5 teams up, 5 down in a year like no other

This year was … well, you know, maybe the best thing any of us can say about 2020 is that it is almost over. And because it's almost over -- it's really, really almost over! -- it is the time of year to look backwards, rather than forward. It's a time to reflect on a year that felt like it would never end. And, for what it's worth, still hasn't.

Every week until we finally reach the end, we will take a look back at the biggest stories, players, teams and moments of 2020. Today, we focus on teams. Specifically, the teams that had an excellent year, and the teams that had terrible ones. We're looking less at the standings themselves and thinking more about teams that are in a better place than they were heading into '20, and those that are in a worse place. Which teams, back in December 2019, if you told them how '20 was going to work out for them, would be happy, and which teams would be unhappy?

That's the idea: Five up, five down, from 2020, the year unlike any other in nearly every possible way.

TEAMS THAT HAD A GREAT 2020

Dodgers

Yeah, it's fair to say 2020 went the way the Dodgers had been hoping it would.

Padres

The Dodgers had the best 2020, no question. But the Padres have to be a clear second, yes? Fernando Tatis Jr. emerged as the most exciting player in baseball, Manny Machado was a National League MVP Award contender, and even Eric Hosmer and Wil Myers played like All-Stars. And the team showed how willing it was to go for it by its aggressive Trade Deadline moves. Catching the Dodgers is a Herculean task, but staying ahead of everyone else may not be. Whichever team your family roots for, this is secretly your kids' favorite team to watch.

Rays

Don't let the World Series disappointment distract you: Everything else went perfectly for the Rays this year, in their first Fall Classic appearance since 2008. Tampa Bay was everyone's sleeper team heading into 2020, but that won't be the case again; the world knows how fantastic this team is now.

Marlins

Derek Jeter's grand experiment in Miami had shown a few signs of forward progress in 2019, thanks largely to some young, exciting pitchers. But not many, Jeter included, saw this team not only finishing with a winning record, but in fact winning a playoff series. (Over the Cubs, no less. A sweep!) This is more than Jeter and company could have even imagined, and while the NL East isn't going to get any easier, the Marlins have announced their presence firmly and clearly. They won't be going away anytime soon.

Blue Jays

The Blue Jays would have been more than a little bit baffled if you would have told them in December 2019 that they'd be playing their home games in Buffalo, but they'd surely be happy with the results: A return to the playoffs, thanks to a terrific offense that will only be getting better and a pitching staff that showed some forward movement. The Blue Jays needed to show some progress on the ongoing project in 2020. They absolutely did that -- from Buffalo.

TEAMS THAT HAD A BAD 2020

Angels

Sure, there were plenty of reasons to be concerned about the Angels' pitching. (There are always plenty of reasons to be concerned about the Angels' pitching.) But this was still a Halos team, a year after extending Mike Trout's contract into the next decade, that was going for it in 2020, bringing in Anthony Rendon, the top free-agent hitter on the market, to be Trout's running mate. (Not to mention hiring Joe Maddon to manage.) But the Angels flopped right out of the gate, starting 9-22, which did them in right there. They were better in the second half, and maybe they could have recovered if they'd had the whole season, but they didn't. It was yet another wasted year of prime Trout. And now Trout and Rendon are a year older, and they still don't have any pitching.

Astros

If you would have told the Astros in December 2019 that they'd make the American League Championship Series, they probably would have said, "Only the ALCS?" But that belies just how rough a year it was for the embattled Astros, who were punished in January for illegally stealing signs in 2017. Yes, they were spared the jeering fans at stadiums across the country but still had an underperforming year, finishing under .500 for the first time since '14, the last year of the Bo Porter era. Seriously: Jose Altuve hit .219! Houston's unlikely postseason run will make '20 look better in the books than it was, but all signs are pointing to the end of the Astros' late '10s surge. Oh, and Justin Verlander got hurt, too.

D-backs

When the D-backs brought in Madison Bumgarner and Starling Marte before the 2020 season, it seemed to make sense. The team had avoided the big rebuild and had emerged as a legitimate playoff contender; those two veterans were just supposed to put them over the top. They were hanging around for a while before the bottom fell out in mid-August, when they lost eight in a row and 18 of 20. Next thing you knew, they were trading everything not nailed down and appearing to be at last starting that rebuild. But Bumgarner, who had the worst year of his career by far (6.48 ERA), is now looking less like that last piece and more like an aging albatross.

Phillies

The Phillies, who still haven't made the playoffs since Ryan Howard limped up the first-base line at the end of the 2011 NL Division Series, were set to break through, at last. Prime Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, Aaron Nola and the newly signed Zack Wheeler, all set to end the streak. And for most of the season, Philadelphia looked well on its way, along with its fun (and loud) fan group outside Citizens Bank Park. But the bullpen, once again, imploded down the stretch, and somehow the Phillies missed the expanded playoffs entirely. The team may be on the cusp of hiring Dave Dombrowski to head up baseball operations, and he might be able to point Philly back in the right direction. The Phillies will need him to, because the NL East isn't getting any easier.

Red Sox

You could go with the defending champion Nationals here, considering they went from winning the World Series to finishing last in their division … but the Red Sox didn't just finish last, they finished behind the rebuilding Orioles. Where did you have that on your bingo card? The pitching, it was obvious from the very first week, was going to be a massive problem for Boston, but there were other issues too, starting with J.D. Martinez, who posted a career-worst .213 average in 54 games. The Red Sox are never going away: There's still a lot of talent here. But Lord help them if they finish behind the O's again.