All Betts Are on the Dodgers

On Tuesday evening, as part of a three-team deal, the Los Angeles Dodgers landed superstar outfielder Mookie Betts, veteran starting pitcher David Price & cash from the Boston Red Sox. The Minnesota Twins were the third party involved in the trade, in which Minnesota acquired SP-Kenta Maeda. Boston acquired OF-Alex Verdugo from Los Angeles, and pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol from Minnesota.

I was shocked initially that the Red Sox didn't acquire either prospect 2B-Gavin Lux or pitcher Dustin May, personally I feel they lost big on this trade, they should have got more. I understand the need to cut payroll, but was this the best deal they could have got for a stud like Mookie?

Before this deal, I was already leaning towards the Los Angeles Dodgers to win it all. Now with Betts?! There is no excuse for this team, this powerhouse, not to walk away holding the World Series trophy. I was leaning towards a Dodgers-Yankees World Series before Betts, now I'm calling it -- Just as confident as I was that the 2016 Chicago Cubs (prior to the season) would go on to win it all, I feel the exact same way about the Dodgers right now.

I'm not always right, and to be honest my preseason World Series picks don't even come half-way true most of the time, but I'm feeling it.

There is just too much talent for them to come up short. I know there is 162 games to play during a season, and I know that 10 teams go into the postseason with a shot, but way too much talent... Sure Atlanta, Houston, Washington & the Cubs should be in the mix, but Walker Buehler is only going to get better folks!

Projected starters happen to be C-Will Smith, 1B-Max Muncy, 2B-Gavin Lux, SS-Corey Seager, 3B-Justin Turner, LF-A.J. Pollock, CF-Mookie Betts & RF-Cody Bellinger. This team still has tons of depth, good prospects & strong pitching. The league woke up seeing blue this morning.

Plus I believe baseball is dying to see a Dodgers-Yankees World Series, it's been 39 years... Wouldn't it be great to see those two iconic franchises go at it?!

My Quick A.L. West Preview

Star Struck: Astros' young stars orbit around the championship trophy.

A.L. WEST

The 'R' word is one that gets tossed around every year when a team wins the world series, so true to form, it's the Houston Astros' turn to throw around the word... 'repeat'. We used it for the Kansas City Royals after 2015, the Chicago Cubs after 2016, and now the Astros.

The difference is, the Astros may actually be able to pull off what's become a rare feat these days. Sure, no American League team has repeated since the 1998-2000 Yankees days, before that it was the 1992-1993 Blue Jays, and before that it was the 1972-1974 Athletics... now add in the extra wild card, extra games, and the chances of one team repeating seems like a tough climb.

But this is no ordinary team, last year's 2017 Astros may actually one of the best single-season teams to have ever taken the field. I'm finding this out more and more with the APBA cards alone, before even trying to dig out facts to support my opinion. Every single player played a pivotal role in their quest for their first championship, now most (almost all) of them return in 2018.

The team will have to go through the likely contenders in Cleveland and the New York, or should I say they will have to go through Houston? The Astros acquired Gerrit Cole to help solidify their rotation, while adding relief help in Jose Smith and Hector Rondon.

Many of these young studs (Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa & George Springer) may actually have bigger years coming in 2018, plus add a full-season to my A.L. Cy Young favorite in Justin Verlander to the equation and you got yourself one hell of an encore.

Back in February, Chris "The Mad Dog" Russo made remarks that the Yankees were the team to beat, Verlander quickly tweeted a response to the Mad Dog with "I can think of a reason", which sparked a little back-and-forth, check the video out below it's enjoyable....

Below is MLB Network's reaction to the addition of Cole to the rotation.

So it's safe to say that I sit very comfortable picking Astros to win the West.

The Los Angeles Angels are most likely the 2nd place team in this division, are they a playoff a team is a tough question. It's easy to assume that they will definitely be better than last season, when you improve your roster with the likes of Ian Kinsler, Zack Cozart and Japanese import Shohei Ohtani... but are they really better? Most successful ballclubs have dependable pitching, the Angels don't have dependable pitching... you can't expect any of their pitchers to roll out of bed these days, without injuring their arm. If the majority of these pitchers were to stay healthy than we can start talking, that's why I think Minnesota will win the second A.L. wildcard slot, I think they have a better shot at improving this season. 

The Angels are not dependable, simple as that... which is a damn shame considering they have the best player in all of Baseball in Mike Trout. 

The Seattle Mariners will be swimming around somewhere in the middle of this division, all depending if they can maintain healthy arms as well. It's a shame that James Paxton's arm is not willing to give him a full season, as he has pitched 422 innings over a five-year stretch... good when he's out there (3.28 career ERA), but that's the catch... On top of that King Felix Hernandez has hit the wall, coming off his career worst. If Mariners' rotation can find a way to stay healthy, this they can then hand over a lead to a very interesting bullpen that has many different skill types, which can be a manager's dream; Plenty of good arms, but hopefully they don't get overworked due to bad starting pitching. 

If the Mariners are in the thick of the post-season race come later July, don't be surprised to see GM Jerry Dipoto to wheel-and-deal for some starting pitching.

The Oakland Athletics may be on the verge of surprising once-again, it usually turns on like a light-switch, no one saw the 2012 Athletics happening until it was actually happening. Over the past couple seasons, Billy Beane has been working at it again... tell me if you have heard this one before, a young rotation (led by Sean Manaea & Kendall Graveman) with strong bullpen arms led by a handful of prospects (Matt Chapman, Matt Olson & Dustin Fowler), led by a couple veteran mainstays (Jed Lowrie & Matt Joyce). They need some more seasoning, but don't be completely shocked if they are sniffing the wild card picture come August.... chances are they are still a year-or-two away.

Khris Davis, one of the leaders on Oakland's roster.

The Texas Rangers will definitely be in last place this season, they have players like Nomar Mazara, Willie Calhoun & Joey Gallo on the rise... but their rotation is anchored by Cole Hamels (past his peak), leading a rag tag of once-talented arms or recently-healed arms in Doug Fister, Matt Moore, Mike Minor & Bartolo Colon.

The team's farm system has no immediate help, while the Rangers appear to be in transition. They may be preparing for the 2019 Free Agency market.

A.L. WEST
1. Houston
2. Los Angeles (A)
3. Seattle
4. Oakland
5. Texas

My Quick A.L. Central Preview

A.L. CENTRAL

The Cleveland Indians' amazing run came to an end when they ran into the Baby Bombers in the American League Division Series last season. They will have to clean the slate, while they make another strong attempt at a world championship.

For the most part, much of their roster is returning, they did lose a few bullpen arms, but still should be among the league's best in that department... while the team said goodbye to team staple Carlos Santana (who signed with the Phillies). The Indians would sign 1B-Yonder Alonso to take the place of Santana.

Cleveland needs Trevor Bauer to step up (it's a make-or-break season for him), while they need Danny Salazar to stay healthy. With the emergence of Mike Clevinger last season, I would put Clevinger in the rotation, and take advantage of Salazar's power arm in the bullpen... that would be a nasty weapon coming out of the pen to go along with Cody Allen, Andrew Miller, Dan Otero, Zack McAllister, Nick Goody & Tyler Olson.

Jason Kipnis had an excellent spring, if he can play closer to his All-Star years rather than last year, it will make Cleveland's situation as a championship contender so much better... So for now, he stays at second while Jose Ramirez remains at third. Ramirez stepped up to another level last year, as he fell short in the A.L. MVP race.... he is personally one of my favorite players to watch.

