My Predictions for the 2014 MLB Award Winners and Predictions from the OPSN Staff!

Here are the predictions I sent in for our collective staff article for the 2014 MLB Awards, Division Winners and World Series Champion (oops, I forgot to do the Wild Cards! My bad! My predictions are below but if you'd like to skip to the full article and see how I ranked among my colleagues the just click here! Enjoy! :-)

My Predictions:

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AL MVP: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels: Trout is arguably the best player in the game today. There is no way - barring injury - that he will lose out to Miguel Cabrera for a third straight year.

NL MVP: Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals: He's the best defensive catcher right now and probably one of all-time. Molina has also gotten better offensively with age, while he may not have another year as good at the plate as 2012, he hit .313/.361/.481 over the past three seasons and should easily take the award.

AL Cy Young: Sonny Gray, Oakland Athletics:  Sure, he is a dark horse in this category but Gray can throw just about any pitch with power and his delivery is so similar on each that it makes it almost impossible to predict what he will throw before it is already out of his hand. He amasses strikeouts and ground ball outs while not giving up many walks. 

NL Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers: Kershaw may be the highest paid pitcher ever but he is easily the league's best. With two Cy Young wins under his belt, look for him to win another in 2014.

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**AL ROY: Sonny Gray, Oakland Athletics: After only starting in 10 games last season and going head to head twice with Verlander in the playoffs and coming out of that looking strong and confident. Gray could win the Cy Young and quite very possibly Rookie of the Year.

**I made a mis-calculation. Gray did in fact pitch 64 innings last season for the A's and cannot be considered for ROY. Sorry about that. In that case my vote goes to SS Xander Bogaerts from the Boston Red Sox.**

NL: ROY: Billy Hamilton, Cincinnati Reds: Billy Hamilton is the fastest player in baseball. He can do it all - hit, field and steal. He's an easy choice for Rookie of the Year.

AL MOY: Bob Melvin, Oakland Athletics: If they A's win their third straight AL West Title there is no doubt that Melvin, who won Manager of the Year in 2012 and was a runner up in 2013 will easily be MOY again.

NL MOY: Matt Williams, Washington Nationals: With an already put together team the Nats new manager should have an easy job taking them all they way.

AL Comeback Player: Grady Sizemore, Boston Red Sox: Sizemore wasn't even supposed to make the roster, fighting for his spot in CF with Jackie Bradley Jr. but he is their starter. If he stays healthy he should produce and make a great comeback.

NL Comeback Player: Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers: After a season of injuries if Kemp stays healthy he could very possibly end up as the NL Comeback Player of the Year.

AL East: Boston Red Sox: It was a close call but the Red Sox will not slack after winning it all last year. If Xander Bogaerts produces as expected and Grady Sizemore makes a comeback with David Ortiz to lead the team (and probably add clutch dramatic HRs) the Red Sox will take the East.

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NL East: Washington Nationals: The Nationals are in a winnable division. With pitchers like Strausburg, Gonzalez, Zimmermann and now Fister (who was one of the best acquisitions of the off-season) and hitters like Werth and Harper, the Nats are well rounded and strong. They will easily take the east and possibly the entire thing.

AL Central: Detroit Tigers: Detroit didn't have the greatest off-season but it is pretty impossible to bet against a team that has Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Anibal Sanchez. The back end of the Tigers rotation is not as good without Fister but Smyly and Procello should be able to pick up the slack. Off course let's not forget Miguel Cabrera.

NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals: The Cardinals are just as strong as they were last season and are definitely playoff bound. With veterans like Wainright and Holliday to lead the team in the clubhouse and young players like Michael Wacha Joe Kelly and Shelby Miller on the rise they should take the Central again this season. 

AL West: Oakland Athletics: They A's have a great team dynamic going on. Despite the injuries to Parker and Griffin, they still have a young but strong pitching staff. While there is no star hitter on the team the lineup together is strong. They also have added depth on the bench and improved the bullpen. Look for the A's to win their third straight AL Western Division Championship.

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NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers: They are easily the best team in a terrible division. With Kershaw, Greinke and Ryu, their pitching will be tough to beat. The line up and entire team is more solid after playing last year together. They need to keep Puig leading off and under control but if they do that, winning the West shouldn't be a problem.

World Series: Nationals at Athletics with the Athletics winning in seven games.

CLICK HERE to check out the rest of our staff's predictions!! Brought to you by Outside Pitch Sports Network LLC. 

Find us on Twitter @OakAsSocksGrl and @OPSN_MLB

Will Johnny Damon ever again don a Major League Baseball Uniform?

