Taking the Long View...

2019 MLB Season is here…

As we round the final turn and head down the home stretch to Opening Day, excitement and anticipation is filling the air. For the Yankees, it carries a hope there are no further injuries as the team prepares to take its best (or healthiest) twenty-five men north to the Bronx. As we sit, the Seattle Mariners have a two-game lead on the rest of Major League Baseball, thanks to their two-time sweep of the Oakland A’s in Tokyo, Japan earlier this week.  

It’s unfortunate because I think he has the most talent but the guess here is that Jonathan Loaisiga is the odd man out for the starting rotation with Luis Cessa and Domingo German grabbing the two temporary starting spots opened by Luis Severino and CC Sabathia starting the year on the Injured List. Since Dellin Betances is expected to begin the year on the Injured List too, it could open the door for Loaisiga to join the bullpen as the long man but the Yankees will probably send him to Triple A to keep him stretched out. Cessa and German might need help and Gio Gonzalez is not quite ready to contribute. I expect the Yankees to begin the year with Sabathia serving his five-game suspension before he is moved to the Injured List so I’ll include him on the Opening Day roster, which is  why I am going with six starters and seven relievers. It will shake out an eight-man pen after Sabathia is moved to the Injured List and the Yankees bring up Loaisiga or promote Gonzalez to take one of the temporary rotation spots, which would push either Cessa or German to the pen.  

Clint Frazier has been optioned for minor league reassignment and Aaron Hicks is expected to open on the Injured List which means the debate between Luke Voit or Greg Bird at first base won’t be resolved as both guys are making the final roster. Playing time will be tilted toward Voit, in my opinion, but Bird will have every opportunity, once again, to show that he belongs if he can stay healthy. I am losing confidence in Bird’s ability to stay healthy and play consistently but I would truly love to see that beautiful left-handed swing humming at Yankee Stadium.  

So, as I sit here on a Saturday morning, this is my latest projected Opening Day roster.

STARTING PITCHERS (6)

Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton, J.A. Happ, Luis Cessa, Domingo German and CC Sabathia (suspended for five games, then headed to the Injured List)

Injured List:  Luis Severino and Jordan Montgomery

BULLPEN (7)

Aroldis Chapman (Closer), Zack Britton, Adam Ottavino, Chad Green, Tommy Kahnle, Jonathan Holder, and Stephen Tarpley

Injured List: Dellin Betances and Ben Heller

CATCHER (2)

Gary Sanchez and Austin Romine

INFIELDERS (7)

Luke Voit, Greg Bird, Gleyber Torres, D.J. LeMahieu, Troy Tulowitzki, Miguel Andujar, and Tyler Wade

Injured List: Didi Gregorius

OUTFIELD (3)

Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Brett Gardner

Injured List: Aaron Hicks and Jacoby Ellsbury

Tyler Wade becomes the de facto fourth outfielder until Aaron Hicks returns.  

Staying with the predictions theme, here is my projection for the upcoming MLB Season.

Division Champions and Wild Cards:

AL EAST

New York Yankees

AL CENTRAL

Cleveland Indians

AL WEST

Houston Astros

AL WILD CARD

Boston Red Sox

Minnesota Twins

NL EAST

Atlanta Braves

NL CENTRAL

Chicago Cubs

NL WEST

Los Angeles Dodgers

NL WILD CARD

Milwaukee Brewers

St Louis Cardinals

League Champions:

AMERICAN LEAGUE

New York Yankees

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Los Angeles Dodgers

And, last but certainly not least, your 2019 World Series Champions:

WORLD SERIES 

New York Yankees (over Los Angeles Dodgers in six games)

I know this is a Yankees blog but, hey, I am not biased! I am a realist.  

The poor Dodgers.  They have become the Buffalo Bills of Major League Baseball. I think 2019 will be the end of their consecutive World Series appearance streak but sadly for them it will end like the past two years, another season ending in disappointment.  

In making my choices, the two teams I thought the most about but didn’t add were the Tampa Bay Rays and the Washington Nationals. I really see the Minnesota Twins and the St Louis Cardinals as the surprise teams this season. With no offense to the New York Mets or Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies, I don’t see those teams in the mix at the end. The Nationals, even without Harper, are a better team than the Mets or Phillies. Maybe Bryce can make October plans with Mike Trout for some non-baseball related activities so they can compare notes as Baseball’s two highest paid performers.   

