile, are left wondering how their team couldn’t sweep either the Washington Nationals or the Los Angeles Angels on the first homestand and had to settle for mediocrity.
A lot of crazy stuff happened in the first week, and here are five takeaways from it:
1. Was it real or a desert mirage?
Chicago Cubs left fielder Dylan Carlson catches a fly ball during the third inning of a game against the Los Angeles Angels at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (Josh Boland/Chicago Tribune)
The Cubs went from playing in 100-plus degree weather for over a week in Arizona to wind chills in the upper 20s on Wednesday afternoon at Wrigley Field in their 6-2 win over the Angels.
But the opening six-game homestand also included a beautiful night in the 70s on Monday, so hey, it could’ve been worse. It didn’t make sense to start the season on March 26 or make the Cubs play five of their 81 home games before April.
Weather aside, a 3-3 record against the Nats and Angels, two teams expected to finish with 90 or more losses, wasn’t much to write home about. But the Cubs can at least be satisfied with the starting pitching from Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon and Edward Cabrera, who combined to allow one earned run on five hits over 16 1/3 innings against the Angels.
Neither Taillon nor Boyd looked good in spring training. Taillon’s spring was probably the worst of any starter in the Cactus League. So it was important for them to shake off the cobwebs at the start of the regular season, and both succeeded in doing so.
Manager Craig Counsell said last week that the woeful ERAs in Arizona shouldn’t be a reason for alarm.
“Arizona is just completely hitter-friendly,” he said. “It’s like having your spring training in Coors Field. As hot as it was, and balls are different … it’s difficult on pitchers. So every spring, we’re going to have players struggle on one side and have really good springs on the other side.
“You take note of it for sure. You have to, but you also understand it is a small sample and you do want to let guys try things, too. But in season, you’re making evaluations, absolutely, when the wins and losses start to mean something.”
If Taillon and Boyd are back, Cabrera is solid and Cade Horton continues to look like an ace, no one should be overly concerned that the Cubs couldn’t sweep two bad teams to start the season. But they need to step it up in Cincinnati, another team they should sweep.
2. The best-laid plans.
Miami Marlins’ Jakob Marsee rounds second base past Chicago White Sox second baseman Chase Meidroth on his way to third during the first inning on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
The White Sox played relatively well in the Cactus League and gave hope that this season would be different from the last three. Or at least that was the plan.
It was important to learn how to win, several players suggested, even if it was only spring training. They could carry it over into the regular season and gain momentum as the weather warmed.
Oh well. An atrocious 1-5 road trip and 8.63 ERA was about as bad a start as anyone could’ve asked for. Sox pitchers allowed nine or more runs in four of those losses, and blew the finale of the series in Milwaukee.
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At least they’ll get a day off Thursday to recuperate after the home opener was postponed by the threat of inclement weather. Friday’s rescheduled home opener should be a chance to redeem themselves against Toronto’s Dylan Cease, another ace the Sox had to trade before he got too expensive to pay.
3. CB’s not-so-excellent adventure.
Umpire CB Bucknor looks on during the eighth inning of a baseball game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays, Tuesday, March 31, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)
Perhaps no one had a worse week than umpire CB Bucknor, who had six of eight ABS challenges overturned when he worked behind the plate in a Boston-Cincinnati game on March 28. He then made an egregious call Tuesday in a Milwaukee-Tampa Bay game when he incorrectly ruled the Brewers’ Jake Bauers didn’t touch first after reaching base. Bauers clearly hit the base square in the middle, and the call was quickly overturned, leading to laughs from both managers, the Rays’ Kevin Cash and the Brewers’ Pat Murphy.
On Wednesday, Bucknor had to leave the game when he took a foul tip off the face mask on a Jacob Misiorowski fastball. When it rains, it pours. Bucknor has been widely criticized as the worst umpire in the game, and he didn’t help his cause much this week. But you have to feel a little sorry for him now. No one deserves to end a week like that.
4. Shohei Ohtani’s power pop.
A detailed view of Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani souvenir cups at Dodger Stadium on March 30, 2026, in Los Angeles. (Luke Hales/Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Dodgers sold souvenir plastic cups made to look like Shohei Ohtani’s uniform, and charged $75 for them. The bright spot was that you could get refills all game, and since a pop costs $12 at Dodger Stadium, it adds up. The price was later reduced to $69, and fans were told they could get refills all season long.
According to The Athletic, the cups sold out by Saturday and were going for $250 or more on eBay. Is there anyone still wondering whether Ohtani was worth $700 million?
5. Back to the future.
MLB’s brain trust put their creative minds together to come up with a new way to market the game to Gen Z. Naturally, the solution was to bring back a classic idea and rebrand it for the kids. So on Friday, MLB will produce a new version of “This Week in Baseball,” making it into a “short-form episode” of 5-10 minutes and posting it every week on MLB’s X, formerly known as Twitter, account.
“After thoughtful development, our goal is to deliver a show that pairs the vibe and signature style of the original franchise with a modernized format designed for today’s younger, social media savvy generation,” said Kenny Gersh, MLB Executive Vice President of Media and Business Development, in a press release that could’ve been written by AI.
The classic show from the late 1970s and ’80s was narrated by Hall of Fame broadcaster Mel Allen, who frequently ended a highlight with his trademark catchphrase, “How about that?”
The new TWIB will be hosted by what MLB called “multimedia content creator” Kait Maniscalco, whose X profile says, “Gen Z’s MLB Reporter.”
Here’s a thought: Why not just run segments from the old show?