2014 MLB Predictions

It is that time of year again.  Where I go out on a limb and embarrass myself with my spring training baseball predictions.  Last year I had the Red Sox finishing last in their division so take these picks with some Morton Salt.

AL East

1. Tampa Bay

2. Boston

3. Toronto

4. New York

5. Baltimore

Joe Maddon is quite possibly the games best manager.  How else can you explain how he keeps getting the Rays to the post season?  They still have a really good and young pitching staff and just enough offense to score enough to win most days. I am still not sure how the Red Sox won last year. Who saw Jon Lackey having a bounce back year?  Anyway, while I don’t blame them for not re-signing Elsbury his loss will still hurt.  Still I think they can still make a wild card. The Blue Jays totally flamed out last year.  But, I still like a lot of the parts of this ballclub.  If they can put it together maybe they challenge for the playoffs.  I know I may wind up with egg on my face but on paper I do not see how the Yankees win this year.  An aging roster with a thin pitching staff is never a good combo.  They better hope Tanaka is the real deal or they will be in real trouble.  The Orioles are not a bad ball club. It’s just that someone has to finish last in the east.  They still may very well contend if they get the kind of starting pitching they got in 2012.

AL Central

1. Cleveland

2. Detroit

3. Kansas City

4. Chicago

5. Minnesota

Last year the Indians made a run and snuck into the play in game.  I like their everyday lineup.  The pitching does give me some hesitation but I think they make a deal mid-season and shore things up.  The Tigers are the favorites and would not surprise me if they win the central again.  But, with that said there is just something about this team that does not sit right.  I think they will miss Leyland more than people think.  The Royals are really intriguing and I almost picked them to make the playoffs.  In the end they may be a bat short but if some of that talent they have blossoms they will challenge this season.  The White Sox made some improvements but still have a long way to go.  It’s hard not to love Chris Sale but after that pitching gets real thin.  The Twins are still re-building.  They will get there as their system is getting restocked.  Look out in a year or two.

AL West

1. Texas

2. Oakland

3. Anaheim

4. Seattle

5. Houston

The Rangers have a loaded lineup.  The question is the pitching staff.  I think they have enough to eek out the division despite Ron Washington doing all he can to screw it up for them.  How the A’s keep winning 90+ games every year is hard to figure out.  On paper they are nothing special.  Sure some nice arms but they keep getting production from unlikely sources.  It is scary to think what Billy Beane would do if he had a payroll. The Angels are a mess.  This team is the perfect example of how you just can’t buy a championship.  Mike Trout is a stud but Pujos is looking washed up and so is Hamilton. The Mariners gave an ungodly amount of money to Robinson Cano.  I still don’t know why. I mean yes he is a good ballplayer but he is getting older and it is very rare a contract that big ever works out.  The Astros are also building a good farm system.  The fruits of their labor are still a ways off.  It will be a nice year if they don’t lose 100 games again.

NL East

1. Washington

2. Atlanta

3.Miami

4. Philadelphia

5. New York

The Nationals rested a bit too much on their laurels last season thinking the post season was going to be granted to them.  They got off to a bad start and then wound up missing the playoffs.  I do not see that happening again.  Deep pitching staff and a steady lineup should return them to the playoffs.  The Braves seem to have a black cloud over them already with the injuries to three of their five starting pitchers.  It will make things tough to start the season.  But if they can tread water they might make a wild card.  The Marlins are young but there is some talent on this roster.  Jose Fernandez is a stud young pitcher.  They will be an interesting team to watch this year.  The Phillies had a good run but age has caught up to them.  They are long in the tooth at a number of positions with aging stars whose best years are in the rear view mirror.  Things could get ugly in Philly.  The Mets are a mess. When Bartolo Colon is your opening day starter you have problems.  Then they give Curtis Granderson a big free agent contract?  I do not understand this organization. 

NL Central

1. St. Louis

2. Cincinnati

3. Pittsburgh

4. Milwaukee

5. Chicago

The Cardinals should win this one going away.  Yes, the roster took some hits but they always have this annoying way of having someone in reserves to take the departed players place.  I mean Matt Carpenter, really?  The Reds don’t have Dusty to screw things up and that is a good thing.  But, I wonder if the window is starting to close on them.  They should still challenge for a wild card however.  I am still not sold on the Pirates.  I realize they won over 90 games and went to the post season.  I am not saying they were lucky but if you are into run differential and stats like that they were very fortunate.  I don’t see that happening two years in a row.  The Brewers are quickly replacing St. Louis as the most annoying team in baseball, and that should not be.  This team was irrelevant for twenty years as they were mired in mediocrity.  But the bandwagon got loaded up when roid head Braun started hitting home runs and the team started to have some success.  Those days may be in the rear view mirror as the pool is starting to run dry.  Enjoy the maddening inconsistency of Matt Garza. Tums are in available at Walgreens trust me you will need them.  The Cubs are going to be bad this year again.  I know this. But, the talent is coming.  I know prospects are suspects but the abundance we have can’t all be busts, can they?  I think the light is there at the end of the tunnel.  Sadly, 2014 is going to be hard to watch. 

NL West

1. Los Angeles

2. San Diego      

3. San Francisco               

4. Arizona

5. Colorado

The Dodgers are clearly the class of the west and the best team money can buy.  I can’t say I really like how they go about their business but they want to win and you have to respect that. I think the Padres could be a sleeper team this year.  They don’t have a lot of household names but what they do have is talented young players who might be ready to compete.  The Giants are hard to get a gage on.  The pitching should be a strength.  And if Lincecum can at least approach what he once was look out.  I worry about how many runs they will score.  But this is a team that has won two World Series in the last four years so I won’t ever count them out.  The Diamondbacks look to me at least like a team that is going to take a step back. Already injuries are creeping in.  They have some parts but the sum of their whole is lacking.  The Rockies have two great players in Tulo and CarGo.  After that it gets thin.  Their pitching staff is how can I put this nicely, not very good.  And when LaTroy Hawkins is slated to be your closer you are in trouble, trust me.   

AL Postseason

Detroit over Boston

Detroit over Tampa

Texas over Cleveland

Texas over Detroit

NL Postseason

San Francisco over San Diego

Los Angeles over Washington

St. Louis over San Francisco

Los Angeles over St. Louis

World Series

Los Angeles over Texas