#60

NL East

1.      Nationals             89

2.      Mets                     83

3.      Braves                  77

4.      Marlins                 76

5.      Phillies                  71

NL Central

1.      Cubs                     99

2.      Pirates                  90

3.      Cardinals             84

4.      Brewers               74

5.      Reds                     64

NL West

1.      Dodgers               94

2.      Giants                   90

3.      D’Backs                85

4.      Rockies                80

5.      Padres                  59

AL East

1.      Yankees               90

2.      Red Sox                89

3.      Blue Jays              85

4.      Orioles                 72

5.      Rays                      70

AL Central

1.      Indians                 95

2.      Royals                  90

3.      Tigers                   81

4.      Twins                    72

5.      White Sox            65

AL West

1.      Astros                   95

2.      Mariners              85

3.      Rangers               84

4.      Angels                  73

5.      A’s                         69

ALCS: Astros over Indians

NLCS: Cubs over Pirates

World Series: Cubs over Astros

NL MVP: Bryce Harper

AL MVP: Francisco Lindor

NL Cy Young: Gerrit Cole

AL Cy Young: Kevin Gausman

NL Rookie:  Dansby Swanson

AL Rookie: Frankie Martes

#59

Dayton's All Stars

AL

C- Salvador Perez, Stephen Vogt

1B- Chris Davis

2B- Jose Altuve, Robinson Cano, Ian vKinsler

SS- Francisco Lindor, Xander Bogaerts, Carlos Correa

3B- Josh Donaldson, Manny Machado, Evan Longoria

LF- Ian Desmond

CF- Mike Trout, Jackie Bradley Jr, Adam Eaton

RF- Mookie Betts, Mark Trumbo

DH- David Ortiz

SP- Chris Sale, Corey Kluber, Jose Quintana, Masahiro Tanaka, Danny Salazar, Steven Wright, Aaron Sanchez, Cole Hamels, Ricky Nolasco

RP- Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller, Zack Britton, Roberto Osuna

Just missed:

Kyle Seager, Michael Fulmer, Adrian Beltre, Todd Frazier, NelsonCruz

NL

C- Buster Posey, Wilson Ramos, Jonathan Lucroy

1B- Wil Myers, Anthony Rizzo, Paul Goldschmidt

2B- Daniel Murphy, Ben Zobrist

SS- Corey Seager, Brandon Crawford

3B- Nolan Arenado, Matt Carpenter, Jake Lamb

LF- Starling Marte, Carlos Gonzalez, Christian Yelich, AdamDuvall

CF- Marcell Ozuna, Dexter Fowler

RF- Bryce Harper, Gregory Polanco

DH- Kris Bryant

SP- Jose Fernandez, Clayton Kershaw*, Noah Syndergaard, Johnny Cueto, Jake Arrieta, Stephen Strasburg*, Madison Bumgarner, Aaron Nola, Julio Teheran, MaxScherzer

RP- Jeurys Familia, Kenlry Jensen

Just missed:

DJ LeMahieu, Trevor Story, Jacob deGrom, Jon Lester, Aledmys Diaz

Bold: starter

Asterisk*: injured

#58

AL East

Red Sox- 90

Rays- 89

Blue Jays- 83

Yankees- 79

Orioles- 70

AL Central

Royals- 92

Indians- 89

Twins- 82

Tigers- 78

White Sox- 68

AL West

Astros- 95

Rangers- 87

Mariners- 77

Angels- 69

Athletics- 65

NL East

Mets- 98

Nationals- 92

Marlins- 75

Braves- 63

Phillies- 60

NL Central

Cubs- 101

Cardinals- 98

Pirates- 92

Brewers- 65

Reds- 64

NL West

Dodgers- 95

Giants- 93

D’Backs- 83

Padres- 74

Rockies- 64

NLCS: Cubs over Dodgers

ALCS: Astros over Royals

World Series: Cubs over Astros

NL MVP: Jason Heyward

AL MVP: Manny Machado

NL Cy Young: Jacob deGrom

AL Cy Young: Chris Sale

NL Rookie of the Year: Corey Seager      

AL Rookie of the Year: Blake Snell

#57

At a Braves game in Minneapolis in 2010, I had Tommy Hanson and Kris Medlen sign a ball together. I figured somewhere down the line it would be a cool keepsake of the young cornerstones of the Braves rotation.

Tommy and Meds were best friends coming up through the Braves system. Both from Southern California and signed weeks apart in 2006, they were roommates as they ascended through the Atlanta minor leagues. In a surprise at the time, Kris, a good, but not great prospect made it to the majors a few weeks before Tommy, who burst on to the scene as the best pitching prospect in the game.

