J-Hey and Bring the Rain!

Hey everyone, Drew back here! I must say, I've been spending most of my time lately feeling rather jealous of all of those who spent the last weekend in Chicago. However, if all does work out, I do plan to attend next year's National Sports Collectors Convention in Atlantic City, NJ. I'm already really excited for the show, but most of all in getting to see my buddies William, Andrew, and Frankie!

In the meantime, I'll continue to pick up an autograph or two for the right prices on eBay. Two of my most recent impulse buys are as follows:

Out of 2014 Topps Tribute and numbered 50/99 is this Jason Heyward autograph. I bought this card for under $10, despite my mixed feelings for Tribute's 2014 autograph design. I don't understand or see the point in the old time players on every card. They simply don't fit in, at least in my mind. Heyward is perhaps the best defensive outfielder in the game today, and though he hasn't gotten quite to the level of superstardom that was expected of him as a prospect, he's been more than serviceable through his first 6 years. In addition, I absolutely love that as his career has evolved, his signature has only gotten nicer. That was a big draw for me when I made this purchase.

This card is available for trade or sale at the right cost.

This one, however, is not, and most likely will not be for sale or trade anytime soon. For years, I had played third base for my school baseball team, and I learned from experience that is quite possibly the most difficult position to field (besides catcher) on the diamond. It is rare to go one game without having a rocket pulled right at you, and your reaction time needs to be exceptional to field it well. I looked up to Evan Longoria and David Wright in particular, because they were well rounded players that could handle the hot corner better than practically anyone. 

As time has gone by, Wright and Longoria are no longer the same players, and this year I began to really enjoy watching Josh Donaldson play. He has since become my favorite third baseman in baseball, but considering he set the All Time All Star ballot record for votes, I'm certainly not alone. Which is why I'm even more happy to have picked up his 2015 Topps Finest on card autograph for below $10! Donaldson is batting .293 with 27 home runs and 77 RBI this season, and is on pace to set multiple career highs. Not to mention, he also has dazzled on defense.

Don't get me wrong, Rockies fans. Nolan Arenado is a heck of a lot of fun to watch as well. But being in the AL East gives me ample opportunity to watch this man bring the rain, and I really do enjoy it (except when he brings too much against my Yankees). 

Until I spend more money on eBay, See Ya!

My Midseason Report - AL Preseason Prediction Update

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Hey guys, Drew back here. Just as any of baseball's best may occasionally get in a slump, I have recently been stuck in my very own. To bust out of my blogging funk, I decided to come back to my preseason predictions since today is an approximate halfway point of the season (more or less). I must say, I impressed myself with some of my early thoughts, but others definitely made me look silly. And don't worry: you will get to see both the good and the bad. I'll kick this off updating my American League picks, and will do the National League separately.

If you wish to re-read my initial thoughts and predictions on the league, feel free to take a look:

AL East, AL Central, AL West, Award Predictions, Playoffs

AL East 

My Preseason Standings Prediction - 
Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Rays

Predicted Division MVP - Josh Donaldson
Predicted Division Cy Young - Alex Cobb
Playoff Teams - Boston, Toronto (Wild Card)

Current Standings (as of July 5th) -
New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox

Division MVP - Josh Donaldson
Division Cy Young - Chris Archer
Playoff Teams - New York, Baltimore (Wild Card)

There is nothing set in stone for this year's weakest division at this point, with each team within at least 6 games of first place. The Red Sox have won seven of their previous ten games, and despite being in last right now this race is far from over. I nailed the hammer on the head with my prediction of Donaldson as division MVP; who recently was revealed to have the most fan votes of any player in All Star ballot history! Manny Machado has also been arguably as good, if not better than Donaldson, but I'll go with Donaldson as MVP considering some of the terrible predictions soon to follow.

I have to be honest here: I completely botched the Alex Rodriguez situation. In March, I wrote "And no, there's absolutely no reason to believe that 39 year old injury prone Alex Rodriguez will make any sort of difference, let alone be relevant next year". Alex has been impressive on and off the field, handling everything more maturely than he ever has. He's been a borderline All Star in my book, but I'm not surprised that he fell short of making the cut. The fact that I have somewhat relinquished my previous distaste for him shows how far he's come over the past year.

AL Central

My Preseason Standings Prediction - 
Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins

Predicted Division MVP - Jose Abreu
Predicted Division Cy Young - Chris Sale
Playoff Teams - Chicago

Current Standings (as of July 5th) -
Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins, Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox

Division MVP - Omar Infante (just kidding: Jason Kipnis)
Division Cy Young - Chris Sale
Playoff Teams - Kansas City, Minnesota (Wild Card)

The Royals have made a lot of enemies since their fans ran up the vote tallies for the All Star Game, but luckily only 4 players will be in the American League's starting lineup. The four that made the team are certainly debatable; I personally would've went elsewhere for each position, but I am content with the results. I expected last year's pennant winning squad to make a run for the playoffs and just fall short, but it appears that I may have been wrong there.

