2015 Predictions

Play Ball!

The Cubs take on the Cardinals in Wrigley Field, which is the middle of a major construction project.  A week ago the video board was nothing more than scaffolding.  Will it be done before the MLB season opener as the Cubs' front office promised?

You know what, who really cares!  Baseball is almost here! This has been one really long baseball off season.  The free agency period seemed to drag, but the Cubs did net notables in Jon Lester and Dexter Fowler.  Theo and Jed also were able to swing a deal for Miguel Montero to help out the pitching staff and convince Joe Maddon to manage the crew.

I've followed Joe Maddon the last couple of years in Tampa just because he seems like a fun guy, and I like fun.  From what I'm quickly learned during spring training is that he possesses a pretty astute head on his shoulders: he deflects attention from players when needed, he speaks his mind rather than skirting around a question, and he has some pretty innovative ideas concerning lineups and how to maximize the potential of his players.

I'm not sure how things will pan out, but the team has more talent this year than what they've had on the roster in the last five years, which saw them accumulate five consecutive fifth place finishes.

I like the depth of this year's team and I really like the young talent that is finally starting to boil over onto the major league roster.  Starlin Castro and Anthony Rizzo are both just starting to enter in their prime years.  Montero knows how to handle a staff.  Jason Motte and David Ross bring some veteran leadership.  These are all things which point to more wins.

On the flip side we're looking at relying on both Jake Arrieta and Kyle Hendricks for 200 innings this year. I'm a fan of both pitchers, especially the cerebral Hendricks, but neither never thrown more than 167 innings before.  The offense is chocked full of young talent, but young talent can be really streaky.  Arismendy Alcantara, Mike Olt, Javier Baez, Tommy LaStella, Jorge Soler, and Kris Bryant are all unproven at baseball's highest level.  Come May, at least three of those names will be starting everyday and possibly four depending on what Maddon wants to do on any given day.

There are some things to like and there are definitely some things to worry about. The national pundits seem to like the Cubs this year.  I guess they are a "sexy" pick to make the playoffs, but this is still a team which narrowly avoided 90 losses last season. 

Okay, enough chit chatter...  onto the predictions.  Feel free to call me a moron come October.

Cubs predictions first!

Cubs Record in 2015: 83-79 (10 game improvement from 2014)
Team pitching leaders:                                                 Team hitting leaders:
Wins = Jake Arrieta                                                      Hits = Starlin Castro
ERA = Jon Lester                                                         Home Runs = Anthony Rizzo
WHIP = Jon Lester                                                       Runs = Dexter Fowler
Strikeouts = Jake Arrieta                                              RBI = Anthony Rizzo
K/BB = Kyle Hendricks                                               Stolen Bases = Arismendy Alcantara
Saves = Hector Rondon                                                Average = Jorge Soler

As one might infer, I believe the offense has more balance to it this year.  I also think it's deeper and opposing pitchers might have to face a pretty good stick all the way down to the 7th spot in the order.  If I had to bet on who would lead the team in slugging percentage, then I would throw Kris Byrant's name out there, which would be the seventh different name in the hitting leaders categories out of seven.
Playoffs this year?  Nope, but I like the Cubs chances to finish third in a pretty tough NL Central.

MLB predictions!

AL West = Angels - If they can put the Josh Hamilton distraction behind them it's their division to lose.
AL Central = White Sox - The Indians are getting better, I think the Royals are a flash in the pan, and the Tigers pitching worries me.
AL East = Toronto Blue Jays - They have a very solid lineup and it's paired with a decent, young staff.
Wild Card1 = Seattle Mariners - They've been trending upward over the last few seasons.
Wild Card 2 = Cleveland Indians - Yes, I do think they'll outplay the Tigers in 2015. Call the psych ward.
In the Wild Card picture during September = Baltimore, Boston, Detroit, and Oakland

AL MVP = Mike Trout; Jose Abreu is a distant second
AL Cy Young = Chris Sale is filthy; I'll take King Felix to earn his third second place finish
AL ROY = Daniel Norris, with Rusney Castillo being the first runner up

NL West = Dodgers - They're payroll is too big. They have to win based on that alone.  Right?
NL Central = Cardinals - I question the health of their pitching, but I think Jason Heyward will infuse some much needed vigor in the lineup.
NL East = Nationals - In my opinion they have the best starting five in baseball.
Wild Card1 = Padres - The Friars made a ton of moves, and there might be adjustment period here, but it's an "odd" year for the black and burnt orange.
Wild Card2 = Pittsburgh - I like their young talent and their pitching. They could feasibly take the division from the Cardinals.
In the Wild Card picture during September = Chicago, Miami, San Francisco

NL MVP = Andrew McCutchen, with Paul Goldschmidt a close second
NL Cy Young = Andrew Cashner, assuming he stays healthy; otherwise Mr. Kershaw
NL ROY = Jorge Soler with Kris Bryant nipping at his heals

Please, take comfort in the fact that my predictions are almost never right. There are just too many variables to predict during a 162 game season. Heck, Trout could slide into third and tear every ligament in his right thumb on the third day of he season.  Obviously, my pick for AL MVP and the AL West would be all washed up.  Or maybe the Tigers make a trade for a stud pitcher at the deadline and they make my White Sox and Indians predictions look foolish.

