God Bless America. Baseball is back!

We all love the hardwood and pigskin as much as the next guy but is there anything like showing up to the ball park, grabbing a few dogs and seeing a pitcher’s duel?

With no real favorite this year everyone from the Cubs and Mets, to the Mariners and Indians looks to have a legitimate shot. 

So without further ado let’s get into some predictions...

AL East – Toronto Blue Jays

Talk about wide open.  I think the only thing that is certain in the East is that the Rays will undoubtedly finish last here.  They lost their manager and traded away all of their studs.  It will be another long season with no fans in the park yet again for the Rays.  Could the Sox go from worst to first?  It sure looks that way as they brought in some serious Free Agents this offseason.  Everyone is picking the O's it seems and as much as I love that rotation, they lost Cruz and Markakis and haven't really replaced those guys.  Lastly, being a huge Yankee fan I would love to say that everyone will remain healthy and have bounce back years but I just don't see it.  I think they will certainly be in the mix but at the end I see the Jays taking the east.  Great rotation and the best lineup in the division.

AL Central – Detroit Tigers

Not much to see here, it’s the Tigers all day.  Miggy, Cespedes, and VMart to go along with that rotation just book their ticket to October right now.  I have a hard time believing the Royals will repeat, and the Indians (another sexy pick) just won’t get it done either.  David Robertson will regret bolting NY for Chicago when his team throws up 90 losses this year and the Twinkies might finish with the worst record in baseball.

AL West – Los Angeles Angels

Likely to be the most competitive division this year, the A’s, Angles and Mariners all have high hopes of winning the Pennant.  I like the Angels to squeak it out at the very end.  Rangers were burden by injuries last year and it looks like they have hit the bug yet again.  Houston we still have problems…few more years and they might win 85 games.

Wild Card – New York Yankees, Oakland A’s

NL East – NY Mets

This has got to be the year the Mets make the move.  Phillies and Braves will both be lucky to win 70 games. The Nationals have had some injuries and the Marlins have started off really slow.  I think the Mets get it done behind their young rotation and improved lineup.

NL Central – ST. Louis Cardinals

Another competitive division top to bottom.  I think the Cubs, Reds, Cards and Pirates will all be in it until the end but I like the veteran leadership the Cardinals have to put them over the edge.  Brewers will finish last.

NL West – LA Dodgers

The Dodgers are the best team in baseball and I expect them to run away with this division.  I think the Giants will have a down year and I have no faith in the Rockies (poor Tulo) or Dbacks.  The Padres will finish second in the division.

Wild Card – San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates

World Series – LA Dodgers over Detroit Tigers


AL MVP – Mike Trout, Angels

NL MVP – Anthony Rizzo, Cubs

AL CY Young – Chris Sale, White Sox

NL CY Young – Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers

Is Arod really getting a shot this Spring?

On the eve of Arod's first spring training game yanks fans are left to wonder what will come of baseball's forever black eye?  Now we can sit here all day and talk about what type of numbers he will put up.  Will he make the team?  Will Arod settle for a buyout?  Tough to even fathom when he's set to make north of $60 mil over the next three years.  Instead, I find myself thinking how much support is this guy getting from the organization.  The organization I have grown to love ever since I was a little kid.  The organization that stands for everything right in this otherwise backwards sports world we live in.  Look, ill be the first one to tell you that Arod is degenerate and deserved everything that has gone wrong in his life but let's not forget that he paid the price.  He sat out a year and a half from baseball and he's now honoring his contractual obligations and trying to get back up to speed with major league baseball.  So as we sit here on the night before Arod is slated to start at DH down in Florida we are left to wonder where he stands with the folks 1000+ miles away.

It goes without saying that we desperately need Arod to perform and to make this team.  230 BA, 20 dingers, 80 RBI's would be a lift for a team that had a horrible time scoring runs last year.  Is it possible?  Probably not...Shoot id go as far as to say that would be one of the most impressive comebacks sports has seen in a while.  They have always said the hardest thing to do is to hit MLB pitching, take into account that Arod is 39 and hasn't played in a game since 2013 and id say that is one of the more impressive things you'll see. 

So to sum it all up...let's show a little love NY (Girardi, Steinbrenner, Yankee mgmt.)  As much as we hate this guy, we need this guy and everyone loves a comeback story...