Baseball Needs Shohei Ohtani

I know that I am not the big baseball guy on the site, but I want to talk about the Shohei Ohtani news, that he may need Tommy John surgery.

This is a real bummer to me. Again, I do not watch baseball at all, especially right now since football is in full time swing. But, I was looking at Bleacher Report the other day and saw that Ohtani may need the dreaded surgery for pitchers. Now, he has had a very solid season, at least from what I read, both pitching, but more so hitting. He has a decent amount of home runs, he has a decent average and has a good amount of RBI's. As far as pitching, he was doing fine. If you look at him as a rookie, which he is, he has had a very solid pitching season. He has missed a good amount of time, but who doesn't in baseball these days. Also, every star player is treated with kid gloves, so they don't burn out right away.

I had very high hopes for Ohtani, and he was kind of living up to them. I mean, no one really got to see him because he plays on a middling AL team, that is perpetually stuck at, or below .500. He plays on a team that has the best player in baseball, Mike Trout, and they have Albert Pujols, who is coming up on some iconic numbers as a hitter. But, the Angels are like the Chargers of the MLB. They are always the team that is the "sleeper", and they always stumble. I feel real bad for Trout because he is being completely wasted there, and I fear the same is going to happen to Ohtani.

My main point for my piece today, I think maybe the Angels pushed him a bit too much. I know I said that new stars get treated like kids, but they allowed Ohtani to play both. This was exciting to a guy like me, that never really watches baseball, but how was this good for their franchise, I will never know. They should have played him in the outfield, in my opinion, then on the rare, rare occasion that they needed a pitcher, preferably in relief, then they could let Ohtani pitch. I feel like this would have best utilized his unique skill set, and helped this team actually matter when September and October come around. Case and point, a day or two after the diagnosis of Tommy John, Ohtani played, and he hit 2 home runs. The guy can swing the bat. He has proven that he can hit major league pitchers, and hit them deep. He has proven his prowess in the field. Also, if you want to save his arm play him at DH. The Angles are an AL team and they have the DH, so why not? I mean, it would have fit perfectly with my idea to only pitch him in a needed basis.

Whatever the reason, people say Ohtani need this surgery. Who knows what he will do, and what will happen from here on out. I personally hope he doesn't get it. I want him to become a full time DH, and find a way to heal his arm without having this 10-12 recovery period from this surgery. If he does opt for surgery, I feel sorry for Angels fans and hardcore baseball fans. Ohtani has this special ability to hit and pitch at one of the highest levels of baseball. And not only can he just do both, he is very good at both. If he gets Tommy John, these fans will miss a year plus of getting to watch him play. That is a drag. And, who knows how he will play when he gets back. The last person I remember with big time expectations that had to get Tommy John was Stephen Strasburg. Now, he is strictly a pitcher, but people expected the world of him. He then had the surgery, and while he is a fine MLB pitcher, he is not the threat that he was supposed to be. He is a 13-15 win guy with a 3 plus ERA. Everyone expected him to be the next Nolan Ryan, but after Tommy John, he is just another mid level starter on a supposed good team. He isn't even the best pitcher on his team now. I don't want that for Ohtani.

I personally want Ohtani to continue to play. He is one of the very few reasons I even know about baseball right now. I have checked on him occasionally because I was genuinely curious. That hasn't happened with a baseball player for me for a long while. I hope he continues to play as a DH. I hope he finishes out the season and finds a way to avoid Tommy John. I just want him to be on a baseball field next year, as opposed to him rehabbing after a surgery.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He used to pitch and hit for his baseball team. Unfortunately Ty had surgery and his career ended. It was wisdom teeth surgery, and Ty was 20 years old. What could have been?

