My Top 10 Original Xbox Games

 I want to do a series where I rank the Top 10 games on each console I own or have played, mainly the original Xbox, Xbox 360, Nintendo 64, and maybe a PC or Xbox One.  I have played video games since I was a little lad, and I have developed some favorites over the years.  

First up, is the original Xbox.  I have put so many hours into my Xbox.  I still have the same one my family got in 2001, although I did replace the disc drive a few years ago since it got to a point where it wouldn't open on its own anymore.  Anyway, I'm going to rank my Top 10 Original Xbox games.  These are my opinion, and are mostly based on how much I enjoyed playing each game and how many hours I put into each.  Also, if there are multiple games from the same franchise, I will consider that as a single entry.  Here are my Top 10!

Honorable Mention: The Lord of the Rings (The Two Towers and Return of the King)
I had to technically include an 11th with The Lord of the Rings here.  I've never been the biggest fan of button mashers, which made this a bit difficult for me as a kid.  But eventually, I did get the hang of it enough to put in plenty of hours.  I loved playing battles from the films, most notably Helm's Deep.  They even had a few battles not seen in the films.  And I enjoyed the special features from the films they added for completing certain levels.  I would definitely consider going back to this someday.

10. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
The Harry Potter franchise had a total of four games from the films (plus Quidditch World Cup) come out on the original Xbox, but the only one I really played on the Xbox was Chamber of Secrets.  It's still to this day one of my favorite Harry Potter video games.  I've beaten it several times.  The high amount of loading screens sucks, and dueling in the game is somewhat broken, but it's still enjoyable.  I especially love the open-world aspect and flying around Hogwarts and exchanging beans for items at Fred and George's shop.

9. Grand Theft Auto Series (III, Vice City, and San Andreas)
I have still not played GTA III much, but I put in plenty of hours into Vice City and San Andreas soon after I got them.  I remember when the games first came out on Playstation and hearing about how violent and bad for kids they were.  It just made me want to play it that much more.  When III and Vice City finally came to Xbox, I had to get my hands on them.  I have not played them much in the years since, because the newer GTA's have made these look old and obsolete, but perhaps someday. 

8. Star Wars: Obi-Wan
As a huge Star Wars fan, I've played my fair share of Star Wars video games, including Star Wars: Obi-Wan.  This was one of the first games my family got for the Xbox.  I remember struggling in the game at first, but once I got the hang of it, it was smooth sailing.  I've only beaten the game two times (or so), but I thoroughly enjoyed it each time.  I thought the combat elements and gameplay were better than what critics said.  

7. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon (And Ghost Recon Island Thunder)
Ghost Recon became my favorite military-style FPS growing up.  I would play this over Call of Duty or anything else.  I loved having two teams and telling the other what to do.  I loved being the sniper and picking guys off from a distance.  The "expansion" Island Thunder was just as good, albeit a bit shorter.  I distinctly remember saving myself into a corner a few times.  That's when you save your game a split second before you die.  There was nothing I could do about it.  And that resulted in me having to restart the level.  Anyway, I definitely want to give Ghost Recon another playthrough someday.  Also, I never played the sequel Ghost Recon 2.  I saw my dad play it and realized it was too different from the original.

6. MLB 2K5
This might be my favorite baseball video game of all time.  I love the ESPN presentation and having Jon Miller and Joe Morgan as announcers.  The gameplay is solid and just about difficult enough.  I especially love constructing teams (trading players, signing and releasing players).  Sometimes I would construct a team and sim them for years to see if I could ever win a championship.  

5. Star Wars: Battlefront (and Battlefront II)
The original Battlefront games are maybe one of my favorite third-person shooters ever.  I love playing in basically every battle from the films and as either side AND as any unit on that side.  It still holds up well to this day.  I did play the remake, but it doesn't compare well to the simplicity of the original.  I loved playing as a Jedi or Sith in the second one, especially the "All Jedi/Sith" mode set on Mos Eisley.  

4. NBA Inside Drive 2003
This is, without a doubt, my favorite basketball video game of all time.  I have played through dozens of entire seasons where I created a team of players from scratch.  The player progression system in this game is one of my favorites of all time, where players earn points for doing well in games, and you can spend those points on certain attributes to make them better.  The created players all kind of look robotic, but there are plenty of customization options.  Plus, the gameplay is superb and I can't knock it.  

3. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (and KOTOR II: The Sith Lords)
I have beaten the first game close to a dozen times, each of which takes me 20-24 hours to do.  So, do the math.  I've beaten the sequel close to half as many times.  It's just one of those games with immense replay value, because of all the different choices you can make.  Of course, the customization options make you want to play as someone completely different each time.  And the story... don't even get me started!  How has no one adapted this into a film or series yet?  The sequel's gameplay might even be a step up, although I think the story lacks.  I just put so many hours into these games, and they might still to this day be my favorite Star Wars video games of all time.

2. Halo: Combat Evolved (And Halo 2)
I'd wager this would be on and likely near the top of most people's favorite original Xbox games.  How could it not be?  When you think of OG Xbox, you think of Halo.  I don't know if I've put the absolute most hours into the first two games (I put in a ton to the third, though), but I have to say my enjoyment each time I play through the campaign hardly ever wavers.  There was simply nothing like playing through the campaign of either of these games in the early 2000s.  

1. ESPN NFL 2K5
My favorite sports video game ever.  It's just perfect.  The ESPN presentation, the gameplay, the roster-building, and the customization options, are all that make ESPN NFL 2K5 my favorite Xbox game ever.  The announcers they used could maybe be better, but they are still super solid.  There's a reason people keep modding this game and adding the current day's rosters to it.  Because it's that good!  And it was $20 at release!  Imagine what 2K sports could have accomplished if they were allowed to compete with EA/Madden to make NFL video games.  Imagine what we could have now, instead of the garbage EA churns out every year.  Such a shame.  Anyway, I still replay this game almost every year during football season because it's simply that much fun.  I love it.

Well, those were my top 10 original Xbox games of all time.  I may soon do a Top 10 for 360 and/or Nintendo 64.  

2023 Outlook for Seattle Mariners Players

 The 2023 MLB season starts this Thursday, and while I've already made my predictions for the season, I have yet to talk in-depth about my favorite team, the Seattle Mariners.  I'm going to go through each of the players expected to make the Opening Day Roster and say what I expect from them.  I'm later going to use these expectations and give them grades at the All-Star break and at the end of the season.  

PITCHERS
Matt Brash: 
I expect Brash to have an improved 2023, becoming one of our more dominant relievers.  I'd love to see him either be THE guy we use to face tough bats, or be a guy we can stretch out to 2 innings if need be.

Luis Castillo:
Luis will be in his first full season as a Mariner, and he'll be our #1.  I expect Luis to keep us in a lot of low-scoring ball games (think that extra innings game against the Yankees last year).  I would love to see an All-Star nod for him, but not making it wouldn't be the biggest disappointment, either.

Diego Castillo: 
All I want is control from Diego from start to finish.  Now he's going to get wild at times, but his games where he loses control need to be few and far between.  And we cannot afford him to go on streaks (like he did at the start of last year) where his ERA is in the double digits.

Matt Festa:
Festa's a good, all-around reliever and I hope he stays that way.  He's like Brash but without as nasty of stuff.  I'd love to see him close a game or two.  

Chris Flexen: 
It looks like Flexen will start the year in the pen, but will fill in as a starter when necessary (double-headers, injuries, etc.). This will be HUGE.  As long as Flex doesn't let when or how he's pitching affect him, I'd look for him to be one of our more important pitchers this season.  He could also be a very valuable trade piece at the deadline.

Logan Gilbert:
Logan started out red-hot last April.  I was thinking Cy Young.  But alas, he cooled off.  I'm not expecting Logan to be THAT good, but to be near it and to be near it for longer would be ideal.  Imagine if Logan shows some overall signs of improvement, and is only the 3rd or 4th best pitcher on our team?  Wow...

Marco Gonzales: 
Because of the acquisition of pitching and promoting through the minors, Marco has gone from our #1 to our #5 in just three seasons.  Crazy.  And he's handled it like the ultimate professional.  I expect Marco to be one of the league's best #5 starters, consistently putting out quality (or near quality) starts of 6IP, 3 runs or less.  

Trevor Gott: 
I'm not expecting a ton from Gott, a newcomer.  I just don't want him to suck.  Be on par with Festa and Castillo, and I'll be happy.

George Kirby:
Kirby arrived after Gilbert, but his ceiling is higher.  I expect George to improve on 2022 and be our second best pitcher (if not best) in his first FULL season (he started in May last season).  I wouldn't be surprised to see an All-Star nod for George, which would be reason to give him an A at the break.  

Andres Munoz: 
It'll be interesting to see how Servais handles Munoz this season.  Hopefully he doesn't put too much on him, like he seemed to do in the playoffs.  If Munoz's stuff can be just as lethal as last season, I'll be happy.

Penn Murfee:
Unfortunately Penn had the distinction of being the pitcher that allowed the Astros go-ahead home run in the 18th inning of game 3 of the ALDS.  I don't think too many fans hold a grudge against him.  I hope he can shake that and that it doesn't affect how he pitches in 2023.

Robbie Ray:
Robbie has been working on a new pitch, I believe.  We need him to have a better 2023 than he did 2022.  He doesn't need to be a Cy Young candidate, just someone good enough to be in our Top 3 starters (which he wasn't last year).  

Paul Sewald: 
Sewald was our defacto closer last season, and he wasn't perfect, but he was solid.  I hope some of the burden is taken off of his shoulders and he's given some lower-impact innings.


CATCHERS
Tom Murphy: 
The Murph is back!  He was our starter, but now he'll be backing up The Big Dumper.  I expect Murph to put up solid numbers and start at least 40-60 games, hopefully.  

Cal Raleigh:
The Big Dumper had such a great 2022 season, the highlight of course being his playoff-clinching walk-off home run.  If he can improve his average slightly and still hit dingers, I'll be happy.

INFIELDERS
J.P. Crawford:
J.P. has had up-and-down seasons the last few years.  I hope his average can climb (with the ban of the shift) and he can hit well from the bottom of the lineup.  I hope he hits well enough for Servais to consider moving him up to 1 or 2, but I won't hold my breath.  I also want his defense to improve well enough to earn him a Gold Glove nomination.

Ty France:
Let's have a season where Ty plays fully healthy, ok?  The bigger bases will help with avoiding collisions.  I do expect Ty to have a great year if he can stay healthy.  A repeat All-Star appearance would be great, but the Mariners haven't had many of those in recent memory.  

Eugenio Suarez:
Suarez had as great of season as we could've hoped in 2022.  I hope him playing in the WBC doesn't mean he tires out at the end of the year.  If he can continue to be a force in the middle of our lineup, I'll be happy.