I am not sure about their outfield situation overall, you have Michael Brantley and Lonnie Chisenhall, who both have a difficult time staying healthy, while rising star Bradley Zimmer will be solid in center. I question if they should have added or found a healthy, outfielder with power.... we'll have to wait and see if this will be a area that they will upgrade once the trade deadline comes.

The Tribe really have no overall holes, but I feel that overall they are not as solid as the Yankees.

The Minnesota Twins plan to take that next step this season, they made the moves to make this progression & should have no problem making the post-season. True, they won't catch anyone by surprise this season, but they have a strong young core of players led by a few veterans to make them competitive enough to play with the big boys this fall.

Ervin Santana may have a hard time duplicating last season, but should still have a strong season... Jose Berrios is developing nicely, and is getting closer to being ace material.  Adding Lance Lynn was a nice touch, giving the rotation more stability with adding another veteran... but don't expect him to be as good as he was during his peak in St. Louis. The team also acquired starter Jake Odorizzi from Tampa Bay.

The bullpen added vets in Fernando Rodney and Addison Reed, to go along with youngsters Taylor Rogers and Trevor Hildenberger.

The team has solid depth on the bench, while also having their best pitching staff in quite some time.

The Chicago White Sox may not look like much right now, but with the army of prospects and rising stars, this team is a quiet storm a brewing. Yoan Moncada, Lucas Giolito, Carlos Rodon, Michael Kopech, Carson Fulmer, Dylan Cease, Reynaldo Lopez & Eloy Jimenez among others, are going to change the losing atmosphere in Chicago, but will have to take their lumps for now.

They did add veteran catcher Welington Castillo to help anchor the young rotation.

The bullpen could definitely use some arms, I would say this is their obvious weakness, while other areas are starting shed some light & hope. One things for sure, plenty of players will get plenty of opportunities.

The Detroit Tigers traded away fan favorites Justin Verlander, J.D. Martinez, Justin Upton, Alex Avila and Justin Wilson last season, for the most part, those deals brought plenty of prospects back in return. One of those prospects was Jeimer Candelario who is already winning many Tiger fans' hearts, he will be fun to watch growing.

Good news, we still have Miguel Cabrera, he should bounce back a bit, but his dominant days may be over.

Their off-season additions however are nothing to rave about. Spending $1.5 million on Leonys Martin was a head-scratcher, when he could have easily landed with us, under a minor league contract / non-roster invitee deal. Adding Mike Fiers was nothing more than adding a veteran arm to the rotation, it'll be extra insurance in case Daniel Norris and Matt Boyd falter again... both showed some hope in late 2017, so there is reason to be optimistic.

Detroit needs help everywhere, but most notably the bullpen, there is Shane Greene, Joe Jimenez and practically nothing else.

I wrote a past article a few months ago, that the Tigers would be "historically bad", but I forgot to calculate the wins they would get against Kansas City & Chicago... Those three teams will beat up on each other. For now, players like Mikie Mahtook, John Hicks, Niko Goodrum & Victor Reyes all get to place house for a bit.

The Kansas City Royals are back in the cellar after an amazing short run, they said goodbye to Eric Hosmer and Lorenzo Cain, while a bizarre, slow market helped the team luck out by resigning Mike Moustakas. Adding Lucas Duda and Jon Jay are productive moves, while they can hope for the good, old Alex Gordon makes a return of sorts.

They also seem to be having bad luck with Jorge Bonifacio popped for 80-game suspension (drug use), while Salvador Perez fell down his stairs at home.

Jorge Soler will get his at-bats this season, so it's time for this underachieving talent to finally perform or shut up.


A.L. CENTRAL
1. Cleveland
2. Minnesota*
3. Chicago (A)
4/5 - Detroit or Kansas City
All three teams can really be interchangeable when you think about it.

*-Wild Card

My Quick A.L. East Preview

With a lot of time going to other projects such as my own 2017 APBA Season, and projects for the Boys of Summer APBA Baseball League, I have limited time dedicated for anything else...

So here is my quick A.L. Preview

A.L. EAST

The New York Yankees made an impressive splash in 2017, their quest to once again dominate Major League Baseball came a bit early last year... or was it? Their Pythagorean record had them closer to 99 wins than the 91 wins that they generated... now add Giancarlo Stanton to the equation, plus two more later March pickups in Brandon Drury and Neil Walker, and the team is now ready to go.

The team's lineup is an opposing nightmare to all pitchers, while their bullpen is absolutely tops, with really no weakness. Their rotation is more formidable than it has been in years, with Luis Severino emerging as an ace, while Sonny Gray will be more comfortable in the Bronx, now that he has had a chance to settle in.

This team also has prospects coming in Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres, while you can expect them to possibly land someone like Manny Machado during next off-season. For Yankee haters, you better buckle up, it's going to be a long ride.

The Boston Red Sox seem to be an enigma each off-season, which direction are they heading, up or down? It really all comes down to health with them, and all those answers rely on players like Dustin Pedroia, David Price, Drew Pomeranz, Chris Sale & J.D. Martinez.

Pedroia in many ways is still the team captain, but its hard to do anything with that role, if you are never on the field. Boston would love to get Price back to his Cy Young-caliber seasons, while hoping that Sale doesn't tired down as he did last year. J.D. seem destined to land with Boston the moment he hit the free agent market, was there really any doubt? The new question is will his contract payoff? The talent is there for sure, but he has only played a full healthy season in 2015, while he averages 130 games & 482 at-bats per season since his first full season with the Tigers back in 2014.

You gotta love the trio of outfielders of Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr & Andrew Benintendi, plus the rising star at third in Rafael Devers. Mookie had a bit of a down year, and should bounce back into the A.L. MVP talks, while Boston needs Benintendi not to be so streaky, he's capable of being more consistent & is capable of winning a future batting title.

They should still make it as a wild card, all depending on how serious the L.A. Angels actually are.

The Toronto Blue Jays, I believe is heading the opposite direction, they don't look better than a third place team to me. I think adding Randall Grichuk is good move, but their rotation has always been a question mark, they seem to underachieve each season, while Marcus Stroman would look dominate one day and then so-so his next outing, you expect more from an ace. If Josh Donaldson can shake off the D.L. bug, I believe he could have another legit MVP season. A lot also depends on the health of starting pitcher Aaron Sanchez.

Buck Showalter always seems to get the best out of his Baltimore Orioles, much of their success happened without having a legit rotation, while depending strongly on their bullpen. The bullpen will start season with some hiccups with Zach Britton on the disabled list until June... They will have to depend on Brad Brach to be their closer for now.

Adding Alex Cobb and Andrew Cashner were good signings, Cobb has always been a consistent, solid control pitcher with low ERA and good WHIP, his problem has always been his health. Cashner had a good bounce-back year in lonesome Texas, and although asking for a repeat performance may be much, it's still better than what the O's have been plugging in there (the lower parts of the rotation).

I do question the move of Manny Machado to short, with Tim Beckham moving over to third. This move seemed to have been made, due to Beckham's defense. While playing APBA for my 2017 season with 2018 acquisitions updated, through Optional Fielding, and with Machado over at short, and Beckham at third, I have already noticed that their defense is shedding runs for the opposition. 

