2018 MLB and Mariners Predictions!

The 2018 MLB season is fast approaching and Spring Training is underway.  I sometimes wait until right before the MLB (or Mariners) opener to post predictions, but this time I thought I'd get a jump start on it and make my predictions now.  I'm going to predict how each division will go (plus playoffs), and will also predict award winners and go further into detail on how the Seattle Mariners season will go.  Let's just say there will be a few surprises.  I'm going to start with the NL East and move west so that the Mariners and the AL West are last.

* = Wild Card

NL EAST
1. Washington Nationals
2. New York Mets
3. Philadelphia Phillies
4. Atlanta Braves
5. Miami Marlins
Comment: The Nats remain the favorite boasting the best overall roster in the division.  The Mets could make a run but their pitching would have to hold up health-wise, something they haven't really proven to do.  The Phillies should be improved from 2017 as they're a young team on the rise.  The Braves are still a ways a way, and the Marlins are in complete rebuild mode and would surprise no one if they finished with the worst record in MLB.

NL CENTRAL
1. St. Louis Cardinals
2. Chicago Cubs*
3. Milwaukee Brewers
4. Pittsburgh Pirates
5. Cincinnati Reds
Comment: Every so often, the Cardinals surprise everyone and have a great season.  That's what makes them a popular team to root for.  I think that will happen this year.  The Cubs will meanwhile limp into the playoffs as the wild card.  The Brewers will be improved with Cain and Yelich, but it won't be enough to get a playoff spot.  The Pirates traded Andrew McCutcheon and may be heading for a rebuild.  The Reds still are a few pieces away from contending.

NL WEST
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Arizona Diamondbacks*
3. San Francisco Giants
4 .Colorado Rockies
5. San Diego Padres
Comment: The Dodgers boast the best roster in the NL, if not all of MLB.  The D-Backs will do their best to prove they're not a one-year wonder.  The Giants will be improved, but not the same Giants they used to be.  The Rockies will compete but will be needing pitching help (as usual).  The Padres will be the Padres.

AL EAST
1. Boston Red Sox
2. Toronto Blue Jays
3. New York Yankees
4. Baltimore Orioles
5. Tampa Bay Rays
Comment: The Red Sox will be knocking the cover off the ball, boasting the best team batting average.  The Blue Jays will compete for a wild card for most of the year but fall short.  The Yankees will have a disappointing season in Aaron Boone's first year as manager, as their expectations become too much.  The Orioles will compete but play in too good of a division.  The Rays will be perhaps the best last placed team in baseball.

AL CENTRAL
1. Cleveland Indians
2. Minnesota Twins
3. Chicago White Sox
4. Kansas City Royals
5. Detroit Tigers
Comment: The Indians remain the favorites in not a particularly strong division anymore.  The Twins will want to prove last year was not a fluke.  The White Sox should hang around but be missing a few pieces to really go on a run.  The Royals are losing pieces left and right (Cain, Hosmer) and may be headed for a rebuild.  The Tigers proved they're headed for a small rebuild by trading Justin Verlander last season.

AL WEST
1. Houston Astros
2. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim*
3. Seattle Mariners*
4. Texas Rangers
5. Oakland Athletics
Comment: The Astros are built for the long haul, and it would be quite the surprise if they didn't compete for the division crown again.  The Angels, after acquiring Shohei Ohtani, will be improved and grab a hold of the Wild Card.  Meanwhile, the Mariners surprise most everyone, and just when people aren't expecting them to do much they go on  a September run and claim the second wild card over the Twins and Blue Jays.  The Rangers have a slightly down season.  The A's continue the churning of their roster but will compete.

So onto the playoffs.  The Wild Card games first.

NL WILD CARD: Cubs at Diamondbacks: Diamondbacks win
The D-Backs win a game they are the underdogs at home in, and relish their first playoff victory in quite some time.

AL WILD CARD: Mariners at Angels: Angels win
In a heated division rival matchup, the Mariners don't muster much offense despite a decent performance from James Paxton.  So the Mariners make the playoffs, but only as a wild card and will still hold the distinction of not HOSTING a playoff game in over 17 years.

Now the divisional round.  Who will have the edge?

