Tag Archives: baseball

Some Days Are Better Than Others

26 Tuesday Apr 2016

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Hats

Sometimes it’s a particularly good day for Sox and Nats fans…and not so good for Yankee and Orioles’ fans.

Sunday was one of those days.

We were at a Nats’ afternoon game that was mostly without excitement for the first eight or nine innings. Strasburg pitched well, except for one pitch (isn’t that often the case for pitchers?) where, although he struck out 10 batters over 7.1 innings, he gave up a three-run homer that broke up a tie game and put the Nats in a 4-1 hole.

Mostly the game was a pitchers’ duel (I enjoy those, but my wife, a fair weather fan — she only goes to games if the weather is fair — prefers more ‘action’). Then the Nats scored two in the 8th to come within one run of tying the game. In the 9th, boy wonder Bryce Harper, who was being given a day of rest (really necessary for a youngster like him?), pinch hit and of course slammed one out of the park to deepest center.

Tie game.

Extra innings.

We had to leave the park for grandparent duties but listened on the radio (still a wonderful way to follow baseball if the announcers are good) and later followed the action on our smart phones. The game went 16 innings before a mostly unknown player, Chris Heisey, who had replaced Harper after the 9th, hit a game ending home run, almost six hours after the 1:35 PM game had started.

GoNats.

As if that wasn’t enough baseball for one day, after we got home, I checked in on the Sox who were playing a Sunday night game. And that was almost a repeat of what happened with the Nats, tho the Sox game only went 12 innings and lasted a mere five hours.

The Sox were ahead 5-1, then 5-3, which they held from the end of the third until the bottom of the 9th, when their new, expensive, and highly touted closer, Craig Kimbrel, got two outs before giving up a double and then a home run.

Another tie game.

More extra innings.

Finally, in the bottom of the 12th, Sox back up catcher Ryan Hannigan had a 13-pitch at bat/walk before Jackie Bradley drove in Hanley Ramirez for the Sox lead. (Hannigan scored an insurance run when he then made it home on a wild pitch.) Sox used an unheralded reliever, Heath Hembree, and held in the bottom of the 12.th

Sox win.

Now it was just after 1 AM (I had moved from the bedroom to the study around midnight in order not to cause my fair weather wife any more loss of sleep and to preserve what was left of my marriage), and I was a bit hyped up. So of course I checked in on the Evil Empire Yankees and was pleased to see they had lost 8-1 and were now in last place. Plus, although A-Rod drove in the Yunkee’s one lowly run, he was now hitting a mere .148.

Then I checked on the current AL East surprise league leaders, the Orioles, and was delighted to see they had lost to the Royals, 6-1.

All in all, about 12+ hours of baseball, and all good.

Some days are simply better than others for obsessed baseball fans.

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Two Things to Always Remember When Watching Baseball

26 Saturday Mar 2016

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Of course there are many more than two things that baseball fans need to remember when watching the greatest game ever invented.

But, taking a ‘page’ from Art Buchwald’s wise reprinting each year of his le Jour de Merci Donnant, I want to remind those of you who pay attention to more than just the home runs and final score of games about two articles I have posted in the past:

Read This and You’ll Never Watch Baseball the Same Way Again

The Three Thoughest Outs in Baseball

And since I have your attention, once more let me remind you:

Don’t forget to get in your 2016 Baseball Contest Picks. Deadline is approaching One Week away as I type this.

I know most of you who have not sent in your predictions yet are simply waiting for Spring Training to be over so you’ll have all the information you need to make wise, judicious decisions. None of you, I’m sure, are procrastinators.

(Your next reminder will be a personal email from me with a few choice remarks.)

(Also, for those who may have missed it, this year, at the urging of several of you, I have made and posted my predictions for these Baseball Contests. I’m not eligible for any of the prizes, which is probably not an issue once you see my picks.)

