Signor Baseball's My God What Took You So Long, The Season Is More Than A Third Over 2024 MLB Preview

Well, it is easier this way. All those early season improbabilities--hot streaks and cold streaks--have played out. Things have settled down a bit and we can get down to the nutcracking.

AL East

Do the Yankees finally have enough pitching? Beats me. So far they do, but like every other team, they're a couple of strained tendons away from disaster. They certainly have enough bats. Boy, do they. Judge, Soto and Stanton are a modern Murderers Row. And they seem to be in a race to see who can hit the ball the hardest and the longest.

However, the Orioles, despite flaming out in the Playoffs last year, are still for real. So it looks like the race in the East will be neck and neck til October, with the runner up a lock for one of the Wild Card slots.

For the rest of the division, Toronto, Tampa, and Boston, mired around .500 as I write this, there is a chance to pick up one of the other Wild Cards, if only because they're all capable of winning more than they lose the rest of the way, and that puts them ahead of most of the rest of the AL. Also, they're all still good enough to screw up New York and/or Baltimore's season. 

AL Central

The White Sox are loathsome. Perhaps even historically bad. But besides the stench coming out of Chicago, this is a very competitive division--at least for now. Cleveland should win, but Kansas City and Minnesota are right there, and even Detroit could cause some problems.  Right around .500 might conceivably get a Wild Card slot. And we saw what can happen last year, if you can sneak into the playoffs. So, hope springs eternal for a bunch of fundamentally mediocre teams. Get hot at the right time and anything is possible.

AL West

The Athletics and Angels are bad teams--not White Sox bad--but plain ol' bad. This is what happens when you have garbage ownership (in both cases) and you lose your two best players to free agency and seemingly perpetual injury (in the Angels' case). It's hard for me to trust Seattle, based on them trading their closer last year while they were still in a pennant race. That's just odd. The Rangers don't look like defending champions--but there is a lot of time left for them to figure it out. And it's beginning to look like Houston's window has closed, at least for the time being. Again, it's possible for any team around .500 to have a shot at a Wild Card, which will make August and September very interesting.

NL East 

Right now, the Phillies have no apparent weaknesses. Injuries--and there are almost always injuries--could change that in a hurry. However, barring something truly catastrophic, they should win the East, with Atlanta right behind them and in line for a Wild Card. Washington and Miami are simply not good enough at this point. It's hard to believe that the Nationals were champions not that long ago. It's also hard to remember a championship team that was dismantled so rapidly. And the Marlins are, well, the Marlins...The Mets are a punchline. All that hedge fund money for this?! Might be time to sell off a few "assets" for prospects and magic beans.

NL Central

One kinda good team (Milwaukee) and four teams hovering around .500. Again, if one or more of the Cards, Cubs, Reds, and even the Pirates, gets hot at the right time...they could grab a Wild Card. I'm not sure what's happened to St. Louis--they used to be the class of this division year in and year out--but I bet it has something to do with Yadier Molina retiring. Chicago has some interesting pieces and Craig Counsell has won with much less. And both Cincy and Pittsburgh have exciting young players and two very nice ballparks. The ball parks will be around for many years, but the exciting young players will probably leave when their rookie deals are up. For now, enjoy! So, if the Brewers hit a rough spot, we could have a five team race right down to the finish line. Five fairly mediocre teams, but still it would be a lot of fun for their fans.

NL West

If the Dodgers don't win this division there ought to be a Congressional investigation. They are loaded. Every Ohtani at bat is a must see event. So it's strange that they aren't running away from three essentially average teams (and, of course, the Rockies who are a perennial punching bag). It's better to be 6 games ahead than 6 games behind, but with all that talent you would expect L.A. to have a double digit lead by now. The Padres, Giants, and Diamondbacks are in the same boat as every other .500 team--and boy, are there a lot of them. Get hot at the right time, sneak into the playoffs and hope that you can stay hot. Hey, it worked for the D-Backs last year...

Signor Baseball's My God The Season's More Than Half Over Better Late Than Never MLB Predictions

So, it's a little late.

Ok. It's a lot late.

I've been busy.

Not exactly sure doing what...but something.

Anyway, here goes:

AL

I do not trust the Yankees in the playoffs for the simple reason that they can't seem to beat Houston on a consistent basis. And chances are they won't hit 3-4 home runs in every playoff game. Plus their pitching is still inconsistent. (Some things never change...)

