Some thoughts about the NBA Championships

Playoff Predictions:

First Round:

Jazz vs. Grizzlies: Jazz in 4

Clippers vs. Mavs: Mavs in 7

Nuggets vs. Trail Blazers: Nuggets in 5

Suns vs. Lakers: Lakers in 6 (don’t close your browser after this one, please)

76ers vs. Wizards: 76ers in 5

Knicks vs. Hawks: Knicks in 6

Bucks vs. Heat: Bucks in 5

Nets vs. Celtics: Nets in 4

Second Round:

Jazz vs. Mavs: Jazz in 6

Nuggets vs. Lakers: Lakers in 7 (easy win for Nuggets with Jamal Murray)

76ers vs. Knicks: Knicks in 7 (the Knicks have shown they can do this)

Bucks vs. Nets: Nets in 5 (Games of Year right here)

Conference Finals:

Jazz vs. Lakers: Jazz in 6

Knicks vs. Nets: Nets in 5 (NOBODY is going to walk out of the stadiums with functional eardrums after these games WITH limited capacity)

Finals:

Jazz vs. Nets: Nets in 7

All of the analyses that I have seen have hinted at Brooklyn losing and then blah, blah, blah, drown the Nets players in boiling hot water for losing, blah, blah, blah. But are we forgetting that the Nets have the 3 best players of the decade in Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden? It’s going to very hard for the Nets to lose to any team. It’s like everyone wants the Nets to lose and they’re already heating up that water. Relax, guys, it’s the Nets, the team with 3 players choking their payroll for the next few seasons, and the other players are getting paid peanuts. But, I will jump on the Nets’ slander train for a sentence or two. The Nets are lacking on defense, because the Big 3, Joe Harris, and Blake Griffin aren’t lockdown defenders. Also, unless the Big 3 can jive together and mesh together and not tear each other's eyeballs for rebounds to get a triple-double, they’re in trouble. The Jazz are an all-around amazing team, Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert just solidify that. They have a player in Jordan Clarkson who will be a first scoring option on any other team but is a sixth man here, that should tell you what you need to know.

At least that’s how I see it.

Amazins’ Crack after Seven Games

First, I’ll give a rundown of the Mets that are sliding after seven-game winning streak.

Then, I’ll talk about a few surprising MLB teams.

Again, I don’t want to chain you to your seat reading this blog, so I’ll try to keep it short.

Batters: Did the firing of the hitting coach help in any way? Or did it cause a completely unnecessary shake-up? Well, I always thought Chili Davis was good but management thought otherwise. Turns out, management was right. After the bats took a beauty sleep in the first two games after Davis’ firing, we went on a 7-game winning streak. And then we lost two at the hands of the 2020 AL pennant winners.  With JD Davis and Brandon Nimmo on the IL, Jonathan Villar and Kevin Pillar stepped in and have been tearing the cover off the ball, fielding well, and have been straight playing amazing. Is there another –illar we could sign, Kevin Millar could get out of retirement and we could have a 49-year-old, slightly chubby utility guy playing with us. But hey, if –illars have been playing amazing, one of the Intentional Talk analysts could also be studs. With Nimmo being a staple in the lineup once he comes back, there’s no question Pillar will walk back to the dugout to be a bench bat, but with JD Davis getting heckled every time he breathes at the hot corner, having Jonathan Villar at third doesn’t seem too bad. James McCann still can’t hit anything, I bet if you give him an oar and throw him a beach ball he’d swing right through it. Francisco Lindor is hitting a superb .193 and he’s playing like he’s worth $1.93 not $341 million. Jeff McNeil is also struggling but if you see what he does to his helmet when he makes an out, you forgive him and you pity the helmet. Someone who is due for a homer is Dominic Smith, he hasn’t hit a homer in a while and everyone really wants him to, hopefully, he does soon because when a big leader of a clubhouse is struggling that lowers the morale of the team considerably. Pete Alonso has been really good, something that he’s added to his game is hitting for contact, and not just 450-ft. homers, but rather getting singles and doubles as well.

Pitchers: What’s new? Jacob DeGrom is the best pitcher in baseball. The starting rotation (without Carlos Carrasco and Noah Syndergaard) is still one of the best in baseball. The bullpen is finally starting to not stinky stink. Aaron Loup is really good and he isn’t even a LOOG (Lefty one out guy), he can retire righties. Trevor May and Edwin Diaz are really solid pitchers and I think (hope) I can trust them. Sean Reid-Foley is amazing, and I love that Robert Gsellman and Reid-Foley are both guys that can eat up innings when the Mets use the opener (which is a bullpen game, a game where there’s no starter, but where the bullpen goes innings 1-9).

AL East: This race just got a lot closer, because at first it was the Red Sox, Yankees, and Rays battling for the top spot, but now, the much better Blue Jays have sprung into the race.

AL Central: This race turned around very fast, the White Sox are in first place and the Twins are in last, and the Twins have a really good team.

AL West: The A’s are really all of a sudden really good and the Angels are in last place, the Rangers and Mariners aren’t in last place? WHAT IS HAPPENING??

NL East: The closest race in baseball? Correct? The best division in baseball? Far from right. There are two teams barely above .500 and all teams are struggling mightily.

NL Central: A very competitive race, the Pirates are actually not HORRIBLE, but they’re still the worst in the Central. But overall, no surprises except for the Cubs not being first or second.

NL West: The Giants (one of the laughing stocks of baseball) are in first place and the Dodgers are struggling? The only normal thing in this division is that the Rockies are in last place.  

Some Thoughts about the NFL Draft

Today I’ll share with you my thoughts about the NFL Draft. The most notable picks of the first round specifically.

R1P1: Trevor Lawrence

The unanimous first overall pick, a generational talent, even. I want to see this guy prosper in the NFL and tear up the NFL for years to come. Bold projection: He’ll never be a Patrick Mahomes. NFL potential comparison: Matt Ryan.

R1P2: Heh, will Zach Wilson be a stud? I hope so, will he be the next Sam Darnold? The same exact probability. Bold Projection: Second best QB in the draft *nudge*, not Trevor at 1, by the way. NFL potential comparison: Russell Wilson.

R1P3: I love Trey Lance as an NFL player, he’s fast, he likes getting outside the pocket, and has a great team built around him already. I think he’s gonna be big. Bold Projection: Best QB in the draft. NFL potential comparison: Patrick Mahomes minus arm strength but more speed.

R1P4: Kyle Pitts seems amazing. This guy can burn corners and out muscle linebackers and be the number one target on a team. The Falcons got a stud. He’s gonna be a real killer in the NFL, like the last tight end out of Florida (if you get this, then you receive the title “NFL genius”) Bold Projection: Second best TE in 3 years. NFL potential comparison: Faster Travis Kelce.