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Join Me for a Washington Nationals’ Game

20 Sunday Mar 2016

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Below you’ll find a series of Washington Nationals’ dates and games available, either to join me or to get two seats to a game I cannot attend.

If you join me, your seat is free, but you’ll probably have to listen to my baseball chatter and maybe even buy me a bag of peanuts.

If it’s a game I can’t attend, then if you agree to take a kid (broadly defined) for one of the two seats, then both seats are free.

If the two seats are for two adults, then you can reimburse me at my cost, $55 per seat.

The seats are good ones, either in Section 127, between home and first behind the Nats’ dugout, 20 rows off the field or in Section 117, four rows behind the visitors dugout.

Let me know (Samesty84@gmail.com) as soon as you can what game(s) you are interested in attending (the more choices you give me the better). I will try to fit everyone in.  If nothing works out for these games, I’ll have another set of offerings (later in the season) with a number of seats for July, August, and September.

Update: Opening Day – Thursday, April 7, 4:05 PM – One Ticket, without me

  1. Sunday, April 10, 1:35 vs Marlins. Two seats. (I can’t attend).
  2. Wednesday, April 13, 7:05 vs Braves. One seat with me.
  3. Thursday, April 14, 4:05 vs Braves. One seat with me.
  4. Friday, April 22, 7:05 vs Twins. Two seats. (I can’t attend. Passover.)
  5. Sunday, April 24, 1:35 vs Twins. One seat with me.
  6. Wednesday, April 27, 7:05 vs Phillies. One seat with me
  7. Tuesday, May 10, 7:05 vs Tigers. One seat with me.
  8. Wednesday, May 11, 7:05 vs Tigers. One seat with me.
  9. Sunday, May 15, 1:35 vs Marlins. Two seats. (I can’t attend.)
  10. Tuesday, May 24, 7:05 vs Mets. One seat with me.
  11. Tuesday, June 28, 7:05 vs Mets. One seat with me.
  12. Sunday, July 3, 1:35 vs Reds. Two seats. (I can’t attend.)
  13. Sunday, July 17, 1:35 vs Pirates. Two seats. (I can’t attend.)

If there’s another/different game anytime in the season you have interest in that’s not listed here, let me know as I can possibly trade some parking passes with a friend to get that game and to go with you if I’m in town.

PS – Don’t forget to get in your 2016 Baseball Contest Picks. Deadline is approaching (see below). Submissions will not have any effect on getting one of the above games.

(Also, for those who may have missed it, this year, at the urging of several of you, I have made and posted my predictions for these Baseball Contests. I’m not eligible for any of the prizes, which is probably not an issue once you see my picks.)

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Tempus Fugit

08 Tuesday Mar 2016

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Spring Training is one-third completed and rapidly moving forward.

Which is more than I can so for those of you who are considering submitting your predictions for the 2016 season.

No doubt, some, a few, one or two of you, are waiting to see how your team develops in March. But most likely, the majority of you are just slaggards and procrastinators.

In an attempt to get you moving, and at the behest of one contestant, I have made my own predictions for the contests (I’m not eligible for the prizes) and will post them so you can see my own foolishness as soon as 13 more of you send me your predictions.

Go to 2016 MillersTime Baseball Contests to get the questions and send your answers to me at samesty84@gmail.com or post them in the Comment section of this or the original Contest post.

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“There’s a Time to Leave the Party”

25 Thursday Feb 2016

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My dear father Sam Miller told me frequently over the last quarter of his life, “There’s a time to leave the party.”

I told him I understood and continually asked him, “How do you know when that time has come?”

“That,” he said, “is something you have to figure out for yourself.” (I do think he hinted it was better to leave too early than to stay too late.)

Of course, the “party” can be many things. (I think he first mentioned his mantra when I was considering whether to retire from the school a group of us had created and operated for 30+ years, but he also often mentioned “leaving the party” when he was talking about the end of his own life.)