Kolten Wong: 
Wong is more of a defensive player than an offensive powerhouse, so I won't be counting on his bat too much.  But I would love to see his average jump a bit from last season.  I'm also looking forward to all the sweet double plays he and J.P. will turn.  

OUTFIELDERS
Sam Haggerty: 
"Swaggerty" was a vital tool for Servais last season, and I hope he continues to be.  We will likely see him take over for Hernandez in the outfield late in games (like he did for Winker last year).  I also hope to see him play some more second base, a position he is capable of handling.

Teoscar Hernandez:
Teoscar will hopefully be a force in the middle of our lineup, much like Suarez last season.  I'm looking forward to seeing him playing alongside his DR countryman in Julio.  Hopefully his defense won't be a liability and we'll see some clutch knocks from him.

Jarred Kelenic: 
Listen, JK seems to be as ready as ever.  He had a FANTASTIC spring.  He seems focused and locked in.  We know he has speed, defense, and a cannon arm.  If he can hit above .200 (.220+?) and hit dingers, (on pace for 20-30), he will be a consistent starter.  There's nothing more Mariner fans want than to see JK succeed in a big way.  

AJ Pollock: 
AJ will likely start against lefties in left field, giving Kelenic a breather every now and then.  He also might get a start at DH if no one else needs it.  I hope he can provide a veteran bat, hit somewhat decently, and give Servais a reason to keep him in the lineup.

Julio Rodriguez: 
Man, what a year he had last season.  Can we expect bigger things in 2023?  Why not?  Julio is the face of this team, and we are counting on him to be an even bigger force in 2023.  Provided he plays decently, a repeat 2023 All-Star appearance is a given, considering he is now a household name.  

Well, there you have it.  I know I didn't get too much into numbers, but I didn't want to just to get disappointed.  I know I also didn't predict them to make the playoffs, but if most of these guys can meet my reasonable expectations for them, I see no reason why they cannot prove me wrong.  I'm stoked and I'm looking forward to a great 2023 season.  GO MARINERS!!!!

My 2023 MLB Predictions

 It's about that time of year!  The MLB season officially gets underway later this month, so I got to get my predictions out.  

Like last year, I'm going to predict the order of each division (no win or loss totals), the wild card teams, and I'll run through the playoffs.  Last year, I correctly picked the Mariners to end their playoff drought, and I even got their playoff seeding right (#5)!  I'll also pick the team leaders for statistical categories and All-Stars.  Let's hope I do better in that department this year.  Just a refresher: I had Frazier leading in average, JP leading in stolen bases, Ray leading in ERA, and Winker, Haniger, and Ray as All-Stars.  Oops!  Without further ado, the 2023 MLB predicted standings:

NL EAST
1. Atlanta Braves
2. Philadelphia Phillies*
3. New York Mets*
4. Miami Marlins
5. Washington Nationals
Comment: In the highly competitive NL East (at least with the first three teams), I have the Braves winning the division.  They lost Dansby Swanson but still have a great core with Riley, Acuna, and Harris.  The Phillies will be a strong wild-card team after acquiring Trea Turner.  The Mets did get Verlander, but he shows his age, and the Mets take a small step back.  

NL CENTRAL
1. St. Louis Cardinals
2. Milwaukee Brewers
3. Chicago Cubs
4. Cincinnati Reds
5. Pittsburgh Pirates
Comment: This is likely the worst division in baseball.  The Brewers and Cardinals will fight for the division, but the Cards have too much firepower with Goldschmidt and Arenado.  The retirements of Pujols and Yadi will open up spots for younger players to emerge.  The Cubs will be slightly better, and could possibly challenge for a wild card spot. 

NL WEST
1. San Diego Padres
2. Los Angeles Dodgers*
3. San Francisco Giants
4. Arizona Diamondbacks
5. Colorado Rockies
Comment: My biggest surprise pick (standing-wise) is the Padres winning the NL West over the Dodgers.  The Dodgers will hold the division for most of the season, but a combination of a late Padres run and a Dodgers late collapse results in the Padres winning the division.  The Dodgers will still get a wild card.  The Giants will be decent again, but like the Cubs may still be a year away.

AL EAST
1. New York Yankees
2. Toronto Blue Jays*
3. Baltimore Orioles*
4. Tampa Bay Rays
5. Boston Red Sox
Comment: The Yankees win the division... again.  The Blue Jays again claim the top wild-card seed.  The Orioles leapfrog the Rays and claim the final wild-card spot.  The Orioles have a young core that will only get better.  The Red Sox lost Bogearts and well... they need to rebuild.

AL CENTRAL
1. Cleveland Guardians
2. Minnesota Twins
3. Chicago White Sox
4. Kansas City Royals
5. Detroit Tigers
Comment: The Guardians have a solid young core and aren't going anywhere.  The Twins should compete and will challenge for a wild card spot, but it won't be enough.  The White Sox will feel the loss of Jose Abreu.  

AL WEST
1. Houston Astros
2. Texas Rangers*
3. Seattle Mariners
4. Los Angeles Angels
5. Oakland Athletics
Comment: I hate to say it, but the Mariners are missing the playoffs.  I hope I'm wrong.  I think the Rangers signing DeGrom and getting Bruce Bochy as manager were huge.  I don't think the Mariners did enough this offseason, and it will come back to bite them.  Of course, the Astros aren't going anywhere, unfortunately.

So, the 2023 playoffs!  Perhaps a few surprise teams?  No Mariners... let's hope if they miss the playoffs (like I'm predicting) that it doesn't start a new drought for the team.

NL WILD CARD
(6) Mets at (3) Cardinals: Cardinals win
(5) Phillies at (4) Dodgers: Phillies win

AL WILD CARD 
(6) Orioles at (3) Guardians: Guardians win
(5) Rangers at (4) Blue Jays: Blue Jays win

NL DIVISIONAL ROUND
(5) Phillies at (1) Braves: Braves win
(3) Cardinals at (2) Padres: Padres win

AL DIVISIONAL ROUND
(4) Blue Jays at (1) Astros: Astros win
(3) Guardians at (2) Yankees: Guardians win

CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Padres vs. Braves: Braves win
Guardians vs. Astros: Guardians win

WORLD SERIES
Guardians vs. Braves: Braves win in 7

Yep, a rematch of the 1995 World Series, 28 years later.  The Braves win again.  Now, who I think will lead certain categories for the M's:

Average: JP Crawford (resurgent season)
Home Runs: Julio Rodriguez
RBI: Ty France
Stolen Bases: Julio Rodriguez
Wins: Luis Castillo
Strikeouts: Robbie Ray
ERA: George Kirby
Saves: Paul Sewald
All-Stars: Julio Rodriguez, George Kirby

I'm going to do a further look at the M's, what I expect from each player, and perhaps go in depth as to why I think they'll miss the playoffs (barely).  Look for that soon!

So this is Brian from late 2023, the MLB season is now in the playoffs and I wanted to point out the biggest things I got right and the biggest things I got wrong:

Biggest things I got right:
- Mariners missing the playoffs.  I wish I wasn't right on this...!  Sigh.
- The Texas Rangers finishing 2nd to the Astros and snagging a wild card, along with two other AL East teams.  
- The Baltimore Orioles making the playoffs--although I did not see them winning the East!
- The Dodgers losing their first playoff series--again.  Although, I had them losing the wild card instead of losing in the divisional round.

Biggest things I got wrong: 
- Guardians winning their division and the AL Pennant--Whoops!
- Cardinals winning the NL Central--but I wasn't the only one to get this wrong
- The Padres winning the NL West over the Dodgers.  Hey, they lost a lot of close games, if you switch those, you basically get what I predicted.
- The Yankees winning the AL East while the Rays finish 4th.  Basically switch those two. 

Thoughts on Castillo Trade, M's Future

Just a few days ago, I warned the Mariners and Jerry Dipoto not to give up too much for a player like Juan Soto.  Unfortunately, they gave up a lot, and not even for Juan Soto.  They sent four prospects (3 of the top 5 in the Mariners' system) to the Cincinnati Reds for Luis Castillo, an All-Star pitcher.  He's a borderline top 10 starter in the game and still should have plenty of productive years left.  He is only signed through 2023, so the Mariners may only get a season and a half out of him.  Was this an overpay?  It will all depend on how things shake out.

I understand that you have to give up a lot to get star players.  But man, losing 3 of your top 5 prospects does hurt.  The winner of this trade will be determined by how much Castillo can help the Mariners toward a playoff birth and run and how well those prospects do with the Reds.  

I get it.  The Mariners are desperate for a playoff berth.  I am desperate for that, too.  But if the Mariners make the playoffs once or twice, each followed by early playoff exits, and another drought ensues, was it worth it?  I'd say it hardly was.  However, Castillo will solidify a very good rotation even further for at least the next year and a half, and as the saying goes, you can never have too much good pitching.

The good thing is that 99.9% of prospects are not a sure thing.  We weren't even sure Julio Rodriguez was a sure thing going into this season.  Jarred Kelenic was a highly rated prospect and has still not panned out, and he might never.  At this point, I wish Jerry Dipoto had traded him earlier while his value was still high.  That's what he did with our prospects he sent for Castillo.  He sent them away while their value was still high.  

Obviously, if you trade a prospect that becomes a perennial All-Star or Hall of Famer and don't get the value in return, it becomes an awful trade and one of the worst in franchise history.  But that's the risk you take with trades in MLB.  Every team in the majors has made a huge trade that they regret.  

As Mariner fans, we can only hope Castillo leads us to the playoffs, and we go on a playoff run, and the prospects we sent away only have marginally successful careers at best.  If we aren't able to end the playoff drought and the prospects have great careers with the Reds helping them get to the playoffs, that's going to be too much for us Mariner fans to handle.  We've seen this happen too many times before.  

I hope to look back on this trade and not feel remorse like I do so many other trades in Mariner history.  I often wonder what Mariners' history would've been like if we had held on to the likes of Jason Varitek, Derek Lowe, David Ortiz, and Adam Jones.  

Before I fail to mention, the first full game played after the announcement of this trade, Julio Rodriguez went down with a hand injury and went on the 10-day IL the day after.  The need for hitting became even more apparent.  But Jerry Dipoto decided to go with pitching.  I'm not wholely against that idea because pitching often wins in the playoffs, but if the bats go quiet due to a lack of depth and injuries, that's going to really hurt the M's chances of even making the playoffs.  

We will know in 2 months whether this trade is starting to be worth it or it's looking like another dud trade to add to the list in Mariners history.  Let's hope for the former.