Seven games in, and there has already been plenty of times, that Machado would have made that double play (runners on 1st & 2nd) on dice roll 16-28... or getting that force (runners on first) at second, rather than settling on a 5-3 ground out, putting a runner at second... those situations add up to plenty of runs for the opposition. 

I get that putting Jonathan Schoop and Machado together makes a stronger middle infield, but with more balls naturally hit to the left side and at third, you have a weaker defender at the hot corner... I think it was better the way it was, plus the pitchers need all the help they can get on defense.

The Tampa Bay Rays made plenty of moves this off-season...for the better? Now that's the real question, I don't knock them trading Evan Longoria, but I do have to question them basically giving away Corey Dickerson for free to Pittsburgh. The move made plenty in the clubhouse, Kevin Kiermaier most noticeably, question their upper management. Trading Jake Odorizzi seemed to be good payroll-shedding trade, but then some of their depth in Jose DeLeon and Brent Honeywell fell victim to Tommy John, while Nathan Eovaldi (victim of two Tommy John injuries) will have surgery and won't be part of the rotation for at least 8 weeks from what I am reading. Their four-man rotation at the moment appears to be Chris Archer, Jake Faria, Blake Snell and Austin Pruitt; They did acquire Anthony Banda in the three-team trade that sent Steven Souza packing his bags for Arizona... so Banda could be an option.

This team is going nowhere in 2018, but have plenty to be excited about with prospects like Willy Adames and Jake Bauers.


A.L. EAST 
1. New York (A)
2. Boston*
3. Toronto
4. Baltimore
5. Tampa Bay


*-Wild Card

Early Peek at 2018 Tigers (They could be historically bad!!!)

One of the few bright spots - Jeimer Candelario.

For some Tigers fans it may be too early to talk about the upcoming disaster-to-be that will be the 2018 Detroit Tigers season. The Tigers are in the early stages of what appears to be a long rebuild, while they are currently hampered by huge contracts on the books & a weak farm system.

We are suffering from the aftershocks of a Dombrowski-led team, in which year-after-year, we did whatever we could to try to compete for a championship, by trading away all our prospects and spending every bit of cash to get us over the top...

The top never came, and now the foundation of what was a championship club, is in ruins. We have a few statues remaining, reminding us of the good times, but as of late those that are left, have been just that... statues.

We really have nothing to build around, and the pillars we thought we had, are not as strong as we first thought, with players like Michael Fulmer dealing with injuries.

I was online reading about our probable lineups, I believe it was the Detroit Free Press that had these players for our starting lineup next season...

• C - James McCann
• 1B - Miguel Cabrera
• 2B - Rawel Lugo
• SS - Dixon Machado
• 3B - Jeimer Candelario
• LF - Mikie Mahtook
• CF - Jacoby Jones
• RF - Nicholas Castellanos
• DH - Victor Martinez

The Tigers have since traded second baseman Ian Kinsler to the Los Angeles Angels, while signing a one-year deal with Jose Iglesias.

The Tigers probably won't get much in return as for prospects, and to eat some of the contract, let's say $5-$6 million really wouldn't be worth the trouble. We are already going to have to wait on Miguel Cabrera's & Jordan Zimmerman's contracts to come off the books, while we are still shelling out $16 million total for Justin Verlander's contract. 

Trading my favorite player in Verlander was a great deal for the Detroit Tigers. Yes, you want to see such icons retire for their teams... but at the same time, it is a business as well, and we executed this trade perfectly, by getting the Houston Astros to eat $40 million off the books for us, while acquiring a solid package of prospects in return.

• RHP - Franklin Perez - No surprise, currently ranks as the Tigers' #1 prospect, and ranks #40 among all MLB prospects. He's only 19, but has exceeded at all levels, prematurely, so he should get to the Majors quickly. I can see him on the Opening Day roster in 2019.

• OF - Daz Cameron - The son of former big leaguer Mike Cameron, his speed & defense will likely get him to the majors before his bat does. He will likely be on the big league roster full-time as early as 2020, while likely making his debut in 2019.

• C - Jake Rogers - Finished a strong season at Class A+ and will likely jump to Double-A in 2018.

The Tigers have a lousy 2018 ahead of them, their two best players last season in WAR was Justin Upton (5.2) & Justin Verlander (4.5), both playing elsewhere the last two months; The next best player was Michael Fulmer (3.5 WAR), who missed considerable time last season.

Game results chart courtesy of Baseball Referrence.

They also were 51-58 after a win on August 4th... After that? They were 13-40, giving them a .245 winning percentage, multiply that by 162 games, that would only come out to a 40-122 record -- which would tie the 1962 Mets for the worst record in MLB history. The Tigers, back in 2003, flirted with the American League record for worst record, as they went 43-119.

I agree with my father they should have moved Nicholas Castellanos (instead of right field) to first, move Miguel Cabrera to Designated Hitter, while telling Victor Martinez (who just had heart surgery) to stay home, retire and enjoy your money... we need to move forward! No V-Mart, please! Miguel's back is bad, and its time to put him at DH for good.... I can live without the power, but when Miggy is struggling to hit .250 that should be a definite red flag.

The Tigers only other moves this off-season involve the signings of outfielder Leonys Martin and pitcher Mike Fiers.... nothing to write home about.

This team will be bad, and us Tigers fans will have to be patient for the future.

Early Predictions on MLB Free Agents

Johnny Cueto is among heavy free agent class.

My predictions of who's going where in Major League Baseball. I like any fan has been reading plenty of the rumor mill articles on sites such as Bleacher Report, ESPN & numerous other baseball sites and have took some of this input and came up with my own choices.

Here they are...

Jordan Zimmermann - Cubs
The Chicago Cubs will probably go for two steady and dependable starting pitchers to add to Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta. Zimmermann is probably the most effective and affordable & would fit perfectly with the Cubs.

The Cubs have the lineup, now add pitching, and the team should only get better, even if they are in the toughest division in all of baseball.

Ben Zobrist - Yankees
The Yankees for the last few years have been plugging veteran pieces in their infield slots with little success -- they should put more faith in their prospects, but likely will keep going for a veteran signing. Zobrist would be the best signing of the bunch, and would give the team flexibility without breaking the bank. Yankees should be able to outbid their opponents on Zobrist.

Yoenis Cespedes - Yankees / Marlins
There are many reports at the moment that the Miami Marlins will land the recently well-traveled Cuban stud -- but I would not be surprised to see the Yankees over-pay for lightning in a bottle, he is exactly the type of player the Yankees would spurge on in the past. Yankees probably would be hoping for a Reggie Jackson impact, but end up more with a Danny Tartabull, Ruben Sierra, or Jesse Barfield.

I do think Cespedes gets too much grief for being traded plenty of recent, with many questioning his mind frame for the game, but I think adding him to a team is always a upgrade despite a low career On-Base Percentage -- His arm in the outfield, and power surges do make up for plenty of that, and it has been statistically proven that his teams (with the exception of Boston) play better when he is in the lineup, compared to when out of the lineup

[See Oakland's 2014 second-half collapse & get back to me on that]

Jason Heyward - Re-signs with Cardinals
Heyward is an interesting free agent with plenty of tools, at times he comes off as over-rated and then he comes off underrated. I do think Cardinals get it done by resigning him, unless a big market team overpays for him.

Johnny Cueto - Red Sox 
Johnny Cueto is exactly the big signing that new GM Dave Dombrowski is looking for. The Red Sox need an ace to anchor a rotation that still needs work -- landing Cueto, will bring in other dependable starters as well.