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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Ty's MLB Season Preview

Here comes Ty to the plate

RD did the heavy lifting for me this week, previewing the already started MLB season. This is his territory when it comes to sports. He knows and he loves baseball more than anyone that I know. Me, I know and love baseball too, but I don't particularly care to start really paying attention until the playoffs. The season is way, way too long for one. Each team plays 162 regular season games. That's insane. I feel like the NBA has way too many regular season games and they only play 82. Almost half of what MLB plays. The season lasts almost 7 months. Ridiculous. So yeah, this early, I don't watch too closely. NBA playoffs are right around the corner and the summer time is when I catch up on some TV and movies I may have missed during the fall and winter. But, I still know enough about baseball to give my take as to how I see the season and the playoffs playing out. My preview won't be as in depth, but I wanted to let you all know how I thought the season would play out and who will win the World Series.

Let's go.

Instead of going division by division, I just want to pick who I think will win and why. First off, I'll do the American League. Before I get this all started, I think the AL is in a slight decline right now. Yeah, the Royals won last year, but they played the Mets and the Mets played out of their minds down the stretch. The AL reminds me a lot of the Eastern Conference in the NBA. So, I think the Toronto Blue Jays will win the AL East. They are one of, if not the, best teams in baseball. Yeah, they lost David Price, but he was not good in the playoffs and I don't think him not being on the team will matter all that much. They still have a good staff and a great lineup. They will hit a lot of home runs and they will shut a lot of teams down on defense. I love the Blue Jays and I love the way they play. Kansas City will win the AL Central, but it will be close. I think Cleveland, not Detroit, will be the biggest threat. This division is pretty good when you look at it. The Royals are the defending champs, the Tigers have Miguel Cabrera and a decent pitching staff, Cleveland has a great small ball lineup and Corey Kluber, who may be the best pitcher in baseball that no one knows and Minnesota and the White Sox both have decent, young players. The Royals will win the division because they have the experience and they have the best pitching staff and the best lineup. They are becoming great again and I enjoy when small market teams beat up on the big market teams. The AL West, on the other hand, is pretty terrible with 2 exceptions, the Astros and the Rangers. The Rangers have the lineup, but the Astros also have a good lineup and they have a much better pitching staff, led by reigning Cy Young winner, Dallas Kuechel. The Angels are getting older and not better. I feel bad for Mike Trout, because he is great, but that team has overpaid for aging stars for much too long and it's crippled the future of the team. The A's are just bad. And every year the Mariners are supposed to turn it around, but they never do. I do like the Rangers in this division. I know the Astros have a better pitching staff, but the Rangers will hit a lot of home runs and it is dreadful to play there in the summer time. They may be the only team in pro baseball with a true home field advantage and that will help them win the division title. So, that leaves me with two wild cards. I'm going to pick Cleveland and Houston. I really like both those teams. For the ALCS, I think it will be Houston and Toronto, and I think Toronto will go to the AL pennant, with relative ease. This, RD and I agree on.

One different thing I want to do is pick a team that will be a "bust" in each league. My "bust" for the AL is the Boston Red Sox. Sure, they got David Price, but what else do they have anywhere on the field or in the pitching staff? Not too much. Hanley Ramirez is a mess. Pablo Sandoval got beat out by some random dude, and then there is really nothing else to brag about. The Red Sox are not as good as some will lead you to believe. Don't let the Price signing fool you.