Even though he has not played baseball since 2012, former Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees' star Johnny Damon, who recently turned 40 years old, has not formally retired yet. There were reports earlier in the year that Damon might try to make a comeback. There is still talk and still no definitive reports, but more has been learned about the aging outfielder's future plans.

According to Tampa Bay Times reporter, Marc Topkin, Damon told him that he is open to still playing baseball or even managing a club. There was one stipulation however. Damon refuses to manage or play on the minor league level. Those are high aspirations for the former star and two time World Series Champion, but are they too high?

It is somewhat understandable that playing in the minor leagues would be a big step down and not forward for Damon. Yet, he is not even open to managing on the minor league level? Most former players who have become managers and most managers in general have had to start at the minor league level in order to advance to being the skipper of a Major League Baseball team. It is a job that takes time to move into. Normally, it is unlikely for anyone to just jump in at the highest level.

Damon's apparent ego aside, let's look at this realistically. 

For the rest of this article use the link to go to Sports Unbiased - Your site for all Sports News, Polls and Predictions!

Rockies' to Retire Helton's #17 this August

Todd Helton #17 - Getty images

Everyone knew it was inevitable but no one expected it to happen this quickly. First baseman Todd Helton, who played for 17 years with the Colorado Rockies, is a symbol of the Rockies' organization and fan favorite should have his number retired but he only retired in September of 2013. This makes the announcement, first reported by Troy Renck of the Denver Post on Twitter, of the retiring of his number this season a bit of a surprise.

Helton's number will be officially retired on Sunday, August 17, 2014 in a game against the Cincinnati Reds but the Rockies' organization is going to make an entire weekend out of it to celebrate.

Helton did what most others do not do in any sport. He, like Mariano Rivera, spend his entire career with the same team and the Rockies were lucky to have him. Helton finished his career as a .316 hitter with 369 home runs, 592 doubles, 2, 519 hits and 1, 406 RBI. He did have the chance to play in the World Series for the Rockies in 2007 but they were defeated by the Boston Red Sox. Here's what Helton had to say about his experience playing in the fall classic,

Obviously, yeah, I wish we did win a World Series. But when I look at it, I think I was very blessed, fortunate to be in a World Series. I look at a lot of the things we did accomplish and not the one we didn't.

Helton is the best player in the short history of the Rockies along with Larry Walker but Helton holds the most club records. He is the all-time leader in games played, at-bats, and many other meaningful statistics. Helton was the first player to truly be the face of the Rockies' franchise and he is a class act on and off the field.

Helton - Getty Images

The Rockies are one of only a handful of teams to not have had a player inducted to the Hall of Fame. Larry Walker came close but most agree that the honor will go to Helton in the near future. Of course there are critics because he played at the hitter-friendly Coors Field and because he never won an MVP award but the rest of his work speaks for itself and one day he should get into Cooperstown as the Rockies' first member.

So the weekend of August 15-17 this year, remember to stop and tip your caps to the career of Todd Helton, who was a true class act and great baseball player.  Once quote as saying,

I hate the ballplayer who says, ‘I did everything I could have possibly done.’ Because if you didn’t win it all, you obviously didn’t do everything you could have done.

Todd Helton certainly gave the Colorado Rockies 100% of all that he had and this up coming weekend of celebration is well deserved. Congrats, Mr. Helton.

For More News From Around the League go to MLB Nation!

Why I'll always be a La Russa fan!

(and why I don't care if he goes in to the HOF as an Athletic or a Cardinal)

La Russa and Two Others Voted into Major League Baseball's Hall Of Fame on Monday!

It was announced Monday, on the first day of Major League Baseball's winter meetings, that legendary baseball managers Tony La Russa, Bobby Cox and Joe Torre were unanimously voted into MLB's Hall Of Fame. Who votes on this? No, not the members of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BWAA) who as we know get the privilege of electing players to the Hall (The players elected by the BWAA will be announced on January 8, 2014). Managers are elected to the HOF by the 16 members of the Expansion Era Comittee and each of the were elected by a unanimous vote. 

