Get Ready for Ty's 3rd Annual MLB Playoff Preview

Check out Ty's preseason preview here.

Two quick things before I get to my MLB playoff preview. First, "Curb Your Enthusiasm" came back last night and it is as wonderful as it has always been. The show is pure genius, and it was like they never left. Larry David is a god damn genius and everyone needs to watch the show. It is glorious.

Second, what happened in Las Vegas last night is pure tragedy. We are in very dark times as a country right now, and just when you do not think it can get any worse, something like last night happens. This is scary and just awful, awful news. America is not the safe place I knew as a child. I should never be scared to go to a concert, but last night will forever have me looking over my shoulder at any live event. What a horrible tragedy.

Now, to lighten things up a bit, I am going to do my MLB playoff preview. First off, I have only been to one Cardinals game this year, and other than that, I have watched next to no baseball this year. Football is back. The NBA preseason is going on, so why on Earth would I watch baseball. But, I do enjoy the playoffs, even though I will enjoy them a bit less this year since the Cards didn't make it. Also, I have not read RD's preview yet, but that is on purpose. I want to write mine, then see how close we get to each other's picks. Anyway, lets get to it.

I'm going to focus on the American League first. In the Wild Card game we have the New York Yankees and the Minnesota Twins. Man do I want to pick the Twins. That would be amazing. What holds me back from picking them is the fact that they lost 100 games a year ago, and they barely squeaked into the playoffs this year. The Yankees were pretty decent all year. Their pitching is subpar, but they can hit. In a one game matchup I just see the Yankees being able to score 6 or 7 runs and win a high scoring game. Something like 7-5 or 6-3. I'll be pulling for Minnesota, but I think the Yankees will win this first game.

A Yankees win would make the divisional matchups Yankees-Indians and Red Sox-Astros. The Red Sox may have think they dodged a bullet because you know Terry Francona probably would have swept them out of the first round again, but the Astros have been one of the best teams in baseball all year. They can hit, play defense, and since acquiring Justin Verlander, they have some solid pitching. The Red Sox have a great lineup capable of putting up numbers. What should scare Red Sox fans is their pitching. On paper they look dominate. But, David Price has been either hurt or inconsistent, David Pomeranz cannot go more than 5 innings and Chris Sale, who is supposed to be the surest thing in the AL, has been getting shelled lately. I like the Astros to win this series in 5 games. I think the fact that they can throw Dallas Kuechel and Justin Verlander out there for at least three games gives them the edge. They also have some great hitters, Jose Altuve to be more specific, and I just think they are a better team.

In the Yankees-Indians matchup, I do not see how the Indians don't sweep them. They are better in every phase of the game. They have better pitching, more timely hitting, better fielders and much better coaching. They may have peaked too soon some will say, but they will be sweeping the Yankees out in this round.

So, the ALCS will be Houston and Cleveland. Houston matches up better than the Yankees do, but I still like the Indians. Again, they are playing excellent baseball right now, they have a great lineup, great pitching and the best coach in the AL. This series will go a bit longer, I'm thinking 6 games, but I like the Indians to return to the World Series.

On to the National League. The Wild Card game again has me wanting to pick one team, but thinking the other will win. I'd love to see the Rockies make a long playoff run, but the Diamondbacks have better pitching and Paul Goldschimdt and one of the Upton brothers. That is more than enough for them to win. The game will be fun, but I see the Diamondbacks pulling away late in the game.

So, that gives us the divisional matchups of Dodgers-Diamondbacks and Cubs-Nationals. The Dodgers-Diamondbacks is going to be a hard fought, five game series. These teams matchup very well against one another. I know that the Dodgers have over 100 wins, but unlike the Indians, they have been in the tank for a couple months now. And, they have not been the best playoff team in the past few years. They still have Clayotn Kershaw and a great lineup and Yu Darvish, but they always seem to choke in critical moments. I expected this Diamondbacks team last year, but they are good this year. Their problem, they really only have Zack Greinke as a top notch starting pitcher. He can go, max, 2 games as a starter. They need more than that. Again, this will be a rough 5 game series, but I think the Dodgers, despite their recent playoff stumbles, move to the NLCS.

The Cubs-Nationals matchup may be the best of the entire playoffs. I love this matchup. These are 2 of the best young teams in baseball. The Cubs are also peaking at the exact right time, and they are the defending champs. When I watched them clinch the other night I kept saying to anyone around me, don't sleep on this team returning to the World Series. But, the Nationals may be the only team they did not want to face in the NLDS. They can match their pitching, and for me personally, especially with a fully healthy Bryce Harper, they have a much better lineup. I know the Nationals are a team that has never really won anything, but I feel like the time is now. This series is going to be amazing, and I think the Nationals will win it in walk off fashion in game 5.

So, that gives us the Dodgers and Nationals for the NLCS. This is so much easier for me to pick than the other series. The Nationals should cruise by the Dodgers. The Dodgers are swooning, the Nationals have their best player back, and they are a better team. They should, and will, win this series in no less than 5 games.

That means we have a Nationals-Indians World Series. I believe this was my preseason pick. And just like my preseason pick, I'm going with the Indians (ed note: Ty actually picked the Nationals. We'll let him slide). They are on fire right now. They were there, and should have won, last year. They are a better overall team. They will frustrate and small ball the hell out of the Nationals. The World Series is right there for them to snatch up. It will go either 5 or 6, but it will not be the epic that last year's World Series was. The Indians are so good, and just like the Cubs ended their title drought last year, the Indians will do the same this year. I like Cleveland in 6 games.

There you have it, my 2017 MLB preview. I have to go see what RD picked now, and for all my NBA fans out there, my NBA countdown starts tomorrow. I just wanted to get a little baseball in right before the playoffs start. Lets get ready to see how this all shakes out.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He had convinced the head editor that the Nationals were going to win it all. Then Ty pulls the rug out and switches to the Indians. Damn you Ty. Damn you to hell.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

The SeedSing 2017 MLB Playoff Preview

Time for October baseball. 162 games in the books, and we have a playoff field. I want to start by saying I think this group of teams could make for a great October. Any of these squads could win it all, and I would not be surprised at all.

Having said all that, it is time to look back at our predictions for the season. Yes, the Reds and Padres were terrible, but the worst team was the San Francisco Giants. Both Ty and I put them in our playoff predictions. I was also way wrong, and Ty was way right, on the Atlanta Braves. They were terrible this year. The St. Louis Cardinals got old, and had a questionable man at the helm, and they will miss the playoffs. The Royals and Pirates hung around for a big chunk of the season, but they will both finish below .500. The Yankees will return to the playoffs, but the Red Sox were the better team, and Boston took the toughest division in baseball. Oh, and the Cubs, they did not come close to 110 wins.

I was right on a few things, or at least I was close to being right. Houston and Washington DC coasted in their divisions. The wild card races did have some drama with a surprising Milwaukee Brewers team battling another surprise in the Colorado Rockies for the last wild card spot. The Brew Crew just came up short. Joey Votto and Mike Trout also put up MVP numbers on teams going nowhere. I was right on that, but it still makes me sad.

With that out of the way, let’s look at what the SeedSing brain thinks the 2017 MLB playoffs will look like.