In the National League, we will start with the East. The NL East is about as bad as the AL West. There is only two decent teams and they are the Washington Nationals and the New York Mets. Sure, the Mets are the reigning NLCS champs, but they got very hot and very lucky at the exact right time last year. That won't happen again. They have a great staff and they will finish above .500, but the Nationals are going to walk with this division. They are constant underachievers, but Bryce Harper will not let this team take a tumble again. They also have a great pitching staff and a pretty decent lineup around Harper. They finally, and mercifully, fired Matt Williams and made a great hire with Dusty Baker. They will win the division and may win 100 plus games. There is no need to even mention the 3 other teams in this division because they are terrible. The NL Central will be highly competitive once again. It's a three team race with the Cubs, the Pirates and the Cardinals. The Reds and the Brewers are both going through rebuilds and they won't be a factor. What has been a division owned by the Cardinals lately, will change this year. The Cardinals lost a lot from last years team and they didn't so much in free agency. Oh, they got older too. This will most likely be a step back year for them. By step back year, I think they will only win 86 or 87 games. But, the Pirates and the Cubs will be legit. The Pirates have a very good pitching staff and a great lineup, led by one of my favorite and one of the best, and most underrated superstars in Andrew McCutcheon. He's awesome and the Pirates are really good. But, the Cubs are definitely on the rise. I hate to admit this, because I'm a lifelong Cardinals fan, but the Cubs crushed us in the playoffs last year, and they only got much, much better this offseason. They locked up Rizzo and Bryant. They signed Jon Lester last year. They lured Jason Heyward away from the Cardinals to only boost their already potent outfield. And they signed a bunch of other great role players. This could be the year that the Cubs finally break the curse. They are, on paper, the best team in baseball right now, and it's not really that close. They will win the Central and they will win more than 100 games doing it. I don't want to hear whiny Cubs fans trying to tamper expectations either. You guys are the best team and you better damn well prove that. No more excuses for them. It's an even year, so the San Francisco Giants should easily win the NL West, right? Well, I think they will win, but the Diamondbacks and the Dodgers, and maybe even the Padres, will give them a run for their money. Yes, the Giants signed two big time free agent pitchers, but the Diamondbacks got Zack Greinke and they still have Paul Goldschimdt. The Dodgers did lose Greinke, but they still have Clayton Kershaw, and he's a great regular season pitcher. The Dodgers also have a very good lineup, but they are starting to become the NL's version of the Angels. Lots of big names, but nothing to show for it. The Padres have a very decent lineup, but their pitching leaves a lot to be desired. I still think they will be, at least, a .500 team. The Diamondbacks will be the Giants main competition, but they are still a pitcher and an offensive weapon away from truly competing. I really love their signing of Greinke though. The Giants will win the West, but look out for the Diamondbacks in a year or two. So, that leaves us with the NL wildcards. This time around, the Central will only send two teams to the playoffs because I think the Pirates and the Mets will win the two remaining spots. That's right, no St. Louis and no Dodgers. They're both old, but they will both reload and be back on top soon enough. I think the NLCS will be the Cubs and the Nationals. I think this is a very interesting matchup because the Cubs are, right now, where the Nationals were two years ago. The Cubs are the new darlings and almost everyone is picking them. I'm no exception and I think the Cubs will pull it out in seven games and play the Blue Jays in the World Series.

Now, if the Cubs don't win the World Series this year, when will they? They have the best team in baseball, I cannot stress that enough. They should easily beat the Blue Jays in the World Series. As much as I hate to write it, the Cubs should, and will, win the World Series this year. They will break the curse and they will make me not watch "Sportscenter" and fast forward through a ton of "PTI" segments for the next couple of years. The Cubs will win and the sports media will be insufferable in their non stop coverage. It will be so much worse than when the Red Sox won in 2004.

My "bust" from the NL is the Cardinals. They are always good, but they will take a step back. They do have a very good pitching staff, but it's older and Adam Wainwright is coming off a torn ACL. Their lineup will not strike fear in any opponent either. They have no heavy hitters and they have players that get behind in the count way too often, I'm looking at you Matt Carpenter. Stop taking so many pitches and getting behind so early in the count. It's frustrating to watch. The Cardinals will step back and not be as good as they have been the past decade plus. It's due.

As I do with all my other previews, I will also give award predictions. The AL Cy Young will, once again, go to Kuechel. He is a beast. The MVP will be someone from the Royals, probably either Mike Moustakas or Lorenzo Cain. The manager of the year will be Terry Francona. In the NL, the Cy Young will go to Zack Greinke, the MVP, in a surprise to some, Paul Goldschmidt and the manager of the year has to be Joe Maddon.

So, there's my take on the baseball season. Sit back, because there is still a long time to go and I know RD will have something to say about my pick to win the World Series.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The head editor is not currently speaking to Ty. The Cubs? Really? Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

The SeedSing 2016 Major League Baseball Preview

We will see you back at home in October. (or is it November now?)

