The OFFICIAL 2015 MLB season thread

It is upon us, should be a good season! Make your predictions now!

AL East:

1. Orioles 88-74 (x)
2. Red Sox 87-75 (y)
3. Yankees 86-76
4. Blue Jays 78-84
5. Rays 62-100

AL Central:

1. Tigers 93-69 (z-t)
2. Royals 83-79
3. Indians 80-82
4. White Sox 76-86
5. Twins 71-91

AL West:

1. Angels 93-69 (x)
2. Mariners 90-72 (y)
3. Athletics 82-80
4. Rangers 81-81
5. Astros 75-87

NL East:

1. Nationals 101-61 (z)
2. Braves 81-81
3. Mets 75-87
4. Marlins 74-88
5. Phillies 63-99

NL Central:

1. Cardinals 91-71 (x-t)
2. Pirates 89-73 (y)
3. Cubs 86-76 (y)
4. Brewers 81-81
5. Reds 74-88

NL West:

1. Dodgers 91-71 (x)
2. Padres 85-77
3. Giants 81-81
4. Diamondbacks 72-90
5. Rockies 61-101

Key: z=Best League record, x=clinched division, y=wild card, t=tie breaker



AL Playoffs:

4. Mariners vs 5. Red Sox - Mariners

1. Tigers vs 4. Mariners - Mariners (3-2)

2. Angels vs 3. Orioles - Orioles (3-1)

3. Orioles vs 4. Mariners - Mariners (4-1)


NL Playoffs:

4. Pirates vs 5. Cubs - Cubs

1. Nationals vs 5. Cubs - Nationals (3-2)

2. Cardinals vs 3. Dodgers - Cardinals (3-2)

1. Nationals vs 2. Cardinals - Cardinals (4-3)


World Series:

Mariners vs Cardinals - MARINERS (4-2)


(Keep in mind these are the predictions of a homer!)

 

Giants will clearly be shit, and then win it all in 2016

 

That's what I'm thinking lol I based the NL off the fact that the Giants are a roller-coaster and they lost Sandoval.

 

Evan Longoria will be traded at some point this season, that is my 'bold prediction'

 

Opening day has been great.

Love what I saw from the M's! King Felix was on!

 

I think this is the year the M's make the playoffs. Solid offseason acquisitions. If the bullpen is still money, there is good things to come.

 

Pencil in my Cards for another postseason appearance.

 

If they stay healthy, playoffs should almost be a lock. The roster is pretty damn balanced.

 

Injuries are key to the Giants. 2011 and 2013, they were mashing and were amongst the best records, then injuries took their toll, they lost key players for the rest of the season, and then they crumbled (Posey in 2011, Pagan in 2013). Same thing happened last year, but they held it together just enough to make the playoffs, and then they rip your soul out. Injuries have already decimated the team this year, so it's starting shaky (Pence is out through April, starters #2 and #3 are both injured, Pagan battling injuries, etc). If it were an even-year, I'd lock them down for a deep postseason run. Since it's an odd-year, I suppose it'll be more of the odd-year shenanigans.

This, of course, would be good news for Zags' Cards, as the Giants have their number in postseason play. Seattle should have a good opportunity to move up in the West, as they've improved themselves, while other teams in the division have made themselves worse (other than the Angels). San Diego is going to be solid if that roster and locker room can gel.

I like your KS/mags homerism here, though. A team that hasn't been competitive in ages is suddenly going to win the WS? No way. Especially if it's against a seasoned team like the Cards? No way.

 

It worked for the Giants in 2010. They weren't competitive until 2009 then they exploded and won the whole thing. It can happen.

Hell, the Giants beat one hell of a Rangers team in 2010 when they had Cliff Lee, CJ Wilson, Hamilton, Kinsler, Vlad, and Cruz.

 

Only thing that matters is when will Kris Bryant be called up and how will he do his first 3 games. The baseball card market is waiting with bated breath.

 

You make it way more comparable than it really is. They had a legit superstar born in the midst of it all, rising like a Phoenix. There were a no real doubters of Posey, but his call-up changed everything about the team and the franchise. Barring injuries, he will be one of the best offensive catchers, and all-around catchers we've seen.

Add that to the fact they already had a talented, solid starting pitching staff that, in terms of balance, was considered amongst the best, plus a top-notch bullpen, and an extremely solid D. Then, a few solid vets that were locker room guys decided to rally for one last time, held together by band-aids and tape. The other component people overlook is the overall stability of the franchise. The management, the coaches..... they've been with the organization forever. The core has stayed the same throughout the roster, with fairly slow changes.