R1P5: WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE THE BENGALS THINKING? JOE BURROW HAS A SCAR FOR LIFE AFTER KNEE RECONSTRUCTION SURGERY AND THESE GENIUSES DECIDE TO DRAFT A WIDE RECEIVER. YUP, SEEMS ABOUT RIGHT. But, Ja’Marr Chase is a stud. Bold Projection: NOT the best wide receiver in the draft. NFL Potential Comparison: Faster AJ Green.

R1P7: Penei Sewell will be one of the best linemen in NFL history. The Lions got an amazing talent. They should be happier than the Colts getting Quentin Nelson. Bold Projection: 2^nd best O-lineman in NFL history will sign huuuuuuge deal in 4 years. NFL Potential Comparison: David Bakhtiari x Quentin Nelson.

R1P9: Patrick Surtain II is going to be amazing. Way better than Jaycee Horn. He will lock up the “meh” wide receivers and will occasionally lock down the elite receiver. Bold Projection: Will be better than Jalen Ramsey. NFL Potential Comparison: Faster and skinnier Stephon Gilmore.

R1P11: The Bears absolutely fleeced the Giants. The Giants needed Justin Fields. If they took Fields, they would have an amazing team! Now, the Bears have the foundation of a great team. Bold Projection: If the Bears don’t immediately build around him, he’ll be a bust. NFL Potential Comparison: Cam Newton.

R1P15: Mac Jones is supposed to be an “eh” quarterback coming out of college. But from what I’ve heard, is that he might be the next Tom Brady or be a practice squad guy in 3 months, literally nothing in between. I think he’s going to be “eh”. Bold Prediction: He leads the league in passing touchdowns at least 2 times over his career (Jameis did it). NFL Potential Comparison: Bulkier and worse Drew Brees.

R1P20: Kadarius Toney is an actually good receiver. I’ve also seen good things about him and bad things about him. Toney’s fast, has good route running, and is the PERFECT compliment to Kenny Golladay. Bold Prediction: Will be one of the fastest guys in the NFL at one point in his career. NFL Potential Comparison: Less route-running Davante Adams and slower and taller Tyreek Hill.

R1P21: Another example of two ranges of the spectrum is D-linemen. You are either a linebacker with much more heft or a Monstar from Space Jam, again, no in the middle. I am a huge fan of Kwity Paye who will fit in whatever scheme you throw him in. Bold Prediction: Will be a mediocre defensive player. NFL Potential Comparison: Zadarius Smith.

R1P24: Najee Harris is a great pick. I think with a lot of fine-tuning, they could build around a balanced offense with a running back tandem and a nice passing offense. Bold Prediction: Wins the starting spot on day one and is electric the whole season. NFL Potential Comparison: Worse Alvin Kamara.

R1P26: Greg Newsome II is someone the Jets were eyeing for their rough CB room. Now the Browns have potentially a very scary cornerback room with Denzel Ward and Greg Newsome II, I think it’s great. Now just keep building and you may actually have a chance (pregame because as you may remember last year, the Chiefs were slated to win by a hefty margin, but the Browns actually gave them a game) against the Chiefs.

R1P30: Wonderful pick here by the Bills, Greg Rousseau. He’s a great defensive end and I feel he has a lot of potential. I think he could play defensive tackle as well as a defensive end. If he could get more agility, I would avoid him at all costs when I’m the quarterback. Bold Prediction: I think he leads his division (wherever it could be) in sacks at least once. NFL Potential Comparison: Demarcus Lawrence.

Mets News – They’re Turning it Around

The Mets have turned it around – at least from the bottom of the NL to the top of their division is pretty nice. Losing the occasional game but giving Mets fans a thrill when they win because Mets fans are the Bills fans of baseball (we’re crazy when our teams even get a broken-bat-opposite-field-bloop single, we cheer like it’s a walk-off homer in the World Series). And, I would like to give a shoutout to our announcers, Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling. These guys are entertaining Mets fans for three hours and constantly talking and engaging the fans with the wildest conversations. I tuned into a Reds game the other day, and the announcers talked every 30 seconds to announce the hitter’s name, the count (only if it’s a ball or a strike) and announce a hit in the blandest way possible. Example: “Here comes Joey Votto. Ball, strike, ball, here’s a hit to right field, single.” Just really makes you want to stay with the game, doesn’t it?

The Hitters:

After my last blog, there was only one bright spot on the whole Mets team: Brandon Nimmo.

While Nimmo is our best player by far, more bright spots are starting to emerge. Pete Alonso is still a stud, but even though signs are leaning towards him being somewhat of a flash in the pan. He has five homers, which is two and a half times more than the guy behind him, JD Davis.

In the comment sections of Mets fan pages that I follow, calls for JD Davis being thrown out of Citi Field for high crimes and misfielding are growing. JD Davis is a mediocre offensive player in a 162 game season but so far, even after missing 10 games, he has two homers already. Also, his defense does not help out his 162 game value.

Another nice player that the Mets have is Dominic Smith but he has a tremendous downside. He swings and misses a lot. A somewhat chubbier Joey Gallo because Gallo and Smith both take grown man hacks, both strike out a lot, don’t really understand what a “single” is and both have a low average. But have tremendous value and Smith is one of the best 375+ ft hitters in baseball.

Michael Conforto and Francisco Lindor, when, in a normal season, would be our two best pure hitters, are two of our worst hitters now. Both are keeping their heads barely above .200 and they have a combined seven RBIs. Luis Rojas should 100% (who is also getting negative comments thrown at him by Mets fans but, being in prestigious NY means you’re the hardest players to please in baseball) keep them in the top of the lineup.

Someone who’s in a slump but you can’t call it a slump is Jeff McNeil. You can’t call it a slump because Jeff McNeil will connect with a ball 4 feet above the zone and muscle it for a single. Luis Guillorme is the next man up in almost any spot on the field, whether we move Jeff McNeil to third and Guillorme to second (which doesn’t sound that bad…) or trade for a third baseman and include Guillorme in it or whatever happens, Guillorme is the next man up when someone gets injured. James McCann hasn’t been amazing but he’s been OK, he’s a very well-rounded catcher but he hasn’t shown it so far but I believe.

The Starters:

The start for the starters collectively is amazing! Jacob DeGrom and Marcus Stroman are carrying the load and David Peterson and Joey Lucchesi are weighing us down but still, we’ve been really good. Now, think about this – once Noah Syndergaard comes back and Carlos Carrasco comes back, we’ll have a rotation looking like Jacob DeG-O-A-T, Noah Syndergaard, Marcus Stroman, Carlos Carrasco, and Taijuan Walker. Two things about this: hopefully this will help Stroman to stay in New York because he’s a free agent after this year. And, Taijuan Walker is a number 1 or number 2 starter on pretty much any team, but he’s potentially the fifth starter on this one.