Baseball season has finally begun. Our long cold winter has given way to the start of a still cold baseball season. We are talking baseball, competitive baseball. What will the season hold? Will the Kansas City Royals repeat as World Series Champions (no)? Can the Mets get back to the Fall Classic and close the deal this time (not likely)? How will the 2016 Major League Baseball season play out? Here at SeedSing we have all the answers to your specific questions, and a few predictions. Get your bets ready.

Are the Yankees and Red Sox ready to return to dominance in the AL East?

Short answer, no. Longer answer, hell no.

Let's start with the Bronx Bombers. In the off season the Yankees acquired 100+ mile per hour throwing Aroldis Chapman from the Cincinnati Reds. Chapman is the real deal and near unhittable. He is added to a bullpen that was already very good. Any team playing the Yankees can expect to score zero runs after the seventh inning.

The problem is the first six innings. The Yankees have subpar starting pitching, and that will be problematic. Most teams will be able to easily hitting the New York starters, and the defense behind the starters is old and not very good. The Yankees lineup is filled with old aging stars and is a few years away from reloading with the young talent of other teams. The only bright spot in New York, outside of a killer bullpen, is going to be watching sullen cheater Alex Rodriguez chasing down Barry Bonds (75 homers away). Enjoy that New Yorkers.

Up the coast is the Yankees hated rival the Boston Red Sox. 2015 was a disaster for Boston, nothing seemed to work. The Red Sox addressed some of those issues by getting the biggest free agent prize of the off season, starting pitcher David Price. That acquisition made a big splash, and many of the sports media (almost all east coast based) are high on the Red Sox, but Price will not be enough. There is just not enough pitching or hitting depth in Boston. This team is at least one more year away from being in the World Series conversation. The Red Sox will make some noise, but their record will hover around .500 all season.

The ESPN love for the Yankees and the Red Sox will be no match for the Tampa Bay Rays, Baltimore Orioles, and Toronto Blue Jays. Tampa always defies the odds with great young talent. Baltimore has one of the best managers in baseball in Buck Showalter and a seasoned team. Toronto has built a dominant roster coming off a very disappointing loss in last years ALCS. The Blue Jays will dominant the AL East and leave the Yankees and Red Sox scrambling for next year.

It is an even number year so the San Francisco Giants will win the NL West and the World Series?

Not this year.

The Giants, like the Yankees and Red Sox, added a big time pitcher this off season with the free agent signing of Johnny Cueto. With a team mostly intact from their 2014 World Series Championship, Cueto is a big addition. The former Cy Young runner up comes after superstar Madison Bumgarner in the rotation. The problem is that after Cueto and Bumgarner the quality of pitching goes from great to mediocre. Jeff Samardzidja has shown flashes of brilliance, but has not proven to be consistently great. After the top three the Giants have an old Jake Peavy and Matt Cain. The Giants just do not have the pitching to make another even year World Series run.

The other problem for the Giants in the NL West is that the competition has gotten a lot better. The LA Dodgers have the money, star power, and Clayton Kershaw. The Arizona Diamondbacks have made some big moves, like acquiring superstar pitcher Zack Greinke, and have one of the best hitters in baseball in Paul Goldschmidt. Both of these teams will be a challenge for the Giants, and we will see the Arizona Diamondbacks beat back the others for the NL West Crown.

Is the AL West the most worthless, and over hyped, division in all of Major League Baseball?

Yes

Every year we hear about how the LA Angels, of wherever in southern California they want to be from, will once again claim the championship. If it is not the Angels, we hear about Billy Beane and the up and coming Oakland A's. The last few years we also keep hearing about the rise of the Seattle Mariners. In the last few years these three teams have faltered to the likes of the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros. The Angels, A's, and Mariners get the headlines, but the two Texas teams are producing winners. 

The Rangers and Astros will once again battle for the AL West crown. The Rangers are old but tested and the Astros are young and uber talented. The Astros will edge out the team from Arlington and make a return trip to the MLB playoffs.

Does the NL East have the worst teams in baseball?

Close, but not quite.

