Smffff!!! You smell that? Another brand new season of baseball is upon as and I am especially ecstatic to see the game return. Especially, when one considers the absolute albatross of a season that the New York Knicks game this fan over the winter. Seriously, basketball didn't even happen this winter.
Regardless, the days are long again, the weather is getting warmer (thank goodness!), and we're ready for some hardball. As always, here are my fun and crazy predictions (which are usually very wrong) for the 2015 season:
Standings
AL East
Yankees: 91-71
Blue Jays: 90-72
Red Sox: 88-74
Orioles: 79-83
Rays: 70-92
AL Central
Tigers: 95-67
Royals: 90-72
White Sox: 85-77
Indians: 83-79
Twins: 79-83
AL West
Angels: 90-72
Mariners: 89-73
Athletics: 87-75
Rangers: 77-85
Astros: 68-94
NL East
Nationals: 96-66
Mets: 88-74
Marlins: 87-75
Braves: 72-90
Phillies: 69-93
NL Central
Pirates: 91-71
Cardinals: 91-71
Brewers: 85-76
Cubs: 81-81
Reds: 80-83
NL West
Dodgers: 90-72
Padres: 87-75
Giants: 87-75
Diamondbacks: 81-81
Rockies: 75-87
Goals/Awards/Leaders
AL Hitting Leaders
Average: Robinson Cano (.321)
Home Runs: Chris Davis (41)
RBIs: Miguel Cabrera (117)
Stolen Bases: Jose Altuve (51)
NL Hitting Leaders
Average: Buster Posey (.311)
Home Runs: Giancarlo Stanton (41)
RBIs: Paul Goldschmidt (112)
Stolen Bases: Billy Hamilton (61)
AL Pitching Leaders
ERA: Chris Sale (2.19)
Wins: Felix Hernandez (19)
Strikeouts: Chris Sale (243)
Saves: Greg Holland (48)
NL Pitching Leaders
ERA: Clayton Kershaw (2.11)
Wins: Clayton Kershaw (21)
Strikeouts: Clayton Kershaw (252
Saves: Craig Kimbrel (41)
All-Star Game MVP - Matt Kemp
AL Rookie of the Year: Alex Meyer
NL Rookie of the Year: Kris Bryant
AL Comeback Player of the Year: Alex Rodriguez
NL Comeback Player of the Year: Matt Harvey
AL Cy Young Winner: Chris Sale
NL Cy Young Winner: Clayton Kershaw
AL MVP: Mike Trout
NL MVP: Giancarlo Stanton
Over/Under
25 Starts for Masahiro Tanaka - Over. Just too hard for me to believe four doctors, including Tanaka's personal doctor in Japan, are all wrong on the elbow treatment.
300 Strikeouts for Clayton Kershaw - Under. Kershaw is good, but 300K's is tough.
40/40 for Mike Trout - Under. Not this year.
70+ wins for Nationals Rotation - Over. And Zimmerman will lead the way.
20 Home Runs for Alex Rodriguez - Over. Call me crazy, but I believe in the A-Rod. Roids or not, the guy is talented.
200+ Innings for Madison Bumgarner - Under. At some point, the Giants are going to have to give their horse a break.
15 Wins for Matt Harvey - Over. This is the year that catapults Harvey into that next level of super-stardom. He might just be the biggest superstar athlete in New York after the year is over.
40 Home Runs for Giancarlo Stanton - Over. By one at 41.
100 Games Played for Prince Fielder - Over. The big fella will play, but it won't help the Rangers very much.
Playoffs
AL Wildcard: Blue Jays d. Royals
NL Wildcard: Cardinals d. Mets
ALDS: Tigers d. Blue Jays
ALDS: Angels d. Yankees
NLDS: Nationals d. Cardinals
NLDS: Dodgers d. Pirates
ALCS: Angels d. Tigers
NLCS: Dodgers d. Nationals
World Series: Dodgers d. Angels
World Series MVP: Adrian Gonzalez