The year of contract extensions continues. While Didi Gregorius, Dellin Betances, and Aaron Judge wait for agreement on future dollars, the St Louis Cardinals finalized their extension with first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (5 years for $130 million) which will be officially announced today and the Boston Red Sox locked up their ace, Chris Sale, with an extension of 5 years for $145 million. Sale can opt out after three years. He’ll earn $30 million per year for those three years, and then $27.5 million per year if he opts to stay for the final two seasons. I see so many Red Sox fans taking offense at Yankee fans making disparaging remarks about Sale but honestly the only people I ever see complaining about Sale are Red Sox fans.  Health is a risk for any pitcher. I think Sale is one of the best in the game and Boston was smart to keep their ace (although I’d rate Mookie Betts, a potential free agent after the 2020 season, as a greater need). Meanwhile, the Houston Astros are close to a two-year extension for $66 million with veteran starter Justin Verlander.   

As teams narrow their rosters to the final 25, some ex-Yankees are in the news.  Former Yankees reliever, Chasen Shreve, who went to St Louis with Giovanny Gallegos in the trade that brought Luke Voit to New York, was designated for assignment by the Cardinals. I wonder how much the Cardinals would love to undo the Voit trade. I feel bad for Shreve. As a LOOGY, his days are potentially numbered with next year’s minimum three-batter rule. Good guy but I am not convinced in his ability to adapt to the impending changes in the game. Adeiny Hechevarria, in camp with the New York Mets as a non-roster invitee, did not make the cut.  

Congratulations to infielder Yangervis Solarte, who did make the San Francisco Giants, and Curtis Granderson, who will be wearing the new Marlins gear for Team Derek Jeter. I am glad to see the Grandy Man still can.

After two massive home runs last night against the Philadelphia Phillies, I’d say Giancarlo Stanton is locked and loaded. I am really looking forward to watching him in his sophomore year with the Yankees. I am sure opposing pitchers, feeling the pain, will be saying “not so much”. 

As always, Go Yankees! 

Predicting the 2019 Season: The MVP’s

And finally, the big one. The award that every player, pitcher or positional player, dreams of winning. The Most Valuable Player Award. Who will be the most outstanding, and subsequently the most valuable, player in each league in 2019? Well, if you’re using my predictions as a gauge, I can tell you that this is your first mistake, but even a blind squirrel eventually finds a nut. At least I hope, anyway.

If I am going to be wrong anyway at least I will be able to say looking back on these predictions that I was bold. The easy pick to win the American League MVP Award is to pick Mike Trout, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, etc., but that’s not me. I am picking Houston Astros infielder Alex Bregman. Bregman quietly had a great season in 2018 and is still only 24-years old, he turns 25-years old later this month. Bregman is just not ENTERING his prime and is still putting up the .286/.394/.532/.926 slash with 31 home runs and 103 RBI that he put up in 2018. The sky is the limit for this guy, folks, and I think that sky peaks this season with an AL MVP Award. Plus, he hates Boston possibly as much as I do… which isn’t nothing.

If I go bold in the AL, I have to go bold in the National League as well, right? I mean, it’s only fair, so with my National League pick I am going to go with a right-handed hitting first baseman out of the Philadelphia Phillies organization. His name is Rhys Hoskins, and not only will he win the NL MVP Award, but I am going to go out on a limb and say that he wins the 2019 State Farm Home Run Derby as well. Book it, it’s happening. Hoskins turns 26-years old this month and is coming off a season where he hit .246/.354/.496/.850 with 34 home runs and 96 RBI. Now he has Andrew McCutchen and others protecting him and getting on base in front of him, so look out for him here in 2019.

Those are your MVP Award winner predictions, and I guess they could go down as bold predictions as well. Check back with me in November or so to see how well, or not-so-well, I did. Enjoy!