The Bullpen:

After trashing the bullpen of the Mets in my last blog, I see that maybe was uncalled for. Trevor May and Aaron Loup definitely stepped it up over the past two weeks, especially Loup. Loup can shut down lefties and be well above average against righties. Trevor May will allow a few hits and raise your blood pressure well above what the doctor thinks is the max but will blow a 96 MPH fastball right by on the next pitch. Jacob Barnes is still our worst bullpen arm but with how Sean Reid-Foley played (9 up, 9 down for him), you could limit Barnes’ innings and increase Reid-Foley’s and we’re all pleased. Also, Trevor Hildenberger is a nice arm out of the bullpen, although he’s a little volatile, I think he could tame himself. Finally, the bright(ish) spot of our bullpen, after all this time. Edwin Diaz has finally made himself into an above-average closer, definitely not what he was in Seattle, but solid. I hope he can keep it up (and be even better) so our bullpen would be better and less volatile.

Although, after all of this praise out of me, just watch him blow a three-run lead next game. I will literally cry Niagara Falls. 

The Amazins are off to a very inauspicious start – Every single Met

To paraphrase the kid pleading in “Eight Men Out”: Say it ain’t so, Steve!

To start off, one of the greatest Mets struggles in my lifetime is getting a hitter to score. The biggest struggles are, specifically, knocking in someone with runners in scoring positions and hitting home runs. The Mets have three home runs this season, one from Dominic Smith, one from Pete Alonso and the last from Jeff McNeil. Mister $341 million has a ripe .176 average with one batter driven in. Keep in mind, I’m not trying to throw a monkey wrench into the machine (if you can call it a machine with this start) that the Mets are, I’m just saying what I think.

A question that I had right when Steve Cohen brought in Francisco Lindor was “Who is the new Mr. Smile?” As you know, Brandon Nimmo loves to smile and so does Lindor. With Lindor’s horrible start to the year, I’ll grace Nimmo with the title. No question, Lindor is the better player, but Nimmo is batting .412 from the bottom of the order. Usually being demoted from the top of the order to the bottom will plummet your morale, but as Nimmo took a ball, that I thought was ball 2, on the inside half for strike three, I told my dad, “This guy’ll take a ball four feet outside, the ump will call it a strike, and Brandon will turn around and walk right back to the dugout, he’s just so happy.”

A player that is also slumming to start the year is Michael Conforto batting a riper .143 and that is the baseball-bat-to-the-knee for Mets fans, I’ll explain why. Conforto has been amazing since 2015, in seasons that he’s played more than 100 games, he’s hit on average 25 homers and 71 RBIs, and, since 2019, and he’s obviously gotten better so, with inflation for the sake of argument, that’s 30 homers and 90 RBIs. In 5 games, he hasn’t even knocked in a runner or scored himself. A player that has been making the most of his opportunities is Luis Guillorme, a soft-handed infielder and who isn’t known for offense. Guillorme has three hits and a .500 average and earned the starting role (because JD Davis got beaned with a pitch a few games earlier) before the umps called the game due to rain on Saturday. What’s just sad is that Jacob DeGrom has a .600 average, and that’s leading the team for players with 5 or more at-bats.

The starters have been weirdly good this year, well, Jacob DeGrom is Jacob DeGrom, what can I say, the only run given up was a home run to Jazz Chisholm Jr. and that was 100% a fluke. He has a 0.64 ERA with 21 punchouts, yes, 21 but the catch is he doesn’t have a win, BUT, does have a loss. Starter no. 2 has also been impeccable, Marcus Stroman has a 1.42 ERA with only 3 strikeouts BUT HE GETS A WIN. Taijuan Walker, who had the biggest difference between ceiling and floor for the pitchers coming into this year in my opinion, knocked the Marlins dead in his first start. He tallied only four strikeouts but only four hits given up. Then, a potentially really good Mets pitching prospect, David Peterson went out on the mound and was really bad. In four innings of work, he allowed six runs, 7 hits and he walked two batters. Atrocious.

Now, this is the part of the blog that I wanted to avoid, because it’s the part about the bullpen, great going, boys! Trevor May and Aaron Loup are two amazing pickups for the Mets, Steve Cohen really hit the ball on the nose for these pickups. Before I sound off on the worse end (which really means the whole Mets bullpen minus one guy), I’ll talk about the only half-decent pitcher in the pen, Miguel Castro. Castro has an ERA of 3.00, he allowed only one run, 4 hits, and no walks in 3 games/innings of work. Somehow, Edwin Diaz got the win yesterday, and he got it by some force created by the baseball gods. He gave up 2 earned runs, 3 hits, and two walks. When he was called in from the bullpen, I knew this was going to happen, it’s a coin flip for Diaz on whether he has a good outing or not. Now, I can’t decide whether to be more scared of Trevor May, Edwin Diaz, Dellin Betances, Jacob Barnes, Jeurys Familia or Aaron Loup. I’ll go with Trevor May, because his first two games have been comically bad. Familia has always been “eh” because he was one of the most dominant closers in baseball for a period and then he just fell off, but, hey, we’ve seen that story at least one more time, right? He’s also on the Mets. He has a weird windup to deliver the pitch. I clown him at every chance I get on this blog. Yes! You guessed it, Edwin “Hellen Keller could pitch better than me” Diaz. I wanted Dellin Betances to get the set-up man role on the Mets like he did on the Yankees, but, last year was inauspicious and this year had a few bumps for him. Jacob Barnes never had a great career anywhere and I guess we brought him in for 5/6^th inning man but he never brought anything to the table. And when I’m building a team I want every player to produce something, no hole-fillers on a squad.

Now, here are my playoff prediction and award race winners (yes, I reserve the privilege of revising this forecast):

Wild Card:

AL: White Sox vs. Red Sox: Red Sox

NL: Mets vs. Padres: Mets

ALDS:

Yankees vs. Red Sox: Yankees

Astros vs. Twins: Astros

NLDS:

Dodgers vs. Mets: Dodgers

Reds vs. Braves: Braves

ALCS:

Yankees vs. Astros: Yankees

NLCS: Dodgers vs. Braves: Dodgers

World Series:

Yankees vs. Dodgers: Dodgers

MVP

NL: Ronald Acuna Jr.