So, they will win 108 to 112 games, everyone in NYC will start dreaming of another World Series, and then they will run into better pitching at some point in the playoffs, the homer binge will dry up like last week's flowers, and that, as they say, will be that. This has happened consistently now for over a decade, but "hope springs eternal" et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Still, it will be fun watching Judge hit home runs, knowing that each one will add a million dollars a year to his next contract. 

For a while it looked like all three wild cards would come out of the East, but the Red Sox, Rays, and Blue Jays have started to come back to the pack, and now it will be 6-7 team horse race--including the the three East runners up, the Guardians, White Sox, Mariners, and Orioles (quelle surprise!) for the three slots.

Elsewhere, the Astros are a lock in the West and the Twins have to worry about both Cleveland and Chicago catching them in the Central. If that happens, throw Minnesota into the wild card mix.

And, yet again, the Angels have wasted a year of both Ohtani and Trout's prime. Two of the best players in the MLB have never even come close to sniffing the playoffs. I don't know who's running that franchise, but he should probably do us all a favor and start looking for a new job. 

NL

Those dreams of a Mets-Yankees World Series have withered like last week's flowers. Atlanta is hot on the Mets' tail, and based on past performances will catch them in mid August/early September. However, New York should still grab a wild card slot, and if Scherzer and DeGrom are healthy, can make some noise in the playoffs. Two very strong starters can take you a long way. You only have to look at the Nationals a couple of years ago, or, for you older folks, the Diamondbacks in 2001. In Philadelphia, the Phillies will have to content themselves with the prospect of a wild card.

In the Central, the Brewers and Cardinals will be neck and neck all the way to the end, with the loser having a strong shot at a wild card.

And in the West, once again the Dodgers are far and away the class of the division. Both the Giants and Padres have a chance at a wild card. 

Finally, the Diamondbacks aren't nearly as bad as last year. They aren't good, either. Next stop is mediocrity. Based on where they were, a .500 season would warrant a parade. But that will have to "wait until next year."

And Arizona's fans can content themselves watching all the former D-Back players in the playoffs with other teams. They should be used to it by now.

Signor Baseball's 2021 NL Preview

Normally, I'd base this year's previews at least in part on last year's performance.

But last year was so weird, so very, very weird, that it shouldn't be used for that purpose. 

So, blindly, stumblingly, (which may not even be a word), we venture forth into the 2021 National League season without too many clues.

In that way, it will be much like the last 4 years of cocksure Trumpian incompetence.

Except 500,000 people won't die if I don't get it right.

East: it sure looks like the Braves are the class of this division again. Atlanta's pitching isn't quite as strong as the Mets and possibly the Nationals, but it isn't far off, either. And their everyday lineup, with Acuna, Ozuna, Freeman and Swanson, is much better than either. So...everybody else is playing for second--barring injuries. The Mets still have those stud starters and adding Francisco Lindor will upgrade the offense, but probably not enough to catch up with Atlanta. Philadelphia, Washington and Miami are in the same boat. Fairly solid teams that have at least one glaring hole. This is maybe the most competitive division in the NL, so, if the Braves falter, any of the other clubs could move ahead of them. Second place should have a good shot at a Wild Card slot.

Central: the one certainty in this division is that the Pirates will finish last. For a few years they were very competitive, but that window has slammed shut. Sad for the Pittsburgh faithful, but life isn't fair. As far as the other 4 teams go, St. Louis looks the strongest, but not that much stronger than Milwaukee. Both teams have question marks. Milwaukee still has a lights out bullpen, but needs a big comeback from Yelich, who was not himself in the CoVid season. In the City of the Big Shoulders, the Cubs have a bunch of front line players looking at free agency after this year. It may be the last dance for Chicago's core. And, perhaps, another 108 year World Series drought. As always seems to happen, it will come down to pitching. Here again, there isn't much to separate these teams. The Brewers have that strong bull pen and weak starters, the Cubs lost their ace, and St. Louis's top pitchers have a few miles on them. So, your guess is as good as mine. Finally, Cincinnati is just not as good as the other three. Their offense consists of Joey Votto and 7 guys you've never heard of and their best starter is injured--but they're still better than Pittsburgh. So they've got that going for them. Maybe a Wild Card slot for the runner up. Maybe not.