For those of you (un)lucky ones who may not follow the Boston Red Sox too closely, David Ortiz, Big Papi, told the baseball world on Nov. 19, 2015 — his 40th birthday — that 2016 would be his final year in baseball, saying, “After next year, time is up.” (To see and hear his full announcement, go to the video Ortiz posted to The Players’ Tribune.)

davis_st2232_spts-15912-8840

I’ll spare you a review of how good Ortiz’s season was in 2015 and all the things he’s done with his bat, what he’s meant to his team, to the Red Sox Nation, to the city of Boston, to baseball in general, and to his countrymen in the Dominican Republic. There’ll be innumerable articles about all of that throughout the coming season. It’s fair to say, I believe, he’s as close to a lock on getting into the Hall of Fame (may be even the first year he’s eligible) as it’s possible to be.

(Also, check out these two articles, Ortiz still hungry but ready to pass the torch and Papi’s swan song will be a celebration for baseball.)

But the purpose of this post is to give you a heads up for this final year. It won’t be the way Derek Jeter did it, who, in my humble opinion, stayed at the party too long. (Despite his playing for the “Evil Empire,” I always liked Jeter and thought he was one of the class guys in baseball.)

Ortiz’s leaving will be more subdued, less scripted. But if you have a kid, take him to see Ortiz, or just go yourself so you can tell your grand kid you saw him in his final year. You don’t have to go to Fenway to see him. Go to a Sox away game, especially if it’s in your own home town, where it might be easier and less expensive to get tickets to a Sox game.

It’s hard to know when Ortiz’s last at bat will be, but here are two dates to know: the final regular season away game is at Yankee Stadium, Thursday, Sept. 29th. And the Sox’s final regular season home game is October 2 at Fenway Park. If you’re a Sox fan, you hope, as always, that there will be a post season and that whenever his final at bat occurs, he will be able to match Ted Williams and hit a home run.

And wouldn’t it be something if Big Papi won the World Series for the Sox with a walk off home run? But I digress.

That’s not really what’s important.

Not only has Ortiz has brought much joy to many of us (and three World Series), but he will be remembered as one of the Red Sox all time greats, probably the best Designated Hitter of all time.

On top of that, he’s a mensch. Just ask anyone associated with the Sox, even the just added David Price, who once thought the worst of Ortiz.

Think about seeing Big Papi in his final year.

**          **          **          **          **          **          **          **

For those of you who may have missed an earlier post this week, I’ve announced the 2016 MillersTime Baseball Contests where you can join others who know anywhere from almost nothing about baseball to those who think they’re experts.

Consider joining this year. There’s no cost, other than a bit of your time. And if you don’t know much about baseball, maybe someone in your family or one of your friends does. Pass it on to them, and if they enter, mention your name, and win, then so do you.

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2016 MillersTime Baseball Contests

19 Friday Feb 2016

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Spring

YES.

Spring Training has begun, and so, of course, it’s time to turn to the MillersTime Baseball Contests to test your baseball knowledge, hopes, luck, fears, prejudices, and ignorance.

The contests have evolved from just Red Sox (and Evil Empire) focused questions to ones that involve all of MLB as the majority of contestants are no longer Sox fans (poor souls).

You don’t have to enter all of the contests, and if you’re not baseball obsessed (pity), you can easily just choose a couple of contests to enter (see #1, #2, Extra Credit).

While it might be tempting to wait until late in Spring Training to submit your answers, you do run the risk of losing out to someone who submits a similar winning answer earlier.

Also, in addition to the prizes listed in each contest, all winners get the exclusive, one-of-a-kind “MillersTime Baseball Contest Winner” T-Shirt, a much ‘valued’ prize.

Winner

backwinner

 

Justin B models

his ‘prized’ T-Shirt

 

Contest # 1:

Pick your favorite MLB team (or the team you know the most) and answer the following questions to prove whether you’re just a homer (“Someone who shows blind loyalty to a team or organization, typically ignoring any shortcomings or faults they have”) or whether you really know something about baseball.

a. What will your team’s regular season record be in 2016?

b. Will they make the playoffs, and if so, how far will they go?

c.  What will be the most important factor (hitting, starting pitching, bullpen, an individual’s performance, the manager, injuries, etc.) in determining their season?