Predicting the 2019 Season: The Cy Young Awards

Pitching can make or break a team, ask the 2018 Yankees that, according to some fans anyway, could never have enough pitchers. To a point, it’s true. Look at the first half Yankees from last season and the first half that their ace, Luis Severino, had. He was money and the Yankees were in first place. In the second half, Severino tailed off a bit, as did the Yankees who ultimately settled for a Wild Card berth and an eventual dismissal in the ALDS at the hands of the Boston Red Sox. Pitching makes a huge difference, especially when you have Cy Young caliber pitching. Who will have that Cy Young caliber year in 2019 and win the award? Keep reading to find out!

Chris Sale has somehow never won a Cy Young Award. Shocking, right? Sale has finished in the top five of the votes for six straight seasons, but I truly think the 2019 season will be the year that he finally closes the gap and captures the award. I know this sounds like an easy pick, and I know many expected me to pick a Yankee like Luis Severino, but really, it’s not. Not after the second half that Sale had and the shoulder problems that he may or may not have had. I don’t feel like this is a safe pick whatsoever. Sale wins the award, but the Yankees win the ultimate prize. I’ll take that.

In the National League I wanted to go with Max Scherzer or even Jacob deGrom, but I just can’t. Aaron Nola is special and with the security of a long-term extension now comforting him, I can see the Phillies right-hander breaking out in a big way in 2019. Nola may win 20 games for all we know. Do I think Nola will have enough help behind him in the rotation to really put the Phillies over the edge as a team? Probably not, especially if you look at my predictions that had Philadelphia finishing third, but I truly think Aaron is lining up for a special kind of season here in 2019.

Predicting the 2019 Season: The Comeback Players of the Year

The Comeback Player of the Year Award is a tough one to predict from year-to-year. For example, David Price won the award in 2018 with the Boston Red Sox, but my initial thought was what exactly did Price come back from? He came back from getting shelled by the Yankees in 2017, so that made him eligible to win the award? So, with that said I tried to do my best to make an educated guess at these awards, but like most of my predictions they will very likely be wrong.

I know everyone expects me to pick Gary Sanchez of the New York Yankees, partly because of his terrible offensive season in 2018 and partly because I am a self-professed “Yankees homer” in a lot of cases, but that would be too easy. Instead, I’ll pick a guy that made Gary Sanchez want to punch him in the mouth, Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers. Cabrera has been down for quite a number of seasons now, but I think a lot of that wear-and-tear will be nullified with his full-time move to the DH position this coming year. I think the Tigers can extend Miggy’s career by a couple years with the move and I also think the team will see immediate dividends here in 2019.

In the National League I tried to pick a true comeback player. I tried to pick a player that had come back from adversity or injury to take the 2019 season by storm. I tried to pick a pitcher that came back from Tommy John surgery only to suffer a pretty serious shoulder injury that cost him much of his 2018 campaign as well. My pick for the NL Comeback Player of the Year is Alex Reyes of the St. Louis Cardinals, for all the aforementioned reasons.

Predicting the 2019 Season: The Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman Award Winners

The best relief pitcher in the American League is now awarded the Mariano Rivera Award, while the best relief pitcher in the National League is given the Trevor Hoffman Award. Who will win each prestigious award in 2019? Keep reading…

Brad Hand of the Cleveland Indians is my pick for the Mariano Rivera Award. No, I’m not picking Aroldis Chapman, but I did seriously consider it to be completely honest. I just feel like Hand pitched extremely well for Cleveland after being traded from the Padres last season and I think that will translate to a strong 2019 campaign. Hand was splitting the closing duties with Cody Allen in 2018, but Allen has since departed via free agency at the time of this writing and will leave all the save opportunities to Hand. Hand has struck out at least 100 batters in three consecutive seasons and will look to make it a four-peat here in 2019.

Jeremy Jeffress of the Milwaukee Brewers is my pick to win the Trevor Hoffman Award for the National League. I have the Brewers making it to the World Series in 2019 and that cannot be done without a strong bullpen. I know some probably expected me to pick Josh Hader, if I was going to pick a Brewers player, or Edwin Diaz of the Mets, but I just had a gut feeling with Jeffress that I simply cannot ignore.

Predicting the 2019 Season: The Managers of the Year

Some fans would say that a manager has very little to do with the overall outcome of a game. Some fans would argue that a manager has little-to-no outcome on the team’s wins and losses throughout the season. Some fans didn’t watch Aaron Boone fumble through the American League Division Series in 2018. Aaron Boone did not win Manager of the Year in 2018, despite his team winning 100 games and beating the Oakland Athletics in the AL Wild Card Game, but these two men here will likely win the award for their respective teams in 2019.

