This week, the Dodgers clinched the National League West Division Title and will at least make it to the playoffs for the first time since 2009.

In a year that saw the Dodgers fall 9.5 games back in the division, winning the division has to be some relief off the organization and players. They were expected to be at this level the whole season but injuries and lack of chemistry hurt them early-on. Eventually, they became the team that Dodger fans envisioned at the season’s start.

The Dodgers made the playoffs, now can they win the World Series for the first time in 25 years? By Joe Juarez [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The uproar has me scratching my head. Why is this at all controversial to people? Many Arizona players and management called the celebration “classless,” but I don’t get why.

Even former Vice Presidential candidate, John McCain took out his anger about the situation on twitter by tweeting the following:

No-class act by a bunch of overpaid, immature, arrogant, spoiled brats! “The #Dodgers are idiots” http://t.co/KfZZliBFBV

— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) September 20, 2013

If the Diamondbacks didn’t want the Dodgers to celebrate on their home field, then they should have beaten them. They had a three run lead in the game and blew it. Even better, if they didn’t want Yasiel Puig swan-diving into the pool, they shouldn’t have given up their 9.5 game lead in the division. It’s as simple as that.

The Dodgers did nothing wrong by celebrating in the pool at Chase Field. It’s a pool, it’s meant to be swam in. Almost all the fans were gone, so there was no security issue either. If such controversy is being made about an away team celebrating on an opponent’s field then why is it acceptable for any team to celebrate after they win a title on the road? If the D-Backs had lost the World Series at Chase Field, would they have asked the AL team to no celebrate on the field? Of course not.

I know that a division title isn’t the same as a championship but after what the Dodgers went through this season, this celebration was deserved especially against the Diamondbacks. Coming from an organization that earlier in the season, demanded a group of Dodger fans sitting behind home plate to either change their clothes to Arizona merchandise or leave the game, calling another team classless is like the pot calling the kettle black.

One thing that has remained consistent this season is the dominance of Miguel Cabrera. By Cbl62, via Wikimedia Commons

Back in January, about three months prior to the start of the 2013 Major League Baseball season, I wrote an article claiming my predictions for the upcoming season. Now that the All Star Game is upon us, that means the season is a little over halfway finished and my perception of the teams and players has changed over the course of the year from what it was before the season even started. So here are my updated predictions on what will transpire over the next few months of the season:

But first, here are my pre-season predictions:

Teams I picked to win their divisions:

AL East: New York Yankees

AL Central: Detroit Tigers

AL West: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

NL East: Philadelphia Phillies

NL Central: Cincinnati Reds

NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers

Wild Card Teams:

American League: Baltimore Orioles and Oakland A’s

National League: San Francisco Giants and Washington Nationals

CY Young winners:

American League: Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners

National League: Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers

MVP:

American League: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

National League: Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers

Best record in each League:

American League: Detroit Tigers

National League: Cincinnati Reds

Manager of the Year:

American League: Jim Leyland, Detroit Tigers

National League: Don Mattingly, Los Angeles Dodgers

Moneyball will finally find a World Series ring in 2013. By Leaders Event from London, United Kingdom, via Wikimedia Commons

Updated Predictions (Stats are up to the All Star break):

Teams I picked to win their divisions:

AL East: Boston Red Sox

AL Central: Detroit Tigers

AL West: Oakland A’s

NL East: Atlanta Braves

NL Central: Pittsburgh Pirates

NL West: Arizona Diamondbacks

Wild Card Teams:

American League: Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers

National League: St Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds

CY Young winners:

American League: Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners (10-4, 2.53 ERA, 140 Strikeouts, 1.10 WHIP)

National League: Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers (8-6, 1.98 ERA, 139 Strikeouts, 0.91 WHIP)

MVP:

American League: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers (.365, 30 HR, 95 RBI, .458 OBP)

National League: Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks (.313, 21 HR, 77 RBI, .395 OBP)

Best record in each League:

American League: Oakland A’s

National League: Pittsburgh Pirates

Manager of the Year:

American League: John Farrell, Boston Red Sox

National League: Clint Hurdle, Pittsburgh Pirates

I’m usually pretty stubborn about my predictions, but I will admit that I have changed some of mine from the preseason. I was totally off about both the Dodgers and Angels, even though both can still make some sort of run at the playoffs — especially the Dodgers.

Staying in the National League West, Paul Goldschmidt is my new pick for National League MVP. Many people view Yadier Molina as the favorite but I think otherwise. Goldschmidt has better numbers than Molina in every category other than batting average and he isn’t that far behind him in that.

