2017 MLB Predictions

Baseball is back!! I'm looking forward to the season, I have MLB.TV subscription as I look forward to watching quite a bit of games this year.

Predicting a World Series Champion is one of the hardest things to do. A team could have the best record but be out in three games. Or have the best team on paper but not adapt well to the other leagues rules in the World Series.

Right now, there seems to be a handful of teams that could win the World Series. I'm tending to lean in a Indians and the Nationals. Two teams that might just put it all together this year.

I don't like to bet on the World Series winner the previous year, Boston is a option but there's something about them that doesn't feel right. After the top two favorites you better go with the third best team. After the top three, finding a World Series winner will be like picking a needle in a haystack.

Without further delay, here goes nothing:

AL West               AL Central                  AL East           NL West                NL Central          NL East
Houston                   Cleveland                 Boston             San Fransisco         Chicago       Washington
Seattle                      Kansas City              Toronto            LA                          St. Louis        New York
Texas                         Minnesota               New York         Colorado             Pittsburgh       Philadelphia
Anaheim                    Detroit                    Baltimore          Arizona                   Milwaukee    Miami
Oakland                      Chicago                 Tampa Bay         San Diego              Cincinnati     Atlanta

AL Wildcard Game: Seattle over Kansas City
NL Wildcard Game: New York over LA

ALDS:
Boston over Seattle 3-1
Cleveland over Houston 3-2
NLDS:
Washington ove New York 3-2
Chicago over San Fran 3-0

ALCS
Cleveland over Boston 4-2
NLCS:
Washington over Chicago 4-3

World Series: Cleveland over Washington 4-2

Oregon Ducks are in the Final 4

Not sure what to make of it. Two Carolina schools and Two Northwest schools. UNC seems to be the favorite, they have the experience, the history is on their side.

Most years, I'm not too excited for the Final Four. This year I am. Over the last few years, Oregon Duck fans have made me feel welcomed, valued and included. I love the feeling of being a Ducks fan. I don't want this year to end.

It's going to. If not Saturday it will surely end Monday night one way or another.

Is this Final Four run making up for a brutal college basketball season? Don't think so because this basketball team was always going to be strong, but going into Kansas City to knock off Kansas has made the last few days extra special.

Teams don't give us enough credit, but at the end of the day that might be a good thing. We know what we are worth. We have all been family to each other.

I'm thankful for everything that has happened in the Ducks family. Hopefully our Ducks can reward us with a National Championship Monday night which would trigger a party in Eugene Oregon.

#AlwaysUs

The Dangerous state the Mets Franchise is in Right Now

16 months removed from their World Series appearance that ended fatally with the Royals putting the dagger in the Mets’ heart by one thousand paper cuts, New York looks to rebound. Again.

However, not a lot has changed since that eventful series, and at what point does that become a bad thing? The core of the Mets’ roster are all in their 30’s. Their pitchers (Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey and Steven Matz) are all still young, but severely injury prone.

If you look at the lineup that Terry Collins ran out during Game 3 of the 2015 World Series, the majority of the players would be in the lineup today if they weren’t injured. The rest was players that were pieced together that trade deadline. The only exception is Daniel Murphy who currently resides with the Washington Nationals.

This begs the inevitable question: at some point will Sandy Alderson pull the trigger on a block buster trade during the 2017 regular season?

If Alderson doesn’t do anything, the Mets might slide back to being a .500 team. Let’s face it, David Wright will never be a reliable 3rd basemen ever again. Curtis Granderson is 36 and is dealing with a lot of mileage. Yoenis Cespedes, who despite performing admirably last season, holding a slash of .280/.354/.530 is 31. And who can forget 29 year-old outfielder Jay Bruce who was acquired at last season’s trade deadline, is simply a fill-in.

Point being, if the Mets are going to keep their championship window going past 2019, this would be the time to get a block buster deal done. They possess quite a bit of trade bait, but for how much longer?

New York has a star-studded pitching staff that’s led by Harvey (when healthy), Syndergaard, deGrom and Matz, all of whom have ace-like stuff. If you look at the best pitching rotations in the last decade and a half, New York’s is up their in the Top 4, alongside the 2003 Oakland A’s, 2007 Chicago Cubs and 2010 Philadelphia Phillies in terms of staff ERA. None of which won the World Series. 

Don’t get me wrong, the Mets have something special gong. However, last year’s record of 90-72 doesn’t always punch your ticket to the postseason. Some years, 90 wins is enough to win the division, some years 90 wins wouldn’t be enough to make the playoffs.

The Mets need to figure out their identity this year, because accruing a big outfield bat to make up for current injuries won’t work every year. They should be thankful that it has worked as well as it has in the past.

March 27th, 2017

Test test test, I'm trying something new today. Writing a blog post from my IPhone. Not sure if this is a good idea but it might be the only way to write consistently.

I am starting a podcast tomorrow morning and will get it up on YouTube after I am done.

The podcast will be mainly about sports but I will touch on other issues when appropriate. Journalism is declining but that doesn't mean people have to stop voicing their opinion about topics that they feel passionate about.

