MAY SPORTS REPORT
WINNERS AND LOSERS 2016 TIME WILL TELL
One thing that I like to do for baseball season is to not rush and make predictions until you’ve seen the teams play for a few weeks. Yeah, it’s not totally accurate but after the preseason dust settles and the rookies are sent back to the minors, real baseball begins at Opening Day. After all, our New York Mets definitely snuck up on the National League the second half of the season! Anyways, here’s my “MLB Predictions AFTER the Starting Gun”
NL EAST: Surprise, surprise, the Washington Nationals have jumped out to the start of the season that everyone expected in 2015. This only proves to show you the difference a solid, veteran leader like Dusty Baker can do for an under-achieving team! The other surprise here is the Philadelphia Phillies good start and the awful start of Mets starter Matt Harvey. The Marlins have a good, young nucleus that should gel as the season goes along while the Atlanta Braves are in rebuilding mode.
NL CENTRAL: Clearly the best division in baseball. What can this division do for an encore after three of its teams made the playoffs last year? Well, the how about the Chicago Cubs ending their 100+ year World Series curse? They have the best pitcher in baseball (Jake Arrieta) and a GM in Theo Epstein who knows a thing or two about ending curses. It also helps that they’re off to a hot start and barring any drastic injuries, they should be playing against the Nationals for the right to represent the NL in the World Series. If not, can the old sages of this group (St. Louis Cardinals) or the yet-to-be ready for primetime Pittsburgh Pirates make a run at them? Maybe knock them off in the playoffs?
NL WEST: This is another interesting division because as of this writing, all teams are bunched together with the last place team only 4 games out. The Los Angeles Dodgers should continue to be at or near the top the rest of the season. As we all know, the San Francisco Giants will retool and play great ball in the 2nd half of the season. The story so far has been Colorado Rocky rookie SS Trevor Story with his early home run and RBI barrage. Can he light the fire for the Rockies to stay in the usually two-horse race? The Arizona Diamondbacks added some pieces this past offseason and will also look to add their “horse” to the race too.
AL EAST: Don’t look now but our New York Yankees look awful as of this writing. Last place? The Yankees? Really? The consensus was that the team to beat here would be the Toronto Blue Jays and they’re hanging in early as are the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays. The Baltimore Orioles have gotten out to the fast start and, considering they’ve been contenders for a couple of years now, maybe this is the year they put it all together. The Orioles and the Jays should be battling it out hard by mid-summer.
AL CENTRAL: As I mentioned in last month’s article, the World Champion Kansas City Royals are primed to contend for the next few years. They have the confidence and swagger now being on top of the baseball world. Can anyone in this division come close? Lots of preseason predictions had the Cleveland Indians to go to war with the Royals and you can never overlook the Detroit Tigers pitching staff. While the Minnesota Twins need a serious remake, the Chicago White Sox have gotten off to a terrific start. Can they hide under the Cubs headlines and quietly have a good season?
AL WEST: Like their counterparts in the National League, the AL West is pretty bunched up at this writing. I don’t think I read any predictions that did NOT have the young Houston Astros winning the division title yet they are in last at this point. While they are clearly under-achieving, it’s way too early to predict anyone here because these teams love wheeling and dealing up to the trade deadline. The whole complexity of the division can and probably will change. Still though, no way you can count out the Astros yet!
LOCALS: By the time you read this the Yankees are still somehow in last place, all hell is going to break loose. Manager Joe Girardi, who I personally like as the manager, has gotten by the past couple of seasons due to injuries but I’m not sure if he can survive another year missing the playoffs. The team isn’t hitting, pitching or fielding very well. The Mets also might be in a bit of trouble if they can’t keep pace with the Nationals though they should win a wild card playoff berth. Next update, the August issue!