Alex Gordon - Resigns with Royals... or St. Louis?
I have read reports about the Houston Astros being in hunt for Gordon.. but would not be surprised if the St. Louis Cardinals jump in, if Jason Heyward does not resign with Cards. Plus Gordon would completely fit into Mike Matheny & the Cardinals' way with no problem. Cardinals fans would love to see him in Cardinal red.

Doug Fister - Tigers
Okay, okay... This is definitely wishful thinking. I personally hated watching the Tigers trade Fister to the Washington Nationals, and in hindsight that deal ended up being a bust for the Tigers, even though Fister didn't have the same success in Washington than he did in Detroit.

Maybe teams will be weary of Fister's recent injuries, undervalue him, and the Tigers swoop in and sign him to a three-year deal. Fister would help solidify a rotation that is desperate need for balance right now, add that to a reemergence of Justin Verlander, a hopeful rebound for Anibal Sanchez, and the emergence of Daniel Norris -- The Tigers would suddenly have a rotation again.

Hey, Tiger fans can dream, right?!

Chris Davis - Rangers
The Texas Rangers love their sluggers, so why not bring in a guy who started his career in Texas? The Rangers' division rival, Los Angeles Angels may also jump into the fun as they try to transition Albert Pujols towards full-time DH.

Greinke had huge season with Dodgers.

Zack Greinke - Giants / Dodgers
When looking at the possibilities, considering he turned down a great option -- He would only get a huge contract from either Los Angeles team. But sources have mentioned the fact that Greinke really hit things off with San Francisco Giants players and Giant Manager Bruce Bochy (during All-Star break), feeling a good comfort level. Greinke once battled anxiety problems, so San Fran would probably be more his fit, although he had his best stretch of career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, going 57-17 (.770 winning percentage) in a 3 1/2 season stretch. Dodgers still have a shot at re-landing Greinke.

David Price - Any team with a huge piggy bank
If the price is right, some team will be happy with landing David Price -- the question remains, who? The Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox all seem to be great suitors.

It would be interesting to see if the Chicago Cubs, and even the New York Mets (who have enough pitching) tip the scales, and try to wing it with a lineup that needs offensive and defensive upgrades.

I actually have heard the Detroit Tigers still wanting to bring him back, but with the team being strapped, I think they try to fill in the holes on their rosters with hopeful bargain signings.

My gut says either the Dodgers or Yankees get it done, but don't count out the Cubs.


POSSIBLE Upcoming TRADE ACQUISTIONS

Stephen Strasburg (SP-Washington Nationals)
With the Nationals being a mess, and with Doug Fister and Jordan Zimmermann hitting free agency, it may be the best time to trade Strasburg while his stock is up. There has been connections that the New York Yankees would try to land Strasburg -- The Nationals could bring in some pieces, particularly pitching in maybe players like Adam Warren with a bundle of prospects. The Nats still have Gio Gonzalez, Tanner Roark and the possibility of resigning either Fister or Zimmermann -- The Nats are definitely reshuffling the deck, especially since they have already reshuffled possible managers a couples times, and now has Dusty Baker at the helm... who seems to be a manager that knows how to fix a mess.

Another team would be the Dodgers, who probably have more attractable pieces to offer the Nationals than the Yankees.

Justin Verlander (SP- Detroit Tigers)
Okay, I jumped the gun about a season to season & half ago, saying Justin was back -- now, confidently, and the fact that he finished the 2015 season strong, he may just be back.

Is he the old Cy Young stud from 2011/2012 period?
No, probably not.

Is he closer to the 2009-2010, 2013 version?
Yes

I have made it no secret that Justin Verlander is my favorite player in Major League Baseball, and saying that, I would hate to see the Detroit Tigers ever trade him... but if the Tigers are not in the hunt for true playoff contention by All-Star Break 2016, and Verlander is pitching strongly like he shown in the second-half of 2015, it may not be a bad idea for the Tigers to get possible contenders with huge bank accounts in the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, or Los Angeles Angels to bite on his huge yearly salary.

At this point, I do not see Tigers any better than 2nd place, if not more like a third-place team. He would be perfect for the Chicago Cubs to make that next huge step in late 2016.

Just saying.

My MLB Second-Half Predictions

Eric Hosmer & the Royals are looking to prove the doubters all wrong, come October.

So back in April, I asked my APBA friends to post their predictions to share, along with my MLB predictions for the 2015 MLB Season.

How am I doing? Not so good. I knew I should have went with my gut on the Kansas City Royals, not only did I deny them to win the division, but I have Cleveland as the wildcard. I went with Detroit, strictly on the fact, until we are not the division champs, I will pick them as that -- Silly me, why in the world did I even think that was going to happen with the loss of both Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello & an injured Justin Verlander?! Now with Miguel out for 6 weeks, and the fact that we were just floating above water when he was healthy, you can kiss this season goodbye -- Personally, I hope we are not buyers this second-half, maybe trade David Price, and see what we can get in return, we need to get young again, and we need to rebuild that farm.

In fact out of my American League teams I picked (Boston, Detroit, Cleveland, Los Angeles & Seattle), the Los Angeles Angels seem to be the only team I picked that has the most solid chance to make the playoffs, as they just snagged first place from the surprise Houston Astros. Boston has a slight chance due to the American League East being so close -- but I just don't see that happening.

The Yankees have been maybe a bigger surprise to me than even the Astros, we knew Houston would eventually come around, but many people didn't expect Houston until 2016 -- The Yankees on the other hand, looked old & pricey. Then came a rebirth in Alex Rodriguez (.278, 18, 51 / .898 OPS) & Mark Teixiera (.240, 22, 62); Their rotation has been slightly better than expected, being efficient enough, while their bullpen has been stellar. Will they stay on top? I want to say no, but I'm realizing my predictions have got me nowhere so far this season. The Toronto Blue Jays have a offense led by Josh Donaldson (.293, 21, 60 & 4.9 WAR), with Jose Bautista & Edwin Encarnacion doing their usual as well. They need their starting pitching to step up, it appears that Marco Estrada and Aaron Sanchez are starting to come around behind the old vet Mark Buehrle (10-5, 3.34), who is the team's ace. Manny Machado & Adam Jones are leading the Baltimore Orioles in the lineup, while Ubaldo Jimenez (7-4, 2.81 ERA) has been a pleasant surprise for Baltimore; The bottom of that rotation needs to take load off Wei-Yin Chen & Jimenez, Miguel Gonzalez appears to be third best option with 4.24 ERA. The bullpen appears pretty good, but they need their starters to keep them in the game, and their offense needs more help as well. The whole division does not have one solid team, so I will now go with the Yankees to hold onto the division, barely over Toronto, who will make serious charge in second-half, but will likely settle for wildcard.

All smiles for A-Rod & Teixeira, leading the surprise Yankees in 2015.

One thing is for sure for A.L. East, no one will win 90, I pick Yankees at 88-74 to win division over 86-76 Toronto. Strangely, I had this argument with my buddy Jeff on that the Yankees would not make it past 4th place, as he told me they would be definitely better than my Tigers. I felt I had all the statistics to back it up, and it appeared the Yankees had no idea what they were doing in the off-season -- it appears that he will be right, my Tigers will not be as good as his Yankees even.

