Thoughts on the first weekend

Major League Baseball is back, but it looks and sounds different this year. Watching broadcasts with no fans in the stands or with cardboard cutouts is odd. Without the sounds of the live crowd, I've already been tricked into believing that a couple of routine fly outs were going to be home runs based on how loud the ball sounded coming off of the bat. Instead of chatty fans near the broadcast booth, you can hear players in the dugout now.

The Mariners are running a promotion where you can send them a photo of a person and $30, and they will put a cardboard cu...