West: the Dodgers remain the team to beat, but the Padres are closing fast. Los Angeles will defend its World Series' crown with extremely strong pitching and a bunch of proven bats. What more do you need? Luck. San Diego has thrown a lot of money around, and their everyday line-up is about as solid as L.A.'s. Machado and Tatis will put up big numbers, but their starting pitching isn't nearly as good, so...The Giants just don't have the talent to keep pace. But on the bright side, San Francisco is a great city to hang out in and a lot of big contracts come off the books next off season, so hope springs eternal. Arizona has a little more talent, but they need a huge comeback year from Madison Bumgarner to truly compete and that doesn't seem likely at this point. And Colorado traded their best all around player for a pocketful of dreams. The Rockies look like a good solid last place team. That legal weed will really come in handy for their fans. Indeed, for all the fans of the also rans in this division. It does ease the pain. Dodgers first, but not in a runaway this time. Padres second and a Wild Card berth. Everybody else is playing for the 3-5 slots.

Signor Baseball's 2019 NL Preview

 I think it was Jesus who first said "Good pitching beats good hitting. Except when it doesn't."

Or maybe it was Casey Stengel, who was a much more interesting conversationalist.

Anyway, as some people try to pretend, at least for a little while, that Trump is "innocent" and also a "man", let's take a look at what the National League has to offer for 2019.

In the East, we see a jumble. The Mets still have superior starting pitching--when healthy. But they can't seem to stay healthy. And they also don't seem capable of scoring enough runs to win those games when their superior starting pitching gives up more than 1-2 runs. So, sadly, let's forget about the Mets. Philadelphia added Bryce Harper's big bat, and perhaps more importantly, J. T. Realmuto, one of the best catchers in baseball, and maybe that will be enough to push them past Atlanta. Washington added another good arm; but good arms tend to get hurt in National's land. If they don't, look for a three team race, with the runner up having a good shot at a Wild Card. It could be a four team race, if the Mets bats could ever keep up with their arms. And the arms stay healthy, of course. Nah. New York will be somewhere around .500 and that leaves the Marlins in last, still occasionally developing good players, and then having to get rid of them when they ask for more money. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

In the Central, the Cubs, Brewers, and Cardinals should be neck and neck all season long. Chicago still puts the best lineup on the field--but where did that get them last year? Milwaukee is solid everywhere--but starting pitching, And the St. Louis, thanks to Arizona's penury, now has Paul Goldschmidt to anchor their batting order. 30 homers, 100 rbi's, and a .300 average looks pretty good in any team's lineup. Injuries and whichever team's starters come through will decide the Central. Probably a Wild Card, maybe two, from here as well. Elsewhere, the Pirates are talented, but very young, and probably a year or two away from seriously competing. And it looks like Cincinnati will have to rely on the madcap comedic stylings of Yasiel Puig to make this year entertaining. He may not be the second coming of Willie Mays, but he is endlessly amusing.

Out West, the Diamondbacks traded their best everyday player, lost their second best everyday player and number 2 starter to free agency, and replaced the grass on their field with artificial turf. What they really need to replace is their managing general partner, Ken Kendrick, who is an imbecile. Tough for any team to overcome an imbecile owner, so...unless their pitching is a lot better than it looks, last place seems like a likely outcome for Arizona. Probably lowest attendance in the division, too. Suck on that, ownership. For the rest of the division, the Dodgers still are the team to beat, with Colorado a not so close second. L.A. is just loaded; they should be with that payroll. If they don't run away with the West, somebody ought to lose their job. I don't see a Wild Card team coming from this division. All indications are that San Francisco's window of opportunity has closed for the time being, though they'll still be favored almost every time Bumgarner takes the mound. Too bad he can't pitch every day, huh? The Giants still have one of the best ballparks in the majors and that ain't nothing. If there's a possible surprise team in the West it's San Diego. Without the various pressures of playing in L.A., Manny Machado should regain his All-Star form. And Fernando Tatis Jr. looks like the real deal. Now, if they can just find some reliable arms...

Signor Baseball's 2018 NL Preview

Let's take a break from watching the latest porn star revelations about that pig in the White House and think about something more pleasant.