Which leads us to the A.L. Central, I decided to play it safe with a lot of other predictors and gave Cleveland Indians too much props. It's true in the second-half of last season, their pitching was the best in the American League, and with healthy regular position players, it seemed logical to pick them as a playoff team. Even though, I knew, I KNEW that Kansas City deserved more respect. Well, I'm now going to give Kansas City the ultimate respect, they will be representing the American League for the second straight season in the World Series -- They are hungry, I think only one team could spoil it for them, and that could be upstart Houston (this year's Kansas City Royals); I will also say that the Los Angeles Angels might be better than last season, and let's not forget they finally made the playoffs last season & they do have the best player in the game in Mike Trout.

Back-to-back All-Star Game MVP Mike Trout, officially stamps his name as the face of baseball.

Now I want to give the Minnesota Twins some serious props for their first-half effort, they were probably the #1 surprise in my book, in May they were red-hot, and now things seem to be settling down towards reality. They just don't appear to be a team to make a serious acquisition as well, as their 3 of their best 4 hitters all have below .800 OPS (on the exception of Brian Dozier). It's just too bad that Danny Santana has flip-flopped seasons at the wrong time (batting only .225 after batting .319 last season). Kyle Gibson is looking like everything the Twins thought he would be, but that rotation needs more help, and that lineup is mediocre, to even consider them a A.L. contender, in fact I can't see them making the playoffs, with the Angels coming around, and the idea that Boston & Cleveland could still turn things around. To make things clear though, they appear they may end up better than my Tigers, we have too many problems, I hope Dave Dombrowski isn't in the buying mood, we can't afford to give up any more pieces.

Eyes on the Prize: Max Scherzer & the Nats must show they are serious for second-half charge.

The National League is a little more decided with the Washington Nationals on top of the division as expected in N.L. East -- but they have not showed any total dominance that much was predicting before the season, and have a few games above the New York Mets. The Mets have made things interesting, but let's be honest, they will have to have a lot of magic go their way to end up being the 2nd Wild Card -- I think it's possible, I just think they are young, and still a year away. The Pittsburgh Pirates have come on strong, but can't seem to stay consistent, they get so close to the St.Louis Cardinals & then tail off again. I want to say that Pittsburgh will close the deal at end of season, because of all the Cardinals' injuries -- but I need to start going with my hunches more, and the St. Louis Cards have an excellent track record of proving everyone wrong, plugging their rosters with before-the-season mysteries & making them into season-surprises. Cardinals always find a way, they'll do it again, by winning the N.L. Central; Pittsburgh will be the top Wild Card.

I want to see the Mets or Chicago Cubs get the 5th slot, 2nd wild card, because I (and I think most of America) am sick of the San Francisco Giants. If Giants get in, they will be trouble, but let's face it, it's an odd year, so in my Soup Nazi voice "No, World Series for you!". The Los Angeles Dodgers should hold onto the N.L. West lead, they have been outstanding at home -- I thought with all the moves they made, they would be better though. They need to remain focused & ignore the Giants' footsteps behind them. I do like that the Dodgers have guys like Mike Bolsinger stepping up, before the season, Bolsinger was really not even on the MLB radar -- but this guy wants to stay, and has shown it. Not surprisingly though, Brett Anderson (Mr. Injury Bug) is back on the disabled list, I was rooting for the guy, he was having a good season -- The Dodgers need to land another starting pitcher to seal the deal in the N.L. West.

The WRAP-UP
Let's see how everyone has done from the pre-season picks.

Shawn Baier (myself) - I think I am doing the absolute worst of the seven of us, no joke! The only team in the American League I even have making the playoffs at this point is my of the Angels making the playoffs -- but I picked them as the wild card to disappointing Seattle. My other wild card choice was the Indians, and they have been equally disappointing. My next best chance of an A.L. participant is my choice to win the A.L. League East in the Toronto Blue Jays, who have a chance at the wild card -- I have decided now that the Yankees will win the East, Royals are for real in the Central & I believe both the Angels & Astros will make the playoffs from the A.L. West with the Angels, having more experience winning the division -- plus Mike Trout is a beast!

I picked Nationals & Dodgers to win divisions, Cardinals as wild card, with Pirates winning division -- have decided most will stick now, except it will be St.Louis winning division, Pirates as wildcard with hopefully Mets or Cubs taking the last wild card over Giants.

Where I was wrong: Picking the Detroit Tigers to win the American League Central, who was picked by 4 of us to win the division (possibly the biggest MLB disappointment this season). Bought into the off-season offense additions for the Boston Red Sox -- pitching is always key, and Beantown simply does not have that -- plus, poor Rick Porcello!

Paying the Price? Tigers may have to ship the lefty & reshuffle deck.

Chris Baier - Chris is doing pretty good, just like everyone for the most part, we all have picked the Washington Nationals, St.Louis Cardinals & Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League. He had the Angels winning the A.L. West, with Toronto winning a wild card slot, which is possible.

Where Chris was wrong: He did pretty solid overall, where he went wrong is picking Cleveland to win the A.L. Central, can't blame him with 4 of our guys picking Cleveland to make the playoffs -- Sports Illustrated had them winning the World Series. His pick of the Baltimore Orioles winning the A.L. East is certainly not a bad one, the East was wide-open, and who knew the New York Yankees would be in command of the division at this point? No one.

John "Stray" Corrado - Stray has picked the Nationals, Cardinals & Dodgers just like most of us -- in fact, all 7 of us picked those three to at least make the playoffs. Stray may be the only one, by season's end to get all the N.L. picks correct, picking the Pirates & Giants to make the playoffs as well. The American League once again, has been the hardest on all of us, he has the Angels reaching the playoffs as the 1st Wild Card -- 4 people picked Angels to win division, while all 7 of us picked Angels to be in the playoffs.

Where Stray was wrong: We all did bad overall in our picking of the American League. Stray went with disappointing Boston, Detroit & Seattle to win their divisions & the Chicago White Sox as a wild card -- compared to looking like a genius with his N.L. picks.

Kenneth Heard - Kenneth has picked the Washington Nationals, St. Louis Cardinals & Los Angeles Dodgers as well as most with their N.L. picks. Just like most of us, the American League picks were off the mark, but he does have a chance to get the World Series match-up correct, with the Los Angeles Dodgers & Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim -- he picked Dodgers to win it all.

Where Kenneth H was wrong: He was sipping the Chicago Kool-aid with Doug, it was not necessarily a bad pick, with all the moves the White Sox made in the off-season -- I came close to picking the White Sox as a wild card over my choice of Cleveland, we just all didn't give Kansas City enough respect. The White Sox was picked to reach playoffs by 3 of our 7 guys on the panel -- They will likely be 'selling'.

Return of the King: Albert Pujols has looked like Pujols from his Cardinals days.

Ken Schulz - Schulz picked the Los Angeles Angels to reach the American League, and the Toronto Blue Jays to win the division (Toronto is currently .500 with a chance at A.L. Wild Card still -- competing with two surprise teams in Minnesota & Houston). Schulz has the National League picked pretty solidly next to Stray, with Nats, Cards & Dodgers, along with the Pirates & Mets as the N.L. Wild Cards -- the Mets happen to be just a couple games off the mark for that 2nd Wild Card spot -- He is the one of only two people to pick the New York Mets to make playoffs, I came close to picking them over the Padres for that spot, so Schulz's pick will look brilliant if the Mets get in.