The Wildcard

Minnesota Twins at New York Yankees

First up, great job Twins. I never even mentioned them in the season preview. Joe Mauer is still a stud, and the rest of team played good ball all year. It is awesome to see a team like Minnesota make it into the playoffs.

Unfortunately, the party will be short lived. The New York Yankees are back, and they will not lose this game. The Yankees made some of the best moves around the trade deadline, and their lineup is going to be way too much for the Twins. Great year Minnesota, hope to see you again next year.

Colorado Rockies at Arizona Diamondbacks

This game could go either way. Arizona finally started to unlock it’s potential. Colorado came out of nowhere and had a great year. The problem with these one game playoffs is that one player can make a world of difference. In this game, that one player is Diamondback’s ace Zack Greinke. Arizona has the playoff tested ace that every team desires in that one game. Greinke will take the Diamondbacks to the divisional round.

The Divisional Round

Cleveland Indians vs New York Yankees

Are the Yankees back? Not against this Cleveland team. The Yankees lack of any real starting pitching, and their young lineup, will be swept out of the playoffs by Terry Francona’s club.

Houston Astros vs Boston Red Sox

First off, sorry Boston. I was way wrong. I knew you were good, but I did not think you were this good. Chris Sale has been a beast, Mookie Betts is one of the best players to watch. The Red Sox were slept on by a lot of people. That was wrong.

The Houston Astros are the most forgotten team of the 2017 MLB season. This team was awesome. They nearly matched Cleveland’s win total, and the Indians needed a 22-game winning streak to get where they are. Houston has been consistent, and they have been great. This consistency will serve them well in a hard fought 5 game series win over Boston.

Arizona Diamondbacks vs Los Angeles Dodgers

LA had the money, they got the talent, and they are back at the top of baseball. New superstars replaced aging ones, great prospects became great players, the Dodgers have a system that always works.

Except that system has not produced any meaningful postseason success. Clayton Kershaw has not been the multiple Cy-Young winner of the regular season in the playoffs. The Dodger bats seem to fall asleep every October. Will this be the year they finally make all that money spent worth something?

The Arizona Diamondbacks are not the team the Dodger’s want in a short series. Greinke could go, and win, two games. Paul Goldschmidt had another MVP like season. Arizona has also been red hot in the second half of the season, the Dodgers have not. Arizona will continue the postseason misery for LA and win in four games.

Chicago Cubs vs Washington Nationals

I will be shocked if the Nationals do not sweep the Cubs. Washington has great pitching, an unreal lineup, and fixed their bullpen through trades. Chicago has had an underachieving season for a team with that much talent. Maybe the Cubs can break their one-year curse next season. Washington skates to the LCS.

The League Championship Series

Cleveland Indians vs Houston Astros

This is going to be a great series. Houston and Cleveland are like mirror images of each other. Both have pitching and hitting riches. Both have a mixture of youth and experience. The one difference is the manager. Terry Francona has proven he is one of, if not the best, skipper in all of baseball. That will be the difference in an incredible seven game series.

Washington Nationals vs Arizona Diamondbacks

The National League has had some truly great baseball this year. Milwaukee, Colorado, and Arizona all made the experts look like idiots. The Cubs struggled, and still took the division. The Marlins showed some life early on. It has been a great year for the senior circuit.

This will be a bad NLCS. Again, Washington will win in a sweep, maybe five games. The Nationals are far and away better than any team in the NL. The Dodgers have all those wins, and Washington would have swept them. The Cubs have last year’s title, and the Nationals would have swept them. Dusty Baker could get his DC squad to the World Series without dropping one game. They are that good.

The World Series

Washington Nationals vs Cleveland Indians

Back in April both Ty and I picked a Washington / Cleveland World Series. Ty picked the Nationals to win, I picked the Indians. Am I sticking with my pick?

No, I am not.

The Washington Nationals are the most loaded team in all of baseball. They had a problem with the bullpen early in the year. They fixed it. Their starting pitching cannot be matched. Their lineup is incredible. They have Bryce Harper. The only negative thing I can say about the Nationals is that Dusty Baker is their manager. I saw Dusty blow a few big games when he was here in Cincinnati. I do not think the same will happen this time. Francona is a better manager, and that will get Cleveland two games in the series. It will not be enough.

The Washington Nationals will be the 2017 World Series Champs.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is only picking the Nationals because he saw them live in DC. Maybe next year he will go to Cleveland and check out a game. It is a way faster drive. Have a thought on the playoffs?  Come tell us. 

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty's Preview of the 2017 MLB Season

In response to RD's MLB preview, I have my own that I will do today. Now, as I say a lot, RD is the resident MLB expert here at SeedSing. I know enough, but my interest and expertise lies more so in football and basketball, both college and pros. RD knows his baseball. I loved playing baseball, but watching it, no way. I do not get involved until the playoffs, and unless the Cardinals are in, I could care less. I watched last year because it was historic, but for the most part, baseball season comes and goes with a very soft whimper for me. My NBA playoff preview coming in about 10 days will be way more in depth than my MLB preview, but I still enjoy doing these preseason looks ahead. I will say, I was right all year long about the Cubs last year too. I know that I'm not alone in that fact, but still, I picked them all year long, and they won it all. So, maybe I know more than I think I actually do. Anyway, lets get to it.

I'll start with the American League first. In the AL East pretty much everyone is picking Boston, and so am I. They added Chris Sale to an already loaded pitching staff. They have a great lineup as well that is also very young and has many good years ahead of them. They will miss David Ortiz, but not as much as some think. I know RD picked the Yankees, but their starting rotation is trash and I'm not as high on their lineup. The Orioles are who they will always be under Buck Showalter. They will compete and blow it in big games. Manny Macahdo is awesome though. Toronto is fine, but they have very average starting pitching and their lineup gets older every year. Tampa is back to being a bottom feeder. Boston all the way in the East.

The AL Central will be absolutely dominated by the Indians. They are the best team by a mile in the division, and I look for them to win a lot of games this year. I do not think 100 is out of the question. They have a great pitching staff, the best bullpen in baseball and a very awesome small ball lineup. The rest of the Central is average. Detroit still has Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera, but they aren't the horses they were 3 and 4 years ago. Minnesota and the White Sox are so young and inexperienced, but they both could be fun to watch. They are like the Timberwolves of MLB. The Royals are kind of confounding to me. They have some good pitching, they lost Ventura to a tragic death this offseason though. Maybe that will add to how they play this year. They also have a good lineup and are only one year removed from being in the World Series, and winning it. I think they will play better this year, but they aren't as good as the Indians.

The AL West is a 2 team race. I know RD called the Mariners always overrated, but I am fully on their bandwagon. They have a great pitching staff and an awesome lineup led by Robinson Cano. I think this is the year they can finally push through and live up to very high expectations. The team that may have something to say about that is the Astros. They took a little slide back last year, but that team is still young, and those young guys now have a full year under their belts and I think that will greatly benefit them. I have seen some websites claim the Angels are back, I don't think so. Mike Trout is a once in a generation talent, but when he's surrounded by guys well past their prime it doesn't matter. They'll be lucky to reach .500. Texas is the definition of an overachiever, but this year it won't matter because the Astros and Mariners are much better than them. All that needs to be said about the A's is that they stink. I'm picking the Mariners to finally win this division.