Both had early success in the majors, pitching the Braves to playoff appearances in 2010 & 2012. Both seemed to be smart, funny, decent young men. Both had a series of injuries befall them. While Medlen's right arm allowed him to return and succeed after each setback, Hanson's did not. In a one year span, Hanson was traded, released, and had his brother suddenly passed. His life and baseball career never seemed to recover.

A week after Kris Medlen became a World Series Champion, Tommy Hanson passed away. I've been trying to make any sense of the situation, but can not, other than to say to treasure every second with the people you love.

#57

At a Braves game in Minneapolis in 2010, I had Tommy Hanson and Kris Medlen sign a ball together. I figured somewhere down the line it would be a cool keepsake of the young cornerstones of the Braves rotation.

Tommy and Meds were best friends coming up through the Braves system. Both from Southern California and signed weeks apart in 2006, they were roommates as they ascended through the Atlanta minor leagues. In a surprise at the time, Kris, a good, but not great prospect made it to the majors a few weeks before Tommy, who burst on to the scene as the best pitching prospect in the game.

Both had early success in the majors, pitching the Braves to playoff appearances in 2010 & 2012. Both seemed to be smart, funny, decent young men. Both had a series of injuries befall them. While Medlen's right arm allowed him to return and succeed after each setback, Hanson's did not. In a one year span, Hanson was traded, released, and had his brother suddenly passed. His life and baseball career never seemed to recover.

A week after Kris Medlen became a World Series Champion, Tommy Hanson passed away. I've been trying to make any sense of the situation, but can not, other than to say to treasure every second with the people you love.

#56

My view on the Hall of Fame: The institution is as imperfect as its members and voters. To pretend it is holy, or that letting some player in would ruin the Hall’s purity is laughable. For instance:

·       Whitey Ford and Gaylord Perry admitted to doctoring baseballs throughout their careers.

·       Willie Mays and Mike Schmidt admitted to using amphetamines for much of their careers. Hank Aaron admitted to trying them.

·       Ty Cobb beat up a handicapped man. Juan Marichal beat an opposing player with a bat during a game. Paul Molitor admitted to cocaine use. Orlando Cepeda did jail time for smuggling drugs.

·       Paul Waner, Grover Cleveland Alexander, and Hack Wilson all admitted to playing drunk and drinking during games.

·       Scores upon scores of racists, segregationists, womanizers, addicts, game fixers, doers of unsavory deeds (alleged, implied, or generally acknowledged) and numerous all around awful human beings. All of this was public knowledge before they were elected.

·       Most notably, it’s impossible to know who *didn’t* do what. We’ll never know for 100% certainty that Griffey or Ripken or Maddux or anyone didn’t do bad things.

Playing the morality police or pretending to know who did or didn’t do what when is sanctimonious and pointless. All we can truly know is what happened on the field, and that’s all we should focus on. Let individuals draw their own conclusions. 

#55

Wild Card Games: Astros over Yankees, Pirates over Cubs

NLDS: Dodgers over Mets in 3, Pirates over Cardinals in 5

ALDS: Blue Jays over Rangers in 3, Royals over Astros in 4

NLCS: Pirates over Dodgers in 6

ALCS: Royals over Blue Jays in 6

World Series: Pirates over Royals in 5

NL MVP

1. Bryce Harper

2. Clayton Kershaw

3. Jake Arrieta

4. Joey Votto

5. Zack Greinke

6. Paul Goldschmidt

7. Andrew McCutchen

8. Kris Bryant

9. Nolan Arenado

10. Anthony Rizzo

NL Cy Young

1. Clayton Kershaw

2. Jake Arrieta

3. Zack Greinke

4. Garrit Cole

5. Max Scherzer

NL Rookie of the Year

1. Kris Bryant

2. Jung Ho Kang              

3. Matt Duffy

AL MVP

1. Josh Donaldson

2. Mike Trout

3. Lorenzo Cain

4. Manny Machado

5. Dallas Keuchel

6. Mookie Betts

7. David Price

8. Kevin Kiermaier

9. Adrian Beltre

10. Nelson Cruz

AL Cy Young

1. Dallas Keuchel

2. David Price

3. Chris Sale

4. Chris Archer

5. Corey Kluber

AL Rookie of the Year

1. Francisco Lindor

2. Carlos Correa

3. Lance McCullers

#54

I followed the rules/standards given to each manger. 34 players, at least one from every team. . For outfielders I picked one from each specific spot- LF/CF/RF- this was made much more difficult by the fact NL left fielders really suck. 

Without further adieu… the Dayton All Stars.