Where Ken S was wrong: The American League, I had nearly identical picks with Ken, when it came to the Junior Circuit, our only difference is that he picked Toronto to win A.L. East compared to my pick of Boston. We both picked Detroit & Seattle to win their divisions, with the wildcards being Cleveland & the Angels. Fact is, 6 of the 7 of us, really felt the Seattle Mariners were built for the playoffs this season, so far... no cigar.

Doug Schuyler - Doug did great on N.L. picks so far, just like most of us -- Once again, the American League, a whole different story. He has the Chicago Cubs winning the N.L. Central which will be a stretch, but they do have a shot at the N.L. Wild Card if San Francisco flounders. Doug did pick Bryce Harper to win N.L. MVP, he must have smelled the 2015 breakout season to come -- He also picked Max Scherzer & Chris Sale for Cy Young Awards (both are possible).

Where Doug was wrong: Going with the Windy City with division titles for both the White Sox & Chicago Cubs. Can't blame the guy to go with the White Sox after the off-season deals, I know he was expecting more from Jeff Samardzija -- Plus the Cubs teaming up Theo Epstein & Joe Madden definitely caused some excitement, Cubs could pay dividends for Doug here. Just like most of us, Doug hurt most with A.L. picks, picking disappointing Seattle as well -- He also picked the Blue Jays to win the A.L. East, actually 3 guys from my guest panel picked the Jays to win the division. No one picked the New York Yankees to make playoffs.

Samardzija: One of plenty of White Sox finding themselves possibly in new uniforms, soon.

Dan Velderrain - Once again, Dan also picked (like many of us) the Nationals, Cardinals & Dodgers for division champions in the National League. He also picked Mike Trout to win A.L. MVP, which surprisingly only 2 of us picked him to win the pick (I was the other, but I briefly picked Miguel Cabrera & quickly changed it before releasing our picks). Jose Abreu actually got the most love by our panel (3 picks for Abreu to win A.L. MVP).

Where Dan was wrong: One of 4 panelists to pick the Detroit Tigers to win A.L. Central, can't blame him, I went with them due to the fact that they won 4 consecutive division titles. He also was one of 3 panelists to pick the Baltimore Orioles to reach playoffs (while the other two people picked the O's to win their the A.L. East). Dan's worst pick may not be that of a team, but picking Matt Kemp to win the N.L. MVP for the Padres this season. Dan could get redemption though, if his pick of the Washington Nationals over the Los Angeles Angels comes true -- but knowing how he loves his Angels, I think he would love to see it happen the other way around.


Where WE ALL WENT WRONG: Not giving the Kansas City Royals any respect, no one had them reaching the playoffs -- I should have stuck with my hunch, but went with the press. 

My 3 choices for biggest disappointments

1. DETROIT TIGERS

2. SEATTLE MARINERS

3. CLEVELAND INDIANS

My 3 choices for biggest surprises

1. NEW YORK YANKEES

2. MINNESOTA TWINS

3. HOUSTON ASTROS

My UPDATED pick for the World Series?

I want to pick the Kansas City Royals over the Los Angeles Dodgers, but I am going with the Kansas City Royals over the St. Louis Cardinals, in 6 games.

MLB Predictions by APBA Friends

Shields will make an impact on at least one team.

Every year, I usually do my MLB Preview with an in-depth look at all of the teams. I decided to take it a little easy, do a brief preview with my picks.

Along with my predictions, I have asked some of my APBA brothers, their predictions for the 2015 MLB Season.

Along for the ride, we have...

• My little brother Christopher Baier, who is a league owner in my Boys of Summer APBA Baseball League, managing the San Diego Heroes. Chris also made a good run with the 2006 Detroit Tigers at the recent Greater Michigan APBA Baseball Tournament (GMABT) in Jackson, MI -- losing in the championship game to the 1937 Yankees.

• John "Stray" Corrado - Commissioner of the Mid-West Baseball League (MWBL) & the Mid-West Winter League (MWWL). Finally had the privilege of meeting Stray, in Jackson. Stray, also is a member of the Boys of Summer APBA Baseball League -- managing the Chicago Nine.

• Kenneth Heard - A Northeast Arkansas bureau reporter for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; He also heads an excellent blog "Love, Life and APBA Baseball" that helped inspire me in to creating this blog. Kenneth has done numerous APBA season replays & is currently replaying the 1950 MLB Season; Kenneth is a fan of the St.Louis Cardinals & Minnesota Twins.

• Ken Schultz - Finally met Ken at the GMABT in Jackson. He will be heading his first APBA Baseball Tournament in Pittsburgh -- The Steel City APBA Baseball Tournament.

• Doug Schuyler - One of my first friends through the APBA Baseball Facebook Group; co-created the Chicagoland APBA World Series Baseball Tournament with Jim Saska. The Tournament has a Summer & Winter edition & has helped inspire other tournaments, that are starting to spring up across the country.

• Dan Velderrain - A team owner of the Saddleback Sharks in the SABL -- A cards league of about 15 owners in the Southern Calif/Orange County area -- where Dan is a Sheriff during his non-APBA time. Dan also has contributed a APBA fan favorite in his March Madness APBA Baseball Tournament, using all World Series winners, and happens to have an amazing collection of APBA cards.

Before I get to their picks, I'm going to do a quick over on my picks. In so many ways, I wanted to pick Baltimore Orioles to win their division, it's sad that no matter how much Baltimore has proved everyone and their mother wrong the last few years, when it comes to predictions time no one is a believer. Overall, I am a believer -- probably more than most people... but it seems like the Boston Red Sox every few years makes a serious run, and I believe it's that time again. By the way, people freaked out on the lack of moves Baltimore made this off-season, but you have to count in the fact that they are adding Manny Machado, Chris Davis & Matt Wieters -- three guys that they have had, but had no impact on their division title last year, a division they ran away with... plus they have one of the best managers in the game in Buck Showalter. Buck knows how to win, simple as that!

I'm picking the Detroit Tigers to win their division for the 5th year in a row; Sure, the Chicago White Sox made new improvements & the Cleveland Indians had the best pitching in the 2nd half of last season to indicate they might be ready to take the division away from Detroit. The Kansas City Royals, like Baltimore, is not getting any love in the preview issues -- they need to have their offensive players be more consistent, they can't afford a slow start, if they get off to a great start than they might be for real. Their rotation will hurt a bit without James Shields, but I think the staff has learned a lot from his brief time there... they have youth in Yordana Ventura & Danny Duffy.

The Seattle Mariners came so close to stealing that last wildcard spot away from a sliding Oakland Athletics last season, then made some big splashes in the off-season, one of them by acquiring free agent Nelson Cruz. I feel pretty confident that Seattle is going places this season.

The N.L. Central & N.L. West races will definitely be closer than in the East. You will see below that everyone & you will see that the magazines all have Washington Nationals winning their division -- but that's not to say that the Atlanta Braves, Miami Marlins & New York Mets won't be interesting.

I think James Shields with San Diego will be great for both, and hopefully for me, since I have Shields on my fantasy team -- it'll also be interesting to see his absence from K.C. as well.

I have the Nationals going all the way over the Mariners, most critics are picking Washington due to that sick rotation that opponents will have to deal with.

Here are the picks from everyone below....

There seems to be many common themes, Felix Hernandez & Chris Sale seems to be the A.L. picks for American League Cy Young, while the N.L. Cy Young race has more variety. Andrew McCutchen gets 4 picks (out of 7) for National League MVP.