So, we have Boston, Cleveland and Seattle as my division winners in the AL. My 2 Wild Card teams will be Houston and Detroit.

Now, the National League.

The NL East is Washington, then everyone else. The Nationals are loaded. Bryce Harper is going to have a monster year. They are a lot like the Mariners, but with better, younger players. The Mets have a great rotation, but they lack any type of threat in their lineup and I just don't believe in them. I know RD said the Braves will be a surprise team, but I think that his love for Brandon Phillips (ed note: Dat Dude BP for life) has clouded how bad this team truly is. The Braves are rebuilding and I do not think they are ready to threaten any team in their division. The Phillies are worse off than the Braves. They are just as bad as the A's. Miami has talent, they too lost a pitcher due to a horrific accident. They have a monster hitter in Stanton, and Ichiro is still plugging away, but this team is a few players away from truly competing. They will be at least .500, but no threat to the Nationals. The Nationals are the clear cut favorites in the East.

The NL Central is much like the East. The Cubs are the best team by a whole lot. They did lose a few players this offseason, but they still have the best starting rotation in baseball and a killer lineup. They also get Kyle Schwarber back for a full year too. And the signing of Wade Davis was tremendous for their bullpen. The Cardinals will always be around an 85 win team, but they aren't ready to compete with the Cubs yet. I love the Dexter Fowler signing. He is my immediate favorite baseball player. He adds much needed speed to this lineup. Other than Fowler and Molina, this lineup is filled with young guys and guys past their prime. Their rotation is average as well. I love Carlos Martinez, but Wainwright is old, Wacha has never found his form from a few years ago and Lance Lynn is unreliable and oft injured. The Pirates stumbled last year, and who knows what will happen with Andrew McCutcheon. I think the Pirates would be best suited trading him to a contender, and if they do that, they will stink. If they keep McCutcheon, they will be a .500 team. The Brewers are better than last year, but not by much. They have no real pitching and when Ryan Braun is your offense, ouch. The Reds, sorry RD, are really, really bad. They will be lucky to win 60 games this year. The Cubs will walk with this division.

The NL West has the next 2 best teams in baseball behind the Cubs and Indians in the Giants and Dodgers. The Dodgers have a great rotation, led by Clayton Kershaw, who finally looked good in the playoffs last year, and they have an awesome lineup. They also have money coming out of their ears to spend on whoever they choose to go after. The Giants play baseball the way it is meant to be played. They small ball you to death and out pitch you all the time. They are a really, really good baseball team. Bruce Bochy is an incredibly underrated coach, especially for a guy that is a multiple World Series champ. San Diego and Colorado stink. The Padres are a mess and the front office looks like it has no clue how to run a team. The Rockies have some decent guys, and I have heard about some stud pitcher they have, but they are still a ways away from competing. They will play in a lot of 13-10 games that they will get beat in. The Diamondbacks, and more importantly, Zack Greinke, look lost. They have a good lineup on paper, and Greinke should be an ace, but they looked dreadful last year. I wonder if they just don't have what it takes to compete. We will have to see. With all that being said, I'll take the Giants to win a close race with the Dodgers in the West.

So that leaves us with the Nationals, Cubs and Giants as my division winners. My 2 Wild Cards are Saint Louis and Los Angeles.

Here is how the playoffs will shake out. The ALCS will feature Cleveland taking on Boston, and once again, I see Terry Francona sticking it to his old team and sweeping them out of the playoffs on his way to a second straight World Series appearance. They remind so much of a better version of the Royals a few years back that went to 2 straight World Series. In the NLCS, the Nationals, despite Dusty Baker, will take down the Cubs. It is just too hard to repeat these days. Look at the Warriors last year in the NBA Finals. But, this is where the comparison for the Indians and Royals stops for me. Whereas the Royals won in their second attempt, I think the Nationals win beat the Indians in a very hard fought 7 game series. It won't top last year, there is nothing that literally could top last year, but it will still be very well played. The Nationals will be your 2017 World champs.

As far as MVP and things of that nature go, I will pick Mike Trout in the AL because no one is a better baseball player than him anywhere, and Bryce Harper, who will have a humongous bounce back year, in the NL. They are the 2 best players, Mike Trout is better, and they will continue to win MVP awards. My coaches of the year will be Terry Francona in the AL and Dusty Baker in the NL. The Cy Young awards will go to Clayton Kershaw in the NL and Chris Sale in the AL. When it's this easy to pick award winners, these certain people must be doing something right, right?

So there you have it, my 2017 MLB preview. Let's see if I'm as right this year as I was last year. And I ask RD one more time, the Atlanta Braves? Really (ed note: just watch)?

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is like every other spoiled Cardinals fan and thinks 85 wins is a disappointing season. Cincinnati would be dancing in the street if the Reds won 85 games.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

The SeedSing 2017 Major League Baseball Preview

Baseball season is once again upon us. No more football or college basketball to distract us. Hockey and the NBA are getting ready for their postseasons. Baseball's half year hold on us begins this week. We are talking baseball, competitive baseball. What will the season hold? Will the Chicago Cubs break their zero years curse and finally win it all again? Can the Indians get back to the Fall Classic and get that last damn out to end their own title misery? How will the 2017 Major League Baseball season play out? Here at SeedSing we have all the answers to your specific questions, and a few predictions. Get your bets ready.

Who is going to replace Boston as the AL East champs?

The Eastern division of the American League is going to feature the best races of the entire season. Most of the other divisions have a clear leader, not the AL East. Four of the five teams, if not all five, have the potential to end 2017 with 81 or more wins. It is going to be tough to come out on top in the AL East.

The Boston Red Sox, last year's division winners, added the best available veteran pitcher of the off season when they signed Chris Sale. Last year the Red Sox brought in David Price, the best available veteran pitcher of 2015. The Boston pitching staff will be one of the best in the MLB, and their lineup is still one of the deepest in all of baseball.

Unfortunately, superstar David Ortiz retired and will not be there to provide some dramatic 9th inning wins for the Red Sox this year. Ace pitcher Price is also battling injury, and has not been that great in the playoffs. The Red Sox will make the playoffs, they depth will carry them, but they will not be champions.

The AL East will return to the New York Yankees. The Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays will put up a fight, but the Yankees will turn them all away. The Bronx Bombers overachieved last year, and they will make the next step in 2017. Their starting pitching is not that good, but the bullpen and lineup are some of the best in the majors. The Yankees will fix the pitching and win the AL east with about 90 wins.

Will there be any other competitive divisions in baseball this year?

Only the NL West, and that is just a two team race.

The AL Central will easily be won by the Cleveland Indians again.

The AL West is going to be a runaway for the Houston Astros. They will get back to what them great in 2014, and no one will catch them. Not even the perennially overrated Seattle Mariners and the perennially overachieving Texas Rangers.

The NL East is going to be won by the Washington Nationals, with the New York Mets 20 games behind.

The NL Central will be dominated by the Chicago Cubs, more on them in a bit.