NL Starting Lineup

C- Buster Posey

1B- Paul Goldschmidt

2B- Joe Panik

3B- Todd Frazier

SS- Brandon Crawford

LF- Starling Marte

CF- Andrew McCutchen

RF- Bryce Harper

DH- Anthony Rizzo

SP- Max Scherer

NL Reserves

Giancarlo Stanton (injured)

C- Francisco Cevelli, Derek Norris

1B- Joey Votto

2B- Dee Gordon, Kolten Wong

3B- Nolan Arenado, Kris Bryant, Justin Turner

SS- Troy Tulowitzki, Jhonny Peralta

OF- AJ Pollock, Joc Peterson, Ryan Braun

NL Pitchers

SP- Clayton Kershaw, Jake Arrieta, Zack Greinke, Gerrit Cole, Jacob deGrom, Shelby Miller, Madison Bumgarner, Cole Hamels

RP- Aroldis Chapman, Trevor Rosenthal, Drew Storen

Just missed: AJ Burnett, Johnny Cueto, Michael Wacha, Andrelton Simmons, Matt Duffy, Matt Carpenter, Justin Upton, Adrian Gonzalez

AL Starting Lineup

C- Russell Martin

1B- Albert Pujols

2B- Jason Kipnis

3B- Josh Donaldson

SS- Xander Bogaerts

LF- Alex Gordon

CF- Mike Trout

RF- Jose Bautista

DH- Nelson Cruz

SP- Chris Sale

AL Reserves

Miguel Cabrera (injured)

C- Steven Vogt, Brian McCann

1B- Mark Teixeira, Prince Fielder

2B- Brian Dozier, Jose Altuve

3B- Manny Machado, Evan Longoria

SS- Jose Iglesias

OF- Lorenzo Cain, Kevin Kiermaier, George Springer, JD Martinez, Brett Gardner

AL Pitchers

SP- Corey Kluber, Chris Archer, Sonny Gray, Dallas Keuchel, David Price, Felix Hernandez, Michael Pineda

RP-  Dellin Betances, Wade Davis, Glen Perkins, Cody Allen

First five out: David Robertson, Clay Buccholtz, Mookie Betts, Carlos Carrasco, Logan Forsythe, Yoenis Cespedes, Alex Rodriguez

#53

NL East
Nationals- 95
Marlins- 86
Mets- 79
Braves- 74
Phillies- 61

NL Central
Cardinals- 89
Pirates- 88
Cubs- 83
Brewers- 75
Reds- 68  

NL West
Dodgers- 94
Giants- 89
Padres- 85
Diamondbacks- 69
Rockies- 62  

AL East
Red Sox- 90
Blue Jays- 88
Rays- 81
Yankees- 77
Orioles- 71  

AL Central
Indians- 89
Tigers- 87
Royals- 86
White Sox- 85
Twins- 69  

AL West
Mariners- 95
Angels- 85
Astros- 81
Athletics- 79
Rangers- 68  

NLCS: Dodgers over Nationals
ALCS: Mariners over Blue Jays
World Series: Dodgers over Mariners

NL MVP:
AL MVP: Josh Donaldson
NL Cy Young: Zack Greinke
AL Cy Young: Hisashi Iwakuma
NL Rookie of the Year: Yasmani Tomas
AL Rookie of the Year: Carlos Rodon

#52

Difference in singles, doubles, triples, strikeouts, sacrifices is within margin of difference. Big drop off in walks, cataclysmic decline in homers. That's how you go from 4th to 14th in runs. 

	2013	2014	diff
runs	688	557	-19.0%
hits	1354	1316	-2.8%
1B	905	931	2.8%
2B	247	240	-2.8%
3B	21	22	4.7%
HR	181	123	-32.0%
BB	542	472	-12.9%
K	1384	1369	-1.1%
SB	64	95	48.4%
OBP	321	305	-5.0%
SLG	402	360	-10.4%
GIDP	119	121	1.7%
Bunts	58	53	-8.6%

Braves actually had a better OPS this year vs. LHP than they did in 2013. Another interesting note is the Braves did slightly better with runners in scoring position than without. Also, our pinch hitters stunk. 

	2013	2014
RISP	732	680
Pinch hit	687	487
1st Half	736	686
2nd Half	705	634
Vs LHP	701	712
Vs RHP	731	651
overall	723	665
babip	300	296

By wRC+, Braves only get better at one position- both in raw number and in MLB rank-  between 13 and 14, and that gain was marginal. Freddie Freeman pretty much stayed the same, every other position got worse. 

	2013 wRC+		rank	2014 wRC+		rank
C	115		5th	95		12th
1B	139		4th	140		1st
2B	90		17th	72		24th
3B	114		7th	82		27th
SS	91		13th	71		25th
LF	111		8th	107		14th
CF	71		28th	67		29th
RF	115		12th	98		17th
team	110		10th	86		26th