NL East: Washington has the best team--but the Nationals have been the best team for a few years now, and have next to nothing to show for it. Bryce Harper will hit many home runs and Max Scherzer will strike out many batters, but somehow they always find a way to fail in the playoffs. And that gets old, after awhile. So, let's go with the Mets, who have superior pitching (if they can stay healthy) and an interesting collection of proven (read "old") players, and some castoffs trying to prove their former teams wrong. Whichever team finishes second should have a good shot at a Wild Card. Philadelphia and Atlanta are both works in progress, with loads of young talent, but still a couple of years away.  Miami is a complete dumpster fire. Derek Jeter was a sure fire Hall of Fame player, but as an executive, right now he's in the Rookie League.

In the Central it should be the Cubs, and rather easily, too. I don't think they're going to miss Jake Arrieta too much, but if they do, that might just open the door enough for another team to sneak in. The Cardinals are always competitive--they just don't have the same level of talent as Chicago.  Their best hope is a Wild Card slot. The Brewers and perhaps the Pirates could also be in the Wild Card race, with a few breaks. Milwaukee is the more likely of the two. They added two very good outfielders to an already competitive team. Pittsburgh can put a pretty strong starting 8 on the field every day, but they have to hope that a mostly untested pitching staff is ready for the big leagues. The Reds have Joey Votto and, uh, well...Cincinnati will try not to lose 120 games. We all need goals in life.

And finally, the West will be wild. The only team that definitely won't be in the chase are the Padres, and apparently they have a loaded minor league system, so, as they say, wait until next year, San Diego. In the meantime, enjoy some fresh seafood and a walk on the beach. The Dodgers could possibly repeat, but they've already had one key injury, and beyond Clayton Kershaw, L.A.'s starting pitching isn't particularly reliable. San Francisco fell apart last year, after Madison Bumgarner's injury. So they went out and got a couple of reliable, if older, bats...and Bumgarner gets hurt again. Who knows what will happen until he gets back? If the Giants haven't dug themselves a deep hole--like last year--they may be a long shot for a Wild Card. Colorado was a Wild Card last year, and could conceivably be one again. Strange things have been known to happen in that thin Denver air. I can't believe I'm saying this, but the Diamondbacks look like the team to beat. Arizona puts a solid team on the field every day and if their pitching holds and they can get through the year without any major injuries, they should be the class of the West.

Signor Baseball's 2017 NL Preview

So, the Chicago Cubs are World Champions and Donald J. Trump befouls the White House. 2016 was a year of extremely unlikely events.

Of course, the Cubs did it without the help of Vladimir Putin, the FBI, and millions of really stupid people.

But enough of this talk of treason, on to more important matters. In the NL East, Washington is once again the team to beat. Their everyday lineup is second only to the Cubs in the NL and they have, when everybody is healthy--I'm looking at you Stephen Strasburg--very good pitching. Keep this in  mind, though: if there is any way for the Nationals to blow it, they will. The Mets have even better pitching, and the bats to score some runs. However, nearly every one of their starters has had injury issues in the past. And like they say, past is prologue. However, barring multiple injuries to their staff, New York should still be in the running for a Wild Card. Atlanta is in the middle of a major rebuild and Miami is in the middle of being sold. Jeffrey Loria will now have to look for something else he can screw up. Hey, maybe there's a place for him in the Trump administration! The Braves have some good young hitters and can beat anyone when their ace is on the mound. Unfortunately that's only every fifth game. The rest of the time....? The Marlins will hype every single one of Giancarlo Stanton's massive home runs. Can you blame them? I mean, what else do they have to cheer about, other than Loria leaving? Try to name one Phillie. Go on. I dare you. Another long, miserable summer in Philadelphia.

In the Central, Pittsburgh's window of opportunity has just about closed. Having no dependable starting pitching will do that to a team. Oh, they'll score runs, but so will every team they play. The really interesting question for the Pirates is whether or not Andrew McCutcheon will bounce back from an off year, or has begun the inevitable descent to nothingness...The Cubs, on the other hand, are loaded from top to bottom and probably the only thing that can stop them is the pressure of being expected to defend their championship. On the banks of the mighty Mississippi, the Cardinals are always competitive, but on paper at least they just don't match up with the Cubs. Look for Chicago to walk away with this one and St. Louis to be chasing the Mets and the Giants for a Wild Card. The Brewers and Reds just aren't very good. Both are rebuilding. Both have one superstar surrounded by young players who may or may not pan out eventually. Both have pitching staffs patched together with retreads, busts, other teams' back of the rotation guys, and unproven kids. Good luck with that.