The NL West will have an interesting race between the San Francisco Giants and LA Dodgers. The Dodgers have all the money in the world, and still the best pitcher in baseball with Clayton Kershaw. The Giants have a battle tested veteran team, the best manager in baseball, and the second best pitcher in the game with Madison Bumgarner. The Giants will win a very close AL West division race.

With only one, or two, great division races this year, what is there to look forward to?

The wildcard races are going to be crazy, and one or more will need an extra game to determine the winners.

The NL is loaded with great teams. The Mets, Cardinals, Pirates, Marlins, Braves, and Diamondbacks all have a chance to win over 85 games and take one of the two wildcard spots. With the right trade, and a bit of luck, any of these squads could be a spoiler to the big dogs in the senior circuit.

The AL is not as competitive, but the teams in AL East along with the Royals (one year removed from winning the World Series), the Tigers, and the Rangers have chance to play October baseball. Once you get in the playoffs, who knows what will happen. The Wild Card races will make the regualr season worth watching all the way to the last game.

What teams have absolutely no hope in 2017?

The NL may have the best teams, but it also has the worst.

The Cincinnati Reds need to rebuild. Joey Votto is still great, and Billy Hamilton is fast, but the Reds have nothing else. Their best players not named Votto, who are not great to begin with, are injured. The Reds are going to provide easy wins for the NL Central, and the rest of their opponents, in 2017.

The San Diego Padres may be even worse than the Reds. There is not a Joey Votto to keep the Padres in the national conversation. San Diego doesn't even have interesting assets to trade. They, along with the Reds, will lose over 100 games. 

Speaking of bad teams, will Joey Votto and Mike Trout be able to escape their terrible situations?

No

The Angles will not be as bad as the Reds, but Mike Trout will be as stuck as Joey Votto will be. These players are incredible talents, and it would require something ridiculous for their respective teams to give these great players away. Plus, Joey Votto makes a whole lot of money. It seems like Votto, the Ted Williams of our generation, and Trout, the Mickey Mantle, will be stuck with sub .500 teams in 2017.

What will be the biggest surprises of 2017?

The Atlanta Braves will be a lot better than most people expect. The team ended 2016 with a bunch of momentum. The rebuilding effort seems to be ready for the next step. The Braves also added some veteran leadership by acquiring second baseman Brandon Phillips from the Reds. Do not be surprised if the Braves are in Wild Card contention in late September.

The Royals and the Pirates are going to be sneaky good in 2017. Both teams suffered through big injuries in 2016. With healthy squads, Kansas City and Pittsburgh will return to the playoffs.

The St. Louis Cardinals will win close to 100 games, but the Cubs will win over 110 games in 2017. The Cubs may even break the MLB record for wins. They are really good.

So, What will the 2017 MLB Playoffs look like?

After 162, or 163, games, the division winners and wild cards will look like this.

                  AL East -           New York Yankees      NL East -           Washington Nationals

                  AL Central -      Cleveland Indians        NL Central -      Chicago Cubs

                  AL West -          Houston Astros           NL West -          San Francisco Giants

                  AL Wild Cards - Kansas City Royals     NL Wild Cards - St. Louis Cardinals

                                              Boston Red Sox                                    Pittsburgh Pirates 

The ALCS will come down to a Cleveland Indians team looking for redemption, and a New York Yankee squad looking to return to dominance. Unfortunately for the Baby Bombers, Terry Francona and the Tribe are just way too loaded. Cleveland will win the ALCS in 5 games.

The NL playoffs will see an epic upset when the St. Louis Cardinals take down their hated rivals the Chicago Cubs in an incredible Divisional Playoff 5 game series. This will pit the Cards against the Washington Nationals, and resurgent NL MVP Bryce Harper, in the NLCS. In an anticlimactic battle, Dusty Baker's Nationals will win the NL Pennant in a four game sweep.

In a world where the Cubs win a championship, Clemson beats Alabama, the Cavaliers beat the Warriors, Mississippi State beats UConn, and the Atlanta Falcons give up a 25 point lead to the New England Patriots, Dusty Baker will win a few playoff series and get the Washington Nationals to the World Series. The fairy tale will end when Dusty's boys face the better manager in Terry Francona, and the better team in the Cleveland Indians. The Tribe will have their redemption and win the World Series in 5 games. Another curse broken.

Enjoy the 2017 Major League Baseball season.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He copied and pasted his playoff teams from last year and only changed two names. Is MLB becoming as predictable as the NBA?  Come tell us. 

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

It has Now Been One Day Since the Chicago Cubs Last Won the World Series

The last one standing, finally.

What an epic, epic game last night. Even I, an admitted outsider baseball fan, was swept up in the final 4 innings of that game last night. I waited out that short rain delay, even though I was very sleepy, just so I could finish that game. This has been the year of teams breaking long droughts, I won't say curse because curses aren't real. Also, good for me, because one of my predictions actually came to fruition. I know it wasn't all that far fetched to pick the best team in the MLB to win the title, but after the Warriors, Panthers and Oklahoma Sooners made me look like an idiot, at least I picked the Cubs correctly.

I'm not going to try and demean or make this title seem less worthy than it is because I'm a Cardinals fan. The Cubs earned this championship, even though Aroldis Chapman and Joe Maddon did everything in their powers to blow it for this team. Chapman should have been pulled much earlier when he wasn't hitting the strike zone, and Maddon shouldn't have put him in for 8 outs remaining in a game that the Cubs lead by 7 runs in game 6. But, Ben Zobrist came through in the clutch when this team needed him most. Zobrist proved to be the best of any addition the Cubs have made in the past 2 years. He won a World Series last year, with the Royals, so who better than a guy that was just there to come through for them. Some may say, what about what Jon Lester did in relief? He was great, but he did not provide the hit that clinched the win for a team that hadn't won a title in 108 years. Zobrist was the main acquisition, on a team filled with players that played elsewhere in the past 2 years, that truly lived up to the moment. As I said, Lester was fine, but he looked shaky in his starts early in the World Series. Jason Heyward was non existent throughout the playoffs. Dexter Fowler was great, but not really until last night. John Lackey got beat up in his lone start. This was all on farm talent, think Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Kyle Schwarber and Javy Baez, and Ben Zobrist. He was the undoubted MVP of this World Series. Yeah he was 0 for 4 going into that at bat in the 10th, but he came through, as he is expected to do.

Lets step away from the Cubs for a second and bask in the glory that was this game 7. The Cubs came out on fire, with Fowler hitting a leadoff homerun. I thought that would be enough, but they piled on 4 more runs to up their lead in the 5th inning to 5-1. But, the Indians would not die. They kept chipping away, cutting the lead to 5-3 near the end of the 6th inning. The Cubs added another run, so I figured, with a 3 run lead and all the great relief work Lester did and David Ross hitting a solo homerun in his final game, the Cubs would cruise in the final 2 innings and close it out.

But, the Indians, with their never give up attitude, kept plugging away. Maddon decided, against his better judgement, to put Chapman in, and he looked shaky from the start. He couldn't get the ball over the plate, and the Indians hitters were making him throw a lot of pitches, just waiting for the mistake. They got an RBI double, then Rajaie Davis came up, worked to a full count, and smoked a fastball over the left field wall to tie the game in the 8th.

