AL West

Last Year, the AL Champion came out of the West, in the Texas Rangers. This division is the smallest in the league, only with 4 teams. The Rangers, the L.A. Angels, the Seattle Mariners and the Oakland Athletics. The Angels were hit with the injury bug when their 1B Kendry Morales was injured...by celebrating a walk off home run, and was out for the remainder of the year. The Athletics are an inexperienced team, hungry for a title, and were rebuilding last year. The Mariners' held steady at the basement of the division. Let's see how this division will pan out this year, in Spedmunds' Eyes.

Seattle Mariners:

Pros: The Mariners Don't have much to look at, but they're led by a future Hall of Famer, and a Young Arm hungry for another Cy Young award. Ichiro Suzuki  is the best hitter without a doubt, he will get his 200 hits and 30+ Stolen bases, you can bank on that. King Felix Hernandez is the Reigning Defending Cy Young award winner, even with a 13-12 record last year, he was the best pitcher in the league.

Cons: Excluding Ichiro and Hernandez, you ask any casual baseball fan to name another player on the Mariners, and i will be damn impressed if they can name over 3. Hell, if they can name 1, I'd be impressed. The team is a group of unknowns and under-performers. Without a few more solid hitters, and solid starters, this team is going nowhere fast.

Prediction: 62-100, 4th in division

Oakland Athletics:

Pros: The Athletics surprised many people by making a 2nd half surge, including myself. This year they could play one of two roles, they could battle the Mariners for the basement of the division, or they could play spoiler for the rest of the league, going around .500, with their good blend of experienced players and newcomers. I think they will hold their own.

Cons: As previously stated, they are an unknown team, they could fall on their face out of the starting gate and never get back up. They don't have a big name in their offense, no big power bat.

Prediction: 75-87, 3rd in division

Texas Rangers:

Pros: The defending AL Champion Texas Rangers come off of a Cinderella story of a year coming just short of the World Series title. Josh Hamilton led the team while battling his own demons of drug and alcohol abuse, clinching the AL MVP. The Rangers have a potent lineup, and now the experience of being in a pennant race.

Cons: The Rangers lost Cliff Lee this off season, and with him gone, it will be an uphill battle for the division. I don't see C.J. Wilson, a former closer, being able to take over the #1 starter position, even though he did so well last year.

Prediction: 83-79, 2nd place

L.A. Angels:

Pros: Where do i start? Their offense is solid top to bottom, when they traded for Vernon Wells, it solidified their spot atop the division. Also, when your #5 starter, Scott Kazmir, is a former #1 starter for another team, even if he has been struggling, is impressive.

Cons: Honestly, the only two that i could think of, and one is a con of many favored teams. They need to stay healthy, and don't get injured while celebrating. The other Con is not really a big one, but i don't have faith in their new closer Fernando Rodney. He needs to be a solid closer for the Angels to have a good run in the playoffs, and i don't see it.

Prediction: 90-72,

Division Winner.

There is my AL West prediction. Next week, is the biggest division of em all, the NL Central. with 6 teams, you never know who will make a run, well...excluding the Pirates anyways. Look for an in depth analysis next week. Until then...

Stay Fresh BUHstudio.

Ya Jerks

NL West

Its the time of the year i love, spring training starts this week. MLB season is only about a month away. And because of this, it is time to start my Season Predictions. Starting With the National League West, i will break down a division each week, ending with the American League East. The National League West last year was surprisingly close, with the division being won in the final series between the Soon-to-be World Series Champion San Fransisco Giants and the San Diego Padres. The Arizona Diamondbacks finished in last place for the 2nd straight year, as they try to rebuild. The Los Angeles Dodgers came up short, filled with an under preforming roster and failing to reach expectations. And the Colorado Rockies went 1-9 in their final 10 games to fall out of Wild Card and Division contention.

Now here are my predictions for the NL West, starting with Last Place, working my way to the Winner of the Division:

Arizona Diamondbacks:

Pros: The D'Backs have a very young lineup, with Stephen Drew and Justin Upton leading the way with the most experience, however that is not saying all that much. The D'Backs are very hungry to move up in the West, and who knows, maybe they can become the new Tampa Bay Rays, but not anytime soon.

Cons: Excluding Drew and Upton, they have no star power. Their Pitching Staff is lead by Joe Saunders (9-17 record, 4.47 ERA) and young prospect Dan Hudson (8-2, 2.45 ERA in 14 Starts).The D'Backs are not prepared for a divisional crown run. They need experience, more than anything, in all aspects.

Prediction: The D'backs will not be a factor in any race, except to play spoiler in September.

Record : 55-107

San Diego Padres:

Pros: This team shocked me last year as to how well they did. They have big bats in Ryan Ludwick and Orlando Hudson. Their Strength will rely on those two players having great years. Their biggest strength is that they have one of the top 5 closers in the MLB in Heath Bell, who went 47 for 50 in Save opportunities last season.

Cons: Their biggest loss this year was when they traded away their star player Adrian Gonzalez to the Red Soxs. Losing him take away a 30 + HR and 100 + RBI hitter, in a pitchers ballpark like PETCO park is. Besides Mat Latos, they have no solid proven pitchers.