Out West, the Diamondbacks should be better, but still not good enough to compete with the Dodgers and the Giants.  Arizona's starting pitching still looks shake-y and their closer is well past whatever prime he had. But they will score a lot of runs and, who knows, maybe some of their perennial young pitching prospects will actually start to pan out. Los Angeles has spent mucho dinero putting together a team that just cannot get to the World Series. They should win the division again, but until Clayton Kershaw starts pitching like, well, Clayton Kershaw, in the playoffs, they still will come up short, Series wise. The Giants have solid pitching, but when you look at their everyday lineup you wonder how they'll score runs. However, they don't beat themselves very often, they have one of the best managers in the majors, and a Wild Card berth is almost a given. Colorado and San Diego will, once again, pull up the rear. Wait until next year, you Padre and Rockies fans. Or the year after that, or the year after that, or...ya know, why don't you just pick another team to root for? Save yourselves a lot of heartache.

Signor Baseball's Well Past Midseason, Hell, Let's Call It The Stretch Run, MLB Update

"And down the stretch they come!"

See what I've done there? Used the horse race metaphor!

Even though I'm pretty sure that none of the baseball teams trying to make the playoffs have tiny little men sitting on their backs whipping them.

Then again, who knows?

The thing about the one game MLB Wild Card playoff is that you usually have two flawed teams going at it. And while that may be fun for the fans in those cities, it doesn't often make much difference for the remainder of the playoffs. The winner will probably use their best pitcher, which kinda screws them for the next round. Not always--but often enough.

Anyway, as I write this, there are 7 teams still in contention for the two AL Wildcards and 5 for the NL.

In the AL, the Orioles, Red Sox, Yankees, Mariners, Tigers, Astros and Royals are all within 7 games of each other. And Toronto is only a game up in the East, so they should probably be considered, too.

Throw out the Yankees, because they just aren't as good as the Orioles, Red Sox, or Blue Jays. They have just one dependable starter, and Gary Sanchez is probably not the second coming of Babe Ruth.  The Mariners aren't any better. That leaves Detroit, Kansas City and Houston trying to catch Boston, Baltimore, and Toronto.

If you go by pitching, KC and Houston have the edge over both the Orioles and Red Sox.  Add in the East teams all playing each other the last month and it gets much harder for Boston and Baltimore. They do score a lot of runs, but will that be enough to overcome their pitching shortcomings? The defending champion Royals have muddled along all season and still find themselves in the race. One strong month could put them back in the post season. In fact, that could apply to any of these teams. A good winning streak and they're in. But which teams are capable of that? It looks like a last day of the season scenario, once again.

So you make the Wild Card. So you win the Wild Card. To move on, you need at least two top flight starters, a consistent bull pen, and some clutch bats. This is shocking to say, but other than Cleveland, who has that? It's a muddle, I tells ya. A muddle.

The NL is only slightly clearer. San Francisco has had such an awful couple of months that it's time for them to play well again. They'll either catch LA for the West or take one of the Wild Cards. That leaves the Cardinals, Mets, Pirates and Marlins battling for the second Wild Card.

The Cardinals are the strongest all around. The Mets have the best starters--when healthy. The Pirates have a very good every day lineup and no dependable starters. Not a one. And I have no idea how the Marlins have stayed this close. Maybe Barry Bonds' Magic Beans. So, sorry Pittsburgh. Sorry Miami.

If New York can somehow recapture last season's magic, and figure out a way to score a few runs, they can catch St. Louis. After that, who knows? The Cubs look unbeatable at times, but they fell apart in last year's playoffs, so...San Francisco and Washington have the 2 Aces needed to go deep, and the Giants have a history of playoff success. The Dodgers have the "best pitcher in baseball", but the "best pitcher in baseball" has proven to be very human in the post season. He's also coming off an injury. And the rest of their staff is hit or miss.

To use an old William Goldman quote in another context, "nobody knows anything."

All in all, it makes for a very interesting few weeks of baseball.

