2014 MLB Over/Unders
Lou and I had very respectable showings in this last year. Let’s see how things go this year. As always, the stakes are a pub crawl…
10)San Francisco Giants Under 86.5 The Giants in recent years have begun to diversify their portfolio, adding increasingly mediocre pitching to a team that couldn’t score runs. After winning only 76 games last year they went out and signed a soon to be 39 year old pitcher in Tim Hudson, and Michael Morse whose career numbers are surprisingly lame. I’m not even talking about how much he likes to strike out, did you know he has only once hit 20 hrs in a season? The only thing that possibly saves everyone is Sandoval carrying the team on some crazy contract year.
9)Texas Rangers Under 87 I just saw that Tanner Scheppers, he of zero career starts, is getting the ball today. The Rangers will be counting on the likes of Tommy Hanson, Joe Saunders, and Robbie Ross, whoever the Hell that is. And while you could note that some of these guys are stopgaps, the folks they are filling in for aren’t the most confidence-inspiring group either, with Matt Harrison and Colby Lewis making a combined 2 starts last year.
8)Cincinnati Reds Under 84.5 I think Choo leaving is going to hurt quite a bit. Outside of Votto and Bruce this lineup is not impressive. The pitching staff is solid but like half their bullpen is starting the season on the disabled list.
7)Cleveland Indians Over 80.5 I know the Indians were probably more lucky than good last year, but this is still a solid team. Good rotation, decent lineup, and Axford is looking like a strong rebound candidate.
6)Atlanta Braves Under 87.5 Very similar to the Texas injury situation. They have a very good bullpen but you need people to get you there. The lineup is good but it seems slightly awkward. Heyward as leadoff and Chris Johnson hitting cleanup do not seem ideal. Gattis better stay healthy and productive.
5)Chicago White Sox Under 76.5 The pitching staff isn’t awful, but they would need pretty much everyone in there to have career years in order to be a competitive team. God help them if Chris Sale gets injured. I like the addition of Adam Eaton, but like many of the other bats in this lineup, he is laregly an unproven commodity.
4)Boston Red Sox Under 88 Do you expect Buckholz to go 12-1 again? Do you expect David Ortiz to match any of the power numbers he put up last season? Do you expect Victorino to flirt with .300 again? Nava, Carp, and Napoli to repeat their numbers? Too often Middlebrooks and Bradley Jr will be exposed this year I believe. And though I love his potential, Xander has not actually done anything yet.
3)Oakland A’s Under 88.5 I am not the world’s biggest Bartolo fan, but Oakland will miss him. Think about this rotation, Colon gone, Parker injured, Griffin injured, Millone suspect, Gray unproven, Balfour gone.
2)Miami Marlins Over 69.5 The same phrase emerges when reading Miami previews. They aren’t going to contend, but they will be improved. I can believe it.
1)Toronto Blue Jays Over 80.5 If you recall, the Blue Jays were the hotness going into things last year. In fact they were the odds on World Series favorites at one point around January. The point with that is simply to note there is still a solid amount of talent on this team. Enough to win half their games at any rate.