The Mariners (and Jerry Dipoto) must be cautious, mostly with regards to Soto

 The trade deadline rapidly approaches for the 2022 MLB season, and as always happens, players' names circulate among the rumor mill.  The Seattle Mariners, in contention after their 14-game winning streak, will likely be looking to add a piece or two.  The biggest name on the market is one Juan Soto, an outfielder for the Washington Nationals.  He's still only 23 and rejected a gigantic contract extension, meaning he wants out of Washington (D.C.).  He's arguably one of the most valuable trade pieces ever on the market.  And the Mariners are rumored to be one of 4 teams strongly interested in him.  I say this to Mariners Team President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto and the rest of the Mariners front office: Do not sell the farm for Soto.  He is one player.  What if something happens to him?  

The Mariners must be cautious.  We have built a strong core, one that is as strong as we have seen in the past twenty years.  To sell a huge chunk of it for one player is risky at best and foolish at worst.  What if a health condition is discovered in Juan Soto a year or two from now?  With the news of Mike Trout, it makes you want to be cautious about what you give up for certain stars.  Or what if he decides he doesn't like Seattle?  That would completely derail this rebuild, one that has taken eight years so far.  

Not to mention, the Mariners already have a Dominican young star in Julio Rodriguez.  They also have a plethora of other outfielders, just waiting for a pair to be healthy and playing well simultaneously.  Those outfielders include Jesse Winker, Kyle Lewis, Jarred Kelenic, and Mitch Haniger.  Surely 2 of those could pan out and be very capable players.  Yes, trading for Soto would acquire someone we wouldn't even have to worry about.  But is ownership really willing to pay both Julio and Soto contracts that would total close to a billion dollars?  

The best players in Mariners history almost all come from the draft or they were signed as amateur free agents.  Griffey, A-Rod, and Seager were all drafted.  Felix and Julio were signed as amateur free agents.  Ichiro was brought from Japan.  The one exception being Randy Johnson, but he was not highly touted when the Mariners acquired him from Montreal.  My point is, trades or even free-agent acquisitions hardly have been huge successes in this team's history, especially when acquiring big name stars.  

If the Mariners could somehow get Soto for a handful of mid-range prospects, and maybe Kelenic or Lewis, I'd say go for it. But the Nationals apparently want a team's top 3 or 4 prospects.  Jerry Dipoto and the M's simply cannot afford to blow this up for one player.  Are all the top prospects the Mariners would trade for Soto going to live up to their billing?  Maybe not.  But it's an almost certainty that most of them will be big contributors in a few years.  

I just hope Dipoto is cautious.  I'd rather miss the playoffs barely again this year and go into next year stronger and hungrier than trade for Soto and have a quick playoff exit.  I want to end the playoff drought just as much as any Mariners fan, but not at the cost of our future.  

Grading each Mariner so far in 2022

The 2022 Mariners season is quickly nearing its halfway point, and this season has been less than ideal.  It seems the Mariners have taken a step back, although there have been a lot of things to not go there way.  One is injuries.  Mitch Haniger has missed time with two injuries, Kyle Lewis came back for about a week only to miss significant time with a concussion, and we have been without two relievers we were counting on, Casey Sadler and Ken Giles.  

Although the season is not over nor is it a "lost cause", there's still a lot of reason for concern.  However, there's also reason for optimism.  I'm going to give each player that's seen significant time a letter grade, and assess their overall games based on their expectations coming into 2022.  First off, Lewis, Haniger, and Murphy all get an "incomplete" due to being injured for a majority of the season so far.

Hitters

Cal Raleigh: C+
Cal got off to an extremely slow start offensively, causing him to be sent down.  However, his bat woke up, and he's done a very good job of handling our pitching staff.  A lot of Logan Gilbert's success has to be attributed to Cal.

Luis Torrens: D
He's been ok, his bat seems to very slowly be waking up.  His defense does seem to have improved from last season.  But as of mid-June he is still looking for his first home run of 2022.

Ty France: A+
Could we have asked anything more from Ty?  His defense has been great, and his offense has been even better.  He's been drawing comparisons to Edgar Martinez, and for good reason.  His average has dropped while his strikeouts have ticked up in recent weeks, so he's a borderline A/A+, but he's definitely the one lock to be an All-Star on the roster.

Adam Frazier: D+
He was expected to provide a high avg/OBP bat at the top of the lineup, but he has not.  His average has hung around the .230/.240 range, and we were expecting at least 50 points higher.  He's been riddled with awful luck, hitting straight to defensive players.  His defense has been adequate.  

JP Crawford: A-
JP is one of the bright spots on this team, and he easily could be slumping after signing a contract extension at the start of the year, but he really hasn't.  If anything, his defense has taken a hit, causing him to be near the top in errors by an AL shortstop.  But he's still made some great defensive plays.  

Eugenio Suarez: B
Suarez was almost an afterthought in the trade that netted him and Winker, but he has been definitely the better piece so far.  He's leading the M's in home runs currently and likely will the rest of the year, barring injury.  He's shown a propensity to strike out too much, especially in high-leverage situations.  But his defense has been outstanding, hardly a drop-off (if at all) from Seager.

Jesse Winker: D
Winker, along with Frazier, was acquired due to his ability to hit for a high average.  And also like Frazier, he has struggled.  His average is even lower.  Some worry about his lack of power numbers, but he never has hit too many, only hitting 24 last season.  One good thing has been his eye, as he leads the team in walks.  His defense leaves a lot to be desired, as there have been more than a few fly balls to left that a more athletic outfielder could have gotten to while Jesse did not.

Julio Rodriguez: A-
Julio got off to a slow start, which wasn't wholly unexpected, but that was partly due to the awful strike calls he was getting called against him.  But he heated up in May, coinciding with his first Major League home run.  He has relished hitting in the middle of the lineup.  But the best parts of Julio's game has been his baserunning and defense.  He currently leads the majors in stolen bases and has played great defense in center.

Jarred Kelenic: D-
It's a shame Kelenic wasn't able to produce, because come June the team has definitely needed him.  Fortunately, Trammell has done somewhat decently in his place.  But given that Jarred made his debut last year and had a chance to work on things this offseason, his slow start is concerning.

Abraham Toro: F
Just about every Mariners fan is done with Toro at this point, and I'll be shocked if something doesn't happen to him before the All-Star break (unless he miraculously catches fire).  He's provided some late-inning pop, and yes, if it wasn't for him, we lose that game to the Red Sox where he tied it up with 2 outs.  But so often we have asked him to come through and been let down.  I think Scott's getting tired of Toro's inability to come through.

Dylan Moore: C+
Dylan has been about what we expected.  We did not expect to see him start so much in the outfield, but injuries and Kelenic's struggles have necessitated it.  He's been adequate.  He did have a walk-off hit against the Red Sox.  And his defense and base running has been above average.  

Taylor Trammell: C
Taylor's done well in his short stint, but hasn't really quite broken through yet.  He has played solid D.  It's unfortunate that Servais feels the need to pinch-hit Moore or Toro for him every time he's scheduled to face a lefty.  How's a young left-handed hitter supposed to get better if he is never allowed to face lefties?

Sam Haggerty: C-
Not much to say about Sam, and he's really just a body to have on the Major League roster while we wait for guys to heal up.  He's been good defensively, but his bat leaves a lot to be desired.

Pitchers

Robbie Ray: C-
Given his expectations, we were expecting more from Robbie Ray.  He's given the Mariners length, pitching the most innings this far.  But he's also allowed a lot of home runs, 14, which is 3rd most in the AL.  His last start where he went 7 scoreless is promising after he developed a 2-seam fastball and used that effectively.  

Logan Gilbert: A
Logan has taken a big step forward in year 2.  Imagine if Kelenic, who was called up last year at the same time as Gilbert, looked as good as Gilbert does now.  Anyway, Logan has been mostly dominant, winning AL pitcher of the month for April, and for good reason.  His ERA was under 1 for that month!  

Marco Gonzales: B-
Marco's been fairly inconsistent, but when he's on, he's on.  His maturity and poise have shown.  If he can locate his change-up and get calls from the umpire, he's very hard to hit off of.  

Chris Flexen: C+
If there was ever a guy who was 2-8 who was actually pitching well, it's Flexen.  Flexen has gotten some awful run support, forcing him to leave games barely behind or tied, despite many quality starts. 

Matt Brash: D+
Is it fair to count Brash?  Eh, I'd say so.  He started off fairly well, but then hitters started to figure him out while at the same time he was losing a bit of control.  He also failed to reach 6 innings pitched in each of his 5 starts, something that cannot be said for any other pitcher to start a game this year.

George Kirby: B-
George sure had a nice debut, but unfortunately, it did take him a little while to get his first Major League win.  He definitely looks better than Brash, and hopefully, it won't take him that long to get win #2.

Paul Sewald: C+
I've gone from trusting Paul each time out to waiting with baited breath each time he pitches.  I think Servais shouldn't use him in high-leverage situations for a while, not until he gets his control back.  Seawald has definitely cost us a couple games at least.

Penn Murfee: A
I remember first seeing Penn, first thinking he had a weird name, then thinking, "Well here's a guy that will probably be sent back to Tacoma pretty soon."  Boy, was I wrong.  He has been magnificent, although his most recent outing against the Twins was not pretty.

Diego Castillo: B-
It's certainly been a tale of two seasons for Castillo.  He was looking so bad at one point that I was surprised he wasn't DFA'ed.  But he righted his ship and is now the most dominant arm in the pen.  

Andres Munoz: C
The velocity has been nice, but the control and the amount of hits off of Munoz leave a lot to be desired.  He's still young, so I can't be too harsh, but he's certainly got potential to be a dominant arm in the pen.

Matt Festa: C
Like Castillo, Festa had his struggles early on, but he has quietly become one of the more reliable arms in the pen.  

Erik Swanson: B+
When you have gone 2+ months into a season and you can't think of a time when a reliever has blown a game, you know he's doing at least somewhat well.  Swanson has been a surprising bright spot in the pen.  Shame we lost him for a bit to injury, but fortunately, he's back now.

Sergio Romo: C-
Romo has been wildly inconsistent, with at times looking like his old self and at other times looking like the old guy that no one wanted.  

Drew Steckenrider/Anthony Misiewicz/Ryan Borucki/Roenis Elias/Anyone else: D
I didn't think it was fair to count each of these guys as individual grades, as none of them have been with the big league club all season.  The rest of the bullpen here has been mostly disappointing. 

So with all those grades, what is the team's GPA?  Well I did the math, and the GPA is...

C+.  Well, if the team has a losing record, why do they have an above average grade?  Remember, this is based on expectations for each player, so players like Julio, Penn Murfee, and Erik Swanson have higher grades than if I were to grade their seasons not considering expectations.  I think this is about right, and if I were to wholly grade everyone without taking expectations into consideration, I'd say their grades drop one spot on average (so a B to a B-, for example).  That would mean the team GPA is a C, which makes sense.  Were the Mariners expected to run away with the division?  No.  But some bad luck and injuries have really hurt them, because otherwise this team has a winning record and is in the hunt for a wild card spot.  