AL: Mike Trout

Cy Young:

NL: Jacob DeGrom

AL: Shane Bieber

ROY:

NL: Ke’Bryan Hayes

AL: Wander Franco

Manager of the Year:

NL: David Bell

AL: Tony La Russa

COVID19 Throws MLB a Curve

Wow, after my little NBA addiction stint, I was so excited to go back to baseball, write my blog about it, and do something fresh for you guys. Well, I’m still going to do that, but later. The Mets, my favorite team, were supposed to play against the team I hate the most, the Nationals. Now, you may think that I hate the Yankees, but I respect them as a team, as a team, because when their fans feel the slightest bit insecure in anything, they either console themselves with saying, “We have 27 rings, ok, ok, 27 rings, remember that.” The Yankees team, on the other hand, is a dynasty, and I respect a dynasty, something like what Sam Presti created in Oklahoma City, they have 35 draft picks over the next 7 years, and with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (a young, top 20 NBA player already) and Lu Dort (a top 10 perimeter defender in the league) already on the team. Well, back on topic, the Mets-Nationals weekend series was canceled. That’s really good stuff, Nats, are you guys really that scared of the Mets, well, I guess so, Francisco Lindor has been instilling fear into his opponents as fast as phones can install an app. By the way, thank you, Francisco, for signing a contract that King Midas would blush at, you will devour our salary cap for 11 years but I am VERY excited for you to belt 30 homers, get 100 RBIs, 20+ SBs, a .300+ average, and fielding that’s Gold Glove worthy because that’s why we signed you, so you’re good with that, right? I’m just kidding, though; I know Lindor will try his best in all the years of his contract, he’s just that kind of guy. But, because the Nats are so scared of us, they decided to go clubbing in the nation’s capital, but not only did they go clubbing, they asked everyone if they had COVID and they bear-hugged those who did. For this, the Mets should get three wins to start off the series and they should get fined, but, Rob Manfred, the MLB’s genius commissioner doesn’t like fining anyone because this is a Kindergarten league, right? Well, this weekend is my fantasy baseball league roster overview, another check-in in fantasy basketball and baseball news. 

On the Hardwood with Pros and Students

Today I will write about professional and college basketball, I will do this relatively short because my last few blogs have chained you to your seat for longer than you want. I get it, but, I will now make it shorter, but with more/better content. So, it’s kind of like juice. In the past, I had a bunch of water (length of the blog) and a good amount of juice (content), so, now I’ll cut down on the water but give you hopefully the same amount of juice.

Before we start, I want to give you guys and gals a fun activity for any sport. Whatever sport you enjoy the most, you can do this with. Ok, so, you type in “random (insert sport here, like, NBA, NFL, MLB) player generator” into your search bar, then, you find a website you’re comfortable with (doesn’t matter which) and then type in how many players you want the website to generate. Side note: if you’re using https://www.2kblacktoprandomizer.com/, press 1V1, All Players, and you can deselect “current players” for a harder challenge or keep “current players”. Then, open the website Basketball Reference, then choose one of your players and type him into the Basketball-Reference search bar. Now, here comes the fun part, go through the website and try to get from that player to the second player without typing in the second player’s name, going through family relationships, or the draft. Aaaaand, Go!

Schedule: We got the NBA random generator and here we go again. I’m going to generate 3 teams, no Knicks. Then, give the rundown. For more, go to last week’s blog, if you want more, hunt down the first blog of this series. Then, I’ll talk about March Madness, and then NFL Free Agency. I’m trying to make my blog new and interesting every week, so, if you have any, give me some ideas, please. Direct Message my father or something, if not, I’ll keep cooking up new ideas.

I rolled Dallas Mavericks first, Charlotte Hornets second, Sacramento Kings third.

Dallas Mavericks: This team is definitely a dark horse to win the Finals or to be a first-round exit. This team is a skyscraper built on a 6-inch slab (usually made to support suburb houses). It is top-heavy, with Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis and they have a steeper drop-off on their roster than the Lakers had last year (LeBron James and Anthony Davis being the top two, and Javale McGee is arguably the third-best player on that team). Analysts talk about high-percentage shots, well, whenever the ball is in Luka’s hands, it’s a high percentage shot waiting to happen, whether he’s taking it or not. This team also has a lot of shooters on relatively bad contracts. Someone like James Johnson and Tim Hardaway should not be getting paid around $34 million. The bench is good, led by Trey Burke and Jalen Brunson, keeping Josh Richardson in the starting lineup was a great move by Rick Carlisle. This team is great, but has soooo much more potential if they play their cards correctly, I guess you can say that for every team, but the Mavs have tremendous upside on this team. This is what I would do: trade James Johnson and Josh Richardson for a more economically friendly contract and a pick. Start Jalen Brunson to develop him and develop Dorian Finney-Smith as well. Keep Maxi Kleber but put him on the bench as the 7^th man. Get rid of Tim Hardaway Jr. to have about 25 or so million left in spending cash, and then cash in on free agency.

Charlotte Hornets: This squad is the beginnings of a great team. This team is very young, with Gordon Hayward being the oldest in the starting lineup. The backcourt is amazing, Lamelo Ball and Terry Rozier, who is still very young, 26 years old.  Gordon Hayward is a great secondary playmaker on this team and the frontcourt is young and really good. This is what I would do: Trade for Lamelo’s brother, Lonzo at the deadline. keep Hayward, extend him until he retires. Trade Cody Zeller for a young player and a draft pick and start either Bismack Biyombo or Vernon Carey Jr. Then, have a good draft, and fill in any holes on really good contracts in free agency. In about a year or so, move Hayward to the sixth man and trade Rozier for a young and progressing SF. This team has tremendous upside, more than the Mavs, and should be making the playoffs shortly because of the age of this roster.

Sacramento Kings: The Kings are in an interesting situation, they have an extremely young roster and they have a special occurrence – they don’t have to wait for talent, they have that talent. They’re a little rough around the edges and a lot of cap space to move around which they can/could’ve done on today's (or Thursday's) deadline. I’m looking at Buddy Hield, I think he’s regressing, he’s still a knock-down shooter for D’Aaron Fox to kick out to and Tyrese Haliburton to learn how to kick out. MB3 (Marvin Bagley III, one of the coolest nicknames in my opinion) is a really good option for them as well. Delon Wright is the sparkplug for the second unit, they could work through him when the bench is in, and with them being among the bottom of the Western Conference, and probably getting a lottery pick, they could get another bench player or anyone else. Richaun Holmes Harrison Barnes and MB3 are still really young and really good for them as bigs AND with the block king of the past few years, Hassan Whiteside on the bench, they have a superior frontcourt. What I would do right now: Get rid of Buddy Hield, slide Harrison Barnes to the 3. Also, pickup a backup 4. As I’m writing this, the Kings just picked up Terrence Davis, perfect! Davis can go to the 3, Bagley back to the 4, Barnes to the backup 3 or 4. I’m adamant about trading Buddy Hield because his play and his contract don’t equal each other. So, as I’m writing this, the Kings just got younger, and they’re thinking only about the future, wonderful stuff, Kings!