If you read my predictions post for the 2019 season these two Manager of the Year Award candidates should be simple to predict. In the American League, I had one team taking a huge step forward in their rebuild, adding a bunch of wins onto their total from the 2019 season. Rocco Baldelli of the Minnesota Twins, the youngest manager in Major League Baseball at just age 37, will lead this team into the 2019 season and will ultimately win the award in his first season at the helm.

If you read my standings, postseason, and World Series predictions you also know that I had a bit of a surprise team not only winning their division but winning the National League pennant as well. No team has ever won a NL Penannt, and I am assuming this, but I feel confident in saying it, without a great manager, and the Brewers won’t this season either without Craig Counsell. Congrats on the award and the trip to the Fall Classic.

Predicting the Yankees 2019 Season

The New York Yankees enter the 2019 season with expectations higher than the 2018 season, and maybe expectations that cannot simply be put into words. This is the season for the Bronx Bombers to win the World Series and make a deep run into the postseason. We have been told that the team was going to get under the luxury tax threshold, and we all watched as a fan base as the team passed on marque free agents like Max Scherzer, Manny Machado, Bryce Harper and others. We watched as the Boston Red Sox won World Series championships and we watched as the game as we once knew it passed us by. Well, the time for excuses is over in my opinion. The Yankees are no longer “re-tooling” or rebuilding, no, they are in win-now mode. Will that translate onto the field here in 2019? That we will have to stay tuned for, but this is what I see happening this year for the Yankees.

I think the Yankees will surprise a lot of people this season, even though they shouldn’t. I think the first base situation will be much improved over the 2018 version, whether that be with Luke Voit as the incumbent or with Greg Bird finally putting it all together for a full season, and I think the catching situation will be much better as well. I don’t want to speculate on the health of Gary’s shoulder last season and guess at how it affected his ability to hit, nor do I want to speculate on the health of his groin/hamstring muscles and how they affected his ability to run down the line and block pitches behind the plate. Instead, I’ll just focus on the fact that throughout his professional career he has shown an ability to defend much better, hit much better, and just overall be a much better overall player. I don’t think the league figured him out and I don’t think he is just lazy, those are just lazy excuses to make for a young player that struggles for the first time. Gary will be better, and the fans need to be too.

The Yankees pitching should be much better in 2019. Severino is changing things up to battle him tipping pitches and he is also working on not tiring out in the second half of the season. It happens with young pitchers, especially after throwing 200 innings for the first time in their careers. They tire out. Severino will be fine and should be much better in the second half of 2019. James Paxton is essentially replacing Sonny Gray and as long as Paxton can pitch inside Yankee Stadium, where Gray could not, he should do just fine. Lefties just pitch better inside Yankee Stadium because of the narrative that they can neutralize left-handed hitting and eliminate the short porch in right field. A full season of Happ, even if he doesn’t pitch like the 7-0 madman that he was with the Yankees in the second half last season, will only benefit the Yankees while many forget that we should also see the return of Jordan Montgomery at some point as well. Tanaka will be Tanaka and CC will be CC but look out for Jonathan Loaisiga. If this kid can stay healthy, he could be a rotation mainstay as soon as the 2019 season, barring an injury to one of the Yankees current starters.

The bullpen will be the bullpen. There’s nothing I can say that hasn’t already been said a million times. On paper it should be amazing and a force to be reckoned with. The bench will likely be Tyler Wade, who can play everywhere, Austin Romine as the backup catcher, and maybe Clint Frazier? I know the team has all but said that he would start the season in Triple-A, but until that happens, I am in the camp that just doesn’t buy it. Who is the fourth outfielder? Stanton? Something isn’t adding up.

Right around the time of the year where every team is looking to add an impact bat or arm the Yankees will do both with the presumed returns of both Didi Gregorius and Jordan Montgomery from Tommy John surgery. That's nothing to shake a stick at, and it doesn't cost the Yankees a thing. 

In closing, the Yankees will be a much-improved team in 2019. I truly believe they will win the division, and not just because I am a Yankees fan. Check my previous posts. I have picked the Yankees to place second, win the first Wild Card, win the second Wild Card, and even miss the playoffs completely in my time with the blog. I truly believe in this team, now they just have to go out there and make me look like a genius and win a World Series championship.