What I was more wrong on than just about anything else was my White Sox pick. I probably got a bit too excited over their spending spree, but I know I certainly wasn't alone. They filled a lot of holes on their roster last winter, but it clearly hasn't worked as well as planned. Their one shining light has been Chris Sale, who is a candidate to start the All Star Game coming soon in Cincinnati.

AL West

My Preseason Standings Prediction - 
Los Angeles Angels, Seattle Mariners, Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics

Predicted Division MVP - Mike Trout
Predicted Division Cy Young - Felix Hernandez
Playoff Teams - Los Angeles, Seattle (Wild Card)

Current Standings (as of July 5th) -
Houston Astros, Los Angeles Angels, Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, Oakland Athletics

Division MVP - Mike Trout
Division Cy Young - Dallas Keuchel
Playoff Teams - Houston, Los Angeles (Wild Card)

Boy, has Houston been a revelation or what? I am proud to have said they would improve substantially in 2015, but I wasn't gutsy enough to place them ahead of the heavily favored Angels and Mariners. In fact, I even picked the Mariners to go to the World Series (more on that later). With the way Carlos Correa has sparked that offense, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if they hold on and win the division.

The Angels have been a disaster internally that is waiting to implode, considering their respected GM Jerry Dipoto recently stepped down after turmoil between he, manager Mike Scioscia, and owner Arte Moreno. And to all those people thinking Billy Beane had a plan for 2015, you appear to be wrong. Luckily, I wasn't one of those people. The organization may be in better hands in the years to come, but this team has been unimpressive, to say the least.

Award Predictions

AL MVP - Mike Trout
AL Cy Young - Chris Sale
AL Rookie of the Year - Rusney Castillo
AL Manager of the Year - Lloyd McClendon
AL Comeback Player of the Year - Chris Davis

I took a safe approach with my MVP and Cy Young choices, and both Trout and Sale have at least merited consideration for the nonexistent midseason award. My Rookie of the Year pick was a wash, and I fully expect Carlos Correa to come home with the trophy by season's end. McClendon has not been half as impressive as I guessed, and the Manager of the Year should definitely be given to my Dark Horse candidate, AJ Hinch (Astros). Finally, I made a gut call saying that Chris Davis would come back with a monster 2015, but it's evident that Prince Fielder and Alex Rodriguez have made better cases for the award.

Preseason Playoff Picks

Wild Card Game - Toronto vs. Seattle
My Pick - Seattle

Division Series - Chicago vs. Boston
My Pick - Chicago in 5

Division Series - Seattle vs. Los Angeles
My Pick - Seattle in 4

Championship Series - Seattle vs. Chicago
My Pick - Seattle in 6

Pennant Winner - Seattle

At this point of the season, the only team of these five that is slated to make the playoffs are the Angels, who would currently be fighting in the Wild Card game versus either the Twins or Orioles. And Seattle? Yeah, I was on that bandwagon too, and I can admit that I was wrong. Very wrong. Robinson Cano has not been half of what I expected him to be as he is settling into the rain capital of the US, while Nelson Cruz started off beyond expectations but since has gone cold. Besides Felix Hernandez, the remainder of their rotation has been inconsistent at best (although Mike Montgomery has recently impressed), and their bullpen is in shambles.

I'm going to stand by my choices, even though the path to having things work out this way would take a lot of maneuvering over the next three months. Every American League team is within 6.5 games of making the Wild Card Game, and the parity is unbelievable, as I did expect early on. Baseball has been more fun to watch than it has been in a while in my opinion, and I'll gladly be wrong with all of my picks if it makes for exhilarating performances by unforeseen teams. Between the surprise Twins, Astros, and even my Yankees, I've had a lot of fun with the 2015 season.

I'll be back with my take on the National League soon. See Ya!

2015 American League East Preview + Predictions!

Hey guys, Drew back here! I decided this year to let my 2015 season predictions be known to you all; simply because I have a lot of fun talking baseball and taking guesses at who will come home with the title. We're going to make this an 8 part series consisting of previews for each of the 6 divisions, a playoff prediction, and a season awards post. I hope you enjoy this, because it will hopefully complement my Spring Training TTM's (3 back already!) throughout a month I need to save as much money as possible during. We'll kick this off with my team's division, the AL East.

2015 AL East Standings Prediction:

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1 - Toronto Blue Jays
X-Factors: Marcus Stroman, Aaron Sanchez, Drew Hutchison

I know what you're saying: the Blue Jays never seem to put it all together. They took on contracts of the Marlins flop signings from a few years back, and so far it hasn't made a difference. This offseason Canada's team added perhaps the top pitch framing catcher in Russell Martin and an excellent two way third baseman in Josh Donaldson to their lineup already fully loaded with mega sluggers Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, and speed demon Jose Reyes. Martin should help improve the pitching staff to an extent, but I'm counting on a big year from 23 year old righty Marcus Stroman to take it to the next level. Their bullpen needs to improve as well, but rookie Aaron Sanchez could be a difference maker for their entire season if he gets an opportunity to close. Overall, the lineup is just too good to avoid at this point, and with a few solid seasons out of young pitchers; veterans RA Dickey and Mark Buehrle can show the Jays how to move forward into the playoffs.