NL Divisional Round
Diamondbacks vs. Dodgers: Dodgers win
Cardinals vs. Nationals: Nationals win

AL Divisional Round
Angels vs. Astros: Astros win
Indians vs. Red Sox: Indians win

Comment: The Dodgers take care of their division rival as do the Astros.  The Nats take care of the Cardinals in a 5 game series.  The Indians/Red Sox series features Terry Francona taking on his former team, and it proves to make a difference as the Indians "upset" the Sox.

NL Championship Series:
Nationals vs. Dodgers: Nationals Win

AL Championship Series:
Indians vs. Astros: Astros Win

Comment: The NL hasn't had a team win the pennant that had won it recently since the Giants, and haven't had a repeat NL Champ since the 08-09 Phillies.  The Dodgers therefore blow it.  Also, with the Nationals making the World Series, the Mariners become the only current franchise to have never won a league pennant.  The Indians/Astros series is a classic, goes to 7 games, and the Astros win Game 7 in walk off fashion thanks to a George Springer double.

World Series: Nationals vs. Astros: Nationals in 7
In a matchup of two teams that have changed names/leagues in the past 20 years (Nationals used to be the Expos, the Astros used to be in the NL), the Nationals come out on top, thanks to a diving catch by Bryce Harper which saves multiple runs from scoring in game 7.  The Nats win their first World Series thanks to World Series MVP Bryce Harper, who hits four homers in the series.

Now, time for some awards:
AL MVP: Mike Trout, Angels
NL MVP: Bryce Harper, Nationals
AL Cy Young: Chris Sale, Red Sox
NL Cy Young: Stephen Strausberg, Nationals
AL Rookie of the Year: Shohei Ohtani, Red Sox
NL Rookie of the Year: Tyler O'Neill, Cardinals (Ouch)
AL Manager of the Year: Scott Servais, Mariners
NL Manager of the Year: Dave Martinez, Nationals

Comment: I usually miss on most or all of these, but it's fun nonetheless.  Mike Trout is always a safe pick for MVP.  His phenom counterpart in the NL, Bryce Harper, is a safe pick for MVP as well.  Chris Sale is another safe pick (I know, I know), and on the Nats, Strausberg, not Scherzer, will be their best pitcher.  Shohei Ohtani has a great rookie campaign and wins ROY.  Tyler O'Neill who last year at this time was in the Mariners farm system, gets called up and becomes a rookie sensation and wins NLROY.  Scott Servais wins Manager of the Year for guiding the Mariners to their first playoffs in 17 years.  Dave Martinez wins the NL award for guiding the Nats to their first World Series championship in club history.


So how will the Mariners get there?  Hard to say.  You can often point at bad luck for being a reason for the Mariners not making the playoffs in a lot of recent seasons, so I'll say this season luck will be on their side.  They will hang around for most of the season, never winning too many or losing too many in a row.  September though, they go on a run and win a lot of close games, with Edwin Diaz at this point being lights out.  I just think that whenever we expect them to do well they disappoint, so this season most fans aren't expecting much, so I'll say they surprise.  Finally, some Mariners awards and stat leaders:

MVP: Robinson Cano
Cy Young: James Paxton
Unsung hero: Dee Gordon
Average: Cano
Homers: Nelson Cruz
Stolen Bases: Gordon
Hits: Cano
Strikeouts: Paxton
Wins: Felix Hernandez
Saves: Edwin Diaz

The 2018 Mariners Don't Inspire Much Optimism

Spring training for the 2018 MLB season is just around the corner, and I gotta say, I can't remember a time feeling less optimistic about the Mariners season.  The Mariners didn't make any particularly notable moves in the offseason and they aren't coming off a winning or even positive season.  They ended the 2017 season on a sour note, falling out of the playoff race alarmingly fast.  With the Buffalo Bills in the NFL having made the playoffs, the Mariners now own the longest playoff drought in North American professional sports.  I hate to say it, but I think that drought will continue because these Mariners just aren't good enough and play in too tough of a division.