Signor Baseball's 2016 NL Preview

Time to temporarily put away childish things...like Trump and Cruz and super delegates and all those millionaires and billionaires cheating on their taxes, and think for a moment about something important.

NL East: It has perhaps occurred to some of us that Bryce Harper is not as good as Bryce Harper thinks Bryce Harper is...or is that simply a clown conjecture? Anyway, what are we, Bryce Harper included, without our aspirations? The Nationals aspire to not be such a huge letdown, yet again. Matt Williams was not particularly good at his job, so now it's Dusty Baker's turn to be disappointed by all that talent. The Mets retain superior pitching and a couple of bats, and if they can stop shooting themselves in the foot, as they did throughout the World Series, and nobody's arm falls off, always a big "if", they should be the class of this division. Down Miami way, repeat after me "worst owner in baseball, worst owner in baseball". We will see if Don Mattingly can manage a team with a payroll under 200 mil. But who knows, they have a knack for turning up young talent, Giancarlo Stanton is beast if healthy, and maybe Barry Bonds will spread some pharmaceutical magic and the Marlins will ride his pixie dust into contention. The Braves, as always, are solid, but not nearly good enough to win this division. The Phillies are in complete tear it down and start over mode. Which is fine, because booing is a Philadelphia sports fan's automatic default mode anyway.

The NL Central presents the unsettling proposition that the Cubs are now the team to beat. Can this be?  Yes, Virginia, it can. And it would be great if they could finally win the pennant and the Series and we could finally stop hearing about the curse of the billy goat, and all the other miseries that have befallen Chicago since 1908. I don't think that's going to happen this year, but they should win the Central at least. Unless, of course, the pressure of being the presumptive favorite is too much for them. The Cardinals and Pirates will be right behind them should they falter. St. Louis, ho hum, is again very, very good. Year in and year out, not unlike the San Antonio Spurs. Although lately they seem to be snake bitten injury wise. And, at best, the poor Pirates look destined to play another one game Wild Card playoff. Maybe they can win one...some day. The Brewers and Reds bring up the rear. I'd look for fire sales from both of them come mid Summer. Frankly, states that elect the likes of Scott Walker and John Kasich really deserve no more.

Out in the NL West, the Diamondbacks look like a real baseball team for the first time in awhile, and many much wiser folks than I have predicted big things from them this year. Unfortunately, their skeevy owners have decided to extort the locals into turning over the public trough--or else! Just another Give Us More--Or We Will Leave punk move by a group of very wealthy white men. Sound familiar? So, I wish ruin upon them and pick, ho hum, LA or SF to win the division. Even without Greinke, the Dodgers are still loaded and it's an even year, which recently has meant 'the Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!' Down San Diego way, there's a Nobu real close to Padres' Petco Field. So they've got that going for them...And up in Colorado, the Rockies can have all the legal Mary Jane they can get their hands on...win or mostly lose, it's all good, bro!

PS if you had Jordan Spieth in the Quadruple Bogey pool, you're a winner!

Signor Baseball's Mid-Season Update

Well, as Al Pacino was heard to shout, repeatedly, in Heat, "whadda ya got?"

Out in the NL West, your Arizona Diamondbacks, where it should be noted that Randy Kendrick, the wife of principal owner Ken Kendrick, just loves her some Koch Bros to death*, are better than I thought they'd be. Especially with that starting pitching. They also have a couple of legitimate young stars. The San Diego Padres are not nearly as good as I thought they'd be. Pitching problems here, too. And they brought in a bunch of talent that just doesn't fit together. Colorado is in last, where they belong, and so once again it's Dodgers vs Giants. Ho hum. The only question is which round of the playoffs will Clayton Kershaw fail in this time?

In the Central, the Cardinals are starting to come back to the pack a little. The Pirates look like they have enough pitching to stay with St. Louis the rest of the way, and at the very least grab a Wild Card. In Cutch we Trust. The Cubs are still a year away. And both Cincinnati and Milwaukee are major disappointments. Look for fire sales soon from the Reds and Brewers...

In the East, Washington is by far the strongest team. But since they haven't really won anything yet, it's hard to pick them to go all the way to the Series. The Mets have great pitching and very little offense, the Braves always find a way to hang around, and the Marlins still have a seemingly inexhaustible supply of young talent and probably the worst owner in MLB. And that's saying something. Overall, however, it looks like this is the Nationals' division to win or lose. Finally, in the City of Brotherly Love, the poor Phillies will have a "going out of business sale" very soon. Pray that your team gets Cole Hamels.