I might grade these guys around the end of the season.  Hopefully, we'll have a GPA a bit higher next time.

2022 MLB Predictions

 I'm not going to lie, there was a part of me that thought the 2022 MLB season might not happen.  The lockout seemed to go on forever, but fortunately the two sides came together and reached an agreement.  

I'm going to quickly predict the order of each division, knowing in all likelihood I will be wrong about most.  But hey, it's still fun to do.  But I'm not going to pick Wins and Losses like I've done in the past, because all that matters is the order and who makes the playoffs.  Wild card teams will have an * by their name.

NL East
1. Atlanta Braves
2. New York Mets
3. Philadelphia Phillies
4. Washington Nationals
5. Miami Marlins
Comment: No wild card teams here as this remains the weakest division in the NL.  

NL Central
1. Milwaukee Brewers
2. St. Louis Cardinals*
3. Chicago Cubs
4. Pittsburgh Pirates
5. Cincinnati Reds
Comment: The poor Reds are clearly selling farm and rebuilding.

NL West
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
2. San Francisco Giants*
3. San Diego Padres*
4. Arizona Diamondbacks
5. Colorado Rockies
Comment: It's an even year, so the Giants will have some success.

AL East
1. Tampa Bay Rays
2. New York Yankees*
3. Toronto Blue Jays*
4. Boston Red Sox
5. Baltimore Orioles
Comment: This is going to be a crazy division, any of the top 4 could win the division,

AL Central
1. Chicago White Sox
2. Cleveland Guardians
3. Minnesota Twins
4. Detroit Tigers
5. Kansas City Royals
Comment: This division isn't ripe with talent but I could see the non-division winners making a run at the wild card, at the very least.

AL West
1. Houston Astros
2. Seattle Mariners*
3. Los Angeles Angels
4. Texas Rangers
5. Oakland Athletics
Comment: This should be a fun division, as any team could surprise.  I feel hesitant putting the Athletics so low, because when I underestimate them, they surprise.  They did trade away Chapman and Olson, however.

Yep, that's right, I have my Seattle Mariners ending their 21 year postseason drought!  Thanks to the expanded playoffs, although I don't think they'd be the 6 seed in the AL.  Maybe 5.  Let's go through the playoffs:

NL Wild Card
(6) Padres vs. (3) Brewers: Padres win
(5) Cardinals vs. (4) Giants: Giants win

AL Wild Card
(6) Blue Jays vs. (3) White Sox: Blue Jays win
(5) Mariners vs. (4) Yankees: Mariners win

NL Divisional
(6) Padres vs. (2) Braves: Braves win
(4) Giants vs. (1) Dodgers: Dodgers win

AL Divisional
(6) Blue Jays vs. (2) Rays: Rays win
(5) Mariners vs. (1) Astros: Mariners win

League Championship Series
(2) Braves vs. (1) Dodgers: Dodgers win
(5) Mariners vs. (2) Rays: Rays win

World Series: Dodgers in 5

Well, my Mariners made the playoffs and made it to the league championship series!  Where yet again, they were denied their first ever trip to the World Series.  Oh well.  Here's who I predict will lead certain categories for the Mariners:

Average: Adam Frazier
Home Runs: Mitch Haniger
RBI: Mitch Haniger
Stolen Bases: JP Crawford
Wins: Marco Gonzales
Strikeouts: Robbie Ray
ERA: Robbie Ray
Saves: Paul Sewald
All-Stars: Jessie Winker, Mitch Haniger, Robbie Ray

My late MLB and Mariners prediction post

It's April 4, we're three games (plus) into the MLB regular season, and I did not do any post about the upcoming season.  Eh, better late than never, right?  Anyway, I'll still make some predictions for the MLB season.  Similarly to how I do my NFL predictions, I'll talk about each division instead of each team.  Afterwards, I'll talk about the Mariners and make some predictions.  Here we go!

* = Wild Card

NL East
1. Atlanta Braves
2. Washington Nationals*
3. Philadelphia Phillies
4. Miami Marlins
5. New York Mets

The NL East has got some good teams and it was hard to decide what order to put them.  I think the Braves have some of the best players in Albies, Acuna, and Freeman, plus a pretty good pitching staff.  The Nationals are only a year removed from winning it all and still boast some great players, most notably Juan Soto.  The Phillies are about an average team for me.  The Marlins are slowly getting better from the rebuild.  The Mets... well... are the Mets.  They have Pete Alonso, but I don't think they have many other notable players.

NL Central
1. Milwaukee Brewers
2. St. Louis Cardinals
3. Chicago Cubs
4. Cincinnati Reds
5. Pittsburgh Pirates

This might be the division I pay the least attention to.  I had a tough time blindly trying go figure out the order.  I just have a gut feeling the Brewers are about to have a magical season.  The Cardinals just got Nolan Arenado, so they should be improved.  The Cubs still have some decent players, but aren't on the upswing.  The Reds aren't awful, but there's just always too much competition in the NL Central for them.  The Pirates, I know, are rebuilding and have gotten rid of a lot of great players in recent years, most notably Andrew McCutcheon and Garritt Cole.  

NL West
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
2. San Diego Padres*
3. San Francisco Giants
4. Arizona Diamondbacks
5. Colorado Rockies

The NL West remains a very tough division.  The Dodgers are the most stacked team in all of baseball, and now boast a pitching staff that can compete with anyone's.  The Padres are young and up and coming and will give the Dodgers fits.  The Giants will not be an easy out for most teams as they have a few good, young players plus notable vets like Crawford, Belt, and Posey.  The D-Backs will be decent, but not great.  The Rockies only real good player is Nolan Arenado, who may want out of town, despite signing a contract extension.  

AL East
1. New York Yankees
2. Toronto Blue Jays*
3. Boston Red Sox
4. Tampa Bay Rays
5. Baltimore Orioles

The Yankees remain a top team and are the favorites to win the division.  The Blue Jays signed George Springer and have a lot of really good young players like Guerrero and Biggio.  The Red Sox are usually at least somewhat competitive.  The Rays and Orioles won't be awful, but won't be that good, either.

AL Central
1. Chicago White Sox
2. Minnesota Twins
3. Cleveland Indians
4. Kansas City Royals
5. Detroit Tigers

The White Sox are an up and coming team and I think they take a big jump this season.  The Twinkies remain a solid team, but not solid enough to make the playoffs.  The Indians still have some good pieces, but have also lost a few, most notably Trevor Bauer.  The Royals remain below average, and the Tigers are still rebuilding.

AL West
1. Houston Astros
2. Oakland Athletics*
3. Seattle Mariners
4. Los Angeles Angels
5. Texas Rangers

I hate to say it, but the Astros are probably winning the division again.  They lost Springer, but still have a lot of good players.  Let's just hope fans boo and ridicule them.  The A's are always pesky and competitive.  As for my Mariners, I think they surprise people and remain competitive.  But they fall short of the playoffs for the 20th straight season.  The Angels aren't awful, but the Rangers kind of are.


I haven't said yet, but I believe they're going back to the playoff format they had in 2019 (not using the 2020 expanded playoffs), which would be a one-game playoff for the wild card spot.  Anyway, I'll sim the playoffs below real quick.

NL Wild Card: Padres over Nationals
AL Wild Card: Blue Jays over Athletics

NL Divisional Round
Dodgers over Padres in 5 games
Braves over Brewers in 4 games

AL Divisional Round
Yankees over Blue Jays in 4 games
White Sox over Astros in 5 games

NL Championship Series
Dodgers over Braves in 6 games

AL Championship Series
Yankees over White Sox in 5 games

World Series
Dodgers over Yankees in 7 games

The Dodgers repeat as champions, and they beat the Yankees at their own game of spending a lot to assemble a super team.  

Now, onto the Mariners.  I think they'll win somewhere between 75-85 games, with some ups and downs along the way.  They could maybe even break the .500 mark for the first time since 2018.  

I'm just going to predict who I think will lead the team in each category.  Some may surprise you.

Batting average: Ty France
Home Runs: Kyle Lewis
RBI's: Kyle Seager
Stolen Bases: Dylan Moore
Hits: Ty France
Wins: Marco Gonzales
ERA: Marco Gonzales
Saves: Rafael Montero
K's: Yusei Kikuchi

I'm going to tune into Mariners games all summer long to check on the progress of some players.  I'm looking forward to the debuts of some of the youngsters, such as Kelenic and Gilbert, hopefully.  I really do think this team could remain competitive and perhaps in the race going into middle to late September.  Could make for an interesting summer.  Let's hope it is!

Rob Manfred and Roger Goodell are ruining their sports

My two favorite sports are baseball and football.  Basketball used to be up there, but ever since Seattle lost the Sonics, I've not watched it quite as much.  But I have been an avid fan of baseball and football my entire life, and I've got to say, I have not liked what the two commissioners of the two biggest sports leagues I follow have done. 

First, let's start with Rob Manfred.  First, he got rid of the four pitch intentional walk.  Never again will we see a wild pitch intentional walk, or an intentional ball being hit for a base hit.  That didn't need to change.  There's rumors he wants to change the baseball playoffs even more.  He's already added a second wild card team, which was extremely unnecessary.  It just reduces the importance of the regular season.  Baseball now has a total of 10 playoff teams, and I know Manfred wants to add more.  It has enough.  And this is coming from a Mariners fan that hasn't experienced the playoffs in 19 years.  I don't want the Mariners to make the playoffs at 83-79 as the sixth best team in the A.L.  I also don't want a see a team barely above .500 make it to the League Championship Series, or do I daresay it, the World Series. 

But the worst thing Manfred has done (or should I say, hasn't done), is not punishing the Astros players for the sign-stealing scandal.  The Houston Astros were caught red-handed stealing signs and relaying them to the hitters through audio signals.  The coaches and front office and organization were punished, although some feel not punished harshly enough.  Frankly, he should have stripped the Astros of their 2017 World Series title, because they obtained it unfairly.  He referred to the title as "taking a piece of metal away from them", which goes to show how little he knows about competitive sports.  And then there's the players, whom he did not punish.  Not one.  None of them spoke up when this was going on.  They all allowed this to happen, and they took advantage of other teams.  I know why Manfred didn't punish them.  It's because they are the reasons fans go to games, watch on TV, and buy merchandise.  He suspends players like Altuve, Correa, Alex Bregman, and George Springer, and the profits plummet.  Now, he's threatening to suspend pitchers for targeting Astros players, so in the end those pitchers who retaliate would get punished, but not the cheaters.  Ok. 

