College and MLB Baseball Season Preview

Because of the countdown on likable athletes I was doing I was a little late on my college baseball preview. Late is better than never though and it will be included in this post along with the MLB season preview. Since, the college baseball season is underway, it will include some information from the first month of the season.

College Baseball

We will start with the Seminoles since they are the main focus of this blog. FSU has had a decent start to the season and is ranked by every major year. This is predicted to be a down year by FSU standards with most rankings having FSU around 20. That prediction means FSU will likely have a 2 seed heading into regional play. I would say that prediction is likely accurate based on what I have seen so far. The Noles have lost a lot of talent and it doesn't appear likely they will deliver that elusive title for #11. An early season loss to Jacksonville does not convince me otherwise. The losses to Georgia don't make me feel any better. However, they did win one game 24-1 against USF so there is some hope. FSU losses by the Super Regionals this year though I am afraid.

Since I do not like to pick repeat winners, I will not be picking Vanderbilt to win in college. Instead, I will be picking the LSU Tigers (who look like the best team anyway). These guys will be the most complete team and likely will get the job done. Expect Virginia and Vanderbilt to be among the top teams in Omaha with them. It kills me that the Gators and Canes will likely have better teams than the Noles this year, but at least neither should win their conference. Virginia should win the ACC and either Vanderbilt or LSU should win the SEC. It should be a heck of a college baseball season.

MLB Predictions

Now, on to the professional circuit. These predictions will be a little more in depth. I will pick all the playoff teams and the overall winner.

AL East Champ: Baltimore Orioles
AL Central Champ: Kansas City Royals
AL West Champ: Seattle Mariners
Wild Card 1: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Wild Card 2: Boston Red Sox

The most exciting race by far should be the AL West because there are three teams that are absolutely loaded. However, I believe that the small additions to their lineup put Seattle over the top. Seattle is a team that just missed last year and they have a top 2 as good as anyone in the rotation. Nobody questions the pitching that Seattle has and the lineup is coming around. Those guys can't do any better at loading up this lineup. The addition of Nelson Cruz along with that pitching makes this team a serious postseason threat. For some reason, Nelson Cruz is lights out in the playoffs. That guy will deliver some serious goods for the Mariners in the playoffs. They will win the American League period with him complementing Robinson Cano and that brilliant rotation.
The Angels just miss the AL West and capture the Wild Card advancing to the division and perhaps even the championship series. Oakland will not be a player in these playoffs in my opinion. They don't have the talent, but you have heard that about them before.
Another exciting race will be the American League East which comes down to three teams IMO. Those teams will be Baltimore, Boston, and Toronto. Each is a legit threat to the WS crown and not just the AL East Crown. Baltimore is the surest thing because we now how that team operates and Buck gets the job done. I would obviously love to see Baltimore take home the hardware. However, Boston and Toronto each made brilliant offseason moves and cannot be taken lightly. The Rays went full tank mode this offseason though so they will be murdered in this brilliant AL East. A lot of Baltimore's hopes lie in the health of their superstars Matt Wieters and Manny Machado. If 100% healthy, Baltimore will look to do some serious damage in Major League Baseball this season.
Boston upgraded their offense a tremendous amount and also added Rick Porcello so it is hard to see them with another last place finish. They should be right there with Baltimore and Toronto. The Blue Jays should finally make a push, especially after adding a top 30 player in Josh Donaldson. This should be a very fun race.
I predict that the Tigers will start to fall off after losing two top tier starters and the Royals will fill that void in the Central with all of their young talent.

NL East Champ: Washington Nationals
NL Central Champ: Pittsburgh Pirates
NL West Champ: Los Angeles Dodgers
NL Wild Card 1: Chicago Cubs
NL Wild Card 2: San Diego Padres

Just like the American League, the most exciting National League race will be out West. Even the Diamondbacks are improved and there are four really solid teams out West. The Diamondbacks however are a step behind 3 other clubs in the division. Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco should all be better than Arizona. At least 2 of those 3 will make the playoffs and I wouldn't be surprised if all three did. The Giants are the defending champs and have a ton of talent, but a lot of hope rises on two players. With Panda leaving that puts even more burden on Bumgarner and Posey. As good as that duo is, I have them just out of the playoffs in a loaded NL West. The trades San Diego has made along with the signing of James Shields makes them a legitimate threat. It looks great on paper, but will it work out? That is the million dollar question. There is no doubt though that if healthy and 100% that is the best outfield in baseball. Justin Upton and Matt Kemp together and with Myers, are you kidding me?
The team that traded Matt Kemp will still be the class of the West though. The Dodgers have the best pitcher in the game and the most talent overall. They upgraded a few spots as they added Kendrick and Jimmy Rollins along with some other pieces. The defense that Los Angeles puts on the field should be vastly improved over last year. Pitching and defense is quite important in this game, so that is a good sign. They should be right around where they were.
The NL East should be a cakewalk for the Nationals as they will be the favorites to run through the entire NL. That rotation is the best on paper since the 90s Braves. If a team does compete in the East it will be Miami. All the others are looking at the middle of a rebuild while the Marlins are a team on the rise and Washington is built to win now.
The NL Central is incredibly weak and that lends opportunity to a few teams. Cincinnati will be down and Milwaukee should be as well. St. Louis could easily also be trending down which should make Pittsburgh the favorite. Even though Pittsburgh is the favorite though, look out because he comes Joe Maddon and those Chicago Cubs. Chicago will be much improved and I believe will get a wild card spot.