Of course you should be able to guess who my favorite is  of the three, even though I do have mad respect for each of them.... come on it's the obvious choice of any A's fan - Tony La Russa. As the manager of the A's he led us to what is considered by many of my generation (three in a row in the 70's is obviously insanely HUGE) the most important World Series Title of all, 1989 where we defeated our arch rivals the lame ass gnats! Woohoo! Anyways, I digress because really that's all that matters to me! Well, not exactly because don't get me wrong I was as a young child happy to see my team succeed for many years, winning three American League Pennants under La Russa.  He was basically the inventor of the "closer" role that we know so well today. He took my personal fave baseball player of all time, starting pitcher and fellow Hall Of Famer Dennis Eckersley and turned him into a one inning shut down machine. **side note: I understand that yes, this is a true statement except for most notably game 1 of the 1988 World Series, Gibson, etc, etc. Yes! We all remember and still hate Kirk Gibson, however I personally (and I think ppl should follow suit) do NOT hate the Dodgers - they are the other mortal enemy of the gnats and they hate the Angels ... we have some things in common! Just saying** He is the only manager besides Sparky Anderson to have World Series Titles in both the AL and NL and has more managerial wins than any other manager save for Connie Mack and John McGraw. And he is one of few who have taken three different teams (A's, White Sox, Cardinals) to the postseason. The guy knows his stuff.

Recently there has been conversation on facebook, etc as to how much La Russa knew about the use of PED's during his tenure with well, mainly the A's but it applies to his other teams as well. Whether or not La Russa had knowledge of their usage during the time doesn't matter to me, he was an icon of my childhood who helped my team do what's most important and that's to win! It's the best gift a life long baseball fan can ask for especially at an impressionable age.

He also started the Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF) whose head quarters are in my home town of Walnut Creek, CA and where I used to volunteer! The people at ARF are amazing, its shelters are no-kill and there are greAt programs for children to learn about animal rights, raising their pets, etc. He has done a greAt deal for the East Bay Area and that I appreciate! It will always be my own .... So I don't really care if he chooses to go into the Hall Of Fame wearing a Cardinals hat instead of an A's hat. He DID win two of his three World Series in Saint Louis but I would also not be surprised to see him wearing an A's uniform at his induction because of his ties and work in the Bay Area along with his managerial career with the Athletics .... either way, I'll always be a La Russa fan!

*Joe Torre long time player and manager of the Yankees, Dodgers, Mets, Braves, Cardinals and Dodgers ranks 5th on the all time wins list and is one of only five managers to win the World Series at least four times.

*Bobby Cox managed the Braves for a total of 25 seasons (in two stints besides 4 years with the Blue Jays), won 3 NL Manager of the Year Awards and one AL Manager of the Year title and is ranks fourth on the all time wins list .... 

2013 World Series Game Six: A TRUE STORY: The Day I Wore Red #SockSwag

 ... Red Sox crowned World Series Champions

Make no mistake I am NOT a Red Sox fan .... but I am an AL girl and there were conflicting reasons to root for either team so I went with the Red Sox (you know if you read any of my blog before about the whole mess of the hierarchy of World Series Titles, etc). Plus, I like a few of the players in Boston like David Ortiz aka Big Papi! He so adorably happy all the time, he reminds me of Bartolo Colon a bit (#TeamBartolo) and also playing for the Red Sox were former Athletics, NorCal native Jonny Gomes and the "smartest man in baseball" Craig Breslow ... As I mentioned before as well I'm an American League girl at heart so my alliegence is to the AL. 

Ortiz was named the MVP of the World Series this year, his postseason record is so good it's awe inspiring! And he performed as well or better than he did almost a decade ago when the Red Sox won their first World Series since 1918. Ortiz's lifetime postseason batting average is .295 with 17 home runs. One might think he'd have big numbers playing for contenders like the Twins and now the Red Sox combining for a total of 82 post season games having gone to the ALDS eight times, the ALCS six times and the World Series three times! But it's hard to keep an almost .300 avg  having played what equals to a full half season's worth of post season games! Yes, Big Papi has had the good fortune of playing for competitive teams but every time he goes to the playoffs he is CLUTCH and this year was no different! He deserved that MVP award! Congrats Big Papi!!


Earlier today I wrote an entire blog post about all this and much more using my phone, turns out that even though I have app on my phone - it was all lost because it wouldn't publish! Apparently my phone isn't compatible with Blogger. It's a Galaxy S3 I can't imagine why it wouldn't work. I need a new phone anyway so I think I will make sure my new one is compatible. Now I feel like I am just completely rambling but earlier I felt like I had more content and meat to the whole thing. Ugh! Frustrating much?! So here are some pics of my Red SockSwag! I will write and add more to this tomorrow most likely but for now this is all I got in me ... keep getting distracted by wanting to watch Pitch Perfect! LOL! 

I was definitely ready to watch some baseball with my SockSwag, JD, Bud Light, Diet Coke and my #OaklandKoozieSwag .... only thing missing was the pizza but it was about to arrive! hehehe!

"THINGS" brought to you today by the letter B & the number 13 (also, the color RED)

So I've figure a couple of things out ... actually after re-reading this I realize I have absolutely NOTHING figured out but that I am completely ok with that. Quick exampIe! I was going to start out this blog talking about RED #SockSwag for the World Series and I am completely ok with that ... now onto the nonsense ....