The Washington Nationals got the most love from us, with 3 picks for World Champs, the Los Angeles Dodgers were next with 2 titles, one WS loss -- The Angels get picked to go to the World Series from this group, but no one picked them to win it all.

On Deck in April

Plenty to come in the wonderful Month of April...

• Boys of Summer APBA Baseball League News -- Wildcard races & a division race comes down to the last days.
• News on the Twin Cities APBA Baseball Tournament.
• MLB Predictions by some recognizable faces from the APBA Facebook Group.
• A post on custom-made APBA Stadiums.
• News on my joining of the No Expansion Professional League (NXPL) - APBA Baseball League, 16 franchises with no expansion. 

Now if the weather can catch up to the month, that would be great!)

The A.L. Central - MLB Off-Season (So Far...)

Lorenzo Cain & the Royals, ready to that next step?

A.L. Central

At the end of last season, with Detroit getting knocked off in the first-round (as expected) and the Kansas City Royals moving on to the World Series, I made a statement of some sort that the torch has been passed in the A.L. Central (from Detroit to Kansas City) -- not really sure about that at the moment, and to be honest not sure who's division it actually belongs to. In writing and for the record books, the Detroit Tigers are the defending A.L. Central Division Champions, then again the Royals are the defending American League Champions.

The Royals finally made that jump to the playoffs last season, and once they did -- what an exciting team to watch in the post-season, personally it was one of the more exciting playoff runs that I have seen in some time; Royal fans should be excited & they need to stay excited and show off their Royal blue in the stands all year around (something that was legitimately questioned by Manager Ned Yost). With a constant heavy attendance, these players who play off momentum should keep their winning ways. The team has not made any major additions this off-season to this point, and really are not expected to -- they kept Luke Hochevar by signing him to a two-year deal; Hochevar excelled in his relief role in 2013 with a 5-2 record, 1.92 ERA & 82 K's in 70.1 innings -- but missed all of 2014 due to injuries. Traded Aaron Crow to Miami in exchange for pitchers Brian Flynn and Reid Redman. Baseball analysts believe that Lorenzo Cain is ready to make that next step & that he is starting to realize his power potential, as Cain showed off his excellent skills in the post-season. The Royals are not expected to pursue resigning free agent pitcher James Shields, expect them to go cheaper routes, going to the bargain bin for a starter or two. Moving Brandon Finnegan to the rotation I believe will be a mistake possibly, like his stuff in the bullpen; if they do send him to rotation, he will have to get used to starting again with plenty of work in the minors, it was truly amazing to watch him go from College World Series to the MLB World Series in the same year! The team still has the best bullpen in the Majors, Crow was the only departure & Hochevar rejoins it. I believe K.C. will be in the playoff contention mix once again, their chances of winning the division for the first time since 1985, depends on the Tigers resigning Scherzer or not.

How much of a difference a hop to another paragraph makes, sorry K.C. fans, but I still believe the Detroit Tigers own the division after today's flurry of deals. Now let me make the record show that I don't really love or like the idea of trading a starting pitcher for a corner outfielder usually, the reason that the Tigers did trade Rick Porcello to Boston in exchange for Yoenis Cespedes, is due to the fact that Porcello's salary was going to be hiked up through arbitration -- and that it will help the team in its quest for resigning Max Scherzer, which will likely be in the ballpark of $200 million; Plus you add a big bat like Cespedes (even though his OBP can be frustrating). The Tigers took care of their void left by Porcello, in acquiring Alfredo Simon from the Reds -- which YES, did cost another first rounder being traded away from our organization in Jonathon Crawford; Crawford was traded along with Eugenio Suarez to the Reds. The Tigers in recent years, have now traded first-round picks in Porcello, Jacob Turner & Crawford. We added Shane Greene from that three-way deal with the New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Tigers rotation at the moment appears to be:

1) David Price

2) Justin Verlander

3) Anibal Sanchez

4) Alfredo Simon

5) Shane Greene

If the Tigers are able to resign Max Scherzer, the Tigers will still have the best rotation in baseball, even if they don't they still have a good rotation (most teams would not scoff at having such a rotation).

The Tigers' rotation - IF they resigned Max Scherzer, appears as this:

1) Max Scherzer

2) David Price

3) Justin Verlander

4) Anibal Sanchez

5) Shane Greene

Scherzer: To sign or not to sign? That is the question.

Max signing the biggest contract for a pitcher, will also be awarded the ace slot, David Price would be great as the second slot, while Justin Verlander regains his confidence facing off against other #3 starters (or lower rotation pitchers). Anibal Sanchez is used to be in the 3rd/4th slot at this point. Greene over Simon, for a few reasons, Dave Dombrowski planned to put Greene in rotation & Simon out of the two would be a more valuable weapon coming out of the bullpen as a long reliever (using him a couple innings at a time) -- not really sure Greene would be able to come out of pen. Of course, Simon loved being a starter for the Reds. It's still early in the off-season, maybe now that we have Simon, we ship Greene off somewhere -- maybe get backups in places like at catcher, more SS depth in case Jose Iglesias gets hurt again.

The White Sox before this past week at the Winter Meetings, I had them at 4th place (at best). After all their recent moves? Possibly as good as second! This division has went from the weakest to possibly the best division in the A.L. -- it's close with the West, the East has meanwhile plummeted. The White Sox added Adam LaRoche, David Robertson (a closer), and Jeff Samardzija to their rotation; A rotation that includes Chris Sale, Jose Quintana, and prospect Carlos Rodon -- Rodon is going to be a beast! Plus you get LaRoche to help protect Jose Abreu in the order, plus it will be another big plus if Avisail Garcia breaks out. It appears at the time of this post, they also signed Melky Cabrera, Kansas City inks one-year deal with Alex Rios.

A week ago, I had Cleveland in the mix for second, they had no major losses, and their starting rotation was the 2nd best in the entire American League that had a bad defense behind them -- that is why Corey Kluber won the A.L. Cy Young people, he had a bad defense behind him, in a hitter's park compared to Felix Hernandez's advantage of a pitcher's park. Kluber earned it fair & square, I loved watching this guy pitch, but was not thrilled when the Tigers had to play him. Trevor Bauer looks like he's turning that corner, and can be counted on as a solid rotation arm for the tribe. Carlos Carrasco and a bounced-back Danny Salazar will be a formidable pair, while 5th slot is manned down by T.J. House. The team acquired Brandon Moss in a trade from Oakland, at this point, he has been their only real addition.

Minnesota will likely be in last place, but they have a interesting mix of arms in Phil Hughes, Ricky Nolasco (if he bounces back from horrific 2014), and new addition in free agent signee Ervin Santana. The team had setbacks in their future stars Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano (due to untimely injuries), they did learn more about their team along the way, plus a strong rookie year from Danny Santana. Torii Hunter returns to Minnesota, to possible finish his career, he will be a huge mentor to the young Twinkies on the roster. HOF'er Paul Molitor takes over for Rod Gardenhire.

A.L. West is on deck...

The A.L. East - MLB Off-Season (So Far...)

The Buck doesn't stop here, why the O's are not worried.

