One bold prediction …
MLB will announce a new rule for next season which will allow managers a limited number of infield shifts a game. So it becomes a strategy of when to seek the defensive advantage. Should managers wait until the ninth inning? Keep their infield moves for certain players? Sounds like fun to me! DL
The New York Yankees somehow win 100 games. It’s been fun mocking the organization’s uncharacteristic lack of spending this offseason, particularly as the rest of the AL East has gotten tougher. But history tells us that the Yankees have an annoying knack of going on a tear right when everybody counts them out. HF
The Detroit Tigers, five years removed from their last winning campaign and three since losing a mind-numbing 114 games, will contend for a playoff spot until the final week of the regular season. BAG
I’m most looking forward to …
Actual baseball, for 162 games, with fans in the seats. Between the pandemic and the work stoppage that I believed would kill the entire 2022 season, this campaign is as welcome as they come. DL
No longer wasting precious minutes of my life watching pitchers hit in the National League. With the newly adopted universal DH, baseball has finally fully entered the modern world. It’s a rare win for common sense in 2022’s America, although I will admit it was cool when Bartolo Colon hit a home run that one time. HF
The pandemic gave baseball commissioner Rob Manfred the perfect cover to enact a handful of experimental rules designed to cut down on overlong games and limit physical contact. Predictably (and tragically), the universal designated hitter is here to stay. But I was pleasantly surprised to see two of the others won’t be back for 2022: 1) seven-inning doubleheaders and 2) the extra-innings rule starting each half-inning after the ninth with a runner on second base. BAG
Your MVPs will be …
If Shohei Ohtani is healthy, hits and pitches, how is anyone else going to win the AL MVP award? And now that he’s allowed to hit in games after being removed as a hurler, he’ll have even more at-bats. There is a bit more competition in the NL however, where the majestic Juan Soto should get the award he deserved to win last year. DL
Let’s go all chalk here. I’m just going to be Mr Predictable and pick Mr Predictable in the AL with the Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout. In the NL, we’ll go with the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Mookie Betts. It’s unlikely that both will win, but it’s pretty good odds that at least one of these bets will pay off, barring injuries. HF
Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr may be the best hitter in the game today. But it seems the AL award until further notice belongs to Ohtani, the two-way Japanese star with a once-in-a-century skillset. In the National League, it’s Washington outfielder Soto. BAG
Cy Young winners …
Carlos Rodon is making a move to a bigger park in San Francisco which will help the former White Sox hurler move into Cy Young territory but Zack Wheeler, totally robbed of the award in 2021 will get it this time around. The AL race is probably the most open in years, especially with all the question marks hanging around Gerrit Cole. Robbie Ray certainly has a chance to repeat in his new roomy confines in Seattle. DL
The Atlanta Braves’ Max Fried hasn’t yet hit his ceiling and this award certainly feels within his grasp, even if some other NL pitchers have more name recognition. Keeping up with the Yankees theme, let’s go with their ace Cole in the AL, especially assuming that older voters are still infatuated with the concept of pitching wins. HF
The National League race opened up with last week’s news that Mets ace Jacob deGrom will miss significant time due to a shoulder injury. Look for Dodgers righty Walker Buehler to make the most of his absence. In the American League, it’s Yankees star Cole’s trophy to lose. BAG
AL East
Good lord the Jays can rake, with a lineup looking like a modern day murderers row. They lost Ray from their rotation, but gained Kevin Gausman, so it’s all there for a Toronto team bracing for a full season of home games for the first time since 2019. That said, it’s probably the toughest division in baseball, and it should be a war to the finish, where the Jays pip the Rays on the last day of the season. DL
New York Yankees. The AL East is going to be brutal this year, to the point where literally all the AL wildcards could emerge from the division. The only predictable thing might be that the Baltimore Orioles are going to be one of the worst teams in baseball, everything else might come down to the last week. HF
Toronto Blue Jays. Don’t be surprised if the smart-spending Tampa Bay Rays figure out a way to come out on top again, but it’s simply too hard to pick against this Blue Jays lineup in a stacked division that will end up sending four teams to the postseason. BAG
AL Central
Tony La Russa may annoy his fanbase, but nothing will stop the White Sox from repeating as AL Central champs. Think of it as a 162 game playoff tune-up for the Pale Hose, where an early-round ouster may not be as inevitable as most would think. They’re extremely talented, and if they invest at the trade deadline, they will compete for a “piece of metal” in October. DL
Chicago White Sox. Their fate would certainly look sunnier if not for Lance Lynn’s knee injury, but this is a White Sox team that won 93 games last season and they have a highly potent offense. HF
Chicago White Sox. The South Siders are once again the most complete team in the American League’s weakest division, although they’ll weather a more spirited challenge from the improved Twins. BAG
AL West