All the momentum shifted, I thought the Indians would seize the game from there, the Cubs fans they showed on TV looked defeated. The Indians then came out, gave up a leadoff hit, let Heyward get all the way to third on a throwing error during a stolen base, but the Indians got out of the jam.

Then, they did nothing in the bottom of the ninth.

Then, as we were getting ready for extra innings, they had a rain delay.

A RAIN DELAY IN GAME 7 OF THE WORLD SERIES!

It was crazy! Luckily it was short, and the Cubs took back that momentum, with Schwarber getting a leadoff single in the tenth, The Indians tried to work around the front half of the Cubs loaded lineup. They got Bryant to fly out, but the guy that was pinch running for Schwarber excellently read the ball and tagged up to second. They walked Rizzo to face Zobrist. Zobrist looked outmatched, but took a 2-2 outside fastball to left field, and at that moment, I knew the Cubs would close it out. They added another run, then gave up one run in the bottom of the 10th, just to make it interesting, but they finally closed it out on a weak grounder and ended the longest championship drought in professional sports history.

Good for you Cubs, and Cubs fans. You finally know what it feels like to be a champion in baseball, even though the White Sox won the World Series 10 years ago, but the White Sox are not the Cubs. The Cubs are way more important to that city than the White Sox, that is a fact.

This was an epic game 7, and a part of me is happy for the Cubs fans. It is a really cool thing to see your team win a title. Especially when it has been this long since the last one. And, sorry Indians fans, but your team choked. They had everything in front of them for 3 games, controlled their own destiny, and they couldn't close it out. Classic Cleveland baseball.

This has definitely been the year of breaking droughts and trends. The Cavs won the NBA title, the Cubs are now World Series champs, so I guess that means a team like the Arizona Cardinals (now the holders of the longest championship drought in American sports), since the Browns have no shot at even having a winning record, as the Super Bowl favorites, even though they are far from making the playoffs. This should also mean that some college teams that haven't won a title in decades, like former dominant teams; Navy, Michigan, Florida, Washington, Indiana or even Georgia, may win a title in either football or basketball this year. And with pro hockey, I think the Saint Louis Blues have never won a Stanley Cup, so they should probably be the favorites to win it this season, but I know nothing about the NHL. Nothing. But hey, droughts are ending, apparently that is the trend, so if the Cavs and Cubs can win, so can all the other teams I mentioned, they just need a shot.

Anyway, congrats Cubs. You guys were the best team in baseball, and you proved it by winning the first of what will be many titles, if this team stays mostly intact. The Cubs have the best roster, and for the most part, they are young, so baseball fans, get used to seeing this team in contention for a long time. Congrats, and keep celebrating.

But, to end on a sour note, because that is what I do, ESPN will not be watched that much in my house for, at least, the next 6 months, because this Cubs title will be all they talk about for months on end. Even when the NFL shifts to playoff mode, the college football playoff comes along and the NBA gets deeper and deeper into its season, ESPN will still bring up the fact that the Cubs won the World Series. It will be insufferable.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He also forgot to mention the greatest sports person of the 21st century, Theo Epstein. The man is some kind of god. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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The Drought Will End Tonight for Chicago or Cleveland

One last time

Tonight there will be a game 7 in the World Series. This is a great thing for baseball. To be honest, I have not watched much, if any, postseason baseball. As I stated in other posts, since the Cardinals aren't in the playoffs, college football is in full swing and the NBA has started, I have totally checked out of this particular World Series. I am not a fan of either the Cubs or the Indians. Honestly, I could not care less who wins. But, game 7's are always exciting. I will probably watch little to none of the game, but I will be following it on my phone, checking the score every 30 minutes or so. One beleaguered franchise, that fans have been waiting a long, long time to bring home a title, will win it all tonight.

That intro is my long winded way to get to what I really want to talk about for this particular post. Both of these MLB franchises, for the past 60 plus years, have always found a way to lose games that they should win. The Cubs, back in the Mark Prior/Kerry Wood days could not close out any NLCS. Blame Steve Bartman all you want, but they blew that game 6. They had many chances to win, but they choose to blame Bartman, while dozens of other people were trying to catch that ball that Alou had no chance to catch anyway. The Cubs also had decent teams in the 80's and 90's, with players like Ryne Sandberg, Andre Dawson, Sammy Sosa, and so on and so forth, that never made it to the promise land.

The Indians are another team that have never been able to close it out. In the 90's, with Albert Belle leading this team, they couldn't get past the Marlins. Try as he might, Omar Vizquel could not bring a title to Cleveland. The Indians are another team that has had all time great players that can not finish it off when it matters most.

That all changes tonight. But, I ask, which team will continue to be the team that cannot close the deal? Will it be the Indians? They had a 3-1 lead just a few days ago. They were shutting down this excellent Cubs lineup. They were stealing bases and small balling the hell out of the Cubs. Everything was going their way. Sure, the game 5 loss seemed preordained, but last night's throttling was surprising. I know the Cubs have a better lineup and had last years Cy Young winner on the mound, but to get beat 9-3, in a possible clinching game, that should scare Indians fans. The Indians got dismantled last night. They were beat from the start. But, was this their way of reverting to what is the norm, or is it an aberration? I guess we will find out tonight.

Then, there are the Cubs. They came out of the block slow. Corey Kluber absolutely shut them down in game 1. The Cubs could not do anything. Kluber outdueled Jon Lester as well. Lester is probably the Cy Young winner in the NL this year, but Kluber won it in the AL last year. Then, game 2, the Cubs bats woke up and they won handily. I thought this was when they would take over and win the next 3 and end there 108 year drought. Well, the opposite happened. The Cubs, returning to Wrigley Field, got completely shut down for the next 2 games. They had Kyle Hendricks on the mound during one of the those games, he pitched an absolute gem, but the Indians got one run and that turned out to be all that they needed. The Indians controlled the first 2 games at Wrigley. I turned from thinking that the Cubs would roll to thinking that the Indians would roll. 

Then, game 5, with the Indians having a chance to clinch, happened. Like I said, it was a predictable outcome. The Cubs came to play. So did the Indians, but the Cubs roster is better, and in a tight game, they pulled out the win like they should. So, maybe the Cubs were turning it around, but I thought that it would come to a close last night, even with Arrieta on the mound. As I have already said, that was not the case. The Cubs bats woke up and they crushed the Indians last night. So, the Cubs turned on what they normally do, choke, and now the pressure is on both teams.

This all leads to my final thoughts. Which team will exercise the demons tonight, and which team will continue to be the underachievers in big games? The pitching matchup will be great. The Cubs bats seem to have woken up, but will they do the same against a 3 day rest Corey Kluber? I wish I could answer that Cubs fans. Will the Indians wake up and continue to steal bases, play small ball and shut down the Cubs like in games 3 and 4? Again, I wish I could answer that Indians fans. This has been a great ending to the baseball season, again, I have barely watched any baseball all year. But, this should be exactly what the baseball apologists and purists should have wanted. We have 2 teams that have not been this far in a long time, and one of them will come away as champions tonight and themselves and their fan base will breath a huge sigh of relief and party the night away.