Prediction: the Padres won't re-create their magical year from last year, and fall back to the back of the pack, not making any noise.

Record: 69-93

L.A. Dodgers:

Pros: One of the most stacked lineups in the NL West, top to bottom. Good Mix of Youth and Veterans. Solid Pitching Staff, all 5 starters have potential to be all stars.

Cons: Bullpen. excluding Johnathon Broxton, no proven relievers, so getting to the closer will be interesting. Health and living up to hype will also be a factor. Also, rookie head coach in Don Mattingly, should prove to be an interesting year.

Prediction: The Dodgers will hang around, but fall out of contention in the end.

Record: 82-80

Colorado Rockies:

Pros: Best shortstop in the game Troy Tulowitzki. One of the best Pitchers Ubaldo Jimenez. and not to mention Coors Field is a solid hitters ballpark, and they have the lineup for it.

Cons: Health. Tulo missed a lot of time last year, and it hurt their lineup. Also, they need someone to step up into their #2 starting spot, as besides Ubaldo, they have no pitching.

Prediction: The Rockies won't be able to contend with the Giants, but will be in the Running for Wild Card throughout the year, but end up missing the playoffs in the end.

Record: 91-71

San Fransisco Giants:

Pros: Defending Champions, Solid Pitching Staff, Solid Lineup. Nothing more to be said except their armed for another title run

Cons: While they are loaded, injuries can always play a part. Tim Lincecum was very hittable last year, and they need him to be back to his old ways.

Prediction: My Prediction....Pain (Thank you for the few that got the Rocky III reference) The Giants are poised to make a run in the playoffs, and easily lock up the Division.

Record: 110-52

Division Winner

There is the NL West for ya. In my eyes. Next week is the AL West. I can't wait for Opening Day!

Stay Phat (yeah, Phat, got a problem with that? too bad) BUHstudio.

Ya Jerks

NBA

NBA Season is halfway over. While I have not paid attention to it as close as other sports (Football and Baseball), I know enough about it to voice an opinion on mid-season awards and potential championship winners and wieners.

Lets Start with the obvious....Most disappointing team:

Hmm....i can't imagine who has been the most disappointing team (sarcasm). In my mind, there is only one. Cleveland Cavilers. Holy Crap! this team hasn't seen a win since before Christmas (Dec. 18th was last in vs. New York Knicks 109-102). This team has no leader since LeBron James ditched The unluckiest sports town in the world to South Beach, and man that looks like a great decision now, despite him becoming a "villain," but that is another story. Cleveland has set the record for most consecutive losses by ANY major sports franchise. Hopefully they will hit the Lottery and get the number one pick to replenish this dreadful roster, but knowing its Cleveland, they'll get stuck somehow with the 10th pick or something like that. Good Luck to them.

Most Surprising Team

There are a few big surprises to me, The Knicks actually being a contender this year is a big surprise to me, but its not the..biggest surprise. The San Antonio Spurs' Amazing record through 51 games (time this is posted is through 51 games FYI). Someone pinch me because this has to be a dream. How does this team keep alive, despite their age? fountain of youth? Tim Duncan's Spurs shocked me having one of the best records throughout 51 games of all time. Spurs are going to be a big player in the playoffs.

Dark Horse Team:

My Dark Horse Team to win the championship is the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls have a very good amount of talent, and many don't think of them as being this good. Sure the Celtics, Heat, and Magic are the ones who get the fame, but Derrick Rose and the Bulls could sneak into the playoffs unnoticed, and shock the east, mark my words.

Now the Individual Awards.

Rookie of the Half-Year:

What a Rookie Class, Blake "Lemme Dunk on Your Face" Griffin and John Wall, these two guys are destined to be great players, superstars possibly. Blake Griffin is a no brain Rookie of the half-year and probably going to be the Rookie of the Year. With 22.6 pts per game and 12.6 Rebounds a game, averaging a double-double is impressive for a rookie to do. Clearly he is a step above his rookie class, and even some NBA Power Forwards.

MVP:

Now the big one, MVP, Most Valuable Player. The NBA is LOADED with Stars. Kobe, LeBron, KG, Duncan, Nash, I could go on forever. Halfway through the year, the player who has meant the most to his team, is not someone i have mentioned above in this topic. Amar'e Stoudemire, averaging 26.3 Points per game, has turned around a team last year that went 29-53, missing the playoffs by a wide margin, to right now 51 games into the season, 26-24. Now me being a casual basketball fan, can only name a few Knicks off the top of my head excluding Amar'e. They have no stars except Amar'e. Without him, the Knicks would be back to where they have been since Patrick Ewing Left. Amar'e Stoudemire, MVP halfway through the season to me.

That about Wraps this one up my friends. Gotta Give a shout out to Kevin Love, I hope he breaks the record of consecutive Double Doubles this year. Good Luck.

Sunday is the start of my Baseball Preview, and I'm going to be going division by division, team by team, pros and cons and predictions. All that juicy goodness. Look for my National League West Preview this Sunday night. Until then....Stay Extreme BUHstudio.com fans


Ya Jerks.