The Mariners had a relatively quiet offseason.  They acquired Dee Gordon from the Marlins and Ryon Healy from the Athletics.  Their pitching staff didn't get a huge upgrade, just depth in Juan Nicalsio.  These moves to me to scream the typical Band-Aid type job the Mariners usually get, which never results in anything great.  They just sign or trade for who they can, constantly hoping the new guys they acquire will be able to lift a team to the playoffs.  It hasn't worked before, so I have very little hope or reason to believe it can happen this year.

But for me, the biggest reason to not be optimistic about this season is the strength of the division the Mariners play in, the AL West.  The Houston Astros are the reigning World Series champs and will no doubt be a great team again.  The Los Angeles Angels made the biggest move of the offseason and acquired Japanese phenom Shohei Ohtani.  The Mariners were in the running but lost out to their division rival, something I know will haunt us for years to come.  The Angels expect to be improved and since they just missed the playoffs themselves last year, they'll be in the running again more than likely.  The Texas Rangers still boast a ton of talent and could win a bunch of games.  And the A's always have the ability to surprise and win games when no one expects them to.  If I had to pick right now where I expect the Mariners to finish, I would say fourth, not because I think they'll lose a lot of games, but because their division is just that tough.

But for some reason I think the Mariners could fly under the radar.  Felix will be desperate to prove his career is not over.  Paxton will want to prove he can be a front of the line ace and pitch an entire season.  Iwakuma still wants to pitch and should be healthy.  The bullpen should be better, and Edwin Diaz should have better control.  And that's just the pitching.  The lineup could be one of the better ones in the American League.  There's speed (Gordon, Gamel), power (Cano, Cruz, Seager), and contact hitting (Cano, Segura).  The dominoes have to fall just right for this team.  They certainly did not last year.  But if the rotation can stay healthy, and the hitters can have productive seasons, the Mariners have a shot.  But it's a slim shot, and no Mariner fan in their right mind should hold their breath over this team.  Give them a month or two to prove themselves, because I think we will learn by May what kind of team the Mariners will be in 2018.  I'm tempering my excitement, because this time the Mariners have to earn my excitement for the team.

2018 Hopes and Goals

This year, 2018, I plan to get a lot done.  I was very proud of my girlfriend last year not only buying a new car for herself but getting a new job.  I hope to have a similar sort of year this year.  I am considering 2018 to be the year of me buying big things for myself.  So far, I have already gotten a new phone (A Google Pixel XL 2) and bought new glasses (the old ones broke).  As of this moment, I am typing on my new laptop for the first time, an Acer Aspire E15.  I bought this laptop so it will be much easier for me to apply for new jobs, which is a hopeful goal for me in 2018.  My desktop computer is over a decade old (runs on Vista) and Google Chrome can no longer be updated.

So I hope to get a lot done this year.  Amanda bought a new (used) car in 2017 and I may do the same this year.  I'm not entirely sure, because my current car is running just fine.  But for a while now I have wanted a small-ish pickup truck or SUV.  I want a car that can carry large items/loads and one that can handle the elements.  It would make getting new furniture so much easier.  I'd also like to be the one guy a lot of people know that has a truck or SUV that they can ask me to help with.  I like to be helpful and give people a hand if they need it. :)

As for my job, it really is time to move on.  I love the pay I get, which is the main reason why I have stuck with Safeway for so long.  But I need to do something else.  I get so annoyed when a customer says to me "You've been working here a while, haven't you?"  Yes, I know I have.  Don't remind me.  But with my savings getting to a good point, getting money back from people I have loaned money to, I should be able to afford a lesser paying job for a while.

As always, I want to lose weight.  I don't consider myself obese, but I'd love to be the weight I was at 8, 9 years ago.  I'm trying to eat better and less and started going to the gym a little more.  I want to be at a decent enough weight for the summer so I can swim at our apartment complex's swimming pool without feeling self conscious of my body.

I don't like to put a bunch of pressure on myself, because I can get overwhelmed and fret and just want to give up because I can't accomplish most of my goals.  I just want to look back on 2018 and be proud of myself.  Does that mean I have to accomplish everything?  No.  I just want to be happy with the effort I gave and feel like I did what I could to further myself in life.  This is why I didn't make New Years resolutions.  Because I did last year and accomplished only a couple and felt disappointed in myself.  I am just going to remind myself of what I want as much as I can, and use that as motivation to by my best in 2018.