There you have it!  Now that these have gone live feel free to poke fun at them. The only thing that is for certain about the predictions above is that it won't take me six months to regret most of them.

Emptying Out the Spring Training Folder

Seeing as though it is the last day before the 2015 baseball season opens I thought it might be a good time to clean out the photos from my spring training folder.

Anthony Rizzo

I've really begun to fall for this Cubs team.  There are some great people who make up the roster, who do wonderful things in the community.  

Joe Maddon, the new manager, brought up the idea of shaving the players' heads to help support pediatric cancer patients.  As you can tell from the picture above Joe Maddon likes to keep things loose.  (At least I'm hoping he intentionally holding his name placard upside down on purpose to get a laugh.)

 Most of the Cubs 40-man roster jumped on board and went under the clippers for a wonderful cause.  As you can tell from this back of the bus selfie by Matt Szczur it looks as though their hair is growing back just fine.

The picture below was taken early in camp, before the Respect Bald event, and it features two of the strongest men in the Cubs lineup.

 Rizzo should put up big numbers this year, but more important is the fact that he's had Kris Bryant's ear for part of the spring.  From everything I've read it seems as though Bryant has his head screwed on straight, but being able to lean on Rizzo and his experience will be akin to having an ace up his sleeve.

Everyone knows Bryant's name by now, and most everyone understands the reasons for him starting the year in Iowa.  Some are even having fun with it.

The Cubs prospects put on a nice show this spring, and in one particular game Javier Baez, Jorge Soler, and Kris Bryant went back-to-back-to-back.

I think Dexter Fowler might be my new favorite Cub.  The upside is he's a great person and he can be the leadoff hitter the team has been searching for.  The downside is that he is only signed for one year and the minor leagues are ripe with talent to replace him.

More prospects!   On the left we have my first glimpse of the Cubs 2015 #1 draft pick, Kyle Schwarber, donning the tools of ignorance.

   On the right we have a picture of the slick fielding Addison Russell.  It appears he is throwing a two-seamed fastball across the diamond from the shortstop position. I was always taught to grip the ball across the seams (4-seamer) when making defensive throws, but maybe that's not the Cubs Way?

I think Will Ferrell is explaining just that to Addison Russell here.

Courtesy of BoysOfSpring.com

 The Will Ferrell game was a bunch of fun to watch and then rehash later, and I think this picture captures it all the best.  It's hard not to laugh at Ferrell when he's doing a schtick.

Here's another picture I swiped off of Twitter:

One ticket to Wrigley, which has a face value of $99, winds up being just over $120 on Cubs.com.  Yikes!  Granted, Aisle 10 is pretty close to the field, but $21 in fees and taxes?  Gulp.

I think Jon Lester's contract may have something to do with prices for tickets going through the roof. 

It's a simple case of supply and demand.  Cubs tickets are in demand and there's a shorter supply than normal because the bleachers aren't scheduled to open until May (LF) and June (RF).

 The picture above was from late March and the one below was just from a couple of days ago. 

 Not a ton of changes, but it appears that the left field video board is up for ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. 

Thanks for stopping by today and visiting my picture heavy post.  Go Cubs!

Warping the Minds of America's Youth

I stopped by the big red box store this morning and hit the card aisle on the way out.  There were two young boys there ogling all of the 2015 baseball releases trying to decided what to buy.  One of them noticed me and elbowed his buddy to make way. 

Yu hot pack!

 When I saw the opening I reached quickly for a 30 card value pack of Donruss, smiled, gave a little head nod the young gents, and made my way to the checkout aisle.

 As I was checking out I was feeling pretty good about myself.  I finally had the sinus medication I desperately needed, some marshmallow Peeps to give to my friends' kids, AND I had influenced some young card collectors.

Yep, I was listening in on the boys' conversation after I snagged my pack of Donruss and now they were trying to decide over a couple of loose packs or a value pack. And no, I'm not talking about Topps' flagship product, Heritage, or Opening Day.  They now wanted to purchase Donruss, too. 

What have I done?  I guess me and adult coolness are warping the minds of young card collectors to purchase non-licensed baseball cards that feature a really ugly base card. 

But, do I feel guilty about doing so?

Let's see: 
1) I added another Sandberg to my player collection. 
2) I accrued some nice trade package filler.
3) I found two inserts of Cubs players which would have cost me the price of pack by itself at my LCS.

Nope.  I regret nothing.

I Made the List!