In the AL West, Seattle and Oakland have underperformed so far. That Robinson Cano contract is starting to look like a disaster for the Mariners, even sooner than predicted. But since Houston (!) is starting to fade, (sorry end-timers, but I think you'll have to "wait until next year" for that Astros vs Cubs World Series that was prophesied in the Book of Revelations), Texas is mediocre at best, and despite Trout and Pujols putting up huge numbers, Los Angeles isn't that good, should either team play just a little bit better, they'll be right back in the race.

In the Central, Cleveland and Chicago are the Cincinnati and Milwaukee of the American League. Fortunately, they haven't dug quite as deep holes. So, win a series here and there and there's still hope. Unless, of course, the Royals play .600 ball the rest of the way. The surprising Twins are short of pitching and should fade over the next few weeks. And Detroit has way too much talent to not be in the race until the bitter end. Unless, of course, the Royals play .600 ball the rest of the way.

Finally in the East, the Yankees may be in first place, but every team still has a shot at winning this division. There are no superior pitching staffs, each team is flawed in some serious way, and even the Red Sox, who sucked for the first two and a half months, aren't out of it. It's beginning to look like a "decided the last weekend" kind of year. There might even be a Wild Card team from the East, based on how the other divisions are muddling along.

*Where would we be without really stupid rich people to keep us entertained? Nowhere, mon frere!

Signor Baseball's 2015 NL Preview

Hey Man! Forget about wealth inequality and climate change and ISIS/ISIL and racism and sexism and all the other isms we seem doomed to wallow in. It's baseball season! Spring for the MLB package, get the big Costco bag of chips, load up the Frigidaire with cheap beer and relax....Bread and circuses baby!

The National League East should be all Washington. They've added Max Scherzer to an already strong pitching staff and have more than enough hitting to get by. So get ready for the Nationals to more or less run away with it...And then get ready for Matt Williams to screw up the bullpen in the playoffs and the watch the Nationals crash and burn. Again.  Miami, even with their farm system churning out a seemingly endless supply of good young players, doesn't look strong enough to contend for the whole season, and Atlanta has lost too many big bats and arms to be feared, though the Braves always seem to come up with new talent from somewhere. Both teams should keep pace with Washington for awhile, but eventually drift back, with little or no chance at a wild card. The Mets will be better--perhaps even the best team in New York--for whatever that is worth these days. Unless Matt Harvey blows out his arm again. At that point their season will be reduced to guessing what Bartolo Colon weighs. The Philadelphia Phillies have, right before our eyes, gone from being the strength of the division to being a train wreck. By mid season, Cole Hamels, who deserves better, will sue for lack of support and demand to be traded anywhere.

In the Central, if you believe the hype, the Chicago Cubs are legitimate contenders. New manager, new ace, best farm system in the majors. On the other hand, they've sent a player who sounds like the second coming of Mike Schmidt down to the minors for a few weeks to save some money. Don't you just love it when billionaires pinch pennies?  Oh, and they screwed up rebuilding the bleachers so badly that Wrigley Field will now look like a construction site for the first two months of the season. Sounds like the same old Cubs to me. The Cardinals are still the team to beat, just like last year, and the year before that, and the year before that, and... St. Louis will be closely followed by the Pirates, with their all-star outfield, the Brewers, who gacked up a big lead last year in fairly impressive fashion, and the Cincinnati Reds, who always look better on paper than they really are. However, if the Cubs are as advertised, this might be a 5 team race to the very end, with a wild card probably coming from this division as well.

Out West, even with all the line-up changes, San Francisco and Los Angeles are still at the top of the heap.The Dodgers have the highest payroll in MLB, and that ought to count for something--shouldn't it? I mean, look at the Yankees...The Giants, on the other hand, just win World Series on a regular basis with strong pitching, Buster Posey, and any seven other guys they can find. Somebody in "The City" must know what they're doing. San Diego got themselves a whole new outfield, a #1 starter, an elite closer and should compete. They look impressive on paper, but the Padres' Petco Field seems to be a place where power hitters go to die. So Meyers, Kemp, and the "good" Upton may just end up with a lot of long outs. Arizona has a new manager, no everyday big league catcher, a starting staff you've never heard of, and the look of a non-contender. They spent a lot of money on a Cuban kid who apparently can't field very well, wherever they put him. Maybe someday the Diamondbacks will start an everyday lineup with real major leaguers at every position. To quote Principal Skinner, "Prove me wrong kids, prove me wrong." They will be lucky to stay a little ahead of Colorado, which is still a lovely place to spend the summer. And that legal weed should help people cope with yet another mediocre Rockies team. You have to wonder at what point Tulowitzki says "get me out of here!"