Then there's NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.  The fans already hate him.  I don't hate him, but my disdain for him grows with every unnecessary change he makes.  The one change that hasn't officially happened yet, but would make me jump on the Goodell Hate Train, is adding another playoff team.  There's strong consideration that a 7th playoff team will be added for each league.  One, the logistics for that sound way too complicated.  Two, it over-saturates the playoffs.  The seventh team would have a record of 9-7 or even 8-8 on occasion.  A lot of teams at 9-7 or 8-8 have no business competing for a Super Bowl.  I don't want to see the 8-8 New York Jets have a chance at the Super Bowl, or the 9-7 Cowboys as a Wild Card have a shot.  The teams that win their division, with two exceptions per league, should be the ones competing for a Super Bowl.  Three is too many. 

I hate that these commissioners are making these changes.  It's all because of money and making more of it.  I've already stopped being a fan of one sports league because my favorite team of theirs stopped existing.  If the postseasons of these leagues become too saturated, I will not support them by watching them.  I don't even watch the MLB Wild Card games, unless the AL one is an intriguing matchup.  But if too many changes happen to try to make more money, I won't look back as I stop watching these sports leagues altogether. 

2020 MLB Predictions

Is it baseball season already?  Well no, not really.  It's coming up soon, though!  Yes, it's early to be making predictions, but I just couldn't wait any longer.  I'm going to rank the teams in each division based on how I think they'll finish (Sorry, no win-loss records this year).  And then, postseason predictions.  I have done surprisingly well in postseason predictions in the past, although last year's prediction of Dodgers/Yankees fell flat.  I'm more interested in the American League so I will go more in depth there.

* = Wild Card

NL East
1. Braves
2. Nationals*
3. Phillies
4. Marlins
5. Mets
Comment: The Braves have a young nucleus that just gets even better.  The defending champs Nats do well, but can only muster a wild card.  The Phillies have an up and down season.  The Marlins surprise a lot of people (again), and the Mets stink it up thanks to Beltran getting axed before he could even manage a game.

NL Central
1. Brewers
2. Cubs
3. Cardinals
4. Reds
5. Pirates
Comment: The Brew Crew do well again and claim the division.  David Ross does fairly well in his first year, but not enough for a playoff spot.  The Cards and Reds do all right, not awful.  The Pirates struggle after trading Marte. 

NL West
1. Dodgers
2. Diamondbacks*
3. Padres
4. Giants
5. Rockies
Comment: I think this is the best all-around division.  The Dodgers repeat as division champs--again.  The D-Backs fight them all the way to the end for the division crown but fall just short.  The Padres are in it most of the year but fade away late.  The Giants are rebuilding, and with a new manager, tread water for this year.  The Rockies aren't awful, but they can't pass any of their division rivals.

AL East
1. Yankees
2. Rays*
3. Blue Jays
4. Red Sox
5. Orioles
Comment: The Yankees surge again, this time hoping for a healthier regular season and more success in the playoffs.  The Rays do surprisingly well and claim a wild card spot.  The Blue Jays ride their youth movement, but are still a year away from really contending.  The Sox struggle after losing their manager.  The Orioles are.... the Orioles. 

AL Central
1. White Sox
2. Twins
3. Indians
4. Tigers
5. Royals
Comment: Surprised, are you?  The White Sox are my dark horse and surprise team of 2020.  The Twins remain competitive but are unable to claim a playoff spot.  The Indians are decent but not great.  The Tigers make progress, and the Royals are just there.

AL West
1. Angels
2. Astros*
3. Athletics
4. Rangers
5. Mariners
Comment: Joe Maddon goes into LA and leads them to a division title in his first year.  The Astros have a bit of a let-down season following their scandal, but still manage to claim a wild card spot.  They're just too talented.  The A's are in it to the end but fall short.  The Rangers chug along and aren't bad.  The Mariners surprise some teams and make progress, but the rest of the division is too tough.

Some surprises there, I'm sure.  How will the playoffs unfold?

Wild Cards:
NL: Nationals vs. Diamondbacks - Diamondbacks win
AL: Rays vs. Astros - Astros win

Divisional Round
NL: Dodgers vs. Diamondbacks - Dodgers win
Braves vs. Brewers - Braves win

AL: Yankees vs. Astros - Yankees win
White Sox vs. Angels - White Sox win

Championship Series
NL: Dodgers vs. Braves - Braves win
AL: Yankees vs. White Sox - Yankees win

World Series
Braves vs. Yankees: Yankees win in 5

Yet again I pick the Yankees to win the World Series.  Will they come through this time?  Time will tell.  I'll be content with any winner except for the Astros.  I'd prefer them to not make the playoffs, but they just have too much talent.  Coming up soon I'll talk about the Mariners, what I expect from each player going into 2020.

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.

Mariners Constantly Making Me Feel Conflicted

The Seattle Mariners have been one of the hard-luck organizations in Major League Baseball.  They're still one of two teams to have never appeared in a World Series, and have the longest playoff drought in baseball at 15 years and counting.  That's not me being negative, those are facts.  However, the roller coaster of emotions we Mariners fans go through in the course of a season is perhaps unlike any other team.  We go from thinking this team is cursed, unlucky, bad, to having glimmers of hope and optimism, thinking the end of futility is near.  It's much akin to being stranded on a deserted island and hearing a plane overhead, but them not seeing you, so you remain stranded. 

This Mariners season of 2017 has not gotten off well and it seems the Mariners are in a very unfortunate pattern of following up hopeful seasons and offseasons with losing seasons.  They have not even had two straight winning seasons since 2002-2003.  The influx of talent of Cano, Cruz, and Seager the past few years has given fans something to cheer for and given them hope.  But two of the past three seasons the team has fallen just short of the playoffs in the final week of the season.  It leaves fans wondering "What if?"  What if the Mariners hadn't gone on that losing streak, what if they hadn't blown the lead in a particular game? 

I think Mariners fans are the most bipolar fans in all of baseball.  When the team is struggling, I see two crowds.  One crowd thinks this team is the worst in baseball, everyone needs to be fired, and perhaps that the organization is cursed.  The other crowd remains optimistic, saying we can't play this bad all year, and we can't have this bad of luck all year.  I have to admit I flitter between both crowds.  I sometimes feel like boycotting this team, not going to games, watching their games on TV, or buying any merchandise, because they are underperforming.  But other times I know I will be rewarded for my loyalty and passion for this team, because whenever they do finally make the playoffs again, it will make it THAT much sweeter. 

I am never going to fully give up on the Mariners.  No matter what they do.  They could trade Felix, Seager, AND Paxton, and I would still call myself a Mariner fan.  They are too engrained in me to ever switch allegiances.  There's just something about MARINERS BASEBALL that makes me want to be root for them until the day I die.  Perhaps it's memories of Martinez, Griffey, Niehaus, and Ichiro.  Perhaps it's that the organization has EVERY reason to fold and just admit they are inferior as a baseball organization but every year do their absolute best to show they are a likeable and fun bunch. 

One thing I never want to be called is a bandwagon fan.  For someone who has stuck through a team's losing seasons, and the team becomes successful and popular and then get called a bandwagon fan is absolutely infuriating.  I will stick through the Mariners lack of playoff success until they finally start making the playoffs again, whether that starts this year, in 5 years, 10 years, or 20 years.  Anyone who ever calls me a bandwagon fan will get directed to this post.  I have been a fan of the Mariners since I started watching sports.  I've followed them through the lean post-2001 years, the disastrous 2004 and 2008 seasons, the horrific hitting seasons of 2010 and 2011.  I remember watching in agony as players like Carl Everett, Jack Cust, Milton Bradley, Scott Spiezio and Corey Hart were brought in watching them STRUGGLE.  I remember watching first round draft picks like Jeff Clement, Brandon Morrow, Dustin Ackley, Phillipe Aumont, and (now) Alex Jackson not pan out.  I remember Bill Bavasi and Jack Zduriencik making bad front office decisions.  I remember, because I stuck with the Mariners through it all.

So what is my mood with this team?  Resilient.  Patient.  Determined.  I'm neither optimistic nor pessimistic.  Odds are somehow someway this team will make the playoffs some year.  Five American League teams out of fifteen now make the playoffs.  That is exactly one third.  If everyone had the same odds, you should expect your team to make the playoffs once out of every three years.  Odds are, the Mariners will make the playoffs soon.  But that hump they have to get over is huge.  Once they do, they could go on a string of seasons where they make it 3 in a row, 4 out of 6, something like that.  But once they get over that hump, it'll be so worth the wait AND I'll be right there in the middle cheering the Mariners on.  

My Almost Too Late 2017 MLB and Mariners Predictions

Well the baseball season is underway, but not the Mariners regular season, so technically I'm not too late for this.  Like every year, I will predict an order of finish for each division in baseball, some end of season awards, and Mariners leaders in each category. 

NL EAST
1. Washington Nationals
2. New York Mets
3. Atlanta Braves
4. Miami Marlins
5. Philadelphia Phillies
Summary: The Nats are too loaded to not at least get 2nd, and if anyone in the Mets rotation struggles or gets hurt (like last year), it'll be hard for them to win the division.  The Braves are a young team getting better and the Marlins aren't doing much.  The Phillies still aren't making progress.

NL CENTRAL
1. Chicago Cubs
2. St. Louis Cardinals
3. Pittsburgh Pirates
4. Cincinnati Reds
5. Milwaukee Brewers
Summary: The Cubbies will get a playoff spot, no doubt.  The Cards are almost always in it.  The Buccos will compete but there's too much competition.  It's a toss-up for last between the Brew Crew and the Reds.

NL WEST
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Arizona Diamondbacks
3. San Francisco Giants
4. Colorado Rockies
5. San Diego Padres
Summary: I normally pick the Giants to win the division, but they're due for a down year, and if MadBum gets hurt they are in big trouble.  The Dodgers are too talented to not compete for a playoff spot, and the Diamondbacks are a team on the rise.  The Rockies will be a decent team and the Padres will probably finish in last.

AL EAST
1. Boston Red Sox
2. Toronto Blue Jays
3. Baltimore Orioles
4. New York Yankees
5. Tampa Bay Rays
Summary: The BoSox loaded up  for a championship run, acquiring ace Chris Sale this offseason.  The Blue Jays are a well-built team and will vie for a playoff spot again.  The O's will be decent, but not great.  The Yankees will have pitching issues.  The Rays are relying on guys like Logan Morrison and Brad Miller still. 

AL CENTRAL
1. Cleveland Indians
2. Kansas City Royals
3. Detroit Tigers
4. Chicago White Sox
5. Minnesota Twins
Summary: The Indians are built like the early 2000's Red Sox, who Terry Francona also managed, so they will be a very competitive team.  The Royals still have a bunch of talent and might be motivated to win for the death of Yordano Ventura.  The Tigers are aging and won't be able to play good enough D.  The White Sox lost Sale and are a team without a leader.  The Twins are still the Twins. 

AL WEST
1. Texas Rangers
2. Houston Astros
3. Seattle Mariners
4. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
5. Oakland Athletics
Summary: The Rangers are loaded and will be motivated by their heartbreaking opening round loss to the Jays last year.  The 'Stros are still young and should play decent, if erratic, ball.  The Mariners meanwhile, well, you'll have to read below.  The Angels and A's will finish like last year. 