 

March Madness: I created a formula for this year, yeah, I did, and I was so confident in it and then I was thinking about the fame I would get if I got all 63 games right. Then, after the first two games guess what my record was – 0-2. One thing I SEVERELY overlooked was the schedule. I had Colgate in the Sweet Sixteen. Ok, you have 4.7 seconds to laugh. Ok, now that you’re back, I overlooked it, a lot. Also, my formula was based on greater than/less than numbers. Not so great, I realized. It takes way too long, and now that my formula got less than 40% of the games correct, maybe those two social studies, three LA, and math periods would’ve been helpful in 20 years, probable: no, possible: yes. Ohio beat Virginia, and literally one reason why – Virginia has a very small point guard, and with Jason Preston, an inside-out playmaker at 6’4” who can lead his whole team in rebounding. He’s not slow either, he’s blazing fast as well and can shoot. Even though they hit a roadblock in Creighton in round two, Jason Preston is an NBA-ready player, probably mid-second rounder, late first at best. Gonzaga is the most well-oiled unit in the tourney, they run a nine-man rotation I think, which means that one starter is on the floor at all times, and all the starters are capable of leading the offense. I had Winthrop beating Villanova because 1) everyone said so, 2) the stats aligned in Winthrop’s favor but, the powerhouse ‘Nova wins, I guess rule number one is all powerhouses win unless they’re 13 or below seeds. Then, the Purdue Boilermakers lost? Purdue, this is the powerhouse, the four seed, that one, right? And you lost to not Texas, not Texas Tech, but NORTH TEXAS? Also, Colgate, who I thought would beat Arkansas, painfully lost. If you’re the underdog – a run like Arkansas had at the end of the first half is like someone blindfolding you and forcing you to run the Boston Marathon.

OHIO STATE LOST TO A DENTAL FIRM, A DENTAL FIRM, AND THEN THEY BEAT FLORIDA.

The more surprising one is Ohio State, they were in most Final Fours across March Madness brackets. Not much that I could say, except their point guard? Max Abmas? He should not be studying dentistry; he should have a full ride to Gonzaga to be their starting point guard. He has a smooth jump shot and will pull up from anywhere. They may very well beat Arkansas, unlikely, but possible. Sister Jean stays undefeated, first Sister Jean and some guys dressed in maroon jerseys with the letters L, O, Y, O, L, A, C, H, I, C, A, G, O on their jersey, beat Georgia Tech, and then they wipe out the number one seed, Illinois, the widely regarded favorites to win the whole thing. My pick? They wipe out the Oregon St. Beavers and move onto the Elite 8. The best player in the country Cade Cunningham and his team beat Liberty in the first round, and then they crash and burn against the Oregon St. Beavers. This is a wild thought to think about, Cunningham’s next formal/official game (not Uncle Jeremiah’s driveway cookout) will be in an NBA jersey. Syracuse won their game against long-time powerhouse San Diego State, Buddy Boeheim is an amazing scorer, this guy has shades of Klay Thompson in him. Theoretically, pair him with a Steph Curry and Syracuse has the fuel to go to the Final Four, I’d say Elite Eight as of now. Houston is a great school, and probably will beat Syracuse in the Sweet Sixteen (I hope not, though), but it will be an extremely close game and the final score will be worth the price of admission all by itself. 

My Sweet Sixteen picks:

Gonzaga vs. Creighton: Zags

USC vs. Oregon: USC

Michigan vs. FSU: FSU

UCLA vs. Alabama: Bama

Baylor vs. Villanova: Baylor

Arkansas vs. Oral Roberts: Nice run, ORU, but Arkansas is taking this

Loyola Chicago vs. Oregon St.: Loyola Chicago

Syracuse vs. Houston: Syracuse

Elite Eight:

Gonzaga vs. USC: Zags

FSU vs. Alabama: FSU

Baylor vs. Arkansas: Baylor

Loyola Chicago vs. Syracuse: Loyola Chicago, are you surprised? I’m not.

Final Four:

Gonzaga vs. FSU: Gonzaga

Baylor vs. Loyola Chicago: Baylor

National Championship

Gonzaga vs. Baylor: Gonzaga by a score 81-77

Let’s Examine these Five NBA Teams

Well, back to basketball. We did this a few posts ago, but here it goes again. I don’t know the reaction that most of you had to it, but I had heaps of fun. I will randomly generate five teams, plus the Knicks. I will then give you an overview of their team, and I’m feeling like there’ll be a whole lot of totally unnecessary blaming and name-calling today. I’m using https://wordwall.net/resource/680216/nba-teams for this, if you’re curious.

All teams will be different from the last similar post, because then why would you read this? First wheel spin: Miami Heat. Second: Cleveland Cavaliers. Third: Chicago Bulls. Fourth: Phoenix Suns. Fifth: Golden State Warriors.

Miami Heat: The Heat is a team that is a suitor for a BUNCH of trade bait near this trade deadline. To name a few: Kyle Lowry, Andre Drummond, Nikola Vucevic, Zach LaVine, and Bradley Beal. Realistic targets? Kyle Lowry, Drummond, and LaVine, in the order of probability. Kendrick Nunn is definitely going to be a role player for the Heat this year, Bam Adebayo is Robin to Jimmy Butler being Batman, so even though he’s a pure scorer, he’s not the Robin, averaging 14 PPG and under 3 for everything else, on about 11 or so shots per game. Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro are both also role players, but while Jimmy Butler drives, those two are waiting with bated breath for a kick-out from Jimmy. Jimmy Butler is the first scoring option for the Heat, he’s getting the most shots, he’s getting the most everything when the team resets, the ball goes to Butler, if not? That poor and unsuspecting player gets “wet towel whipped” in the locker room (use your imagination for that one). Kelly Olynyk and Goran Dragic, why did I pair these players together? Because they’re both trade bait, probably to get Kyle Lowry, both are good players for their position, but both not starters. Bam Adebayo, you could argue that he’s not the Robin to Butler’s Batman, because the Heat’ll try to haul in that Robin, but no, Butler wouldn’t be an All-Star because Bam wasn’t, and Butler was chosen, that’s a Batman and Robin relationship. What I think they should do, trade Olynyk and Dragic for Kyle Lowry and sign LaMarcus Aldridge, because they decided to “mutually part ways” but that’s like a breakup, no one really knows who pulled the plug.

