Finally Baseball Season is back !!!!
What has been a brutal winter this year in the northeast along with other parts of the country they finally have something to look forward to. Baseball Season is finally here, and we can look forward to spring coming very soon. This offseason many teams made significant moves to their ballclubs to help provide the spark, or become a better team to help them get over the hump in winning a championship. Many people are picking one team to win it all just because of the one move they made to make their ballclub a deeper threat overall as a team. What is great about baseball is that you never know what could happen. These past couple of seasons many teams had a mediocre season but when they got into the playoffs they made a deep run and eventually won the world series or lost in the division championship game. If your team get hot at the right moment it could take them a long way into the playoffs. One wrong move can change a whole game it can be a walk, error, or wildpitch that's what makes it great about the game. You can never count yourself out of some game you just got to keep on competing.
Many teams look to improve or play like the way the Kansas City Royals did in making it all the way to the World Series. Last year Kansas City was the Cinderella team for how young they were and how confident they were as a team. They didn't have the big name all star player like most ball clubs do. The Royals had the speed and pitching depth that took them very far. The Royals will look to use that momentum this season and try to get back to the fall classic. It will a very a tough task because the central division improved a lot this offseason. The Royals are going to have a tough task in keeping up with the other teams in the divison since they had some departures this offseason James Shields, along with Billy Butler. These two players were big parts in the success last season. Butler was a key part of their infield handling the corner at third. Shields was a big pitcher for them last year in the big games they needed to win. The ballclub will be able to fill that whole at the top of the rotation with the young arms they have on that team.
The Indians, White Soxs, Tigers, and Twins and Royals, were busy this offseason in improving each of their teams. The Indians improved this offseason by improving their bullpen along with depth in their batting order which were two big problems this past season. They had many injury problems last year which had them fall back deep early on in the year. As the season went on and they got healthy they won many games to where they competed for a wild card but were to far back to catch anyone ahead of them. This season with many of their young players coming up from the minors along with the players they have on the ball club now I think they will be a wildcard team. I think Michael Brantley will have a big year for the ball club as he keeps improving his numbers these past two seasons. The White Soxs improved a lot this offseason by bulking up their bullpen with the addition of David Robertson, along with a starter Jeff Samardzija these two help in big ways. They brought in two very good bats as well in Melky Cabrera, and Adam Laroche these two are big bats in the lineup that they can help surround their biggest bat which is Jose Abreu.
The way the Tigers improved this past season was by adding to their bullpen which has been a huge weakness these past few seasons. They have to step up big now since they had lost two key starters in starting rotation. The offense will still be a huge threat because of how deep their lineup is but they will need to stay healthy because they aren't as deep as they were a few seasons back. The Twins have a new manager this season in Paul Monitor one of there former players. The twins brought back one of their former players in Tori Hunter who is at the end of his career. The Twins have a lot of wholes to fill but with their talented farm system they should have success in a few years. I think this season will be a cold one for the Minnesota fans.
The next divison I think that people will focus on is the AL West. The Angels have always been the team that people picked. I think it will change this year, and we will have a new leader it will be the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners had a successful season last year with competing for the wild card last season. One of the key reasons for the success was having the veteran presence of Robinson Cano. This offseason they had another big splash in the free agency when they added Nelson Cruz who had a great season last year for the Orioles. With Cruz's presence in the lineup to help out Cano with the other pieces on the team their offense will be more of a problem than what it was last season. With their pitching staff if they can get the help out of their third and fourth starters they could compete for the division this season. The Angels have plenty of power in the offense were they will stay in plenty of games this season. I believe Pujols along with Hamilton will need to have big games to help produce runs besides Trout. The Rangers and Athletics along with the Astros will have a rebuilding year because of them trading numerous players that have been with the ball club the past few seasons.
The AL East is something that is up for grabs but I think the favorite team to win it is the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles will have a huge target on their back after this offseason when there division rivals the Rays, Red Sox's, and Yankees improved there teams to be able to get back on top of the division. The Yankees improved this offseason by bringing a lot of young arms to help the bullpen along with signing Andrew Miller who was a big free agent that many teams wanted. The Yankees didn't do much on the offensive side so that will be the big question mark if they can stay healthy, and be a threat. The Red Sox's became dangerous again because of them signing two big free agents Pablo Sandoval, and Hanley Ramirez who will make them scary along with David Ortiz these three in the lineup will give a huge headache for opposing teams. With the addition of Rick Porcello who the red sox's got in an offseason trade have improved there starting rotation.
The Rays will be a huge question mark this year because of the team looking totally different from all the offseason moves they made. I don't know why they would trade Will Meyers this offseason who is an amazing outfielder. The farm system players will now have a chance to show what they have this season. The Blue Jays will have a huge question mark as well with the players they lost in free agency or traded away. The two big question marks will be if Jose Batista and Jose Reyes staying healthy. The Orioles will be interesting in seeing how if they can handle the pressure of winning the division again. Out of all the divisions in baseball this one I really cant make a decision in who will win until maybe midseason.
The NL East will be a two team competition it will be the Mets, and Nationals. These two teams have really good pitching staffs that are both in the top 10. I think the edge will have to go the Nationals because of the offense the Nationals have along with the pitching staff. With them signing Max Scherzer it will put them over the edge they have been needing these past few years. The one team that will be a surprise pick is the Miami Marlins who have something special being built. I think within the next year or so they will be the team to beat. The Braves on the other hand will be struggling after trading and releasing half of their team from last season. The Phillies I think will be one of the worst teams this season for how old they are and still have the same team that didn't do much last season.
In the Central Divison I think we will have a new Champion it will be the Chicago Cubs because of the new look they have. The signings of Joe Madden as there manager it will bring a certain attitude to the team that has been missing for a long time. Also the big signing of John Lester will bring some buzz to the team. There rotation will be a big question but if you look at there numbers it seems like they will be pretty good. The offense will be the big question because of the many new faces they have coming up from the minors. The Cardinals I will think be dangerous as well but it will be hard to see because of the trades they made in their back part of there rotation. One question I have is if Jayson Hayward can become the player he once was with the Atlanta Braves. I think the Brewers aren't far away from the division title. The Pirates I am still unsure of just because of the team and how will they adjust to one another again in finding that spark they had these past two seasons. The Reds I think will have to wait a few years because they have no real starter and not enough hitters in the lineup besides Todd Frazier and Brandon Phillips along with Joe Votto.
The West I think is between the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants. These two teams are real deep in offense along with pitching as well. The new additions for the Padres of Meyers, Upton, and Matt Kemp they will be able to have a better production of scoring more runs. The last few years they were on the bottom of the league in runs scored. The Giants will be hurting in the beginning because the rotation not being fully healthy and they will look into finding the replacement for Pablo Sandoval. The Dodgers I think will still be competitive but how far will they get with they have for this season. The Diamondbacks are still far away from being competitive this season just because of them not having much in pitching and offense.
Overall, this season will be interesting because of how many teams improved over the offseason. I think the winners in the division will be the Mariners in the AL WEST, Tigers in the AL Central, Orioles in the AL East. The National League winners will be the Nationals in the East, Cubs in the Central, Padres or Giants in the West. The Wild Card winners will be the Yankees or Red Soxs, and the Angels in the American League, and the National League will be the Mets, Cardinals. The two I think that will meet in the World Series is the Nationals representing the National league and in the
American league it will be the Tigers. The MLB champs this year will be the Washington Nationals winning it all in seven games. Lets hope this season will be exciting to what they are making it out to be. Lets get through this winter and count down the days until opening day and the spring. Lets see what happens and maybe my prediction will be right.
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