The Final Four is set. South Carolina will take on mid major powerhouse Gonzaga while in the second Semi Final, Oregon will play heavily favoured UNC.

No major NHL games today. However the NBA has a few with the Knicks hosting the Pistons and the  Grizzlies traveling to the capital of California to take on the Kings. Both games have playoff implications for atleast one team involved. Those games are at 4:30 and 7:30 pacific time respectively.

Seven Teams that Should be Eager to Hire Lorenzo Romar

After writing about why University of Washington’s men’s basketball program should fire head coach Lorenzo Romar after 15 seasons, Washington’s AD Jen Cohen actually followed suit and let Romar go last Wednesday, March 15. The move came as a shock to some, but makes sense logistically.

While Romar’s Washington tenure was tumultuous, bringing a severity of highs and lows, it was time for a change. Despite reeling in once-in-a-generation type recruits throughout his tenure, Romar’s slow deteriorated of the program over the past several years proved to be his undoing.

What will Romar do next? No one is quite sure. His wallet got a lot heavier as he received a $3.2 million buyout. He is still a good coach despite his little knowledge of X’s and O’s. However, with 351 teams in Div-I, there has to be a handful of school that would hire him. I

East Carolina Pirates: This seems to be the new slam dunk pick with the Missouri job being filled last week. Romar has a daughter in the Carolina area so going out east isn’t out of the question. Also, with South Carolina emerging onto the big stage following its historic win over Duke in the Round of 32, East Carolina is now the odd team out in a basketball-thriving Carolina area. ECU’s last winning season was in 2014 and their latest NCAA Tournament appearance came 24 years ago, so to say that Pirates basketball is in need of a winner is an understatement.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights: With Northwestern making the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever this year, Rutgers basketball has officially become the laughing-stock of the Big Ten. They haven’t made the Tourney since 1991 and I highly doubt that streak is coming to an end soon. From 2007-2013, Washington made five different trips to New York so there must be something about New York that Romar likes. His recruiting skills will come in handy as playing road games at Indiana or Michigan State seems to be easy to convince people. Also, Rutgers basketball could benefit from some Top 100 recruits to create buzz.

Boston College Eagles: Another team that is in complete disarray right now. Once upon a time Boston College contained a pretty good program that peaked in 2006 when they suffered a one-point loss to Villanova in the Sweet 16. Since then, it has been downhill for quite some, hitting rock bottom two years ago, finishing winless in the ACC. This year wasn’t much better as the Eagles finished 2-16 in ACC and 9-23 overall. Despite it being a tough conference, drastic measures should be taken to get the Eagles back to respectability.

DePaul Blue Demons: Another laughing-stock, another team that makes perfect sense in the Romar sweepstakes. DePaul has been bad for almost forever, with their last NCAA Tournament appearance coming in 2004. Somehow, they played in the brutal Big East back in the day. Since the conference carousel started up in 2011, DePaul has won a total of 17 conference games, winning two this past season.

Missouri State Grizzlies: Missouri is out of the question, but would Missouri State be an option? Sometimes I think the MVC needs a powerhouse team that can rival Wichita State. Before Washington, Romar coached at Saint Louis so he knows the area. Romar also has a history of winning conference tournaments and the MVC is one of the most competitive conference tournaments top-to-bottom in Division I and therefore, any MVC team that hires Romar would be a great hire.

Tennessee Volunteers: Rick Barnes is their coach right now but for how much longer? He currently has the program stuck in neutral. Similarly to Washington, Tennessee has lost some flare since 2011 for whatever reason. John Calipari and Romar have had great recruiting battles over the years, none more controversial then when Terrence Jones de-comitted from Washington to Kentucky. Some people say that may have costed Washington a chance at the National Title. Who knows what happens in Rocky Top, if Barnes’ situation doesn’t work out, Romar should be up for consideration.

San Diego Toreros: San Diego’s rival, San Diego State, is coming to the end of a great run of excellence across the town so we know basketball can succeed in San Diego. As everyone knows, the WCC is almost a one-team conference with Gonzaga controlling everything. Even St. Mary’s and BYU haven’t been able to dethrone Gonzaga. To make things more interesting, Mark Few and Romar extremely dislike each other and would make for a great rivalry if San Diego got good. It’s something that the WCC needs because the conference gets no respect, not even Gonzaga is respected on the East coast. San Diego’s last claim to fame was a one-point OT win in the first round 2008 NCAA Tournament. Since then, they haven’t even sniffed another appearance.

These are just some teams that should take full advantage of Lorenzo Romar being on the open market. If a team hires Romar, they will be hiring a coach who is a great person, leader, role model and most importantly an outstanding recruiter.