First off, I don't really care who wins this World Series. Nothing really against either team except that the Cardinals have two more World Series Titles than the Athletics (I'd like OAK to @ least re-tie STL for second all time)  and the Red Sux have the most obnoxious and annoying fans - they show up the way A's fan know how to show up - A's fans however just do it with a bit more class .... ok, they can be 'wickedly' (or just 'wicked'?? 'HELLA' makes much more sense!) obnoxious! (I still hate you girl who tried to fight me by chasing me and grabbing me by the back of the head at Game 5 of the 2003 ALDS  - yea, ten years and I am still pissed off - which quickly leads me to digress even farther off topic but it puts the damn Kirk Gibson HR in perspective a little.) It's been a decade and I still hate the way we played games 3-4 in Boston, I still hate losing that particular game five more than some of our other playoff failures and yes, I still hate that girl and most all Boston fans (I did before that day but esp after) so I guess I could say I can hold onto a grudge too! I should probably hate the Dodgers but I don't really. It doesn't hurt that rooting for the Dodgers when they win it just pisses off the gnats fans so kinda works for me! So I was only seven when I watched Gibson hit the walk off against Dennis Eckersley that many still believe changed the course of that world series 25 years ago. I guess I get it, I always said to "get over it, it was only game one." Yes, it was only game one. But it was my first ever World Series experience that included my favorite team and more than likely I didn't fully see the 1988's HR's significance the way that I look at the significance of those two games in Boston in '03 for instance. Still I may always think that that whole Boston debacle was more of a series momentum changer than game one in 1988 or I may find Joe Carter's walk off vs the Philadephia Phillies' closer Mitch Williams to win it for the Toronto Blue Jays in game 6 of the 1993 World Series more iconic. As I mentioned I was only a kid in the midst of my "first real World Series" (b/c I mean how could it count without the A's in it?) and for some reason the wins from back then are more vivid than the loses (the same goes for football) while the older I get the more the losses hurt and stick with me... like a plague. Good times the post season!! LOL! Naw really, I do LOVE the MLB Post Season which, thank goodness brings me back to my original thought .... 

LOOK HOW FAR OFF TOPIC I GOT?? OMG!!!

I was supposed to be talking about how for the FIRST time I am going to wear and debut pictures of my new RED and white #SockSwag during game six of the 2013 World Series! (See any team can have SockSwag?!) Just to preface or disclaim or What I mean is .... ok, sure, I haven't ACTUALLY MADE my own pair of socks YET but the way that I go with designs, layering, lengths and colors right now for the A's is what I envision for my own line sports teams/colors themed socks ... but again I am getting off topic here. I am NOT wearing the socks as particularly RED "SOX" (although I lean more towards Red Sox and American League victory as I believe I have made abundantly clear. If I haven't I am clearly not doing a blogger/writer's job of effectively exchanging information with other parties ... hmmm....) - more like neutral #SockSwag - especially since one, I noticed today that the Cardinals had some pretty kick ass #StLouisSockSwag on today! Either way it's gonna continue to be a very Red October indeed and this year's World Series Champion team will absolutely be wearing red ... 

St. Louis Cardinals

**COMING SOON: 2013 World Series Game Six: A TRUE STORY: The Day I Wore Red #SockSwag**

The 24th Anniversary of the Loma Prieta Quake & the Bay Bridge World Series!

Since everyone is sharing their story on this 24th anniversary of the Loma Prieta Earthquake here's mine:

I was 8 years old and laying on the floor of our living room (decked out in my A's gear) watching the pregame festivities/beginning of the game for the Bay Bridge World Series (most AmAzing series EVER!) and the phone rang, it was my grandmother in TX  calling to see if we were ok and my mom was like "what do you mean?" Then the tv went out so I started yelling at my mom to come fix it quick (couldnt imagine not seeing the entire game!) Just as all this was happening we began to feel the quake, my mom put down the phone and told me to get in the doorway NOW! I did but it was quite a long earthquake so she eventually had me hid under the kitchen desk! Afterwards we ended up being lucky! We didn't have much damage besides broken dishes and things like that! An we were extraordinarily luck that my dad, who usually worked in the City, was working at the Concord office that day!  The only other casualty was that I was bummed bc they couldn't play the game! Which was obviously the least of everyone else's concerns but what can I say? I just LOVE baseball! lol

I find a couple things interesting ... first that my grandma knew about the quake before we did! Quakes really do roll out in waves because we hadn't felt it yet out east in Walnut Creek. The second thing that really baffles me is that some people's stories don't include being about to watch the World Series! I know, I know, I'm a baseball crAzy and my fave team was in the series but I just can't comprehend not watching it because you were out playing or something lame like that ... but that's just me and my crAzy obsession! So to each their own! I just find it comical! LOL! 