Prize: Two tickets to a regular season game with your favorite team (details to be negotiated with moi.)

Contest #2:

Make a prediction about something that will happen during the 2016 MLB season.

Your prediction could be about a team, about a player, about a new record, about an ‘event,’ or about something, hopefully unique, you think will happen in 2016. One prediction only.

Of those that come true, MillersTime readers will determine which one is the best prediction. Voters generally have selected the most specific prediction, one that showed baseball knowledge, and/or one that predicted something unusual.

Prize: Join me to see a Nats’ game next year in wonderful seats. If you don’t live in this area, can’t get here, or don’t want to come to DC, you can give your prize to someone who can get here, or I can take a kid to a game in your place.

Contest # 3:

Part A: In 2015, the top ten MLB players’ Batting Averages averaged .322. Will the average of the top ten players batting averages be higher, the same, or lower in 2016? What will that average be?

Part B: In 2015, the top ten MLB players’ OPS (OBP/On-base Percentage + SLG/Slugging Percentage) averaged .931. Will that be higher, the same, or lower in 2016? What will the OPS be in 2016 for the top ten hitters?

Part C: In 2015, the Top ten MLB pitchers Earned Run Averages averaged 2.38. Will the top ten pitchers ERA average be higher, the same or lower in 2015? What will that average be?

Part D: In 2015, the top ten MLB pitchers won 183 games. What will the number of wins be for the top ten pitchers be in 2016?

Prize: Your choice of one of these books: The 20 Best Books Ever Written About Baseball.

Contest #4:

Part A: Choose two teams whose combined won/loss record in 2016 will be closest to .500.

Part B: Which MLB team will make the most improvement in their won-loss record in 2016?

Part C: Which MLB relief pitcher will have the most saves in 2016? How many?

Prize: A copy of A. Bartlett Giamatti’s wonderful collection of baseball writings entitled A Great and Glorious Game.

Contest # 5:

Predict who will lead the AL and who will lead the NL in getting the most All Star votes in 2016. Which of the two will receive more votes?

Prize: Join me after the All Star break to see a Nats’ game in wonderful seats. If you don’t live in this area, can’t get here, or don’t want to come to DC, you can give your prize to someone who can get here, or I can take a kid to a game in your place.

Contest #6:

Predict the ten (10) teams who will be in the 2016 playoffs. Which two teams will make it to the WS? Which team will win it all?

Prize: One ticket to the 2017 World Series.

Extra Credit:

Make up your own question about MLB in 2016 and then answer it.

Of those that come true, we’ll put it up to MillersTime baseball readers to decide who wins the prize. And that question will be incorporated in next year’s contests.

Prize: Your choice of one of these books: The 20 Best Books Ever Written About Baseball.

Additional Details:

  1. All winners get the ‘one-of-a-kind,’ specially designed MillersTime Baseball Winner T-Shirt.
  2. Enter as many or as few of the contests as you want.
  3. Be sure to answer all parts of each contest you do enter.
  4. If you get a friend (or a foe) to participate in these contests, and he/she wins and has mentioned your name in their submission, you will get a prize also.
  5. Get your predictions in soon. In case of ties in any contest, the individual who submitted his/her prediction first will be the winner.
  6. Submissions should be sent to me in an email – samesty84@gmail.com or can be sent to me by snail mail – Richard Miller – 2501 Tracy PL. NW, Washington, DC 20008.

 Deadline for Submissions: Opening Day: Apr. 3, 2016, 1:05 PM, EST.

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Winners – 2015 MillersTime Baseball Contests

04 Wednesday Nov 2015

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Spring-Training.th_

That was a pretty good World Series, especially if you’re not a Metropolitans’ fan. But even they did surprisingly well this season. The Royals clearly were not to be denied and deserved the win. There’s something different about watching baseball when you don’t have a ‘dog in the fight.’