What list might that be?  Well, I guess it's technically not really a list as much as it's a receipt from the post office.  Most of you know what I'm talking about by now, but if you aren't part of the in crowd then take a second to fill yourself in.

Geaux must be French for Go.

Yes, I'm a recipient of one of the Junior Junkie's padded yellow mailers from Louisiana.  T.J. and I didn't have a trade history until he reached out to me about a month ago.  It was a slow developing trade, but well worth the wait on my end.

 Now, that's my kind of blogger.

Look at all of that marvelous blue tape.  T.J., you're going straight to good guy list.

The first thing I noticed in the package was a nice brick.  It was a 1994 Williamsport Cubs team set from the short season New york-Penn League.  

 There's only two names on that checklist I recognize and one of them never made the major league roster.  Brian Stephenson was the 2nd round draft pick of the Cubs in '94, but he never got higher than double-A.  Geremi Gonzalez burst onto the scene in 1997 and pitched well that year for a bad Cubs team.

Next up we make a stop to the Kerry Wood player collection.  I have the two gold bordered cards, but not the silver.

 The silver bordered cards are from the 1999 Topps Opening Day set.  I didn't know Opening Day was around in the 90s. Good to know.

Kerry's cards always have a home with me, even if they're dupes!  I think the Upper Deck card may make it's way onto my new TV stand I just finished making.

 Oooooh, shiny!   I love the International Parallels from Bowman. I prefer the United States' flag to the other varieties: maps or state flags.  This is also one of my earliest cards of Kerry on cardboard (1997).

 This Kerry Wood card is number 387 in my ever growing collection.  I may reach 400 yet!

I already own a copy of this card, but it wasn't on my checklist . . . and that really bothers me.  I wonder how many other cards have snuck through my system.

 

Nope, I found it.  I mistakenly had it listed a card from 1999, not 1998 as the back states.  Big sigh of relief there!
For the record, the false statement on the card is #1.  He had 7 strikeouts in 7 and a third innings in 1995.  I thought it was #2, but I went back and checked and although Wood went 6 and 7 for Orlando in 1997, he finished up with 10 wins and 9 losses for the ENTIRE season.  Technicalities all around.

Lastly, we have a shiny horizontal Ryno!  The foil is hard to read, but in the lower right-hand corner it mentions the "Central Region".  I'm fairly certain this was an insert in one of Upper Deck's sets, but outside of that I don't know.  No matter, it's number 758 in my collection.  It's beautiful and makes great use of the horizontal layout.  I can only find one flaw with this card: faux stirrups.  I can't believe Ryne Sandberg would wear such things.  Ugh.

Thanks for the cards T.J.!  I've got some Mariners set aside for you, and a couple of Griffeys I think you're really going to like!  They'll be out to you shortly!

A PWE from HSCA

I can't do it anymore.  As far as blog names go this is one of the longest in the blogosphere and I can never get it right.  Completely Subjective and Highly Arbitrary?  Highly Objective and Completely Subjunctive?   Completely Contrary and Higher Subjugation? 

I'm going to take a page out of JediJeff's book and shorten things up a bit before I go wacky.   HSCA it is.

Brian, the author of the aforementioned blog, has made a wonderful splash within our little community.  He has already held a successful group break/trade, a contest, and he's jumped on the "let's bash Donruss" bandwagon. 

He's also doling out unannounced PWEs.  Let's take a look inside, shall we?

I love that he wrote a note AND used blue tape.   Yep, Brian is fitting in just fine.

Wait, that's a thing?  You can check and see how many comments have been left?  Huh.  Learn something new everyday I guess.

And look, Brian even abbreviates his blog's name!  Nice.

On to the cardboard . . . Look, another edition to my newly cataloged Brooks Kieschnick player collection.

This is the 31st unique Kieschnick in my collection and the third one Brian has contributed.

 Mark Grace in gold!

 A sliding Shawon and a 1986 Fleer card of Dunston.  I really like the 1986 design.  I guess it helps that it has a blue border.  Also Dunston cards go in the Cubs binder!

Some potential Cubs for my FrankenSet.  Nice.

And then it gets good.

Matt Clement card in Cubs garb and his chin growth is under control in this picture. Also, we have Kerry Wood from the same set, 2003 Heritage.  A new one for the KW player collection!

Lastly, I don't know if you've noticed that I have installed a "Top 5 Most Wanted Cards" list on the sidebar.  Brian sent me #4!

 I was given the Julio Zuleta from the Pacific Invincible set a while ago in a trade and after I found the checklist online I knew I had to find the Kerry Wood. So much to like about this card!  Bricks, ivy, baseball bats, Spanish on the back, and it's see through!  Well, the sky blue background is translucent at least.   So cool.  Updated total: I'm up to 385 different cards of Kid K.

Brian, thank you for such a thoughtful PWE.  And yes, to answer your note, that IS my card!  Thanks again!