Cleveland Cavaliers: This team has amazing young talent with great potential. What I see for this team at the deadline is to get younger and have an extremely small salary. Yes, I’m looking at Kevin Love, I know Love is irreplaceable, but trading him comes down to the people sitting in the comically large chairs, 3 floors above the hardwood. Bleacher Report says the Portland Trail Blazers is a suitor for Love, in CJ McCollum’s absence, they need some shooting and to get some extra scoring. Some players the Cavs can target from the Blazers are Nassir Little, Gary Trent Jr., or Harry Giles III, but whatever combination of these players they decide to take, they need a draft pick out of it. They would have Darius Garland and Collin Sexton, the backcourt of the future for the Cavs, they drafted well in 2018 and 2019 to get these two guards, 2020, they also got their wing of the future, Isaac Okoro, and their center of the future, unless they trade him, Jarrett Allen. ALL OF THESE PLAYERS ARE 22 OR UNDER. Their bench, Dylan Windler (24), Cedi Osman (25), and Larry Nance (28), is a bench any team could ask for. They don’t have a star, so they’re all sharing the love, especially between the backcourt. All these players need now is good coaching and a good offseason. The Cavs are only four games out of the last place in the East and only 6 out of the last place in the NBA. That’s three bad weeks for them and they could potentially have a 1-5 pick. If they get 1 or 2, they could trade to 3, 4 or 5, to get Evan Mobley at the 5, or, if Mobley goes down to 2, take Mobley. There’s also Jonathan Kuminga. This team is in a great position. I don’t think they need to make a trade at the deadline, but, Kevin Love getting moved is a nice idea.

Chicago Bulls: This team is going rebuild mode, Zach LaVine is one of the most thrown around names in the NBA trade deadline rumors. If they trade him, they need a lot of young talent for him. Coby White has tremendous upside but is very hit-or-miss. Patrick Williams is a very interesting player, I’m all for Williams, I want to see him get a bunch of minutes. Their front-court, Lauri Markkanen, and Wendell Carter Jr. are the frontcourt of the future for them, or both of them are out in the next two years if they’re really going full rebuild mode. Otto Porter Jr. and Thaddeus Young are two forwards that the coach can lie back and relax when they’re on the floor because he’s going to be extremely consistent up and down the floor, if they’re not scoring, then they’ll defend and rebound. If they trade LaVine, it’ll be the best thing they can do, because then that will plummet their performance this year, while scooping up more talent, and, if they finish low enough, they could get Jalen Suggs or Green, Moses Moody, Jonathan Kuminga or, if they’re REALLY lucky, Cade Cunningham or Evan Mobley.

Phoenix Suns: This team is so wildly amazing, with the Lakers breathing down their neck, 0.5 games back of the second seed. This might sound crazy, but, Bleacher Report, who, in my opinion, is the most down-to-earth sports news source out there, say the Suns should get Lauri Markkanen, granted they also say they should get Joel Embiid, the MVP favorite, this is insane, the only way Philly would think of the offer would be to include Devin Booker, but the Suns won’t want to give Book. The Markkanen move, though, there’s something there, because right now, Frank Kaminsky starting will most definitely not cut it. If the Bulls trade both LaVine and Lauri, then they’re most definitely sitting pretty in the top 5 in the draft. Chris Paul, the initiator of the “dish and swish” on every team he’s on, is irreplaceable, he might even stay next year, unless, the Suns took him on for one reason, to propel them to the playoffs. Devin Booker is irreplaceable for real now, he can do everything, now, with the strengthening of the left hand, he can score and pass with the left as well, which unlocks so many more doors for him. Mikal Bridges and Deandre Ayton are both players who would be second or even first scoring options on any other team, on this team, they’re three and four, and that’s why they’re the second seed, the immense depth. Their bench needs work, but once Cameron Johnson, the potentially great forward comes back, then the Suns and Suns’ fans can sleep a little better.

Golden State Warriors: If Stephen Curry leads the Klay Thompson-less, KD-less, regressing Draymond Green to the playoffs as a 7^th seed or higher, Joel Embiid and him should be head to head in the MVP race. He’s leading a young team to a 19-19 record, these inexperienced players are being carried by Curry. Kelly Oubre Jr. is not amazing at anything, but he’s also not bad at anything, Andrew Wiggins is being overshadowed by Curry and he doesn’t really belong on this team. The Warriors need some knock-down shooters, kind of like, just kind of like, the Heat, when Jimmy’s locked up, he has Tyler Herro or Duncan Robinson. Same thing here and whoever that shooter is, he could be his partner in crime. Once Klay comes back, and they have a good offseason, and a good shooter and James Wiseman progresses, this is looking good.

New York Knicks: The Knicks have a roster that’s around 20-25^th in talent, but guess what, we’re above .500. Tom Thibodeau has done magical things with this roster, putting Reggie Bullock in the starting lineup, but harnessing Derrick Rose and Immanuel Quickley to the bench. Even though Elfrid Payton’s starting is infuriating all Knicks fans, the leader of the court isn’t doing that bad. RJ Barrett and Julius Randle are leading the Knicks on the court, almost all possessions where Randle or Barrett are on the court, the ball touches their hands, and that’s how I want it. I love our centers, Mitchell Robinson and Nerlens Noel, they have huge bodies that get every rebound, set amazing screens, and contest all shots. Frank Ntilikina, playfully called “French Jesus” by Knicks’ fans, is starting for the Knicks in Payton and Rose’s absence, and he’s doing good. Alec Burks, Obi Toppin, and Taj Gibson are all role players for now, but I hope that at least Burks and Toppin, but Toppin at the least, sprout into stars. The Knicks can do so much at the deadline, even if they don’t make the playoffs, they are poised for a huge offseason. Leon Rose can do so much in the offseason. We can sign a free agent, make a trade right now, virtually anything we want. We have a couple of first-round picks, so we can trade up, a lot. I would love a John Collins, or a Michael Porter Jr., or an Andre Drummond. This would definitely propel us toward the playoffs and in my opinion, the younger the player, the heaps and heaps and heaps better. 

Surprisingly, all of these teams have a bright future. I’ll keep you posted.

Spring 2021 Baseball Season and the Mets

Spring Training kicked off this week, and even though I am in school online, I still stream games, yes, I am a very conscientious student, if you’re wondering but baseball is baseball. I never told this to anybody, but because you are reading this blog, I will share something with you. If you go to http://www.volokit.com/schedule/, you can stream any sports event. Yes! Any sports event, no signup, and everything’s 100% free, no, I didn’t just get money for telling you that, I don’t know anyone at Volokit and no one’s paying me if you still don’t believe it – don’t believe it! Think that you’re reading a very established blog writer’s blog who has many connections and finished second in his Harvard journalism class, and it’ll make your reading more enjoyable.

