"MASN All Access" podcast: Opening day, the rotation and expectations

A new baseball season means a new podcast!

If you've been following along with MASNsports.com's previous Orioles podcast "Yard Work," we hope you continue to follow along with the new "MASN All Access" podcast. This new podcast will be all-encompassing under the umbrella of the "MASN All Access" Facebook Live show.

"All Access" co-host and producer Paul Mancano will join me, "All Access" and social producer Bobby Blanco, twice a week for brand-new episodes all season long. Orioles fans can catch our episodes on the Birds every Tuesday, and if you're also interested in the Nationals (or just love baseball talk), you can hear Nats episodes every Thursday.

Throughout the season, we'll have special guests and features, such as local media members, our MASNsports.com guest bloggers, players, coaches and more!

But opening day is a special day, which means you get a special podcast this Thursday morning to listen to before the Orioles open the 2018 season against the Twins at Camden Yards.

A new season always brings a lot of questions. But the two big ones we focus on for our first episode are: How has the Orioles' starting rotation improved and what are reasonable expectations for this season?

Well, obviously the additions of Andrew Cashner and Alex Cobb already improve on a historically bad rotation from last year. And one would expect Chris Tillman to return to his pre-2017 self. So how much pressure do those three veteran starters take off the shoulders of Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman?

And if the rotation improves as expected, how does the rest of the team improve? Will Chris Davis and Mark Trumbo bounce back? Will Manny Machado and Jonathan Schoop continue their All-Star caliber careers? How will the bullpen compensate for Zach Britton's absence? And if all those things come together, can the Orioles make a run from a last-place finish in 2017 to a playoff appearance this year?

Check out the first Orioles episode of the "MASN All Access" podcast below, and please rate, review, subscribe and share with all of Birdland! Hopefully, you can listen to the whole episode before you make your way to Camden Yards or settle in at home to watch today's opening day festivities.

You can also follow myself (@Bobby_Blanco) and Paul (@PaulMancano) on Twitter to interact with us all season long. Tweet us your thoughts, suggestions and questions, and you can also submit them in the comments section below.

Here's to the 2018 baseball season!