MLB Playoffs
ALDS: Mariners over Angels
ALDS: Orioles over Royals
ALCS: Mariners over Orioles
NLDS: Dodgers over Padres
NLDS; Nationals over Pirates
NLCS: Dodgers over Nationals

Once the playoffs come around, things should get interesting. Over in the American League I think the pitching of the Seattle Mariners proves to be too much. With King Felix and Iwakuma pitching and that revamped lineup, it will be difficult to beat the Mariners. Don't forget that this team barely missed the playoffs last year and could have easily taken down the Royals and made that run themselves. Add Nelson Cruz to that lineup and a full season of Austin Jackson and this team is the favorites to me. The Orioles and Angels each provide good chances of preventing that from happening as each has an explosive lineup. Baltimore also has really good pitching as well, but it remains to be seen if Wieters and/or Machado can stay healthy throughout the year.
The National League has more contenders for the World Series title than the American League this year I believe. If you look at the NL West, there are 3 strong contenders right there. The Nationals are a threat as are the Marlins and Pirates. Don't be shocked if Chicago gets in the mix too. With that being said, the Dodgers and Nationals should prove to be the class of the National League all year long. These teams have the most talent and are both built to win now. It is time to put up or shut up for these two franchises and I believe that they are headed for a collision course in the NLCS. That NLCS is where I think the Dodgers separate themselves though. LA has the far superior lineup and they have the best pitcher in baseball. Kershaw has a postseason this year like MadBum had last year and proves to be the best there is in the game of baseball. You lose two games to Kershaw and those bats will win two more. Ya the Nationals have the best rotation, but their team can't score against LA's rotation and especially will struggle with Kershaw on the bump. This will set up the dream World Series.

World Series
Mariners over Dodgers

This is the dream World Series matchup for any baseball fan whether they acknowledge it or not. Kershaw vs. King Felix on the biggest stage of them all. The two best pitchers in the game going head to head. I not only would love to see it, I think we will get to see this incredible matchup. In the end, I think Seattle wins this dream matchup because I think Iwakuma will outduel the Dodgers #2 guy. Kershaw will have to beat Felix at least twice to prevent Seattle from being the World Series Champs.

It should be a fun baseball season though.
Go O's and Go Noles!

-Noland

Evil Empire Acquires Ichiro

Well the Orioles lost last night. They got their 6th straight quality start, but the bats went quiet. A very unfortunate game. However, that wasn't the worst news on the night in Baltimore. The New York Yankees added a key piece.

Struggling since they lost Brett Gardner, the Yankees added one of the best players of the past 10 years. They added perhaps the most popular baseball player worldwide. Sure, he is declining and having his worst season, but do you really expect him to not contribute. I mean the Yankees were throwing DeWayne Wise out there with Gardner's injury. Even at his advanced age, Ichiro is a much better option than DeWayne Wise.

We can only hope Ichiro isn't here past this season. That he retires. The last thing the Yankees need on the all star ballot is an international superstar besides Cano. The Yankees also don't need more fans. They don't need millions of Japanese rooting for the team solely because of Ichiro. I just don't like it.

As for this year, it was unlikely that the O's would catch the Yankees. However, they got the deficit down to 6.5 games before the trade was made. The Yankees were struggling without Gardner, and now its not so bad. Ichiro is one of the most consistent players ever. The Yankees don't need someone who has been this good for this long. I have liked to root for Ichiro in the past. I will not anymore, but I hate to say that he doesn't need it. Yankees-Rangers is looking like a strong bet to be the ALCS at this point. However, I thought that before the trade. Gardner is still the better player, but with DeWayne Wise in LF some other teams had a lot more hope than they do now.

It just looks wrong. It sure would have been nice to see Ichiro stay in Seattle.

-Noland

Chris Tillman Just What the Orioles Needed

If you told me to pick a young Orioles starter that would falter before the season, my pick would have been Chris Tillman. I have been close to giving up on Tillman numerous times. The guy has thrown a fastball with no movement and looked like he was done many times. However, he worked his behind off in the offseason and really tried to rediscover that top prospect status he had in 2009. Looks like at least for the meantime, it worked.

Today, Chris Tillman did not give up even a single earned run over 8 1/3 as the Orioles won 4-2. The only runs they gave up were due to errors. Tillman pitched the most brilliant game outside of the shutouts this season. He definitely pitched the most brilliant game outside of Chen and Hammel. The youngster had 7 strikeouts in his dominant performance and actually had movement on his pitches. When it was all said and done, Tillman had 125 pitches as he left his ERA at 0.00. Like I said, the move possibly should have been made a month ago, because Tillman was on fire at AAA and our other young starters have been dreadful. At this point in the season, Tillman is our third best starter behind Hammel and Chen.

After the game, Tillman was optioned to AA Bowie. Before you get upset though it wasn't a bad move. This move was just to keep Tillman on schedule. He will pitch Monday for Bowie, during the all-star break and then come back and pitch the 3rd game after the break. After that Chris Tillman shouldn't be going anywhere unless he completely bombs. Great work by Tillman!

The Orioles are using the all-star break as their chance to get back to a 4 man bench. Replacing Tillman is 1st baseman Joe Mahoney, who is already on the 40 man roster. Mahoney possibly is being showcased for a trade, or maybe it was just that he was next in line. Nobody else really fit that was currently on the 40. Personally, I would have gone with LJ Hoes, but Mahoney has experience in the outfield and he can work out there in right. This also saves another 40 man roster move. Let's see what Mahoney can do before the break.

The Orioles move to 2-0 since Avery was called back up, just sayin'

Adam Jones hit his 20th home run of the season.

This game was against the Mariners. Hey, remember when Steve Phillips said the Mariners won the Bedard trade? Hahahahha. Tillman and Jones torched their old team last night.

-Noland