National League Central

* – indicates new to team

+ – indicates injury

1. Chicago Cubs

A few tweaks to the pitching staff has the ‘lovable losers’ looking to get back to the Fall Classic.

2. St. Louis Cardinals

A busy offseason for the Redbirds with a lot of expectations to get back to playing in October.

3. Milwaukee Brewers

They were the surprise in the Central last year, but they won’t be able to sneak up on anyone this year.

4. Pittsburgh Pirates

The face of the franchise was traded. Now they need to enact their plan to remain competitive for the next crop.

5. Cincinnati Reds

Their pitching staff is still a work in progress, but the future is looking a lot better. Continue reading →

2017 MLB All-Star Teams

For the 87th year of the Midsummer Classic, baseball turns its sights to Marlins Park in Miami, Florida. This will be the first MLB All-Star game played at the Miami Marlins new ballpark. It was first opened back in 2012. Now every year there is always a lot of discussion and some of it a little dated about how the teams are put together. No system will ever be perfect. Fans don’t always get it right and managers won’t either. The fact that the players are able to vote for participants was a great choice and they know who is deserving. Regardless of who should or shouldn’t be in the game lets just accept that the best players will always be involved one way or another. Here are my all-stars keeping with the rules that every team be represented and a total of 34 players for each league. Continue reading →

National League Central

* – indicates new to team

1. Chicago Cubs

They are easily the favorites to repeat this year and could be for many more seasons.

2. St. Louis Cardinals

While they aren’t the flashiest team, they have plenty of depth to plug up any holes.

3. Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates could be in a transitional year with rumors swirling about trading McCutchen.

4. Milwaukee Brewers

They’re still a year or two away from being potential contenders.

5. Cincinnati Reds

The rebuilding project has begun with the offseason trade of Brandon Phillips. Continue reading →

Spring Is In The Air

Is it a coincidence that Spring Training starts around Valentine’s Day? While I like talking about football, basketball and hockey, I love when it’s time for baseball. The sound of the ball hitting the glove or being struck by a bat. This is my first love when it comes to sports. Continue reading →

2016 MLB Trade Deadline Review

As with past deadline deals these will be highly scrutinized for many years. Instantly we see and decide who got the better end of the deal, but we really won’t know until at least two or three seasons down the road. The only way to know in real time is if the team getting the established major leaguer goes on to win a World Series. Time will tell if that happens this year with the flurry of names (a few marquee ones) being dealt this July.

Continue reading →