“This season will be a sprint.”
— Anyone, literally anyone, associated with Major League Baseball over the last three weeks
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Chris Paddack thinks 40 wins will get the Padres into the postseason. His manager knows a hot start is imperative. Newcomer Emilio Pagán believes all the interdivision play could allow a team to make up ground in a hurry.
That all may be true.
But so is this: No one truly knows what to expect when this COVID-19-shortened baseball season starts this week.
We can, however, begin to wrap our heads around some of the rules that will be different when the Padres start their season Friday at Petco Park against the Arizona Diamondbacks.