On to the winners of the 2015 MillersTime Baseball Contests.

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What’s Going on in Baseball?

02 Wednesday Sep 2015

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In no particular order, here are some comments, thoughts, observations, and perhaps even an occasional insight at this point in the 2015 baseball season: ** For those of you who can remember back to preseason, I wrote about the new baseball rules for shortening games and predicted they’d work (see: It’s Gonna Work – Betcha). At the All Star break this year, roughly the halfway mark of the season, the average length of the games was down almost exactly 10 minutes.  The rule about batters having to keep one foot in the batter’s box accounted for half of the reduction in game time. Calling for a play challenge from the dugout and limiting the time between innings, probably make up the other half. Recently, however, the game time has crept up a bit. (It seems to me that batters are staying out of the box more now than they did at the beginning of the season, perhaps because MLB and the Players Union agreed not to use the financial penalties that were supposed to kick in in May?) ** If you think there are more no-hitters this year than last, you’re right (six already versus five for all of last year). And there were 33 no ‘hitters’ thru 6 innings (better than all of last year), 17 through 7 innings and 10 through 8 innings. But pitchers on the whole are doing worse than last year. The ERA of all the Major League teams is up over 2014, from 3.74 (full season) to 3.82 (thru 8/31/15). Batters are doing better (makes sense if ERA is up) in all categories: Ave. – 254/.251, OBP – .315/.314, SLG. – .402/.386, and OPS –  .718/.700. Fielding PCT is virtually unchanged (.985/.984). ** What’s up with the Sox? They have been out of it for most of the season, largely because of weak pitching and weak hitting. (Outgoing GM Cherrington should’ve listened to me when I said stay away from Hanley Ramirez). They have done well over the past several weeks as they have settled into what is likely to be an outstanding outfield — Bradley, Betts, and Castillo (photo below) — for next year and beyond, tho it’s not clear yet which position each will play in that outfield. Their hitting is up and so is their starting pitching; relief pitching, however, has worsened, especially with the loss of Uehara for the remainder of the season. They have a modest chance of avoiding last place if they continue at their present pace. Everyone is on their toes trying to prove to their new president of baseball operations Dombrowski that they deserve to play next year.

-BOSTON-RED-SOX-AT-CHICAGO-WHITE-SOXCaylor Arnold/USA Today Sports

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Ellen: “At Least We Won’t Have to Worry About an August Slump”

11 Thursday Jun 2015

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Mostly it’s bad news for Red Sox fans, and it doesn’t seem as if it’s going to get too much better. Other than having a few young players who could be future stars — Xander Bogaerts, Mookie Betts, and Eduardo Rodriquez — there’s not much to like about this season.

Elln.camdenHowever, there is one bit of good news: Ellen Miller is getting interested in sports’ photography. At least baseball photography.

We (foolishly) went to a Sox vs Orioles game the other night, with the usual result. But Ellen brought her camera and long lens, and here are a few examples of her first serious baseball pictures.

Grind: Extra Fine (Small Circles & Effect: High Contrast), Brew: Color Gels (1/2 Pic & Full Blended Circles), Serve: Stirred (Flash Burn Tone & Brown Bag Texture)

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Dear Eli: Good News/Bad News

21 Thursday May 2015

Posted by in Family and Friends, Go Sox

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gkorltoewqolaexccu3w

Dear Eli,

I know I haven’t seen you in a couple of weeks. I’ve been traveling a bit and was with your Auntie Elizabeth in California, Oregon, and Washington. We got to see three Red Sox games, and they won two of the three. Not too bad.

Then when I returned, your Washington Nationals were playing two games against that *#!^x* Yankee team. So, of course, I had to go to those two games, Tuesday night and Wednesday night. The Nats won both games by close scores (4-3 and 3-2).

In fact, the Nats are playing really well and with the victories over the Yankees they are now in first place in their Division.