I know that the game is in Cleveland, but I have picked the Cubs in every prediction post and podcast on this site, so I have to pick them tonight. I think the Indians will revert to their choking ways, blow their 3-1 lead, and the Cubs will be celebrating on their field around midnight tonight. The game will be a lot closer than last night's game. Maddon putting in Chapman, who is a domestic abuser, for an 8 out save last night might have killed his arm, but I do not think that will matter. This is the last game of the MLB season, so all will be left on the field tonight and the Cubs will exercise their 108 year drought. That is my outsider view of what will happen tonight.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is so very wrong on picking the Cubs. Cleveland is a city of champions, Indians all the way. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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Get All of Your Winners in Ty's Second Annual MLB Playoff Preview

Check out Ty's MLB season preview and judge for yourself how well he did.

In what I'm sure will become a yearly tradition with SeedSing, I will do my own MLB playoff prediction to go up against RD's playoff picks. Last year I was way off, I think I had the Blue Jays winning it all, and David Price being the MVP. So hopefully this year, I do better. Now, right off the bat, I do not know as much about baseball as RD does. I know a whole lot, but RD puts more time and effort than anyone I know that watches baseball. I'd much rather be playing baseball than watching it. The games are too long and boring. The playoffs up the ante, but I don't find myself that excited until the World Series. This is also the first time the Cardinals have not been in the postseason since 2010, so I may be even more checked out. But, I want to make my picks anyway.

Lets get started.

First off, we have the 2 wild card games. In the NL, we have the San Francisco Giants going up against the New York Mets. I did not think that these would be the 2 wild card teams from the NL. It's an even year, so I figured the Giants would coast to a division and World Series title, but they have struggled mightily since the All Star break. The Mets were in the World Series last year, and they had everyone back. They looked prime to be, at the very least, a near lock for the NLCS. But, injuries and players not playing up to the task put them in the position they sit in now. I think this game will be a great pitchers duel. That is the main thing that both of these teams have going for them. I'm sure San Francisco will throw Madison Bumgarner and the Mets will put Noah Syndergaard on the mound. This will be a very good match up, and whichever pitcher makes one mistake, I say Syndergaard, the other team will capitalize. I have the Giants winning the NL wild card game in a very close and low scoring affair.

In the AL wild card game we have the Toronto Blue Jays and the Baltimore Orioles. I was very big on the Blue Jays this year. I thought they had the best lineup in baseball, and they'd cruise to a division title. But, they proved that pitching is important, and that you can't just outscore everyone. The Orioles kind of surprised me. I thought that they would be, at best, a .500 team, but they put together a pretty good year. They have a pretty good lineup, and decent pitching. They have one of the best closers in the game as well. This match up is a total toss up for me. I could see either team winning. I do know that it will be higher scoring than the NL wild card game, and I'm going to go with the Orioles. I think that guys like Manny Machado and Chris Davis will carry this team to a victory, with the score being something very high like 8-6 or 9-7.

With the Giants and Orioles advancing, now we get to the real playoffs. I will do the AL first and finish off with the NL. After Baltimore beats Toronto, that means they will face the number one team in the AL in the Texas Rangers. Now, if you go back and listen to the midseason mini X Millennial Man podcast that RD and I did, I said I loved all the moves the Rangers made at the trade deadline, and thought that Prince Fielder going down was a blessing in disguise. I legitimately think that they are the team to beat in the AL. They already have guys like Adrian Beltre and Nelson Cruz. Then, they added Carlos Beltran and Johnathan Lucroy to that lineup. They also have Cole Hamels and Yu Darvish in their starting rotation. I love the Rangers, and Baltimore won't be able to hang with them. I see the Rangers sweeping them out in 3 non competitive games.

In the other matchup we have Cleveland and Boston. Oh, how I love the fact that Terry Francona gets to face the Red Sox. I also think the Red Sox, and their fans, are a little too cocky going into this series. I have loved what David Ortiz has done in his final season, and they have a very good lineup, but Cleveland is no slouch. They play excellent small ball baseball, and they have a very good rotation. Boston is good at scoring a lot of runs, but keep them in close games, and they aren't so great. I think that will doom them in this series against Cleveland. Cleveland is very comfortable with close games and Boston is not. I also love the fact that Terry Francona will have a chance to beat Boston, the team that cast him off. I have Cleveland winning in 5.

That means we will have a Cleveland-Texas ALCS. Strength against strength. Great pitching versus great hitting. This series will be good, but Texas is so loaded. They have a lethal lineup, and their pitching staff is just as good, if not better, than Cleveland's. As I said, I really like the Rangers right now, and I think they will beat the Indians in 6 games to advance to the World Series.

In the NL, the Giants "prize" for beating the Mets will be a showdown with the Cubs. The Cubs are far and away the best team in baseball. They are loaded absolutely everywhere. I know that some people have gotten on me for being hard on the Cubs, but you can go back and read anything I have written about baseball this year and see that I have picked the Cubs to be the champs. The same can be said for listening to any baseball related podcast. I may despise the Cubs, but they are so very talented. The Giants may make this series closer than it should be, but the Cubs should win it in 4 games. They have great, dependable and reliable hitters 1 through 8, and their pitching staff is amazing. This is the year where the Giants winning the World Series in even numbered years will end.

The other NL matchup pits the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Washington Nationals. The Dodgers have a good, but very old lineup. They also have a good pitching staff, led by Clayton Kershaw, but he does not show up in the playoffs. The Nationals, on the other hand, they have a loaded lineup, third only to the Cubs and the Rangers, and a great pitching staff. The Nationals may blow a game or 2, but not even Dusty Baker will blow this first round matchup. I have the Nationals winning in 4, and I think this is where Bryce Harper will bust out of his slump, in a big way.

That leaves us with the Cubs and Nationals in the NLCS. This is a great matchup, but I just don't see how the Cubs don't win, and win convincingly. Their lineup is better. Their coach is better. Their pitching staff 1-5 is better. They have a better home field advantage. Everything is in the Cubs favor. I don't even think this series will go 6 games, even though it should be a 7 game series easily. Dusty Baker chokes in the playoffs, and the Cubs are just too good this year. I have the Cubs winning in 5, because Max Scherzer will get one win for the Nationals.

So, that means the 2016 World Series, in my opinion, will be Texas and Chicago. This is the best matchup that we could have. They were both the top seed in their league. They both had the best record in their league. They both have good coaches that know what they are doing. They both have home run hitters and on base guys. They both have very good pitching staffs. It's a great matchup. This series should, and probably will, go 7 games. The one advantage the Cubs have over the Rangers is the depth with their pitching staff, and that will be the difference. I, and this is very hard to write, see the Cubs breaking the curse and winning the World Series in 7 games. They are just too good, and they should be the odds on favorites. They were the best team in the regular season, and I don't see that stopping now. Cubs fans cannot use the "we're cursed, so I don't want to get my hopes up", or the "just wait and see, I don't to get my hopes up" excuses anymore. This team was bought to win right now. Not next year, or the year after, but right now. The Chicago Cubs are out of excuses. They have the best team, far and away, in baseball, and I think they finally break through and win this year. And, as much as I'd like to see someone like Jason Heyward or  Dexter Fowler or Ben Zobrist win the World Series MVP, it will inevitably be either Kris Bryant or Anthony Rizzo because the MLB likes lily white rich boys to be the face of their game.