But hey, it's a long, long season and anything is possible, so "play ball!"

Signor Baseball's 2014 NL Preview

Well, it's that time of year again. Mr. Franklin tears himself away from wondering what happened to that airliner (has anybody checked gate 69 at Newark International?), and temporarily crawls out of the ice bath in which he braces himself for another delightful Phoenix Summer. The Crimea Crisis gets shoved to the back burner, all political shenanigans are swept aside for the moment, and he turns his attention to what truly matters: Signor Baseball's 2014 National League preview...

In the East, last year was supposed to be Washington's year. Didn't happen. Atlanta ran away from them. This year, three quarters of the Braves rotation imploded the first week of Spring training. So, hey, better late than never, let's go Nationals! Let's see if Matt Williams is a better manager than he was a third base coach. The Braves have plenty of bats, but their pitching is suddenly a hospital ward. The Phillies are just old, old, old. And some of them are getting grouchy, too. Some old guys are like that. The Mets are still not very good. Money can buy you everything but happiness--and a good team. With the Yankees in a weakened condition this may be a depressing season all around for New Yorkers. And 90 miles north of Cuba, the Marlins are...what exactly? They come up with a bunch of young talent year after year, have won as many World Series as the Yankees in the last eleven seasons, and still nobody comes to see them play. Plus their owner is a complete jerk. Hey, maybe that has something to do with it! Still, they have some bats and a little pitching (at least until their young players are eligible for free agency), so who knows? Washington hasn't won anything yet, the Braves and Phillies do have a couple of arms and a couple of bats, and this may be a year where almost every team in the East plays right around .500 and whoever gets hot in September wins the division.

The Central division, as usual, should be a dog fight until the end.  Reds, Cards, Pirates. Take your pick. At least one of the Wild Cards will come from the runners up. The Reds looked like they had a slight edge before their 100 mph closer took one in the eye a couple of days ago. Ouch. And the Pirates probably won't repeat last year's success. Their pitching just isn't that good. I get tired of picking St. Louis every year, but they put a good solid team on the field every year, and that's all that it takes in this division. So far, in the Windy City, City of the Big Shoulders, Hog Butcher to the World, Blahblahblah, Theo Epstein hasn't been able to work any wonders with the Cubs. They'll battle it out with Milwaukee for last place. Again. The good folks of Chicago certainly deserve better, but as Clint Eastwood once said, "deserves got nothing to do with it." I guess some curses are harder to break than others. And regarding the Brewers, well, any state that elects Scott Walker gets a truly sucky team. That's just Karma, I think.

And finally, out West, apparently Arizona has become a place that good young arms come to die. And with them, the Diamondbacks' hopes of catching the Dodgers. Now, repeat after me, "you can never have enough pitching."  Unfortunately, in an attempt to fill some other holes, the team traded a whole bunch of pitching that would sure come in handy about now. On offense, this Trumbo guy that Arizona brought in to protect Goldschmidt will hit 35-40 homers and strike out a lot. Mark Reynolds comes to mind.The rest of the lineup will scrape away trying to find enough runs to compete. All for naught, because the Dodgers are plain loaded from top to bottom. Case in point: their #5 starter was the D-Backs #1 a couple of years ago. The Giants, though they don't have many bats besides Posey's, should be better than last year--at least good enough to compete for a Wild Card slot. Indeed, San Francisco has won a couple of World Series with essentially the same level of talent. The D-Backs will have to hope that some sort of rotator cuff plague hits LA and San Francisco if they want to have a chance at winning this division. Do not fret, Rockies' and Padres' fans. Colorado and San Diego are still very nice places to spend the summer. And you can get legal weed in Denver! So they got that going for them.

So, light 'em up, and play ball!