In the first Mets game of the season, some things struck me: 1)Brandon Nimmo is in for a big year, and will hopefully bat <.290. 2) Francisco Lindor is a bust, the worst signing in Mets history (for those of you who didn’t take a baseball bat and smashed your computer to bits and pieces with that last comment, heaps of sarcasm in that). 3) Hopefully Pete Alonso can rebound this season, even though he was 3^rd in homers in the NL last year, I still want to see him hit 30 and this will complement Michael Conforto and Francisco Lindor in the lineup. 4) Kevin Pillar is set to have a season with about 10 homers and a solid starting role, move Albert Almora. 5) I have mixed feelings about our bullpen. Who’s gonna be closer? Who’s the 5/6^th inning man? Who’s the mop-up man? Can we have an elite set up man? Can Edwin Diaz get off LSD? Can we find a closer who’s drug-free? All of these questions will be answered, but only once we hit Opening Day can we decide, because then our pitchers are set and we can answer these questions.

Next two games: 1) I’m excited to see Jeff McNeil this year, I want to see him leadoff, and then the other potential candidates to lead off can round out the lineup near the bottom. 2) Number one prospect Ronny Mauricio isn’t MLB ready, yet, but hey, we’re not that thirsty for prospects. 3) I know I said Albert Almora Jr. isn’t going to start at center, but hey, if Kevin Pillar plays like dog poop in July, then Almora’s easily sliding in there. 4) The Mets rotation is first or second in baseball, Dodgers, Padres or Mets at 1 or 2, but Mets at 1 or 2. 5) I want to see Luis Guillorme in the starting lineup, somehow, some way, I want to see him starting, I don’t know how, but hey, do I get paid Luis Rojas’ salary to figure that out? No. 6) We should experiment with Mallex Smith in the infield because the outfield is as crowded as a middle school hallway, Smith is fast and versatile, so let him get some reps in the infield.

Next games: 1) I love Pete Alonso. But, a grand slam doesn’t mean anything, even if he hit one, anything could still happen in the early season. 2) Even though David Peterson will probably start the season off in the minors, he’s going to come up this season, as a mop-up man or as a genuine starter. 3) Dominic Smith percolated last year, and being one of the most consistent hitters on the team, he’s gonna explode this year. 4) James McCann is not going to just hit, and he’s also not going to just scoop bad pitches. I’ve heard both sides of the spectrum, and I think he’s going to do both, he’s not called “McCannon” for nothing, and he’s playing really well. 5) I think the Mets should prune the outfield and the team in general. We have so many redundant players and other teams are fish in the Sahara Desert for players. Scoop up some prospects, free up cap space, get a veteran, get someone if JD Davis swings and misses at this upcoming season (smooth, right?). 6) Edwin Diaz may have played well against the Astros, but don’t let it fool you, don’t let it don’t, don’t. Diaz hopefully won’t screw up, but hey, it’s Edwin Diaz. 7) Sadly, there isn’t a sixth man in baseball, like there is in basketball, he’s the best player on the bench, but he’s on the bench. Jonathan Villar would fill that role really well, but right now, I can’t see a role for Villar on the team. You would think there’s a point to this statement, but there isn’t, just expressing what I’m saying. 8) Finally, I have a little faith in the Mets’ bullpen, Aaron Loup, Trevor Hildenberger, and Daniel Zamora all help that theory, and I hope that while Spring Training continues, Luis Rojas’ bullpen IQ increases, his faith in the bullpen increases and the pitcher get into their groove. 

Wipe the mustard off your faces while I watch some games.

Spring Training Begins; Pt. 2: NL; Season Opener April 1

Atlanta Braves: This team is scary when everyone except Atlanta Braves fans knew that Freddie Freeman was really good, but he wasn’t at MVP level, last year, he won the MVP. They got Marcell Ozuna back, Charlie Morton – I think it will be really interesting to see how he does, Abraham Almonte, who may not get a starting role, and Jake Lamb, just to add an immense amount of offense. This team is such a fundamentally sound team that there aren’t any needs, which amounts to any people they lost in the offseason isn’t too big. I think they’re still going to be a really good team, but Wild Card, around mid to low 80 wins though.

Miami Marlins: The fans of this team are on edge, they made the playoffs but they’re like the Knicks this year, they don’t have a really good player, but they played/playing really well, so it’s all very shaky. They got Adam Duvall, a solid bat, but he’s past his prime, and they focused on their bullpen this year, which, if you look at playoff teams, there’s one common denominator, a good bullpen. They got Anthony Bass, Adam Cimber, and John Curtiss and they’re all scarily good. But, what’s the most “Marlins” thing they did this year? Let go of a lot of bullpen pitchers, so that didn’t work out too well, Ryne Stanek, Jose Urena and Nick Vincent, and more, so, if there could be another move during the season, then that’s a really good move to propel them towards the playoffs. I think they’ll be 5^th in their division without the move, with the move, 3^rd, or 4^th, and that’s a whole lot of difference.  I think they’ll win 70 games.

Philadelphia Phillies: This is a roster with talent, a lot of untapped potential, but with those players not breaking out, and then this team is going to be hovering around 3 or 4 in their division, and maybe even embark on a slow decline. They resigned JT Realmuto and Didi Gregorious, who they needed to resign, they got Archie Bradley, who I’ve always been a fan of, just his consistency was great and Chase Anderson, as a hybrid pitcher. And they only lost David Phelps and Jake Arrieta, both players that aren’t amazing and they didn’t need them. I am such a fan of this roster and the only hole I can find in this roster is a third outfielder. I think they’ll be 3^rd or 4^th, the reason I put three teams at 3^rd or 4^th is because this division is so volatile and so good.

New York Mets: Now, finally, the Mets made that move, yes, that one, the one we’ve all been waiting for, and now, they need to capitalize on this, don’t just raise Mets fans’ expectations, but actually raise them for a reason. Steve Cohen, the new owner, and Sandy Alderson back with the Amazins, they went crazy in the offseason, and Mets fans couldn't ask for a better one. With Francisco Lindor, Carlos Carrasco, James McCann, Trevor May, Joey Lucchesi, Taijuan Walker, Albert Almora Jr., and Jonathan Villar all added to the roster, the Mets can now put the pedal to the metal and establish themselves early. Let me tell you a little about that, in Fantasy Basketball, if I don’t get a good start, I lost 9 times out of 10. We lost our two best middle infield prospects, Amed Rosario and Andres Giminez, Michael Wacha and Wilson Ramos, if you don’t say we didn’t get better, then get glasses. I think we’re first in our division by at least 8 games.

