As the calendar turns to October, it is time to get ready for the Major League Baseball playoffs. My preseason prediction of a Nationals-Mariners World Series was quite a bit off, as neither team qualified for the postseason. Before I get into my predictions, I will rank the ten teams in order of who I want to win it all:
1. Yankees My favorite team. They haven't played well the last week or so, here's hoping they can turn it around.
2. Pirates Haven't been to the World Series since 1979.
3. Royals They came agonizingly close to a championship last year; losing Game Seven of the World Series by a run with the tying runner stranded on third base.
4. Cubs Maybe they are finally due to win their first World Series since 1908. Also, this would make one 2015 prediction from Back to the Future Part 2 come true.
5. Dodgers Nice to see a strong pitching team do well
6. Mets Even though they are the cross-town rivals of the Yankees, they are an young, exciting team.
7. Astros Had a breakthrough season after several terrible years.
8. Blue Jays Great pitching staff, nice to see a team not afraid to make some trades to improve.
9. Rangers Honestly, I don't have much feeling one way or the other about them.
10. Cardinals I never liked this team, going back to the days when Tony LaRussa was manager.
Here are my actual predictions:
American League
Wild Card Game: Yankees over Astros
Division Series: Royals over Yankees in four; Blue Jays over Rangers in four
ALCS: Blue Jays over Royals in seven
National League
Wild Card Game: Pirates over Cubs
Division Series: Pirates over Cardinals in five; Dodgers over Mets in four
NLCS: Dodgers over Pirates in six
World Series: Blue Jays over Dodgers in seven
Sunday, October 4, 2015
Friday, April 3, 2015
2015 Baseball Predictions
It's that time of year again - Opening Day is right around the corner. Hard to believe that it's been five months since the World Series and the Royals' exciting run that came up just short. As per tradition, I will now make my predictions.
American League East
1. Red Sox
2. Blue Jays (WC)
3. Orioles
4. Rays
5. Yankees
American League Central
1. Tigers
2. White Sox (WC)
3. Royals
4. Indians
5. Twins
American League West
1. Mariners
2. Athletics
3. Angels
4. Rangers
5. Astros
National League East
1. Nationals
2. Mets
3. Marlins
4. Braves
5. Phillies
National League Central
1. Pirates
2. Cardinals (WC)
3. Cubs
4. Brewers
5. Reds
National League West
1. Dodgers
2. Padres (WC)
3. Giants
4. Diamondbacks
5. Rockies
Post-Season
AL Wild card: Blue Jays over White Sox
ALDS: Red Sox over Blue Jays, 3-1
ALDS: Mariners over Tigers, 3-0
ALCS: Mariners over Red Sox, 4-1
NL Wild Card: Padres over Cardinals
NLDS: Nationals over Padres, 3-2
NLDS: Pirates over Dodgers, 3-1
NLCS: Nationals over Pirates, 4-3
World Series: Nationals over Mariners, 4-2
Awards
AL MVP: Mike Trout
AL Cy Young: Felix Hernandez
AL ROY: Rusney Castillo
NL MVP: Andrew McCutchen
NL Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw
NL ROY: Kris Bryant
Notes
The Nationals will have the best overall record in MLB, with 101 wins.
Worst overall record will be th eTwins, with 99 losses.
The Yankees will finish in last place in the East. (As a fan, it pains me, but there are way too many "if's" on that team).
American League East
1. Red Sox
2. Blue Jays (WC)
3. Orioles
4. Rays
5. Yankees
American League Central
1. Tigers
2. White Sox (WC)
3. Royals
4. Indians
5. Twins
American League West
1. Mariners
2. Athletics
3. Angels
4. Rangers
5. Astros
National League East
1. Nationals
2. Mets
3. Marlins
4. Braves
5. Phillies
National League Central
1. Pirates
2. Cardinals (WC)
3. Cubs
4. Brewers
5. Reds
National League West
1. Dodgers
2. Padres (WC)
3. Giants
4. Diamondbacks
5. Rockies
Post-Season
AL Wild card: Blue Jays over White Sox
ALDS: Red Sox over Blue Jays, 3-1
ALDS: Mariners over Tigers, 3-0
ALCS: Mariners over Red Sox, 4-1
NL Wild Card: Padres over Cardinals
NLDS: Nationals over Padres, 3-2
NLDS: Pirates over Dodgers, 3-1
NLCS: Nationals over Pirates, 4-3
World Series: Nationals over Mariners, 4-2
Awards
AL MVP: Mike Trout
AL Cy Young: Felix Hernandez
AL ROY: Rusney Castillo
NL MVP: Andrew McCutchen
NL Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw
NL ROY: Kris Bryant
Notes
The Nationals will have the best overall record in MLB, with 101 wins.
Worst overall record will be th eTwins, with 99 losses.
The Yankees will finish in last place in the East. (As a fan, it pains me, but there are way too many "if's" on that team).
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
All Aboard!
Recently, my son's Cub Scout Pack had a sleepover on the U.S.S. New Jersey, a battleship that is now permanently docked in Camden, N.J. It was held from Friday night until Saturday morning, and included a tour of the various parts of the ship, and the chance to eat and sleep where the sailors did.
It was snowing when we arrived, so our Friday activities were restricted to the inside portions of the tour. The highlight was the room where the missiles were launched. Obviously, all of the computers and other devices are no longer operational, but the kids were able to sit there and pretend to shoot. Needless to say, they enjoyed this quite a bit. We also saw where the captain slept, the mess hall, the infirmary, and a lot of machinery.
Friday dinner and Saturday breakfast were held in the mess hall where the sailors ate. The food was surprisingly good. Dinner was chicken and macaroni and cheese. As an added bonus, since it was a Friday during Lent, many people didn't want to eat the chicken, so us Protestants got to eat more.
Sleeping was on actual bunks. They were triple bunks, so it was a bit claustrophobic. The distance from my face to the bottom of the bunk above me was only about eight inches. It made tossing and turning a bit difficult. That, combined with a rather firm mattress, limited me to about two hours sleep. Fortunately, my son had no such issues and slept all through the night with no problem.
On Saturday morning, the weather was clear (but cold), so we got to tour the decks of the ship. As an added bonus, one of our Pack leaders served in the Navy for four years, and he was able to give us a lot more information about life onboard a Navy ship.
Overall, it was a very interesting and enlightening experience. I'm very glad that we took advantage of the opportunity to do it.
It was snowing when we arrived, so our Friday activities were restricted to the inside portions of the tour. The highlight was the room where the missiles were launched. Obviously, all of the computers and other devices are no longer operational, but the kids were able to sit there and pretend to shoot. Needless to say, they enjoyed this quite a bit. We also saw where the captain slept, the mess hall, the infirmary, and a lot of machinery.
Friday dinner and Saturday breakfast were held in the mess hall where the sailors ate. The food was surprisingly good. Dinner was chicken and macaroni and cheese. As an added bonus, since it was a Friday during Lent, many people didn't want to eat the chicken, so us Protestants got to eat more.
Sleeping was on actual bunks. They were triple bunks, so it was a bit claustrophobic. The distance from my face to the bottom of the bunk above me was only about eight inches. It made tossing and turning a bit difficult. That, combined with a rather firm mattress, limited me to about two hours sleep. Fortunately, my son had no such issues and slept all through the night with no problem.
On Saturday morning, the weather was clear (but cold), so we got to tour the decks of the ship. As an added bonus, one of our Pack leaders served in the Navy for four years, and he was able to give us a lot more information about life onboard a Navy ship.
Overall, it was a very interesting and enlightening experience. I'm very glad that we took advantage of the opportunity to do it.
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