A.L. East

The Baltimore Orioles have been quiet, and I'm sure there is some Baltimore Orioles fans freaking out right now. I know some of the guys on the MLB Network have also brought attention to the fact that their front office has been quiet. They lost Nelson Cruz to a four-year deal in Seattle, Nick Markakis on a deal to Atlanta, and relief pitcher Andrew Miller to the division rival Yankees. The fact of the matter is that the fans really should not be worrying, the fact is sometimes we have to let fan favorites go elsewhere to continue clubhouse operations -- at the end of the day, it does come down to business. Let's not forget that they had plenty of injuries, and had players miss significant time in Matt Wieters, Manny Machado, Chris Davis (missed time due to PED suspension), Nate McLouth, with others -- Having those big 3 bats in Wieters, Machado & Davis will help soften the blow of losing Cruz. Baltimore is really not hurting here, I think they are being smart, they still have a great bullpen despite Miller leaving to New York, while Markakis' offense has slowly been diminishing over the years. They also still have the best defensive fielding team, and a underrated rotation under a really good manager in Buck Showalter.

The Boston Red Sox made two big splashes in Pablo Sandoval & Hanley Ramirez. The Red Sox have become the American League version of the Giants, the every-other year team, I want to say it's their time to strike again, because like the Giants they always find that aura or mystique that drives them. Boston is still vulnerable though (or at least at this moment), they now have an abundance of outfielders, but need starting pitching. They resigned Koji Uehara which is good, and they still have a great bullpen. I feel they should trade some outfield, some prospects to Philadelphia and land Cole Hamels, he would be perfect in that rotation. If they sign Lester on top of a Hamels deal, then watch out for Boston -- but I expect Jon Lester to sign with the Chicago Cubs. I will say it's scary to think that the Red Sox have the two biggest clutch players in recent post-season history in David Ortiz & Sandoval.

In the past, the Toronto Blue Jays sometimes would have me scratching my head. The fact that they tried the exact plan that Miami did with the same players basically in Jose Reyes & Mark Buehrle, and added R.A. Dickey & Melky Cabrera, only for it to blow up in their face in 2013. They even got their old manager in John Gibbons back (another head-scratching move). Then in 2014, it appeared that the team was finally serious in contending last season, as they were competitive for the most part -- they hit some rough patches in second half. Then came this off-season, and suddenly, a surprising & shocking deal that actually favored Toronto; Toronto lands Oakland's stud Josh Donaldson for 4 prospects, a couple days later they trade J.A. Happ to Seattle and land outfield Michael Saunders. About a week or so, before landing Donaldson, Toronto made another steal in acquiring Devon Travis (the Tigers' second baseman of the future) for Anthony Gose, who has speed & defense, but after that, he is just a guy that has a career .633 OPS!

The Tampa Bay Rays are in trouble, the two men that have been keeping the ship cruising, Andrew Friedman (GM) & Joe Maddon (MGR) have jumped ship. It will never be better, I truly believe this, their fans don't show their support. I do think they made the right move in hiring Kevin Cash as manager to take over the franchise, a local Tampa Bay product, and yet another former MLB catcher, which has been proven to work. Looking forward to see if Drew Smyly can keep moving upward, he will certainly get some interesting looks in Fantasy Baseball leagues in 2015. Plus will Wil Myers rebound from last season?

The New York Yankees are not the same franchise when George Steinbrenner was alive -- His sons, suddenly spend money as if they are the Pittsburgh Pirates; All the while the Boston Red Sox have took over as the "Evil Empire" (Yes, Boston -- don't be hypocrites!). Sure the Yankees signed Jacoby Ellsbury & Brian McCann last year. Some insiders feel McCann was already declining before the deal & his numbers from 2012-2014 hint at that, consider the fact he didn't bat higher than .256 during this three-year stretch, and that he is currently (three-year dip included) a .270 career hitter; Had his worst OPS (.692) in his entire MLB career. I had McCann for my Crusaders in the Mid-West Baseball League & traded him, thinking the same thing, plus I had a younger Yan Gomes in the wings to take over. Ellsbury's 2013 season may be his best since 2011, but he had better slugging, more HR (16 to 9) and 17 more RBI to finish with 70 ribbies. Signing 37 year-old Carlos Beltran for a three-year, $45 million deal was a bit too much -- heck, they could have went for a one-year deal with Nelson Cruz, now that I think about it. Beltran's season was so bad that he had only 49 RBI, while he also had the worst OPS (.703) of his career, 127 points lower than the previous season. The Yankees thought they were doing cost-effective salaries around these big signings in Kelly Johnson, Lyle Overbay & Scott Sizemore, but it blew up in their face -- they also had chances to get a strong infielder in Omar Infante (losing out to KC). Not sure why they let David Robertson basically just walk, it would have been great to keep him with the addition of new signing Andrew Miller (a great signing, by the way), plus the emergence of Dellin Betances. I don't think they have a chance to compete with the emergence of Baltimore (in recent years) & Toronto, plus Boston -- then again, there is always Max Scherzer.

I believe the A.L. East is a three-team race between Boston, Baltimore & Toronto, Toronto at best a wild-card. I want to lean towards Baltimore, Jonathan Schoop is only going to get better, the team has faced adversity with injuries & changing closers in the middle of the season -- they are now battle-tested, won a playoff series against a team that went to three consecutive A.L. Championships (Tigers).

2014 MLB Predictions at a Glance

Can Bryce Harper get the Nats back in the right direction?

A More in-depth analysis of my predictions, will be out early this upcoming week. Here is my picks, and playoff predictions.

A.L. EAST
1.     BOSTON
2.     NEW YORK (A)
3.     TAMPA BAY
4.     BALTIMORE
5.     TORONTO

A.L. CENTRAL
1.     DETROIT
2.     KANSAS CITY
3.     CLEVELAND
4.     MINNESOTA
5.     CHICAGO (A)

A.L. WEST
1.     OAKLAND
2.     TEXAS
3.     SEATTLE
4.     LOS ANGELES (A)
5.     HOUSTON

N.L. EAST
1.     WASHINGTON
2.     ATLANTA
3.     NEW YORK (N)
4.     MIAMI
5.     PHILADELPHIA

N.L. CENTRAL
1.     ST.LOUIS
2.     PITTSBURGH
3.     CINCINNATI
4.     MILWAUKEE
5.     CHICAGO (N)

N.L. WEST
1.     LOS ANGELES (N)
2.     SAN FRANCISCO
3.     SAN DIEGO
4.     ARIZONA
5.     COLORADO

A.L. Wild-Card Game @ NY
NEW YORK (A)
over
TEXAS

N.L. Wild-Card Game @ PIT
PITTSBURGH
over
ATLANTA

A.L.D.S.
BOSTON over NEW YORK (A)     3-2
OAKLAND over DETROIT     3-2

N.L.D.S.
ST. LOUIS over PITTSBURGH     3-1
LOS ANGELES (N) over WASHINGTON     3-2

AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
OAKLAND over BOSTON, 4-3

NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
LOS ANGELES (N) over St. LOUIS, 4-2

The 2014 WORLD SERIES
LOS ANGELES
defeats
OAKLAND, 4-1!

(Even though my gut feeling wants to pick Oakland over St.Louis, 4-3)

A.L. MVP - Miguel Cabrera (DET)
A.L. Cy Young Award- Justin Verlander (DET)
A.L. Rookie of the Year - Xander Bogaerts (BOS)
A.L. Manager of the Year - Bob Melvin (OAK)

N.L. MVP - Hanley Ramirez (LAD)
N.L. Cy Young Award- Clayton Kershaw (LAD)
N.L. Rookie of the Year - Oscar Taveras (STL)
N.L. Manager of the Year - Mike Matheny (STL)