That’s pretty good because in their first 20 games, they only won 7 and lost 13 and were in last place. Then, in their next 21 games they won 17 and only lost 4. So they have gone from last place to first place.

And your favorite player, Bryce Harper, has been a big part of both their losing at the beginning of the season and winning now. In fact, he is now doing so well he has been named “Player of the Week” two weeks in a row. That rarely happens. But he’s been “on fire”, hitting lots of home runs, knocking in runs, and getting on base with a lot of walks.

But that’s where there’s a bit of bad news too.

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10 of These Predictions Will Come True

14 Tuesday Apr 2015

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I’m not sure if the contestants in this year’s 2015 MillersTime Baseball Contests are geniuses, fools, frustrated writers, or wannabe comedians (see #s 28, 32, and 43, for example).

You decide.

Judging by previous years in this contest, at least 10 of the predictions below — Question #2 in this year’s contest — will come true.

Which 10, of course, is the question.

If you predict how many actually come true, you will also receive a prize — a t-shirt proclaiming you a MillersTime Baseball Contest Winner. Send your guess (the number of predictions that will come true) to me at samesty84@gmail.com or put the number in the Comments section of this post. Multiply winners are possible, but you only get one guess/prediction.

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Never Leave Until It’s Over

11 Saturday Apr 2015

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unnamed

Dear Eli,

It was fun going with you to the baseball game Thursday. And I’m glad we stayed until the very end of the game, even if your favorite team, the Nats, lost.

You always have to stay until the end of the game. No matter how bad or how good it might seem for your team.

Yesterday was a good example of why it’s so important to understand the game is never over until the final out.

Last night in Yankee Stadium, it was the bottom of the 9th inning, and my heroes the Sox were ahead 3-2. There were two outs. One more and they’d beat the Evil Empire (the Yankees).

Disaster struck.

Instead of the final out, the Yankees hit a home run to tie the game.

Extra innings.

Nothing much happened for the next seven innings, although Friday had turned into Saturday.  Then, in the 16th inning, Big Papi, the great David Ortiz, hit a home run and put the Sox ahead 4-3.

Then, the Yankees got a home run in the bottom of the 16th when one of their players, Mark Teixeira, who was 34 years old when the game started and had turned 35 by the 16th inning, hit a home run.

Bummer. The game tied again, 4-4.

In the top 18th inning, again the Sox went ahead, 5-4.

And wouldn’t you know it, again the Yunkees tied it. Score now 5-5.

Then, in the 19th inning, after more than seven hours, the Sox went ahead 6-5.

This time, the bad guys didn’t tie it in the bottom of the inning, and the Sox won.

And that’s why you never, ever leave a game until the final out is made.

Never give up.

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What the ‘Experts’ Say – 2015 MLB

09 Thursday Apr 2015

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Fisk.1

Well, the votes are all in, and, according to the MillersTime baseball prognosticators, here are the results of two of the six contests:

Contest #1. Favorite Team Record and how far they’ll go:

a. Sox – 89.5-72.5 – lose in ALCS

b. Nationals – 99-63 – win WS

c. Os – 92.5-69.5 – lose in ALCS

d. Dodgers – 92.5-69.5 – lose in WS

e. Yankees – 86-76 – no playoffs

f. Royals – 83-79 – no playoffs

Contest # 6: Who will play and who will win the WS:

Overwhelmingly Nats win WS over the Angels.

In my humble opinion, the Nats fans have bought the hype and don’t understand that while pitching is most important, you need some hitting and good defense. Nats may make the playoffs but will be a disappointment (and disappointed) again.

The other predictions above are pretty good, I think, tho the Sox fans may be disappointed too, as my heroes, if they do make it into the playoffs, are unlikely to get very far.

Hopefully, one of you readers will remind all of us of these predictions at the end of the season.

PS – Lots more predictions to come, including some ‘remarkable views’ of what might happen in MLB this year.

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