Tune in tomorrow for my predictions for the rest of the league and their standings for the 2019 season!

Remembering My 2018 Predictions: The World Series

Here is a quick look at my predictions for the 2018 World Series!

The field is set. 162 games are in the books. Three rounds of the postseason are done and over with. Two teams remain. This is the World Series. This is the Fall Classic. Let’s do this. Prediction Season continues here on The Greedy Pinstripes as we take the next step towards our yearly predictions by predicting the World Series. I have laid out the division winners, the Wild Card winners, and even went as far as to predict every win/loss record for all 30 MLB teams. I then went one step further and predicted the entire postseason for both the American League and the National League, and it has all come down to this. The 2018 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Washington Nationals.  

Can you imagine the ratings on FOX that we are going to see for this potentially epic series? The Yankees head into Washington as the road team for Game One since the Nationals will have home-field advantage throughout the World Series garnering all the attention that the young Baby Bombers should. Aaron Judge can be seen answering questions by reporters out in right field, Giancarlo Stanton can be seen doing the same in the dugout as we prepare for a game without a designated hitter. Luis Severino is out in the bullpen throwing to Gary Sanchez, while Didi Gregorius is signing autographs out by the third base visitor’s dugout. The stage is set. Bryce Harper is in the Nationals dugout being asked more questions about his plans for his impending free agency and whether he wants to play for the Yankees than he is the World Series at hand, but Bryce is answering those questions with political correctness and a swag unmatched by any impending free agent before him. The stage is set.  

These two teams are surprisingly evenly matched up at every turn. The Yankees may have a slight edge in starting pitching, especially if the team goes out and acquires a great starter in July like many expect them to while the likes of Severino, Masahiro Tanaka and Sonny Gray pitch to the backs of their baseball cards, and in the bullpen, although when Brandon Kintzler is your 7th inning guy it goes to show you how deep the Washington bullpen can be, but the offenses can both potentially be spectacular. How will the Yankees fare playing four games in a National League park while having to leave one of Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Greg Bird, Aaron Hicks or Brett Gardner on the bench? Just fine, that’s how they will fare.  

The Yankees lineup is deep, powerful and intimidating from top to bottom. This team was built from within and is deep as they come offensively. This offense does not center around just one or two men, the entire lineup from top to bottom can beat you on any single pitch in any single game. There is potentially a different hero every night, which brings goosebumps to the skin just thinking about the possibility and the similarities to the Dynasty Yankees from the 90’s and 2000’s. The Nationals are a good team, maybe even a great team, but this New York Yankees squad is just special. Period. Get off the tracks, the New York Yankees are coming. It may take all seven games, although I am leaning towards six games here to be honest, but the Yankees will be hoisting that World Series Championship trophy over their heads one more time, and that one more time is here in 2018.

Remembering My 2018 Predictions: The Playoffs

Here is a quick look at my predictions for the 2018 season and the grueling playoffs that follow!

Welcome back to Prediction Season here on The Greedy Pinstripes. With the standings, division winners and Wild Card winners now predicted here on the blog by yours truly it is time to move on to the postseason. Just as a reminder, not that I have to remind any of you reading because you are all dedicated and hardcore Yankees and MLB fans, the first Wild Card winner will host the second Wild Card winner in a one-game playoff. The winner of that game heads out on the road to face off with the team with the best record from their respective league, who has a “bye” in the first round of the postseason. ALDS and NLDS series are best-of-five while the ALCS, NLCS and the World Series are of course best-of-seven. Let’s get to it!

American League Wild Card Round

Seattle Mariners @ Boston Red Sox

The first time in what feels like forever that the Seattle Mariners make the postseason. Is this 1995 all over again? Honestly, I don’t think so, but I went with it anyway… because to hell with the Red Sox. Anything can happen in a one-game playoff. Anything. Even the Mariners taking down the might, mighty Red Sox. Dave Dombrowski should be fired at the end of the game, but he won’t be which is great news for Yankees fans.

