Sportz' 2015 MLB Predictions

The 2015 baseball is nearly upon us, so it is time again to make my futile picks for the season.  So here it goes, division by division:

NL EAST

1-Nationals
2-Marlins
3-Mets
4-Braves
5-Phillies

What once was a strong division now looks like it is Washington and everyone else.  Both the Phillies and Braves are embracing some rebuilding while the Mets and Marlins have been in that camp for a few years now.  The Nats have been among the best in baseball the last three years but cannot make that translate in October.  So we'll have seven months to break that down.  After the Nats, who knows what will happen?  Miami failed at just buying wins before and instead have built a nice club that can contend now.  The Mets will need all that pitching to lead the way.

NL CENTRAL

1-Cardinals
2-Pirates
3-Cubs
4-Brewers
5-Reds

St. Louis has a mini dynasty going on right now.  In last 15 seasons, they've won the division 9 times and finished 2nd three times.  All that includes 11 playoff berths.  The Cards are a bit older and there's injury issues with Alan Wainwright.  Still, it is hard to bet against their success.  That is, unless you are a Back To The Future Fan and do believe that the Cubs will win the World Series.  I don't think they're there yet, but this team has taken a major upswing in hope.  The Pirates are still right there, as usual, but will have some more teams battling them for wildcard spots.  At the bottom, the Reds seem to have the better roster than the Brewers, but Milwaukee tends to exceed expectations while the Reds underperform.


NL WEST

1-Dodgers
2-Padres
3-Giants
4-Rockies
5-Diamondbacks

The big spending Dodgers are again looking like the class of the West.  They'll be a better defensive ballclub and that pitching is still damn good.  San Diego decided to go for it this year which should make the Pads a really fun team to keep track of.  Not only did they buy a new, more offensive-minded outfield, but they also snagged James Shields.  If the Dodgers or Giants slip up, San Diego is in the mix.  Speaking of San Fran, it is an odd numbered season.  As good as the three teams at the top of this division are, the bottom is that bad.

AL EAST

1-Blue Jays
2-Red Sox
3-Orioles
4-Yankees
5-Rays

Why not the Blue Jays?  They currently hold the longest playoff drought but they have a nice young staff.  It all comes down to if the offense can hold up.  Boston will hit, but can they pitch?  This is a very subpar pitching staff that may not survive in this division.  The Orioles have been baseball's darlings, but losing Nelson Cruz and Nick Markakis could damage their playoff hopes.  Drama will be the keyword for the Yankees this year as long as A-Rod is on the roster.  Tampa is rebuilding mode.

AL CENTRAL

1-Tigers
2-Indians
3-White Sox
4-Royals
5-Twins

Is this the Tigers' crossroads?  They've won this division four straight years but is that greatness decaying?  The once dominant pitching staff is showing signs of wear (Justin Verlander) and defections (Max Scherzer).  This is an expensive team that may not be able to plug in the holes like they've been able to do in recent years.  The Indians were pretty good last year despite some injuries.  If they can all get on the page, they could topple Detroit.  Chicago?  The White Sox are a true wild card.  They have nice pieces but do they all fit together?  They've gotten better in some spots.  We all loved the Royals last season, but the small ball they played worked when the pitching was dominant.  No Shields could bring them back down the ladder.  This division is tough.  To put it another way, Kansas City could win the AL East if they were in that division.

AL WEST

1-Mariners
2-Angels
3-Athletics
4-Rangers
5-Astros

Seattle, who has laid in the weeds for most of this decade, looks to break out and back to the division titles.  Nelson Cruz joins Robinson Cano as mashers who will up the M's sometimes sluggish offense.  The pitching staff is nice and uses their defensive infield wisely.  The Angels will try to keep Seattle in their place as they return another great roster, albeit with some issues with Josh Hamilton.  The A's can mash, but will all that tinkering the last few years cost them?  Texas is coming off a injury ravaged season.  Houston is still rebuilding.

PLAYOFF TEAMS

NL:  Nationals, Cardinals, Dodgers, Padres, Marlins
AL:  Tigers, Mariners, Blue Jays, Angels, Indians

WORLD SERIES:

Nationals over Mariners

The Best and Worst MLB Uniforms of 2015

Baseball uniforms can be iconic.  The Yankees pinstripes.  The Dodger blues.  The script D for the Tigers.  We've also had some wild ones and some awful ones.  With the 2015 MLB season approaching, we've got the look.  Who has the best and worst uniforms in the league.

Instead of ranking them 1 to 30, let's just put them in categories.  I mean, it is subjective to rank the Yankees against the Dodgers or even the Padres and Astros.  So let's just put them in these categories:

THE WORST 

These are the uniforms that can just go away.  They are outdated or just plain garbage.  They've had better before and these are just taking away that magic.

PADRES:  For a franchise that has had some wild unis back in the day, their duds now are just plain duds.  Bring back the brown!!!  Seriously.  I like the Pads brown pinstripes from the 1980s.  Heck, even those Steve Garvey clothes.