The NL East is going to be ugly. The Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, and Florida Marlins are not very good. The Mets are coming off a World Series appearance, but they are not quite a championship caliber team. The Washington Nationals are loaded, but have been perennial underachievers. The NL East is filled with teams that are rebuilding or are in "one year away" mode. The quality of play out east will be barely above AAA caliber baseball. Almost everyone of these teams will struggle all year.

All should struggle except for the Nationals. The team in DC is loaded, and has the best player in baseball in reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper. The Mets heavily benefited from a dysfunctional DC team last year. That will not happen again. With Dusty Baker at the helm in our nations capitol, the Nationals will easily win the NL east.

Is the best baseball being played in the central part of the country?

Absolutely. The NL central and AL central are the deepest divisions in baseball. Both wild card teams from each league will come from the central division.

In the NL central you have the defending champs, and 100 game winners, St. Louis Cardinals. The birds on the bat have the best front office, a great farm system, and a culture of winning. Catching up to the Cardinals is another well built team in the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Bucs have been climbing the ladder every year and are looking to make the playoffs for a third consecutive year. Coming off of an NLCS appearance in 2015, the Chicago Cubs are as loaded with talent as any team in MLB. The NL central will be a showcase for awesome baseball.

The AL central is as equally loaded as their NL brothers. First there is the defending World Series Champion Kansas City Royals. Even with a few off season losses, the Royals still have a solid championship core in place. The Detroit Tigers are rich with talent and experience. Cleveland has maybe the best manager in baseball with Terry Francona and a mix of veterans and younger players ready to emerge. The Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox are teams on the rise, and will not be pushovers for anyone else. 

With all the talent in both the NL and AL central divisions, someone has to win. The NL central is for the Cubs to lose with the Pirates and Cardinals taking the wild cards. The AL Central will be close with the Indians beating the Royals and Tigers for the division with the runners up going to the playoffs.

We answered your questions, now for a few predictions.

Once again, here are your 2016 MLB Playoff teams.

Division winners: AL East - Toronto Blue Jays                 NL East - Washington Nationals

                             AL Central - Cleveland Indians             NL Central - Chicago Cubs

                             AL West - Houston Astros                    NL West - Arizona Diamondbacks

                             AL Wild Cards - Kansas City Royals     NL Wild Cards - Pittsburgh Pirates

                                                        Detroit Tigers                                        St. Louis Cardinals

The Chicago Cubs and the Washington Nationals will win over 100 games each.

The Cubs and Nationals have the talent and the management to have very special seasons. Forget about what you have read, but Joe Maddon is one of the greatest MLB managers. In addition to Maddon, Theo Epstein has built a powerhouse on the northside of the windy city. Players like reigning Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta, reigning rookie of the year Kris Bryant, off season pickup Jason Heyward, and superstar Anthony Rizzo the Cubs are a dream team. Although they have to compete with St. Louis and Pittsburgh, the Cubs also have the dreadful Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers (the two worst teams in MLB) in their division. Getting to 100 wins will not be that difficult for this dream team.

The Washington Nationals are in a similar situation as the Cubs. Their lineup, led by Bryce Harper, is formidable. Their pitching is filled with potential. New manager Dusty Baker is a wizard at getting players to achieve their potential. In addition to their manager and roster, the Nationals will benefit from a weak division. The NL east will have some of the worst teams in baseball, and the Nationals will feast on this inferior competition. The nations capitol may see a team with over 110 wins in 2016.

The Pittsburgh Pirates will win the 2016 World Series. 

The Cubs and the Nationals will win tons of games, but they will not even play in the 2016 World Series. Each of these power teams have one huge weakness that will keep them away from the top of the baseball mountain.

In the case of the Washington Nationals their Achilles heel is manager Dusty Baker. Baker has taken many teams to the playoffs (Giants, Cubs, and Reds), but has never won a championship. The issue is that Baker is great at getting players to play above their ability, but cannot game manage well. Talent will win a lot of three game series, but when the playoff starts and series are five to seven games, Dusty Baker's lack of game strategy becomes a problem. It will be a problem for Washington in 2016.