Washington Nationals: This roster is very young, but it lost talent, if you look at it, this team has potential, seen, and untapped. They got Brad Hand, a great arm out of the bullpen, Josh Bell, who needs to pop off this year, or else, some bad psyche will set in and he’ll turn into Eric Thames, no offense to Eric Thames. They also got a big, inconsistent, powerful bat in Kyle Scwarber and Jon Lester, to probably finish off his career in Washington, but he’s still good, though. They lost Sean Dolittle, but don’t fret, that’s Hand’s role on the team, Adam Eaton, Kurt Suzuki, and Eric Thames were all older and they all left the team. This offseason is amazing. But, if this team doesn’t bring at least one more hitter on this team, that has some power, then this team can flirt with the playoffs. But right now, I see this team around 3^rd, 4^th or 5^th. These five teams make up the hardest division in the MLB, no question.

Chicago Cubs: This team is amazing, I know they might see that they might be on a decline, but no, no, no, do not rebuild, don’t trade Kris Bryant, he’s literally one of the best third basemen in the league, and, unless it involves mostly prospects, and a benchwarmer in the MLB, then I’ll take it, but we like JD Davis, he’s coming into his own and we’ll keep the prospects. Their team didn’t haul in too many players, supporting the “don’t rebuild” strategy, but they did lose some players, like Kyle Schwarber, a big bat, Albert Almora Jr., a great fielder and just a guy that you don’t appreciate him until he’s gone and Jose Martinez, who’s a great all-around player. This team will be second in their division because they lost more players than they got. Around 80 wins for them, second or first in their division.

St. Louis Cardinals: The Cardinals finally took that step, the one that made them good finally, but a few moves are needed. They got Nolan Arenado, a guy who has good speed, and will supply you with 35 homers and a player to take your mind off third base, because he’ll sweep up everything. They lost Kolten Wong and John Brebbia, a win in the offseason for them. They got better, but they need defense, not pitching, but good fielders, pitching wouldn’t be too bad either. I think they’ll be 1^st, 3^rd or 4^th in their division; they’ll either flop or be great.

Cincinnati Reds: The Reds are a team that’s young, but no one really knows what they’re going to do, except Baseball America. But, they’re not all young, they have some aging players, for the young players, and everyone on the team can perform. They got Jeff Hoffman, who’s not too great as a reliever, Sean Doolittle, who can’t falter, and Noe Ramirez, who’s average-ish. They lost Trevor Bauer, Raisel Iglesias, Anthony Desclafani, and Archie Bradley, they lost the core of their general pitching, they had a horrible offseason, not improving on any position, just filling in positions. They’re getting fourth or fifth in the division.

Milwaukee Brewers: This team is really good, but again, they’re in a really good division, so they can’t show themselves. Something that strikes me immediately is the infielders, they need to get some more infielders now, like a go-to guy, someone who’s really good. The Brewers received Kolten Wong, and a bunch of others, like Luke Maile, a catcher, who’s never really been good, but they’re expecting a 7 HR season, 58 RBIs, and a .240/.250 average, they’re not expecting anything big from their players, except their bullpen, Christian Yelich, and Keston Hiura. Those are the only players that are really good and expected to be good on this team. I don’t like it, I like players, young or old, that are all expected to produce (no need to be a dynasty, like the Dodgers, but just 15 HRs and 80 RBIs are good). They lost Alex Claudio and Corey Knebel, both good relievers. This team is getting either 4^th in their division or 3^rd.

Pittsburgh Pirates: The Pirates kicked off their rebuild, and so far, it’s going great, they got rid of the good players, and are bringing up the young. They don’t have a strong rotation and they don’t have really good hitters. They got Tyler Anderson as a back-end (or front end with how bad the rotation is) rotation guy. That’s it. Not eventful, but definitely rebuild-ish. They lost Chris Archer, Josh Bell, Joe Musgrove, Jameson Taillon, and Derek Holland. Nice rebuild, but don’t overdo it, your 17 total fans are going to be slowly declining because of how bad your team is going to be this year. I predict last in their division, by a landslide.

Los Angeles Dodgers: The best team in baseball just got better. Wild. Their main concern is deciding who plays second base, not if anyone’s going to hit 20 HRs, nope, who’s going to play second. The Dodgers can’t get much better. They got Trevor Bauer, Blake Treinen, and Corey Knebel, this team is going to be amazing. Now, they could decide whether to make Knebel the closer, Treinen the closer, or stick with the shaky Jensen. They lost Joc Pederson, Kike Hernandez, and Pedro Baez, the Dodgers’ roster is so good, it doesn’t matter, let them lose Pederson, let them lose Kike, they’ll still be amazing. I predict top of their division at about 100 wins.

San Diego Padres: Yes, yes, Fernando Tatis Jr. is amazing, he’s really good. He deserves the contract… in three years. Let him get settled, let the Padres get settled with Tatis. During the offseason, they got Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, and Jurickson Profar. This rotation just got a lot better, sadly, they don’t have Joey Lucchesi. They lost Kirby Yates, a huge hit to their bullpen, and two of their best prospects, Francisco Mejia and Luis Patino. That’s not all, also, Jason Castro, Zach Davies, Luis Perdomo, Trevor Rosenthal and Mitch Moreland. This Padres team rebuilt so perfectly, but they need a second baseman and center fielder. Then this team has a 90% chance to beat out the Dodgers for the division. Right now, they’re second in their division, at around 90 wins in my opinion.

San Francisco Giants: This is a team that has no future what so ever, their minor leagues are bad and their team right now is bad. They got Tommy La Stella (fun fact: he actually went to my middle school), Alex Wood, and a bunch of other bullpen players that aren’t going to have a big role on the team, what scares me is that the guy upstairs (no, not God, a little lower, and in the stadium) isn’t even trying to make this team better. They lost Tyler Anderson, Drew Smyly, Justin Smoak, and Shaun Anderson. Wow, nice job, guys, last in your division.

Colorado Rockies: This team is again, debating within themselves whether to rebuild to push towards the playoffs. They got Austin Gomber and Robert Stephenson, not too flashy, not too great. They lost Nolan Arenado, Daniel Murphy (retired) and David Dahl, you can’t make this stuff up. Yeah, they’re going full rebuild mode now, fourth in their division, because the Giants take “being bad” to a different level.

Arizona Diamondbacks: Now this is a team with an interesting roster, but I just bad management has taken over this team. They got Asdrubal Cabrera, Joakim Soria, and Tyler Clippard, nothing too great, just old players to fill in some positions. Same with the losses, not that bad, only Junio Guerra (who was extremely shaky), Mike Leake, whose career is over after this year, and Hector Rondon, who they should’ve kept, that guy’s good. I think they’ll be third in their division, high 70 wins. 

As they're saying at every baseball diamond: Play ball!