Seattle were by far the luckiest team in baseball last season, competing for a wildcard game berth until late in the season. But even if lightning strikes twice, the Astros are still poised to win the division for the fifth time in six seasons. The biggest question is whether the Angels, with Mike Trout and Ohtani, will finally reach the postseason, something neutral baseball fans should be pining for. DL
It still blows my mind that the Houston Astros have overtaken the Yankees as the biggest heels in baseball. It’s close to impossible to root for this particular ownership, but it’s hard not to hope for the best for veteran manager Dusty Baker and 39-year-old ace Justin Verlander. HF
Houston Astros. The Mariners were already knocking on the door even before adding Cy Young award winner Ray to the rotation. But the reigning American League pennant winners remain the class of this division, even without Carlos Correa. BAG
NL East
The Freddie Freeman-less Braves shouldn’t suffer thanks to the aggressive acquisition of Matt Olson. And the champs also boosted the back of their bullpen with Kenley Jansen and Collin McHugh, so they shouldn’t have too much trouble in their bid to repeat. DL
If the New York Mets had some health breaks, they could be a potential candidate here but there is no conceivable dimension where the Mets will ever remain healthy (Jacob deGrom has already been put on ice and Max Scherzer remains an early question mark). I’m going to hand this division over to instead to the Atlanta Braves. HF
Philadelphia Phillies. Bryce Harper’s MVP campaign was weighed down by a Philly bullpen whose 34 blown saves equaled the 2004 Colorado Rockies’ major-league record (although the Nationals’ 35 pipped them both). Enter Corey Knebel, the 30-year-old closer who bet on himself by signing a one-year, $10m contract. The improved bullpen and offseason additions of Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos will see the Phillies end their decade-long postseason drought. BAG
NL Central
The Brewers are a ton of fun with a deep pitching rotation combined with an electric bullpen and a more than satisfactory lineup. The only club that can compete with Milwaukee are the Cardinals, and their rotation takes a hit with Jack Flaherty’s injury issues. It’s cakewalk territory for the Brew Crew. DL
This St Louis Cardinals team is so old that the most famous player on the lineup was retired until a few weeks ago. While Albert Pujols won’t likely be much of a factor in the division, Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright can still take this team into the playoffs. I’d call them sentimental favorites among the baseball graybeards. HF
Milwaukee Brewers. A stout rotation including reigning Cy Young award winner Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, Freddy Peralta, Adrian Houser and Eric Lauer will see the Brewers repeat as champions of MLB’s weakest division. BAG
NL West
Expect the Dodgers to take back the NL West after the surprising Giants take a small step back. LA are loaded once again, adding Freeman, while their looming lineup question is whether or not Cody Bellinger will recover from a dismal 2021. Sadly, the Padres’ long-term loss of Fernando Tatis Jr takes a bit of the zetz out of this would-be stacked division. DL
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ biggest issue just might be manager Dave Roberts’s ongoing habit of making life more difficult for himself. This time around, Roberts went out of his way to guarantee a title, something which hasn’t paid off since New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath pulled off the trick in the NFL. HF
LA Dodgers. Baseball’s biggest spenders offset the departures of Corey Seager and Max Scherzer by adding Freeman. That allows Dave Roberts to deploy a lineup with MVP winners in right field (Betts), center field (Bellinger) and first base (Freeman) and a glut of former All-Stars in between (Trea Turner, Max Muncy, Justin Turner, Will Smith, Chris Taylor). BAG
AL wildcard teams …
Rays, Red Sox, Angels. DL
Blue Jays, Rays, Red Sox. HF
Yankees, Rays, Red Sox. BAG
NL wildcard teams
Padres, Mets, Giants. DL
Brewers, Giants, Padres. HF
Braves, Giants, Padres. BAG
ALCS
Blue Jays 4-3 Rays. DL
Yankees 4-2 White Sox. HF
White Sox 4-3 Blue Jays. BAG
NLCS
Dodgers 4-3 Braves. DL
Dodgers 4-2 Braves. HF
Dodgers 4-1 Braves. BAG
World Series
Blue Jays 4-2 Dodgers. The Blue Jays have one of the most compelling lineups in MLB, and if they all click, it could be a generational group that brings a title to Canada for the first time since 1993. A dynamic, young and colorful roster led by Vladimir Guerrero only needs pitching help and based on the way aggressive ownership has collected talent over the past few seasons, there’s no reason to believe team president Mark Shapiro won’t bring in any missing pieces at the trade deadline. The Rogers Center is the loudest venue in baseball, and it will explode in October with a win over Los Angeles in the World Series. DL
Dodgers 4-1 Yankees. Did you know that the Yankees and Dodgers both used to play in New York and had an intense rivalry? Get ready to hear about it, again and again, should this World Series matchup come to fruition. Unfortunately, the series might not last long enough for the broadcasters to give us the complete history because the Dodgers once again will have the most complete lineup in the major leagues, plus Walker Buehler and Clayton Kershaw ready to pitch twice in a seven-game series. HF
Dodgers 4-2 White Sox. The deep-pocketed, talent-stacked LA Dodgers were favorites even before the Freeman signing that won the offseason. It’s simply baffling they only have a single Covid title to show for their decade-plus of dominance, speaking to the crapshoot of a playoff format where, for better or worse, the best team doesn’t always come out on top. In a game with no sure things, the Dodgers are the closest thing to one. BAG