NL Wild Cards: Cardinals and Mets
AL Wild Cards: Blue Jays and Royals

MLB PLAYOFFS:
Wild Cards: Cardinals over Mets, Blue Jays over Royals

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

AL Divisional Round:
Blue Jays vs. Red Sox: Red Sox win
Indians vs. Rangers: Indians win

League Championship round:
NL: Cardinals vs. Dodgers: Dodgers win
AL: Red Sox vs. Indians: Red Sox win

World Series:
Dodgers vs. Red Sox: Red Sox win in 6 games

Red Sox are 2017 World Series Champions.  You heard it here first.  The Cubs have a surprising first round exit to their bitter rivals, the Cardinals. 

MLB Awards:
AL MVP: Mookie Betts, Red Sox
NL MVP: Corey Seager, Dodgers
AL Cy Young: Chris Sale, Red Sox
NL Cy Young: Noah Syndergaard, Mets
AL Rookie: Tyler O'Neill, Mariners
NL Rookie: Dansby Swanson, Braves
Comment: Betts and Seager signal a new wave of baseball.  Sale and Syndergaard lead their staffs.  O'Neill is a real long shot, but if he gets his shot early enough I could see him emerging.  The Braves are a young team who will be propelled by their young SS Swanson.

SEATTLE MARINERS PREDICTIONS
Record: 79-81
Yep.  for the 5th straight time, the Mariners follow up a winning season with a losing season, although not by much.  The hitting will be fine for the most part, but the rotation is way too shaky.  Felix may well be on the decline.  Iwakuma is old and might be done.  Paxton is inconsistent and injury-prone, and Smyly and Gallardo are barely legit starters.  If multiple starters get hurt, the Mariners are in for a world of hurt.  The bullpen is not much, if any, better.  There's a bunch of no names and unprovens.  Sure, Diaz is electrifying, but he struggled towards the end of last year.  Let's not forget the World Baseball Classic, which Felix and Diaz pitched in, which might cause them to falter down the stretch.

However, there will be some bright spots this year.  A no hitter from Smyly or Paxton?  Seager gets another all-star nod?  But if this team doesn't have a winning record this year, it might be time to start thinking if they're cursed.  At least with a decent enough LOSING record Scott Servais should hold on to his job.

Mariners leaders:
AVG: Robinson Cano
HR: Nelson Cruz
RBI: Kyle Seager
SB: Jarrod Dyson
Wins: Smyly
Saves: Diaz

Mariners team "awards":
Unsung hero: Mitch Hanniger
MVP: Seager
Cy Young: Smyly
Rookie: Tyler O'Neill
Let-down: Zunino
Defensive star: Jarrod Dyson
Out of nowhere: Taylor Motter
Comment: Hanniger has been quoted by Edgar Martinez to be the one Mariner hitter who will surprise us most, so I'm listening to 'Gar.  Seager will play all around fantastic baseball, hopefully getting off to a fast start.  Smyly will benefit from great D, so long as he can stay healthy.  Zunino hopefully will bring his average up a bit and his K's down, but I won't hold my breath.  Dyson will have some highlight reel catches in the outfield.  Motter will be an electric presence off the bench and be involved in some game-winning and crucial plays. 

Let's hope I'm wrong and the M's qualify for their first playoff spot in 16 years.  I would never be more happy to be proven wrong.  All in all, a winning season would be considered successful because the M's haven't had back-to-back winning seasons since '02-'03.  But the playoffs are the goal, even if it's a wild card spot.  There's two of them, so the M's have to do their best to at least snag one of them.  But an AL West championship isn't out of the question.  Again, let's hope I'm wrong.  I am just basing this on history, and feel like I am being optimistic for that.  Go M's, and good luck in 2017!

Where the Mariners Stand with Me

Last time I did a blog post on the Mariners, they were more than halfway into their 2015 season, but hadn't yet fired their GM or manager, which they eventually did.  I said I was done with them, done buying their merchandise or going to games and not watching them on TV as much.  I stood by that, not buying any Mariner merch since then and I didn't go to a game or really watch much in the last month or two.  As the season winded down, the Mariners made changes and it left Mariners fans like myself feeling an all too familiar feeling: Transition for the sake of progress.  We've seen this before with the M's, and it's gotten them nowhere, so that gives us little hope this time around it will be any different.

I think the general consensus after this offseason is muted optimism.  No one is expecting the Mariners to succeed this year, although some are saying they could be a surprise team.  The Mariners made a few good moves this offseason, but nothing too large like signing a huge free agent like has happened recently.  New General Manager Jerry Dipoto filled some holes at first, centerfield, catcher, and a corner outfield spot fairly well, with players that are more all-around players rather than big bats like Jack Zduriencik sought.  The lineup does look better and the rotation if healthy as a whole looks like a top 10 rotation, but the bullpen remains a question mark with new closer Steve Cishek.

Also, I won't be doing an official Mariners prediction blog post, because I don't want to burden this team with expectations nor be let down when or if they fail to meet them.  Consider this my predictions, more or less.

I don't really plan on going to any games this season, although there is the Star Wars weekend in August that I might have to attend, but other than that, my spending money will go very little if any towards the Mariners.  They need to prove to me that they're committed to winning and that the atmosphere in the organization has changed.  The Mariners are almost like the Cleveland Browns of baseball--no matter what moves they make, at least in the back of your mind you expect them to disappoint.

So what will happen this year?  It's hard to say.  A lot of things could happen, one of the worst possible things being a severe injury to Felix, Cano, Seager, or Cruz.  But if this team stays at least relatively healthy and plays as a unit, I could see this team surprising.  I really could.  I did, however, predict the Mariners to be in 2nd place in my MLB Predictions for 2016, although I had them missing out on the playoffs (again).

It's a wait and see approach with this team.  How this team does in the first few months will really show us the direction this team is headed.  Either fans will slowly hop on board the Mariners bandwagon or the Mariners will have lost all interest before the All-Star break.  Time will tell.  But, as a Mariner fan (more or less) until the day I die, I will finish with this: GO MARINERS!

2016 MLB Predictions!

The football season is over, and while baseball season is still over a month away from officially starting, it's never too early to get started on predictions.  I will rank each division from 1-5, with a short summary of how I think the division will go, plus some award and playoff predictions!  Fun, right?  Let's start in the NL East and move west, saving the AL West (And the Mariners) for last.

* = Wild Card

NL East
1. New York Mets
2. Washington Nationals
3. Miami Marlins
4. Philadelphia Phillies
5. Atlanta Braves
Summary: The NL East has turned into one of the worst divisions in baseball, but if the Nats and Marlins have good seasons it'll help the division overall.  The Mets emerged last season and if they hit well enough there won't be much stopping them.

NL Central
1. St. Louis Cardinals
2. Chicago Cubs*
3. Pittsburgh Pirates
4. Milwaukee Brewers
5. Cincinnati Reds
Summary: Everyone is jumping on the Cubs bandwagon, which means they'll probably underperform.  With the Cardinals in it every year, you can't go wrong picking them to win the division.  The Pirates will have a good season but there will be too much competition for them.

NL West
1. San Francisco Giants
2. Los Angeles Dodgers*
3. Arizona Diamondbacks
4. San Diego Padres
5. Colorado Rockies
Summary: I think the Giants improved the most of any team this offseason.  Their pitching should be dominant.  The Dodgers will be good again but losing Grienke and not finding an adequate replacement will hurt.  The Diamondbacks could surprise and be the Houston Astros of this year, but we'll see. 

AL East
1. Boston Red Sox
2. Toronto Blue Jays*
3. New York Yankees
4. Tampa Bay Rays
5. Baltimore Orioles
Summary: This division is so hard to predict now with every team being competitive.  Gut feeling: I think it will be a good year for the BoSox.  Yanks and Jays will be in it until the end.  The Orioles are due for a disappointing season, and really did nothing this offseason to improve their team.

AL Central
1. Kansas City Royals
2. Cleveland Indians*
3. Minnesota Twins
4. Detroit Tigers
5. Chicago White Sox
Summary: The Royals are a good team.  We know that for sure now.  The Indians will surprise and play good ball.  The Twins will also be a surprise and just miss out on a playoff spot.  The Tigers and White Sox have disappointing seasons.

AL West
1. Texas Rangers
2. Seattle Mariners
3. Houston Astros
4. Los Angeles Angels
5. Oakland Athletics
Summary: What's this?  The Mariners in 2nd place?  But... they miss the playoffs for the 15th straight season.  Astros will lose some of their magic from last year, and the A's and Angels will be mediocre at best.  The Rangers win the division with improved pitching and one of the best lineups in baseball.

Award Predictions!
AL MVP: Mike Trout (Who else?)
NL MVP: Buster Posey
AL Cy Young: Felix Hernandez
NL Cy Young: Matt Harvey
AL Rookie of the Year: Joey Gallo
NL Rookie of the Year: Corey Seager

Playoff Predictions:
NL Wild Card: Cubs over Dodgers
AL Wild Card: Indians over Blue Jays

NL Divisional: Cubs over Mets, Giants over Cardinals
AL Divisional: Royals over Indians, Rangers over Red Sox

NL Championship: Giants over Cubs
AL Championship: Rangers over Royals

World Series: Giants over Rangers

Well, there you have it.  My 2016 MLB Predictions.  It's an even year, so why not predict the Giants to win it? 

My List and Review of all of the Video Games I have owned

The following are all games I have owned for the following consoles: N64 and Xbox.  I share a quick thought on my experience with the game and give it a rating out of 10 (in parenthesis).  The rating reflects how much I enjoyed the game (with only a slight influence on the quality of the game) over my lifetime of playing it.  I will add more consoles as time goes on, including Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PC, Gameboy, and PSP.  Finally, each game that is bolded is a game I feel I beat/completed to its fullest playing ability.  If it was a sports game, then I played a full season with a team in franchise/season mode.  Without further ado, the games from the first console I ever owned, the N64.

N64:

1. Super Mario 64 (10) - One of the launch titles for the N64 and one most consider to be one of the N64's best.  I wasn't able to get all 120 stars until a few years ago, but this game, despite being 17 years old now, is still really fun to play.

2. Pilotwings 64 (6) - I don't think I ever really fully enjoyed Pilot Wings.  There's a lot of monotonous soaring and gliding involved.  The challenges were certainly challenging enough.  I've played this so little recently that my memories of this game are becoming few and far between.  Might have to play it again someday.

3. Wave Race 64 (8) - My friends were more into this game than I was growing up, but I still enjoyed it.  I wish there would have been more race courses and more racers.  Nintendo should come out with a Wave Race Wii (although that's a tongue twister). 