Aside from a 4-year hiatus after the Bonds era, the Giants are relevant year-in, year-out. The M's, not so much. When you get stuck in a long-term losing culture, it's hard to come out of it (as a Blazers fan, you gotta know this). Since 1997, the Giants have had 13/18 winning seasons, and finish first or second in the division 11 times; the M's are 8/18, and 5 first or second place finishes. Beyond that, even when they sucked, they were trying to field the best team possible and wanted to win. The M's spent a lot of time establishing themselves as a fairly frugal franchise, trying to cash in on Ichiro, Junior's last season, etc., but it was clear there wasn't a balance between the business side and the on-field performance.

I admire your positivity, and I'm not saying the M's can't win it. But that doesn't mean it isn't KS/Mags level of homerism.

 

Oh, and KISS THE M'Fing rings!

 

Obviously the Giants are a superior franchise, but Seattle is comparable for this season. We have the best starting pitching rotation, solid Bullpen, good D. We also have one of the best hearts of a lineup in Cano, Cruz, Seager with very solid hitters (for Safeco standards) around them. Yes I'm KingSpeeding my pants about this team but outside of the end of last season and any time Felix started this is the only time I've got to be excited about my team (too young to care about the early 2000s teams).

 

Seattle does seem to be a sexy choice to take the west this year, guess we will see.

Playoffs are a total crap shoot though, that's why its nice to have a few rings in the bank. I don't even really care if the giants do shit this year, I'm spoiled rotten.

 

I would love to see the M's get to the World Series and sweep the Giants!

 

That'll never happen. I mean, sure, the Giants might make it, but once we're there, you can't beat us. We were supposed to be swept by the Rangers and the Tigers. But we whooped the Rangers, then beat murdered the Tigers. Most had the Royals beating us despite our playoff experience, and our beat up roster. When it's time to step up, ya gotta step it up, and the Giants know how to do it. The inexperienced M's would cower to MadBum's greatness, much like the Royals last year.

Understand, I'll be happy for the M's if they can finally do something. Genuinely. I mean, it's been a long, sad, pathetic void up there (I'm not trying to rub it in - I really miss going to baseball up there). I love baseball. Absolutely love baseball. I always go up to Seattle for the Giants games when the Giants are in town. I'll never be a real M's fan, but I'd certainly go more frequently to watch major league baseball if they'd put a better product on the field (admittedly, they have finally decided to try, which I can appreciate). The past several years, it's been a Felix plus a AAA team. I refuse to pay big bucks to watch an exhibition game at MLB prices unless it involves the Giants. I was a huge Griffey fan growing up, so I watched a lot of M's baseball despite being a die-hard Giants. But fuck man...... it's been painful having them be the "local" TV team as God-awful as they've been, and with ownership not giving a flying-f.

I will laugh when they start winning and suddenly there's a magical bandwagon fan base here in Portland, though, claiming they've been die-hards all along. But really... go M's. I'm happy to spend some summer evenings outside, drinking beers and having a hot dog, watching baseball. Nothing better, sports-wise, in my opinion. If they're winning, don't doubt that the baseball fan in me will have no problem splurging for some tickets just for the experience.

 

The playoffs are a total crap shoot. Good pitching and execution wins, unless you have absolute mashers on O, which we've seen good pitching still seems to win out. The Giants have won because they have been the team that hasn't made the mistakes. These guys are in high-stress/pressure situations, and the little things like hitting the cutoff man, backing each other up, running out groundballs.... we've taken advantage of other teams' mistakes, errors, etc.

Seattle has to be in consideration for the West. I mean, Oakland took a step back (not quite sure what they're doing, and they're fans seem to feel the same). Texas, meh. Houston, haha. It'll come down to the Angels and M's, and I think everyone is kind of put off by the Angels. They're a team that is uber-hyped, but underachieve. If it weren't for Mike Trout, I feel like people would downright hate the Angels.

 

I'm not a fan of a Cano, Cruz and seager heart of the lineup. I think Seattle will have more trouble putting runs up than you think.

Rodney overperformed last year, I doubt he is that solid this year. Guy has a history of not being that good.

They have a great pitching rotation, but it's not the best. That definitely goes to the Washington nats