The reason the Cubs will not make the World Series is mainly about experience. Players like Arrita, Rizzo, and Bryant are insanely talented and extremely young. There is not a strong veteran presence in Chicago that can guide these phenoms. It will be wait till next year for the Cubbies once again. Plus we have to take into account the goat and a variety of curses. Sorry Cubs.

So how are the Pirates going to get through these super teams and win the World Series? Pittsburgh is built a lot like the Kansas City Royals. Homegrown talent and nice off season veteran acquisitions. Outfielder Andrew McCutchen is one of the top five players in the MLB and a certified clubhouse leader. Francisco Liriano has found a second life in the Steel City. Manager Clint Hurdle has been guiding this team out of the darkness and has them believing in themselves. When the MLB season is getting to the trade deadline, a second place team like the Pirates will be more willing to trade for veteran talent than a young team like the Cubs or the Nationals. The mixture of a great manager, a superstar player who is also a leader, and a front office willing to take a chance, will lead to the Pittsburgh Pirates beating the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2016 World Series.

Let's say the series goes 7 games. That would be exciting.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head editor for SeedSing and one of the other hosts on the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is sentimentally picking the Pirates in remembrance of a hat he once briefly owned. Do you love baseball, come write for us. 

Get all your Postseason Winners with Ty's First Annual Baseball Playoff Preview

Is this the next year Cubs fans have been waiting for?

Today marks the weekend when regular season baseball ends, AKA when I start to pay attention to major league baseball.

All the playoff spots are filled with the exception of the second wild card in the AL. The Angels and the Astros will take that down to the wire. Other than those two teams, in the AL, we have the division winners, the Blue Jays, the Rangers and the Royals. The Yankees have claimed the first wild card spot. In the NL, all the playoff spots are filled. The division winners are the Cardinals, the Dodgers and the Mets. The two wild card spots are filled by the Cubs and the Pirates. I know people love baseball, but let's be serious, it doesn't really get exciting until now (ed note: Wrong, it is great all year). This is the playoffs.

Up until now, we've had 162 regular season games. That's a ton of games. During the summer I'll occasionally watch Cardinals games because it's my team. I don't watch any other teams play regular season games unless they're playing the Cardinals. Now that Fall is here, football is back and baseball definitely takes the back burner, until now. Football is and always will be my number one, I'll watch every Michigan and Green Bay game, but I will watch playoff baseball, and I'll watch every team in the playoffs. Baseball is finally exciting because it's down to only 10 teams, and two of those teams are out after one game. That's exciting. So, today I'm going to give a playoff preview and predictions. This will become a yearly thing. The one time each year that I watch baseball, I'll write a blog the weekend prior to the playoffs starting with predictions.

So begins my first annual "Baseball Playoff Preview". Since I'm a Cardinals fan and have watched NL baseball most of my life, I'm going to start with the AL and save the NL for last. So on with my AL preview and predictions. I'll start with the "play in" wild card game. The Yankees claimed the first wild card spot last night, and I'm going to say that the Astros complete the meltdown, lose the second wild card spot, and the Angels will end up playing the Yankees. I think the Yankees will win the game, but both of these teams are underachievers. They both have huge stars and huge payrolls, but they barely make the playoffs, if they even do. Tanaka will outpitch Weaver and the Yankees will advance to face the Royals. That means that I think the Royals will finish with the best record in the AL. I think they will do just enough this weekend to surpass the Blue Jays for the top spot. So the division series in the AL will be Yankees-Royals and Blue Jays-Rangers. These are best of five series. In the Yankees-Royals series, I have the Royals winning in five games, but they will all be close. The Royals have better pitching and hitting and even though their closer is out for the rest of the season, their bullpen is the best in the AL. The Royals are better coached as well. Royals advance to the ALCS. In the other division series, I'm taking the Blue Jays in four. The Rangers will get one game, but the Blue Jays are the hottest team in baseball right now, they have the AL MVP in Josh Donaldson, and the Cy Young winner in David Price. I know awards aren't handed out until after the playoffs, but those two are winning those awards. The Blue Jays also have Jose Bautista to crush homers and two great starters to compliment Price in Mark Buerhle and RA Dickey. The Rangers had a nice run at the end of the season, but their run is over. The Blue Jays are a buzz saw and they will crush the Rangers. Blue Jays advance to face the Royals in the ALCS. The ALCS is best of seven, but for all the reasons I just mentioned above for the Blue Jays is why this will be a short series. The Blue Jays win in 5 games. Once again, the Royals will get one at home, but the Blue Jays are playing way too well for anyone in the AL to stop them right now. They're just way too good. They made the best move at the deadline to acquire Price and Troy Tulowitzki, and that will pay off with a trip to the World Series. Blue Jays will represent the AL in the 2015 World Series.