But anyway, as much as it stinks to say, the Cubs will win, and I will not watch "Sportscenter", if they begin to talk about the Cubs, for the next year. It will be so insane and fanboyish, I will have to turn it off.

It is going to be terrible.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He needs to take a rest because the last two paragraphs were the hardest things he has ever written. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

The SeedSing 2016 MLB Playoff Preview

The briskness of October is upon us, time for some Major League Baseball playoffs.

Full disclosure here. We were way wrong about the Boston Red Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Pittsburgh Pirates. The Red Sox were solid all year and pulled away in September from Baltimore and Toronto to win the AL East. We did not think Boston had the offense to compete, and boy were we wrong. Led by retiring David Ortiz, the Red Sox were an offensive juggernaut and a scary force entering the playoffs. The Diamondbacks and Pirates were both big underachievers this year, especially Arizona. Both teams could never get going and both were sellers at the trade deadline. Arizona and Pittsburgh are too talented to be sub .500 teams and should be competitive next year. 

Now onto the actual playoffs. In the AL "Play in Game" the Toronto Blue Jays will host the Baltimore Orioles. Both of these teams have the talent to win this game and make it all the way to the World Series. Each team is a good balance of pitching and offense. Toronto seemed to underachieve a bit this year, but Orioles Manager Buck Showalter does what he always does, he got the most out of his players. In a go anyway game, Toronto will use their better talent, and home field advantage, to win the one game playoff.

The NL game will have every other year champion the San Francisco Giants visiting last year's NL pennant winner the New York Mets. The Giants have great pitching, and in one game that is all you need. The Mets are hot, and did add some much needed offense at the trade deadline, but San Francisco has the advantage with their pitchers. Plus, it is an even numbered year and that works for the Giants.

With the one game playoff out of the way, the Division series will kick off with the Red Sox visiting the Cleveland Indians. As stated before, the Red Sox have an incredible offense led by MVP candidate David Ortiz. The Indians have been one of the most consistent teams in the MLB, and they have the best manager in all of baseball with Terry Francona. Boston will steal a game, but Cleveland will advance to the League Championship series in four.

The other American League series will feature the Blue Jays facing off against the loaded Texas Rangers. Texas made some big acquisitions at the trade deadline this year, and they are in World Series or bust mode. The Blue Jays will have their one game playoff win, but Texas may very well sweep them in the division series.

The National League division series will kick off with LA Dodgers going across country to meet up with the Washington Nationals. The Nationals were great during the season, even with reigning MVP Bryce Harper having a sub par (for him) season. The issue once again is manager Dusty Baker. He is incredible during the regular season, but tends to get out managed in the playoffs. The Dodgers have their stars healthy. Clayton Kershaw will exorcise some playoff demons, and the retired Vin Scully will be able to enjoy a few more games when LA beats Washington in a great five game series.

The Cubs will continue their magically season when the Giants come to town. Chicago has been as good as everyone thought they would be. The Cubs have it all, and added more at the trade deadline. It may be an even year, but the Cubs are way to good to not beat the Giants in four games.

The American League Championship Series will pit the Ranger's talent against the genius of Terry Francona. The Indians are another long suffering franchise, but Cleveland is on the up when it comes to sports championships. When things get tight, LeBron James will come into the Indians locker room and remind the players that Cleveland is a city of champions. It may be irrational, but it seems destiny to put the Cleveland Indians down as American League Pennant winners. It will take seven glorious games, but the tribe will return to the series for the first time in over twenty years.

Scully's Dodgers will roll into the northside of Chicago to take on the Cubs in the National League Championship. Kershaw, off of a great Division series, will steal a game at Wrigley. Unfortunately that will be the last Dodger win of the 2016 season. The Cubs are just way to good. It will only take five games for the 2016 Cubs to rightfully claim the  NL Pennant.

The 2016 World Series will pit the long suffering Cleveland Indians against the longer suffering Chicago Cubs. One fan base will be able to erase generations worth of heartbreak. It will be the Redemption World Series. The two best managers in all of baseball will challenge each other in a one for the ages seven game clash. Joe Maddon and Terry Francona will have their respective teams tasting the title. Late in game seven, lets say top of the 13th inning, LeBron James will appear in the center field bleachers, and Cleveland will remember that they are the city of champions. Home run, and three straight strikeouts in the bottom of the inning. The Cleveland Indians will be the 2016 Major League Baseball World Series Champions.

Better luck next year Cubbies.

RD 

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He just cannot put the Cubs down as champions, not now, not ever. Tell RD why he is so misguided by writing for SeedSing.

SeedSing is funded by a group of generous donors. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

The SeedSing 2016 Major League Baseball Preview

We will see you back at home in October. (or is it November now?)

Baseball season has finally begun. Our long cold winter has given way to the start of a still cold baseball season. We are talking baseball, competitive baseball. What will the season hold? Will the Kansas City Royals repeat as World Series Champions (no)? Can the Mets get back to the Fall Classic and close the deal this time (not likely)? How will the 2016 Major League Baseball season play out? Here at SeedSing we have all the answers to your specific questions, and a few predictions. Get your bets ready.

Are the Yankees and Red Sox ready to return to dominance in the AL East?

Short answer, no. Longer answer, hell no.

Let's start with the Bronx Bombers. In the off season the Yankees acquired 100+ mile per hour throwing Aroldis Chapman from the Cincinnati Reds. Chapman is the real deal and near unhittable. He is added to a bullpen that was already very good. Any team playing the Yankees can expect to score zero runs after the seventh inning.

The problem is the first six innings. The Yankees have subpar starting pitching, and that will be problematic. Most teams will be able to easily hitting the New York starters, and the defense behind the starters is old and not very good. The Yankees lineup is filled with old aging stars and is a few years away from reloading with the young talent of other teams. The only bright spot in New York, outside of a killer bullpen, is going to be watching sullen cheater Alex Rodriguez chasing down Barry Bonds (75 homers away). Enjoy that New Yorkers.

Up the coast is the Yankees hated rival the Boston Red Sox. 2015 was a disaster for Boston, nothing seemed to work. The Red Sox addressed some of those issues by getting the biggest free agent prize of the off season, starting pitcher David Price. That acquisition made a big splash, and many of the sports media (almost all east coast based) are high on the Red Sox, but Price will not be enough. There is just not enough pitching or hitting depth in Boston. This team is at least one more year away from being in the World Series conversation. The Red Sox will make some noise, but their record will hover around .500 all season.

The ESPN love for the Yankees and the Red Sox will be no match for the Tampa Bay Rays, Baltimore Orioles, and Toronto Blue Jays. Tampa always defies the odds with great young talent. Baltimore has one of the best managers in baseball in Buck Showalter and a seasoned team. Toronto has built a dominant roster coming off a very disappointing loss in last years ALCS. The Blue Jays will dominant the AL East and leave the Yankees and Red Sox scrambling for next year.