4. Star Fox 64 (8) - When I first played this as a young child, it scared me.  I also never was able to fully beat it.  This game was too difficult for me.  But I sure had fun in the multiplayer with my sister and friends.  Update: I played this game recently and beat it, twice.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to beat it on the hard path, but I took the easy and semi-hard paths.

5. Mario Kart 64 (10) - This is a game I still play a lot today (See my girlfriend and I play it below) and despite only 8 characters and 16 tracks, it still is so much fun.  This will forever be my favorite version of Mario Kart. 
6. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (7) - This game would get a 10 from me if it was about the game's quality, but it's not.  I was never able to get into this game as a kid.  I never became a fan of the Legend of Zelda series.  Someday I will put forth actual effort.  I did play this as a kid, but always got stuck at the same part. 

7. Mario Party (9) - The first Mario Party is hands down my favorite.  As a kid, the game I'd always suggest to play with others was Mario Party, and for good reason: It's a fantastic multiplayer game.  It's even a serviceable single player one as well.  The reason it is a 9 and not a 10 is because of the control stick spinning mini-games which caused several blisters on my hand as a kid (and caused me to ruin a pair of baseball gloves I had). 

8. Turok: Dinosaur Hunter (6) - This was the game I was most afraid of as a kid.  Perhaps my parents shouldn't have gotten it, given its Mature rating.  I often just watched my dad play.  But it had its moments.  I especially enjoyed using cheats to get all ammo.  Some of the guns you were supposed to get later in the game were AWESOME.

9. Turok 2: Seeds of Evil (5) - I never really played the single player version of this, something rare for me.  I mostly played this with my dad and sister in multiplayer mode.  I loved the Cerebral Bore, which caused an opponent's head to explode.  But other than multiplayer, this game held little for me.

10. Xena: Warrior Princess: The Talisman of Fate (3) - Again, a game in which I never really took advantage of single player mode.  Just played multiplayer... with my sister.  I never wanted to play this, but my sister sure did. 

11. NFL Quarterback Club '98 (6) - Boy football games in the 90's sucked.  I tried playing it recently and oh my word.  I got some use out of it.  The one thing this game holds is the ability to look and see past players and see how good (or bad) they were.

12. NFL Quarterback Club '99 (7) - I played this game slightly more as it was newer.  I really liked Mike Patrick and Randy Cross as announcers.  But again, football games have come a long way since then.

13. Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey Jr. (10) - This might be my favorite baseball game ever.  Sure, the graphics are awful now, but the controls are ridiculously easy and this was when the Mariners were good.  The game also has a heavy favoritism towards the Mariners, having been made BY Nintendo, which I don't have any problem with, obviously.

14. Goldeneye 64 (9) - Considered one of the best N64 games.  The part I had the most fun with was multiplayer, playing it with my friends and family.  I can't give this game a 10 because it was too difficult for me at times (I was stuck on the "Control" mission for the longest time).  I did eventually beat the game on Agent mode, but never got to the Aztec level.  Oh well, maybe someday. 

15. NBA Hangtime (9) - An arcade game turned into an N64 game, and it worked.  To this day I love seeing players from the 90's like Dennis Rodman, Shawn Kemp, Dikembe Mutombo, and Scottie Pippen.  I just wish players like Michael Jordan and Shaq could have been in it.  I give it only a 9 because it's pretty much the same thing over and over and it does get tiring after a while. 

16. NBA Live '99 (5) - Again, sports games have come a long way since the 90's.  I never really enjoyed this game, as I enjoyed NBA Hangtime more.  But finally being able to beat Michael Jordan 1 on 1 was one of my biggest video game achievements as a kid.

17. Pokemon Stadium (9) - This was, as far as I remember, the first video game I purchased with my own money.  Bought it at K-Mart of all places, and it cost around 70 dollars(!) at the time.  However, I did get my use out of it, playing my Red, Blue, and Yellow versions of Pokemon on there and of course, the mini games.  Just can't give it a 10 because I just felt like the game was missing one thing--and the battles aren't as impressive as I thought they'd be.

18. Pokemon Stadium 2 (8) - The follow up to Pokemon Stadium was almost as good, as many sequels are.  The mini games were again good, but it was hard to figure out the mystery gift thing and in the classroom, having to answer certain questions and do certain battles was very tough--too tough for a 12 year old kid.

19. Hey You, Pikachu! (2) - I give this my lowest rating because it just downright sucks as a game.  It's got an interesting mechanic where you tell Pikachu what to do, but that only worked some of the time, and the gameplay got rather boring real fast.  There's no real ultimate goal or quest in this game.  I think I (or my parents--can't remember) paid close to 100 bucks for the entire package of this game--what a rip-off. 

20. Bomberman 64 (7) - Ah, Bomberman.  This was another one of the games I got more multiplayer use out of.  Laying bombs and then kicking them at your friends?  So much fun.  The single player missions were a bit too difficult for me, but I did eventually beat it after much determination.  I can't say I really enjoyed this game.  Part of the reason I played it was because it was one of only a few games I had at the time.

21. Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 (7) - This is one of those games that takes a while to get the hang of.  But when you do, it gets really fun.  It sucks having to do a lot just to unlock 1 or 2 courses in the game (You only start out with 1), but the level designs were great for skateboarding.  And I did once pull off the 900.  Never really beat it and unlocked all the levels though.

22. Mario Tennis (8) - One of my favorite Mario games as a kid.  But there's only so much you can do with a tennis game.  It's basically just hitting the ball back and forth.  I liked the wide selection of characters, but on the harder difficulties, it would just take FOREVER to beat them.  Oh well, I still enjoyed it. 

23. Super Smash Bros. (9) - A game I put a lot of time and effort in, especially in beating the "Break the Target" and "Board the Platform" games for each character.  Sure, the Smash Bros. series has come a long way, but the original will always be my favorite. 

24. Pokemon Puzzle League (7) - Even when I'm into Pokemon, not really into playing this game too much.  However, when I was into this game, I was good and enjoyed it immensely.  Some of the harder levels... wow.  How can they expect a kid, or anyone, to beat them? 

25. Diddy Kong Racing (6) - For whatever reason, I always preferred Mario Kart over this, more than likely because I liked the characters more.  However, this game did have fun mechanics and came out with multiple vehicles before the Mario Kart franchise did.  It sure has been a while since I played this.

26. Pokemon Snap (8) - For a game where all you do is take pictures, it's surprisingly fun.  They unlock levels and the ability to throw food or pester balls at the perfect pace.  They were only able to include about half of the original 151 Pokemon, probably due to the size capacities of the N64 games.  Some of the shots I got were not too far off from being close to world records.  I would've loved to have seen another Pokemon Snap game, perhaps for the Wii, but would it work with motion control?  Hard to say.

27. Star Wars Episode I: Racer (4) - I recently got this game at a bargain store, and I haven't played it much yet.  It was surprisingly tough, even for an adult.  I will give this another go someday, perhaps after watching Episode I again.


Xbox:

1. NFL Fever 2002 (8) - I really liked the NFL Fever franchise.  I really wish they had been able to continue it, but unfortunately EA Sports won the sole rights to NFL players and their likenesses.  At the time, I really thought other games were better than Madden.  This one was no exception.  The players weren't really scaled right, but I had a lot of fun creating players (usually based on kids I went to school with) and of course, playing with the Seahawks. 

2. Star Wars Obi-Wan (8) - Pretty much Star Wars Episode I with some before and during battles.  You play as a young jedi Obi-Wan (duh) and you play in certain battles such as rescuing the Queen in Naboo and fighting against Darth Maul.  This would have to be one of my favorite third person Star Wars games ever.  The controls are a bit hard to figure out at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's not bad.  The graphics, however, do not hold up well today.

3. NBA Inside Drive 2002 (6) - Didn't really play this game much, as I've played its successor much more over the years.  The only thing it has better than the 2003 version is the intro. 

4. NBA Inside Drive 2003 (9) - To this day I still play this game.  For some reason, I can't get into any other basketball game.  I love the antics of Kevin Colabro, Marcus Johnson, and Kenny Smith as announcers.  Plus, creating players and getting them experience and making them better is really fun and easy to do in this game.

5. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (7) - I've always found this game too difficult for me.  First time I played it, I got stuck a few levels in.  A year ago or so, I played it again and got a lot farther, but still couldn't beat the game.  Maybe after a while I'll try a third time to beat the game.  Fun to play for sure, but a bit too difficult for me.

6. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon (9) - What's not to like? The Campaign mode is fun, but the actual gameplay is awesome and simple enough.  I've beaten the campaign mode at least 10 times, each time still as fun as the last.  Multiplayer was fun while it lasted, too.  I wish the campaign was longer, but it has good replay value.  One thing I don't like: Some of the Dossier missions are downright impossible--recon on elite, firefight on elite using only a demolitions guy... I mean... wow.

7. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Island Thunder (8) - Had all the same, great features the original Ghost Recon had.  The campaign wasn't as long or enjoyable, but still fun.  I think there were some bugs in this game.  But the thing that hurt this game was that it was basically just an expansion to Ghost Recon, but it was marketed as its own game.

8. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (8) - Good continuation in the Harry Potter video game series.  Too many load screens bogged the game down a bit, but nothing beat free roam around the castle on a broomstick, being able to collect an infinite number of beans and trading them for prizes from Fred and George.  I think I've only beaten the game twice, so it's hard to give it anything higher than an 8. 

9. Halo (10) - Arguably the best original Xbox game.  When you think Xbox, you think Halo.  This game kicked ass and its only fault was lack of multiplayer, which was implemented in its sequel.  I don't think I'll ever like a first person shooter series more than Halo.  It was a huge part of my adolescence.

10. Halo 2 (10) - This game had a lot of hype and it certainly lived up to it.  The story mode wasn't as compelling but multiplayer was everything I expected and all the new features and weapons were amazing.  Energy sword FTW.  I still enjoy playing out the campaign every few years.  I even owned the PC version and played it on my PC as well.

11. Grand Theft Auto III (6) - This game came packaged with GTA Vice City when they were first released for the Xbox (see below), and I preferred Vice City, so I never really got into this version.  Maybe someday?  All I can say is I probably haven't put forth even 10 hours into this game in my life. 

12. Grand Theft Auto Vice City (8) - Played this quite a bit once GTA came out on the Xbox console.  I don't think I fully completed all of the missions, but I came close.  Fond memories of this game.

13. Grand Theft Auto San Andreas (9) - I don't think I spent as much time on this as GTA Vice City, but I enjoyed it more and most every gamer of GTA would agree it's one of the strongest in the series.  The map is larger, you do more exciting missions, and it's just a better quality game.  I'll definitely play this some more in the future.  The graphics don't hold up that well, however.

14. Midtown Madness 3 (8) - For some reason, we got rid of this game and I no longer own it or can play it.  But one time we did own it and it was a lot of fun.  I remember playing the first Midtown Madness games on the PC many years ago, and this game for the Xbox was just as good.  Good selection of vehicles.  Just been a while. 

15. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic (10) - This is in competition with Halo and Halo 2 as the Xbox game I have spent the most time on.  I really have no complaints about this game.  The story is so compelling it could (and should) be made into a movie.  To this day I still play it and I may never grow old of it.  I have purchased and played the mobile version of this, and may just play it there in the future out of convenience.

16. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (8) - This game actually improved slightly in gameplay and mechanics, but fell way short in story and characters.  I still love playing it and have beaten it many times as well, but I always feel dissatisfied when I finish it.  Like someone who just finished their plate of food and is still hungry.  The game was obviously rushed out, which it shouldn't have been.  People have been petitioning long and hard for a KOTOR III, but that may never come. 

17. Star Wars Battlefront (8) - I was thrilled about this idea of a game: Being a stormtrooper, Wookie, or even Trade Federation droid and fighting in some of the most famous battles in Star Wars.  It worked pretty well, but was almost too simple of a game. 

18. Star Wars Battlefront II (8) - This game had improvements from its predecessor in graphics and gameplay, but I can't say I enjoyed it more.  Loved being able to play as famous Jedi, but flying in planes was way too tough and some of the game types still don't make sense to me. 

19. All-Star Baseball 2004 (7) - Not my favorite baseball game ever, but it had its perks.  Creating your own team was fun, and the actual gameplay was pretty good, and the graphics were good, especially for its time.  Thom Brennaman and Steve Lyons weren't the best choice as commentators, though.  However, I loved the feature of exploring the unused ballparks they had in the game.  I would listen to the voiceover guy talk about the ballparks and that was entertaining enough by itself.

20. Major League Baseball 2K5 (9) - Up there as one of my favorite sports games... ever.  I've played multiple 162-game seasons on this game (usually as the Mariners, of course), and the display and graphics still hold up pretty well to this day.  Jon Miller and Joe Morgan as announcers?  Perfect choices.  Also, you can't beat the ESPN presentation for this game.

21. Bicycle Casino (6) - Enjoyable when I feel the urge to gamble and play casino games, which is rare, however.  But I could spend hours playing Texas Hold 'Em in this game.  It's just very basic with nothing really that stands out.  I never had enough patience to build up a lot of money in this game.

22. NHL Hitz Pro (6) - The only hockey game I've ever owned, really.  And I did enjoy it, for the most part.  It was too easy to score goals, and upping the difficulty only allowed the computer to score a ton of goals.  What happened to low-scoring contests?  Then again, this was made by Midway, who also made NFL Blitz.  I liked creating the Seattle expansion franchise most of all.

23. Medal of Honor Frontline (7) - Another game we've gotten rid of but I remember owning, Medal of Honor Frontline had a more war-like feel than any Call of Duty game I've played.  Very good difficulty.  Graphics kind of lacked and some tasks seemed weird, but I enjoyed it.  I recently re-bought this game and tried playing it, but it was surprisingly difficult.  I'll try again someday.

24. Destroy All Humans (5) - Played this a bit when we first got it, and it was fun, but it has very little replay value and doesn't hold up well today.  I've thought about giving this game another shot someday. 

25. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (8) - Definitely enjoyable with cut scenes from the movie.  I don't like the controls too much, basically making it a button-mashing game, but it holds up well today.

26. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (8) - Difficult, but fun and even longer than Two Towers.  I like all the characters you can play from.  Whenever I finish watching the Lord of the Rings movies, I have to play the games. 

27. Test Drive Off-Road Wide Open (5) - I had to look this game up because not only did we get rid of it, but I couldn't remember the title.  Found it, and one of the few things I remember was being able to race a Dodge Durango, which was the family car at the time.  This game was fun, but it didn't give me too many reasons to go back and play it, which is probably why we got rid of it.

28. ESPN NFL 2K5 (10) - Somehow, I forgot this game and I had to put this up a month after my original blog post!  This might be my favorite NFL video game of all time, and I forgot it.  The ESPN format is brilliant, with Chris Berman and his half- and post-game shows.  The announcers could be better (Who are Dan Stevens and Peter O'Keefe?)  But this game, to this day, stands up well even to the current Madden.  Imagine if EA hadn't won the monopoly to the NFL, how much this series of football games might have advanced.  And the best part about this game?  Even at release: It was just $19.99.  Yeah.

29. NASCAR Heat 2002 (8) - This is the only NASCAR game I've ever owned, but I sure enjoyed it.  Yes, it's just taking a bunch of left turns, but navigating past cars was fun enough.  I most had fun causing havoc and causing other drivers to spin out and crash.  I did an entire season and won, which I think counts for beating the game.

30. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (7) - I have beaten the game once, but it was not that enjoyable.  It's a lot of button mashing just like The Lord of the Rings games.  But the alternate ending where Anakin kills Obi-Wan is almost worth the price of the game, if you can get that far.

Now there are a few games me or my family owned that I either spent little to no time playing, but I will list them nonetheless:

31. 007: Agent Under Fire: I expected this to be near as good or better than Goldeneye.  I was wrong.
32. America's Army: Rise of a Soldier
33. Harry Potter Quidditch World Cup: Boring after a short while
34. Half-Life 2
35. NCAA Football 2005
36. The Sims 2: There's a reason it was made for the PC primarily
37. Star Wars: The Clone Wars
38. Tetris Worlds
39. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter
40. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2
41. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2: Summit Strike


Xbox 360:
1. Backbreaker (5) - This game was fun to do the Gauntlet or whatever it was called, where you have 100 levels to evade or juke past defenders all the while staying inside certain boundaries.  It's animations were excellent, although the gameplay was limited.

2. The Bigs (3) - I just couldn't get into this game and don't know why I got it.  I guess it's fun to see the players all jacked up and cranking home runs at ease.

3. Call of Duty: Black Ops II (7) - I mainly got this game to play online with one of my friends, which I only did for a little bit.  I like the Call of Duty games, just never been a big fan of them.

4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (8) - I beat this game because the storyline in the Modern Warfare games is my favorite of any CoD series.  I didn't play much online, however.

5. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (8) - I think I beat this game twice.  It's a heck of a lot of fun.  I did play a bit online, probably the most of any CoD game I've ever played.

6. College Hoops 2K6 (10) - This is the only College Basketball game I've ever owned because nothing for me will top this.  I got over a decade in to the franchise mode with the Gonzaga basketball team before I accidentally overrode its save with something else 😭 Boy that was not a good day.  The fact that you could edit any incoming players and make them better made it easy to keep on playing.

7. Crackdown (8) - I remember I got this game for free after doing a play test study for Microsoft way back when.  I wasn't sure I'd enjoy it, but I certainly did.  It was fun increasing your guy's attributes and leaping tall buildings in a single bound.

8. Crackdown 2 (9) - They improved Crackdown even more with its sequel.  I don't remember either game a ton, but I certainly want to replay them someday.

9. Dead Island (6) - I've played this zombie game a bit.  I wanted a zombie game to play a few years ago, one a bit more realistic than the one below.  But it was only okay.  I did not get very far at all.

10. Dead Rising (7) - Boy was this game tough.  I loved the story, which is what gave me motivation to keep trying.  I always thought they should have made this into a movie.  But I just couldn't get past certain parts.  When you just couldn't avoid getting attacked by a zombie over and over, that was very annoying.

11. Game of Thrones (4) - I got this game shortly after getting into the TV series, and I just can't stay focused to play it.  The better game is the Telltale Games version.

12. Gears of War (9) - This would probably be 2nd to Halo as my favorite shooter franchise of all time.  Playing as Marcus Fenix and battling the Locust horde just is so much fun.  I love the story too, and think it would make an interesting movie or TV series.

13. Gears of War 2 (8) - I give this a slightly lower rating, but it's still a great game.  It's often forgotten, being sandwiched between the first and third (which some consider to be the best).

14. Gears of War 3 (10) - What a great game.  The part that will always stand out to me is when Dom sacrifices himself to save Marcus and the rest, set to an instrumental of "Mad World".  I legit cried my first time playing through that part.  I will forever argue it's one of the saddest moments in video game history.

15. Grand Theft Auto IV (9) - Boy I loved playing as Nico in beautiful NYC.  The story of course, was really good.  My favorite mission was the bank robbery.  I also loved doing different challenges after beating the story mission.  I didn't get to 100% completion, maybe close to 80%.

16. Grand Theft Auto V (10) - Rockstar Games hit it out of the park with this one.  Three playable characters this time, all uniquely different.  The story was again top-notch and there's so much replay value in this. 

17. Halo 3 (10) - What more can you say?  Halo 3 is considered to be peak Halo.  The online experience, for once, was the highlight for me.  They introduced Forge which allowed players to create and share their own maps, which even I did a bit.  There was the Arby N the Chief series, which mainly related to this game.  I remember checking my stats online at Bungie.net constantly.  Good times.

18. Halo Reach (9) - This was an interesting game, to have a prequel to Halo.  I certainly enjoyed it, and I felt like it had the perfect difficulty.  I played it online a little bit, but not like Halo 3.  I loved the ending where your Spartan character fought to the bitter end at the Fall of Reach.

19. Halo 3: ODST (8) - Probably one of the weakest in the Halo series, but still a very solid game.  I thought it was cool playing as a soldier and not a spartan, for a change.  It definitely got tough in parts, but doable.

20. Halo 4 (8) - This was enjoyable and fun, but it just doesn't feel like Halo for some reason.  This was after Bungie sold the game to 343 Industries, so that has something to do with it.  I don't think I ever played it online.

21. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (9) - One of my favorite Harry Potter games ever.  It has the most open-world aspect to it of any HP game at that point.  I enjoyed finding all the hidden crests and even playing games with other students. 

22. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (8) - A very similar game to OotP, but for some reason, I just didn't enjoy the game quite as much.  Odd, because I enjoyed the book version more.  I definitely want to give this game another try some day because it's hard to remember what it's like.

23. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (7) - I think this game did away with the majority of the open world element, and in my opinion, lacked a bit as a result.  It's not the gamemakers fault, as the story didn't have the students in school.  Again with HBP, hard to remember, will have to play again someday.

24. LA Noire (10) - One of Rockstar's best.  They sure captured the 1940's Los Angeles so well.  Trying to figure out if people were telling the truth was equally challenging and fun to do.  This game definitely deserves a replay, and I will have to do that soon.

25. Lost: Via Domus (7) - I think this game gets a bad rap.  Yes it's short, simple, and slightly contradicts the show, but it's still enjoyable.  I hated avoiding the smoke monster; it's repetitive, annoying, and there's way too much of it.  Also, some of the voice actors were nothing like their TV show counterparts, mainly Charlie, Sawyer, and Locke.  But it was so cool being in the hatch and exploring it.