ASTROS:  A shame.  The Astros had some awesome unis in the 1980s.  Now?  They look plain and awkward.  Especially since it marked their move to the American League.  Ugly.

DIAMONDBACKS:  The purple and teal were kinda fugly.  I like the logo but hate the plain red and black scheme of now.  Especially since the NHL's Coyotes and NFL's Cardinals already have those colors locked in.

INDIANS:  I like the cursive version, but not this blocky thing they have now.  I'm all for removing Chief Wahoo off of everything.  Except for the hat, go back to the Major League days.

BREWERS:  Wheat?  C'mon.  This wouldn't be as horrid if they didn't already have a perfect uniform before.  Go back to the glove logo, the lighter blue and the pinstripes!

MARLINS:  Gee.  This is theirs.  They own this and no one in baseball has anything like it.  That's cool and all.  However, when you are good, they have that kitchy feel to them.  When they stink, they look a bit goofy.  So, I guess, they'll look as they play.  I do like the black alternates better.

MLB Thinking About ... Shrinking the Strike Zone?

I know there's this new feeling that with Bud Selig gone, baseball will be heading into an exciting new era.  I'm on that bandwagon.  I think some of those traditions Selig was still holding on to could use a jolt (that being said, Selig did have a lot of tradition-breakers come through his tenure).

One of the things I really don't agree with is shrinking the strike zone.  What?  You are going to make it harder to throw strikes?

The theory is this: Since steroids aren't as prevalent and umpires are actually calling the proper strike zone, offense is down and baseball is boring.  Called strikes are up and that part of the strike zone at the knees is hard on hitters to drive.  Pitchers pitch low and either get those strikes or hitters do hit it and can't drive it out.  I don't see it like that.

Sure, the stats may support it but will it really work?  More walks will be better than more strikeouts?  Forcing pitchers to pitch up would mean more batted balls.  I mean, attendance is great for baseball right now ... so is it that dire of a problem?  Also, doesn't think spit right in the face of baseball trying to move games along?  In the Steroid Era, we had some looong games that have gotten down a bit.  Although look at what high offensive numbers have done for fantasy football and how it has made the NFL grow in popularity and maybe baseball has some ideas.

Maybe.

MLB Should Dump Divisional Format

I've said this about the NBA for years and now I'm saying it about Major League Baseball: Ditch the divisional format.

Bud Selig is planning on some sort of realignment in the near future and while I'm on board if it allows the lower revenue teams a boost in the standings. He's even thinking of a "floating realignment" where teams will bounce division to division on a yearly basis.

I'm more in the camp of ESPN.com's Buster Olney. Olney thinks like me that MLB would be best served to eliminate the divisions and go back ol' skool. Go pre-1969 and just have a National League and an American League.

Now, I know that having a system like that back in the day meant that teams like the Yankees, Dodgers, Cardinals and Giants dominated the World Series appearances. The difference now is that the regular season league champion doesn't automatically go to the Series. Keep wildcards and all of that. In fact, Olney and I both agree that six teams from each League should get postseason berths.

Olney goes further with it.

You can't mitigate success over a 162-game season; you need to reward the summerlong success. The two teams that finished with the best records in their respective leagues would have a first-round bye, and then the No. 3 and No. 4 teams would play host to the No. 5 and No. 6 teams in the first round of the playoffs -- in a three-game series. Again, this is retro, going back to the old tiebreakers that led to Bobby Thomson's home run in 1951.

Here's the wrinkle: The No. 3 and No. 4 seeds would have home-field advantage for the entire three-game series.

I love this idea. It would allow those "mid-majors" a better opportunity to get into a playoff race yet also gives the teams that did well during in the regular season a decided advantage. As any baseball fan knows, half the league is all but eliminated already and the season hasn't begun.

Olney also is down with an unbalanced schedule ... something the NFL does. Right now they have that in a divisional format, but a new idea would be to let the teams who finished high in the standings to face off more ofter, leaving the lower level teams to battle it out. Fair? No, but the NFL does it and no one bats an eye.

So the Reds, Pirates, Padres, Marlins and Nationals will get chances to beat up on each other while the Cardinals, Phillies, Dodgers and Cubs smack each other around. Again, I'll take more Padres-Marlins games on the back burner if it means we get more Cardinals-Phillies contests.

To me, it would keep the lackadasical teams from benefitting from their enormous resources. The Red Sox and Yankees make it in virtually every year because they can obtain the best level of talent. They can put it on cruise control to make the playoffs. In the unbalanced system, they would have more games against the top teams that they will need to show up. It doesn't go by payroll ... but by talent ... so the Rays would get stuck up there with the big dogs too.

It would also give a lower level team the idea to spend a little extra money for a shot at winning. For example, the Cincinnati Reds would be in the lower half of the National League and playing the other bottom half more than the top half. The Reds could already make a run at possibly getting in the playoff chase this year anyway ... so why wouldn't they just say "look, we'll spend some extra dollars this year and sign a big name or two so we can take advantage of our easier schedule?" Instead of watching their payroll on a team that they know needs a miracle to gain a playoff berth, they can go for it and add some veteran depth.

Just a thought.