It is an even number year so the San Francisco Giants will win the NL West and the World Series?

Not this year.

The Giants, like the Yankees and Red Sox, added a big time pitcher this off season with the free agent signing of Johnny Cueto. With a team mostly intact from their 2014 World Series Championship, Cueto is a big addition. The former Cy Young runner up comes after superstar Madison Bumgarner in the rotation. The problem is that after Cueto and Bumgarner the quality of pitching goes from great to mediocre. Jeff Samardzidja has shown flashes of brilliance, but has not proven to be consistently great. After the top three the Giants have an old Jake Peavy and Matt Cain. The Giants just do not have the pitching to make another even year World Series run.

The other problem for the Giants in the NL West is that the competition has gotten a lot better. The LA Dodgers have the money, star power, and Clayton Kershaw. The Arizona Diamondbacks have made some big moves, like acquiring superstar pitcher Zack Greinke, and have one of the best hitters in baseball in Paul Goldschmidt. Both of these teams will be a challenge for the Giants, and we will see the Arizona Diamondbacks beat back the others for the NL West Crown.

Is the AL West the most worthless, and over hyped, division in all of Major League Baseball?

Yes

Every year we hear about how the LA Angels, of wherever in southern California they want to be from, will once again claim the championship. If it is not the Angels, we hear about Billy Beane and the up and coming Oakland A's. The last few years we also keep hearing about the rise of the Seattle Mariners. In the last few years these three teams have faltered to the likes of the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros. The Angels, A's, and Mariners get the headlines, but the two Texas teams are producing winners. 

The Rangers and Astros will once again battle for the AL West crown. The Rangers are old but tested and the Astros are young and uber talented. The Astros will edge out the team from Arlington and make a return trip to the MLB playoffs.

Does the NL East have the worst teams in baseball?

Close, but not quite.

The NL East is going to be ugly. The Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, and Florida Marlins are not very good. The Mets are coming off a World Series appearance, but they are not quite a championship caliber team. The Washington Nationals are loaded, but have been perennial underachievers. The NL East is filled with teams that are rebuilding or are in "one year away" mode. The quality of play out east will be barely above AAA caliber baseball. Almost everyone of these teams will struggle all year.

All should struggle except for the Nationals. The team in DC is loaded, and has the best player in baseball in reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper. The Mets heavily benefited from a dysfunctional DC team last year. That will not happen again. With Dusty Baker at the helm in our nations capitol, the Nationals will easily win the NL east.

Is the best baseball being played in the central part of the country?

Absolutely. The NL central and AL central are the deepest divisions in baseball. Both wild card teams from each league will come from the central division.

In the NL central you have the defending champs, and 100 game winners, St. Louis Cardinals. The birds on the bat have the best front office, a great farm system, and a culture of winning. Catching up to the Cardinals is another well built team in the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Bucs have been climbing the ladder every year and are looking to make the playoffs for a third consecutive year. Coming off of an NLCS appearance in 2015, the Chicago Cubs are as loaded with talent as any team in MLB. The NL central will be a showcase for awesome baseball.

The AL central is as equally loaded as their NL brothers. First there is the defending World Series Champion Kansas City Royals. Even with a few off season losses, the Royals still have a solid championship core in place. The Detroit Tigers are rich with talent and experience. Cleveland has maybe the best manager in baseball with Terry Francona and a mix of veterans and younger players ready to emerge. The Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox are teams on the rise, and will not be pushovers for anyone else. 

With all the talent in both the NL and AL central divisions, someone has to win. The NL central is for the Cubs to lose with the Pirates and Cardinals taking the wild cards. The AL Central will be close with the Indians beating the Royals and Tigers for the division with the runners up going to the playoffs.

We answered your questions, now for a few predictions.

Once again, here are your 2016 MLB Playoff teams.

Division winners: AL East - Toronto Blue Jays                 NL East - Washington Nationals

                             AL Central - Cleveland Indians             NL Central - Chicago Cubs

                             AL West - Houston Astros                    NL West - Arizona Diamondbacks

                             AL Wild Cards - Kansas City Royals     NL Wild Cards - Pittsburgh Pirates

                                                        Detroit Tigers                                        St. Louis Cardinals

The Chicago Cubs and the Washington Nationals will win over 100 games each.

The Cubs and Nationals have the talent and the management to have very special seasons. Forget about what you have read, but Joe Maddon is one of the greatest MLB managers. In addition to Maddon, Theo Epstein has built a powerhouse on the northside of the windy city. Players like reigning Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta, reigning rookie of the year Kris Bryant, off season pickup Jason Heyward, and superstar Anthony Rizzo the Cubs are a dream team. Although they have to compete with St. Louis and Pittsburgh, the Cubs also have the dreadful Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers (the two worst teams in MLB) in their division. Getting to 100 wins will not be that difficult for this dream team.

The Washington Nationals are in a similar situation as the Cubs. Their lineup, led by Bryce Harper, is formidable. Their pitching is filled with potential. New manager Dusty Baker is a wizard at getting players to achieve their potential. In addition to their manager and roster, the Nationals will benefit from a weak division. The NL east will have some of the worst teams in baseball, and the Nationals will feast on this inferior competition. The nations capitol may see a team with over 110 wins in 2016.

The Pittsburgh Pirates will win the 2016 World Series. 

The Cubs and the Nationals will win tons of games, but they will not even play in the 2016 World Series. Each of these power teams have one huge weakness that will keep them away from the top of the baseball mountain.

In the case of the Washington Nationals their Achilles heel is manager Dusty Baker. Baker has taken many teams to the playoffs (Giants, Cubs, and Reds), but has never won a championship. The issue is that Baker is great at getting players to play above their ability, but cannot game manage well. Talent will win a lot of three game series, but when the playoff starts and series are five to seven games, Dusty Baker's lack of game strategy becomes a problem. It will be a problem for Washington in 2016.

The reason the Cubs will not make the World Series is mainly about experience. Players like Arrita, Rizzo, and Bryant are insanely talented and extremely young. There is not a strong veteran presence in Chicago that can guide these phenoms. It will be wait till next year for the Cubbies once again. Plus we have to take into account the goat and a variety of curses. Sorry Cubs.

So how are the Pirates going to get through these super teams and win the World Series? Pittsburgh is built a lot like the Kansas City Royals. Homegrown talent and nice off season veteran acquisitions. Outfielder Andrew McCutchen is one of the top five players in the MLB and a certified clubhouse leader. Francisco Liriano has found a second life in the Steel City. Manager Clint Hurdle has been guiding this team out of the darkness and has them believing in themselves. When the MLB season is getting to the trade deadline, a second place team like the Pirates will be more willing to trade for veteran talent than a young team like the Cubs or the Nationals. The mixture of a great manager, a superstar player who is also a leader, and a front office willing to take a chance, will lead to the Pittsburgh Pirates beating the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2016 World Series.

Let's say the series goes 7 games. That would be exciting.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head editor for SeedSing and one of the other hosts on the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is sentimentally picking the Pirates in remembrance of a hat he once briefly owned. Do you love baseball, come write for us.