2017 Bracketology - Final

East                                                                                    Midwest

1 Villinova	1 UNC
16  Troy /Texas Southern	16 Jacksonville State / Mt. St. Mary's
Buffalo	Greenville
8 VCU	8 Oklahoma State
9  Va Tech	9 Northwestern
4  Florida	4 Virginia
13 South Dakota State	13 Princeton
Tulsa	Sacramento
5 Notre Dame	5 Purdue
12 Nevada	12 Bucknell
3  UCLA	3 West Virginia
14 FGCU	14 Iona
Salt Lake City	Orlando
6  Iowa State	6 St. Mary's
11 Vanderbilt  / Wake Forest	11 Seton Hall
7 South Carolina	7 Maryland
10  Providence	10 Marquette
Milwaukee	Buffalo
2 Louisville	2 Kentucky
15 East  Tennessee State	15 North Dakota
West	South
1 Gonzaga	1 Kansas
16  UC Davis	16 UNC Central
Salt Lake City	Indy
8 Arkansas	8 Dayton
9 Xavier	9 Miami
4 SMU	4 Cincinnati
13 New Mexico State	13 UNC Wilmington
Tulsa	Milwaukee
5 Minnesota	5 Florida State
12 Vermont	12 Kansas State / USC
3 Oregon	3 Baylor
14 New Orleans	14 Kent State
Sacramento	Tulsa
6 Butler	6 Wisconsin
11 Rhode Island	11 Middle Tennessee
7 Michigan	7 Creighton
10  Wichita State	10 Michigan State
Greenville	Indy
2  Duke	2 Arizona
15 Northern Kentucky	15 Winthrop

On The Bubble 

Last 4 IN 

USC

Vanderbilt 

Kansas State 

Wake Forest



First 4 Out


Cal
Illinois State
Syracuse
Monmouth




Next 4 Out


Georgia
Iowa
TCU
Illinois

Bracketology - March 13th 4:04pm ET

East                                                                                    Midwest

1 Villinova	1 UNC
16  Troy /Texas Southern	16 Jacksonville State / Mt. St. Mary's
Buffalo	Greenville
8 VCU	8 Oklahoma State
9  Va Tech	9 Northwestern
4  Florida	4 Cincinnati
13 South Dakota State	13 Princeton
Tulsa	Sacramento
5 Notre Dame	5 Purdue
12 Nevada	12 Bucknell
3  UCLA	3 West Virginia
14 FGCU	14 Iona
Salt Lake City	Orlando
6  Iowa State	6 St. Mary's
11 Kansas State / Wake Forest	11 Seton Hall
7 South Carolina	7 Maryland
10  Providence	10 Marquette
Milwaukee	Buffalo
2 Louisville	2 Kentucky
15 East  Tennessee State	15 North Dakota
West	South
1 Gonzaga	1 Kansas
16  UC Davis	16 UNC Central
Salt Lake City	Indy
8 Arkansas	8 Dayton
9 Xavier	9 Miami
4 Florida State	4 Virginia
13 New Mexico State	13 UNC Wilmington
Tulsa	Milwaukee
5 Minnesota	5 SMU
12 Vermont	12 Vanderbilt USC
3 Oregon	3 Baylor
14 New Orleans	14 Kent State
Sacramento	Tulsa
6 Wisconsin	6 Butler
11 Rhode Island	11 Middle Tennessee
7 Michigan	7 Creighton
10  Wichita State	10 Michigan State
Greenville	Indy
2  Duke	2 Arizona
15 Northern Kentucky	15 Winthrop

On The Bubble 

Last 4 IN 

USC

Vanderbilt 

Kansas State 

Wake Forest



First 4 Out


Cal
Illinois State
Syracuse
Monmouth




Next 4 Out


Georgia
Iowa
TCU
Illinois

Bracketology - March 12th

East                                                                                    Midwest

1 Villinova	1 UNC
16  UNC Central/Texas Southern	16 Jacksonville State / Mt. St. Mary's
Buffalo	Greenville
8 VCU	8 Oklahoma State
9  Va Tech	9 Northwestern
4  Florida	4 Cincinnati
13 South Dakota State	13 Princeton
Tulsa	Sacramento
5 Notre Dame	5 Purdue
12 Nevada	12 Bucknell
3  UCLA	3 West Virginia
14 FGCU	14 Iona
Salt Lake City	Orlando
6  Iowa State	6 St. Mary's
11 Kansas State / Wake Forest	11 Seton Hall
7 South Carolina	7 Maryland
10  Providence	10 Marquette
Milwaukee	Buffalo
2 Louisville	2 Kentucky
15 East  Tennessee State	15 North Dakota
West	South
1 Gonzaga	1 Kansas
16  UC Davis	16 Texas State
Salt Lake City	Indy
8 Arkansas	8 Dayton
9 Xavier	9 Miami
4 Florida State	4 Virginia
13 New Mexico State	13 UNC Wilmington
Tulsa	Milwaukee
5 Minnesota	5 SMU
12 Vermont	12 Rhode Island/ USC
3 Oregon	3 Baylor
14 New Orleans	14 Kent State
Sacramento	Tulsa
6 Wisconsin	6 Butler
11 Vanderbilt	11 Middle Tennessee
7 Michigan	7 Creighton
10  Wichita State	10 Michigan State
Greenville	Indy
2  Duke	2 Arizona
15 Northern Kentucky	15 Winthrop

On The Bubble 

Last 4 IN 

USC

Rhode Island 

Kansas State 

Wake Forest



First 4 Out


Cal
Illinois State
Syracuse
Monmouth




Next 4 Out


Tennessee
Iowa
TCU
Illinois