So that's my Loma Prieta story - what's yours???

*Since I have no pics on my computer from 1989, I figured this authentic BB poster that still hangs on my green living room wall would suffice! LOL*

First attempt at a Video Blog .... Why I want the Dodgers to Win it All in 2013 & Other Random Ramblings!

Well this probably is gonna be one of the more ridiculous things you will see today! I was home alone bored and annoyed with some of the things people were saying on facebook. Then I began snap chatting with friends, sending mini videos and such - a couple people snapped back that they like my little rants so I decided to rant to my phone and capture it on video! This is the result ... it's probably embarrassing and  through the video most you - the few of you who actually care about my blog (so basically no one)  - will be like "what's wrong with this chick?" and it may be partially because of the unusual ways I choose my  MLB postseason picks.  Most people don't understand my reasoning and I have been trying to figure out how to upload this damn video for long enough that I can barely explain them anymore! So I guess if you care then you will have to bear with me through the video! lol!

VIDEO LINK: My First Attempt at a Video Blog



JUST KIDDING! I wouldn't subject you all to my insanity until I get some feedback (seriously I want to know if it's really bad like you'd rather kill yourself than watch another video or if it's alright enough for me to give it a try when I have a planned topic and some help) and  so if you do watch the video keep in mind that it was recorded on the fly but again if you do watch PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT! THANK YOU!!

My reasons for my postseason allegiances are quirky, some are detailed and others need no explanation there but they are what they are so here goes!  I want the Dodgers to win it all and here's why: First, the St. Louis Cardinals have the 2nd most amount of World Series Titles in baseball history (11). The New York Yankees of course are number one on that list with 27 titles but with their history of having more money than most teams being in 2nd place is just about the same as being on top! My A's have won 9 World Series in franchise history putting them 3rd all time.  While 3rd is a great place to be considering there are 30 teams in Major League Baseball but there was a time just within the past decade where the Cardinals decided it was time to pull away from the tie for second! Well I want that tie back and that means the Cards NOT winning the series and hopefully not even getting the chance to! Unfortunately it looks as though they are going to have a chance at lucky number 13 this year being up in the NLCS 3-1 over the Dodgers! But as we all know in this game anything is possible! Second I hate the Detroit Tigers ... can't stand 'em. Boom, enough said! lol! And finally are the Boston Red Sox. This team has been extremely hard to justify rooting for. They are playing Detroit of whom I am still completely bitter, reason one! But I have always hated the Red Sox second to the San Francisco Giants so just being angry with the Tigers isn't enough so the approach I had to take was to ignore the fact that Boston fans are completely obnoxious, look instead at the individual players (something that also helped me pick the Dodgers to root for to win it all ... Mark Ellis! Hello? Everyone and their mom loves Mark Ellis!! He'll always have a piece of my heart, unless of course he willingly signs with the dark side of the Bay Area!) and remember that it's been a decade since 2003, the year no one really wants to talk about. That was probably one of the worst post season performance by the A's that I have ever seen. Going into Boston up 2 games only to make mistake after mistake and end up back in Oakland losing game 5 ... I shudder even now thinking about it! UGH! But the Red Sox have guys like Johnny Gomes who was a complete joy to have in Oakland last year and Craig Breslow who was great with the A's and is the so called "Smartest Man In Baseball." Also who can hate a guy like Big Poppy (David Ortiz) or a guy with a kick ass name like Jarrod Saltalamacchia who also hit a walkoff in game 2 of this years ALCS against the Tigers? Yeah, hard to hate those guys ... good people, good ballplayers! Still don't like the Red Sox as an organization or their fans but the team I can get behind. So I guess they are my AL choice and the Dodgers are my NL hopeful and if it comes down to the two of them let the Dodgers win it all. Oh and I almost forgot ...1988 and Kirk Gibson. Yes, that home run in game one was a walk off, it was against my all time favorite player, The Eck and the A's did lose that World Series. I was 7 then, 8 when we annihilated the Giants in the WS. I still hate the Giants but the Dodgers and their fans also hate the Giants so I've learned over the years to let go of the '88 hate and embrace the Dodgers in that they are also rivals of two teams that the A's are rivals with - The Los Angeles Angeles of Anaheim and the Giants. So I see more of an alliance in the last 20 years than a long standing grudge. A lot of people would disagree but these are the reasons I'm rooting for the Dodgers to get a ring this season! Good luck to them this post season!