National League Wild Card Round

San Francisco Giants @ Chicago Cubs

These two foes have matched up time-and-time again it feels like in the postseason, so what is one more time for old times sake, right? The Chicago Cubs will, in my opinion, take a step back in 2018 in terms of production from their previous two seasons, which will suit the Giants just fine. The Giants have potentially a strong starting staff and enough veteran leadership to get them over the hump in Evan Longoria and Andrew McCutchen and I truly think they will find a way in the later innings to take down the Cubs. Chicago goes home, San Francisco moves on in an even-numbered year. Both road teams winning the Wild Card Round? That has to be unheard of, oh well.

American League Division Series

Seattle Mariners @ New York Yankees (Yankees win series 3-1)

I am going to give the tie-breaker for home field advantage to the New York Yankees (a) because I am a homer that owns a Yankees blog, and (b) because of some head-to-head matchups or something like that. With the Mariners high off their “1995 all over again” victory of the Boston Red Sox in the AL Wild Card Round the New York Yankees are here to remind the Mariners of another playoff series they were both a part of, the 2001 American League Championship series where the 116-win Mariners came into the series the heavy favorites over the Dynasty Yankees. The Mariners lost, and sometimes history repeats itself. Sometimes it just takes 17 years to do so. Yankees win.

Cleveland Indians @ Houston Astros (Astros win series 3-2)

In a matchup of two titans, two powerhouse offenses and two dynamic pitching staffs this series has all the makings of being an instant classic that will undoubtedly go all five games. These kinds of series remind me of those games that come down to the last second with the winner being the last team who has the ball, the last team to take an at-bat, whatever the case may be. I truly think both teams will be amazing once again in 2018, but the pitching staff and the depth that the Astros have will prevail in the five-game series. Plus, I wanted a rematch of the 2017 ALCS between the Yankees and the Astros, I mean who doesn’t? Right? It is time for Justin Verlander to eat his preseason words regarding the Yankees.

National League Division Series

San Francisco Giants @ Washington Nationals (Nationals win series 3-1)

The window for the Washington Nationals to win is just about closed, hell it will be all but closed once the calendar turns to October of 2018, and the Nationals will play like it this postseason. The Giants are a great team but having to presumably burn Madison Bumgarner in the Wild Card Round will come back to bite them as the Nationals dominate the series on all sides of the game. The Nats will pitch better, they will hit better, they will defend better, and they will do the little things they have to do when it counts in order to win. Nats in 4.

St. Louis Cardinals @ Los Angeles Dodgers (Dodgers win series 3-2)

Here is a series we haven’t seen before in recent memory, a playoff matchup between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals are younger than ever, and subsequently hungrier than ever, in the ever-changing aspect that is Major League Baseball. This is truly a David v. Goliath type situation, but in this one I think the Cardinals, like the Yankees from 2017, have one more year to wait before they can knock off the big boys. The Cardinals will be back in 2019 with another year under the wings and a chip on their shoulder, but this year it will be the Dodgers once again moving on after a hard-fought five-game series.

American League Championship Series

Houston Astros @ New York Yankees (Yankees win series 4-2)

Here we go again, so much for parity in Major League Baseball, huh Commissioner Manfred? In a rematch of the 2017 American League Championship Series the Houston Astros and the New York Yankees will once again square off head-to-head. This time around the Yankees will have homefield advantage, and this time New York will have Giancarlo Stanton and a slew of others at their disposal that they did not have last time around. The young, inexperienced Yankees took the Astros to an eventual Game 7 before falling to the reigning World Series Champions, but that was last season. This is 2018 and the New York Yankees are on a collision course with a certain team from the National League, and not even Gerrit Cole, Justin Verlander or some dude with a long beard could stop them. Call me a homer, call me an optimist, just don’t call me late to the Canyon of Heroes. Yankees in six.

National League Championship Series

Los Angeles Dodgers @ Washington Nationals (Nationals win series 4-3)

Remember how I said the Cardinals and Dodgers series was a David v. Goliath type series? Well if that is the case then this series is a Goliath vs. Goliath type series as both teams here matched or exceeded the 95-win plateau during the 2018 regular season. This will be a hard-fought battle that will go all seven games, but one man in particular will be the difference maker in my opinion. Bryce Harper knows what he is playing for. Bryce is playing for a chance at a World Series ring, his legacy as a part of the Washington Nationals and his next free agent contract after the season ends, and for that reason I think we will see a version of Harper that we have never seen before. We will see a focused, yet unruly, and disciplined, yet unyielding, version of himself both at the plate and in the field that will go unmatched by anyone wearing a Dodgers uniform this series. It won’t be easy, but it will be fun to watch as the Washington Nationals shock the World and head to the World Series to face off with the New York Yankees.