Now, the NL. In the "play in" wild card game we get Cubs-Pirates. This one game may be better than any series in the AL. The NL Central boasts the three best teams in baseball(the Cardinals, Cubs and Pirates). If anyone of these teams were in any other division, they'd easily be champs and avoid this "play in" wild card game. I'm going to pick the Cubs strictly because they will have Jake Arrieta on the mound, and he may be the best pitcher in all of baseball right now. The game will be close and very low scoring, but the Cubs will manage 2 runs and walk away with a 2-0 win. This makes the division series, Cardinals-Cubs and Mets-Dodgers. In the Mets-Dodgers series, we will get to see some great pitching matchups. Most pro teams have one ace and then four decent starters. The Mets and Dodgers have two aces each, and great pitchers to fill out the rotation. The Dodgers will throw Greinke and Kershaw in the first two games, but the Mets will counter with De Grom and Harvey. This will be a close, low scoring series and due to their choking in the playoffs as of the past couple of seasons, I'm picking the Mets to beat the Dodgers in five. Kershaw always seems to have a meltdown in the playoffs and the Dodgers can't recover. That will happen once again, and people will start to question if Kershaw can ever win a ring. Mets advance to the NLCS. In what will probably be the most competitive series in all the playoffs, we get Cubs-Cardinals. The Cubs have big time pitchers in Arrieta and Jon Lester and boast a pretty talented, very young lineup. The Cardinals are the Cardinals, plus they get Adam Wainwright back as a relief pitcher just in time for the playoffs. They've had injury after injury, but they still have the best record in all of baseball, winning 100 plus games. This will be close as well, but I have the Cardinals winning in five games. The Cubs are about one or two years away and the Cardinals are stacked with veterans and they have the best bullpen in all of baseball. Their pitching staff is pretty great. Cardinals advance to face the Mets in the NLCS. So we have Mets-Cardinals playing to go to the World Series, what is this, the 80's? Both teams are good, but I have the Cardinals, I know, I'm a homer advancing to the World Series, beating the Mets in seven. I wanted to pick the Mets, but the decision to almost shut down Harvey because of an innings limit, ask the Nationals how that worked for them and Strasburg, will bite them in the ass in the NLCS. It will still go the full seven, but the Cardinals will find a way to advance, it's what they do.

So the 2015 World Series will be the Blue Jays and Cardinals. This one will only go five games, and the Blue Jays will be the 2015 World Series Champions. They're the best team in baseball now, with the best player in the AL and one of the best pitchers in all of baseball. The Cardinals injuries will catch up to them, and as I said before, the Blue Jays are a buzz saw. They're the most talented team that's playing the best baseball since the franchise's peak in the 90's. The moves made at the deadline will once again pay off, this time with baseball's largest prize. David Price will win two games in the World Series for the Blue Jays and he will be the best player in all of the 2015 playoffs and take home World Series MVP.

So, there you have it, the Blue Jays will be your 2015 World Series Champs.

(ed picks: ALCS will be Blue Jays over the Yankees in 5. NLCS will have a magical run by the Cubs and they will beat the Cardinals in 7. In the bottom of the ninth of Game 7 of the World Series, the Toronto Blue Jays will be the first team since the 93 Blue Jays team to win the World Series on a walkoff home run. Maybe next year Cubs fans.)

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. Ty is way too young to remember the seething hatred all 80's Cardinals fans had for the Mets. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.