**UPDATE: It appears that I have cursed the Blue Jays and poor Marcus Stroman, who tore his ACL during fielding practice and will miss the entire 2015 season. With the value I put in Stroman's arm leading Toronto to a division title, I will now switch out the Blue Jays and the Red Sox; the Jays winning a Wild Card spot and the Sox taking the division. It's my blog, and my predictions after all, right?**

2 - Boston Red Sox
X-Factors: Wade Miley, Xander Bogaerts, Rusney Castillo

I don't like to rank the Red Sox high, but this only seems logical. They have had some serious ups and downs over the past several seasons; finishing last in 2012, winning the World Series in 2013, and finishing last again in 2014. They have an enormous surplus of outfielders at the moment, and it is left to be seen if they are able to turn some of those players into a staff ace, which appears to be their largest weakness on the roster at the moment. They made strides adding Rick Porcello, Wade Miley, and Justin Masterson to their rotation, but I think they will need to do more before they top Toronto in the division. Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval were added to support the aging David Ortiz and downward trending players Dustin Pedroia, Shane Victorino, and Mike Napoli. It remains to be seen how Hanley will fare in left field since he's always been an infielder, but Fenway Park shouldn't give him much trouble.

3 - New York Yankees
X-Factors: Didi Gregorius, Nathan Eovaldi, C.C. Sabathia

I put my Yankees third on this ranking, and that may be a bit of a hometown discount. I like their moves this offseason acquiring Andrew Miller, Didi Gregorius, and Nathan Eovaldi; along with resigning Chase Headley, but I still don't think it was enough to put them over the top. The pitching rotation is loaded with potential, but even more so injury potential. Masahiro Tanaka is one bad pitch away from missing the next calendar year due to Tommy John Surgery, and although C.C. started eating big macs again I don't see him reviving his entire career (although I do see an improvement). The bullpen will be excellent as usual, but an aging, struggling lineup and scary rotation leaves the Yankees out of the playoffs for the third consecutive year in my opinion. I would love to see them prove me wrong, but with the roster assembled compared to other teams in the division, I find it a bit far fetched. And no, there's absolutely no reason to believe that 39 year old injury prone Alex Rodriguez will make any sort of difference, let alone be relevant next year.

4 - Baltimore Orioles
X-Factors: Chris Davis, Kevin Gausman

The Orioles failed to make a splash this offseason in free agency to replace last year's 40 home run slugger Nelson Cruz and mainstay Nick Markakis; who left for Seattle and Atlanta, respectively. However, they will be getting Matt Wieters back behind the plate to fill the void he left when he had Tommy John Surgery early in the 2014 season. Chris Davis received a prescription to use an ADHD medicine that he was suspended for using last year, and Manny Machado will hopefully make it through the season healthy. There are definitely question marks surrounding the birds, but Buck Showalter is the best manager in the division and should be able to make this team a contender. I think 96 wins again is pushing the bar too high, but I can see them making a case for a wildcard spot if all goes well.

5 - Tampa Bay Rays
X-Factors: Steven Souza Jr., Kevin Kiermaier

The Rays are a new team in 2015, now without Joe Maddon under the helm for the first time since 2005 and also without GM Andrew Friedman, who fled for the Dodgers over the offseason. Former catcher Kevin Cash is taking the reins of the baseball genius, and he doesn't have nearly as much to work with this year. Ben Zobrist, Jeremy Hellickson, Matt Joyce, and Yunel Escobar found new homes, and were replaced with players such as Asdrubal Cabrera and Steven Souza Jr. (of Jordan Zimmermann no-hitter saving catch fame). Evan Longoria seems to be declining every season, and their young rotation has a lot to prove before Tampa Bay can find their way back to the top of this division. Alex Cobb does appear to have the best chance of any AL East pitcher to dominate 2015, as long as he shies away from comebacker line drives.

Division MVP: Josh Donaldson
Division Cy Young: Alex Cobb
Playoff Teams: Toronto, Boston (Wild Card)

This division may contain the biggest question marks of any division in the game this upcoming season, but I see it playing out competitively. I don't think there will be a team with well over 90 wins like Baltimore accomplished in 2014, because the parity in baseball seems to be stronger than ever. I honestly would not even be surprised if Tampa Bay found a way to crawl out of the cellar and have a great season, because somehow they never seem to be out of the hunt. There is a chance that the Yankees could finish last, but I want to show some faith in my team and I think 3rd place is a more than fair projection.

I picked Josh Donaldson to have the best MVP chances out of any AL East hitter, but it really could be Bautista or Encarnacion. I just feel that Donaldson will have a lot of RBI opportunities hitting behind them in the lineup, and his defensive prowess balances out his game better than it does for the other two. As I said before, I like Alex Cobb a lot in 2015, even if the Rays aren't a competitive team, thus I chose him as the Cy Young pick for the division.

Agree? Disagree? Agree to Disagree? Leave a comment below, let's talk some baseball.

See Ya!