BOLDED teams are predicted as the winner in each respective series.

The 2018 World Series, folks. The New York Yankees and the Washington. Let us keep in mind that the last two seasons I didn’t have the Yankees making the World Series, but I did have them winning a second Wild Card in both, so my predictions, albeit biased, are usually pretty spot on with them. “Haters gonna hate” though, am I right?

Two million strong and counting folks! I can’t say it enough. Leave your thoughts, comments and predictions down below in the comments section, or drop us a line on Twitter @GreedyStripes. Another day closer to Opening Day, can you smell the fresh cut grass yet? Because I can…

Remembering My 2018 Predictions: The Standings

Here is a quick look at my predictions for the 2018 season and the overall standings for all 30 teams!

As we count down the days until Opening Day 2018 I wanted to take the opportunity to say this, it is Prediction Season here on The Greedy Pinstripes. Every season I make a series of predictions, sometimes bold and sometimes not so much, before the season, and then I look back on them at season’s end to see how in tune I really was with my wizardry. Spoiler alert, I usually don’t do well in these predictions, but I put them and myself out there nonetheless for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy, and leave any constructive criticism in the comments below, or hit us on Twitter by tagging @GreedyStripes. Two million strong and counting folks!!

American League East

New York Yankees (X)                       94-68

Boston Red Sox (Y)                           90 -72

Baltimore Orioles                               80 - 82

Toronto Blue Jays                               76 - 86

Tampa Bay Rays                                 72 - 90

American League Central

Cleveland Indians (X)                        93-69

Minnesota Twins                                84-78

Kansas City Royals                            83-79

Chicago White Sox                            73 - 89

Detroit Tigers                                     64-98

American League West

Houston Astros (X)                           94-68

Seattle Mariners (Z)                          88-74

Texas Rangers                                   85-77

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim      83-79

Oakland Athletics                             75-87

National League East

Washington Nationals (X)                 96-66

Philadelphia Phillies                          84-78

New York Mets                                  82-80

Atlanta Braves                                   71-91

Miami Marlins                                   62-100

National League Central

St. Louis Cardinals (X)                       92-70

Chicago Cubs (Y)                               89-67

Milwaukee Brewers                            86-76

Pittsburgh Pirates                                74-88

Cincinnati Reds                                  70-92

National League West

Los Angeles Dodgers (X)                 95-67

San Francisco Giants (Z)                  87-75

Colorado Rockies                             85-77

Arizona Diamondbacks                    83-79

San Diego Padres                             70-92

(X) denotes Division Winner

(Y) denotes Wild Card 1 Winner

(Z) denoted Wild Card 2 Winner

Yes, I went bold in the American League West. I don’t have a real and true reason why I feel like the Seattle Mariners will have a great season, but I just do. They have a younger team with a few key guys in key positions that are hungry, and I just have a hunch. This will be one I will likely regret when we look back at the end of the 2018 season, but oh well. For now, the Seattle Robinson Cano’s are in as the 2nd Wild Card team in the American League while the Texas Rangers are selling off pieces in July. Another bold prediction in the National League East as I have the young Fightin’ Phils in second place behind the big right-arm of Jake Arrieta. It isn’t so much that I feel like the Phillies are ready to compete, although they have a young core and nucleus that could easily sneak up on people this summer, but I feel like the NL East is just going to be that bad this season. I truly wanted to put the Atlanta Braves a little higher, but with Philadelphia (and the rest of the NL East) facing off with the Braves and Marlins around 40 times a season each we should see some inflated win numbers out of that division in my opinion. I truly think the most competitive division in all of Major League Baseball this season will be the National League West who will have four potential teams that could make the postseason, with the exception being the San Diego Padres. I like all their teams, and I think it could be fun to watch all summer long out West this season.

Again, leave your predictions in the comments section below or hit us op on Twitter, @GreedyStripes.