Before the season started, I said that the Angels would meet up with the Dodgers in the World Series creating a “Freeway” World Series, but the Angels have woefully underperformed and I have changed my World Series prediction on its head. I predict that the Arizona Diamondbacks and Oakland A’s will be the final two teams standing.

Let that sink in for a second and actually consider this scenario. Both of these teams are good enough to make it. I don’t have a winner from these two teams because in my mind, they are evenly matched. Since the American League won the All-Star Game and has home field advantage, I’ll go ahead and pick Moneyball to finally come through in the postseason.

Chris Davis has had a break-out year this season. By Keith Allison on Flickr, via Wikimedia Commons

It’s about that time again, time for the Major League Baseball All-Star game.

Most professional all-star games aren’t as competitive as the real deal, but generally thats not the case for the MLB’s version of the game. This game actually matters because the winning league earns home-field advantage in the World Series. I, like a lot of fans, disagree with this rule because like any other sport, home field advantage should be based off of record not which league played better in the All Star Game. If that were the case, the Western Conference in the NBA would have had home court advantage six times out of the past ten years. This rule needs to be changed but I don’t see it being changed anytime soon. But for what is it, it makes the game that much more compelling to watch and root on your own teams league.

And if the game is going to decide who gets World Series home field advantage, it is certainly wrong that the fans vote the starting players into the game. It should be based off the best players from each position that get to play in the game not off of bias fan voting. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy putting in my own votes every year but, to be honest, I usually vote for my team’s players who I know will never make the cut.

Here are my starting nine players from each league that should be in the starting lineups for this year’s All Star game next month and some of their stats (as current as June 24th, 12:03am):

American League:

Catcher: Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins (.330, 8 HR, 25 RBI)

First Base: Chris Davis, Baltimore Orioles (.336, 27 HR, 70 RBI)

Second Base: Robinson Cano, New York Yankees (.276, 16 HR, 45 RBI)

Shortstop: J.J. Hardy, Baltimore Orioles (.267, 15 HR, 44 RBI)

Third Base: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers (.370, 20 HR, 75 RBI)

Designated Hitter: David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox (.316, 16 HR, 55 RBI)

Outfielders:

Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles (.298, 15 HR, 55 RBI)

Mike Trout, Anaheim (not Los Angeles) Angels (.306, 12 HR, 46 RBI)

Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays (.254, 16 HR, 42 RBI)

Starting Pitcher: Clay Buchholz, Boston Red Sox (9-0, 1.71 ERA, 81 K)

National League:

Catcher: Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals (.353, 5 HR, 41 RBI)

First Base: Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks (.306, 19 HR, 65 RBI)

Second Base: Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati Reds (.265, 11 HR, 60 RBI)

Shortstop: Hanley Ramirez, Los Angeles Dodgers (.358, 4 HR, 10 RBI)*

Third Base: David Wright, New York Mets (.309, 12 HR, 41 RBI)

Outfielders:

Carlos Beltran, St. Louis Cardinals (.305, 17 HR, 46 RBI)

Justin Upton, Atlanta Braves (.240, 15 HR, 34 RBI)

Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado Rockies (.3004, 21 HR, 57 RBI)*

Starting Pitcher: Matt Harvey, New York Mets (7-1, 2.05 ERA, 121 K)

*Because of injuries to Troy Tulowitzki and Bryce Harper

Now that the poor excuse for America’s favorite sport has finished its season with a blackout rather than a bang, it’s time for Major League Baseball teams to report for Spring Training in preparation for what could be one of the greatest seasons in the sport’s history.  For the second time in three years the World Series champion came out of the National League West. The only problem with this is that it was the San Francisco Giants, both times.  2013 is a new season, and as the rest of the teams in the NL West demonstrated this past offseason, it is going to be very difficult for the Giants to repeat as division winners or World Series champions.  Here’s everything you need know about the National League West as Spring Training gets underway.

Arizona Diamondbacks

2012 Roundup:

Record: 81-81 (38-34 vs. NL West); finished 3^rd, 13 games behind the Giants.

Team BA: .259

Team ERA: 3.93

The 2012 Diamondbacks started the regular season on a very positive note with a three game sweep of the eventual champion Giants, but after a 5-1 start they found themselves with a 23-28 record at the end of May.  They were never able to find their stride, hovering around the .500 mark throughout the rest of the season. Nevertheless, these Diamondbacks showed the rest of the division that they will be competitive in 2013.

Key Offseason Moves:

• Traded Justin Upton and Chris Johnson to the Braves for Martin Prado, Randall Delgado and three minor leaguers; they subsequently signed Prado to a four year contract.
• In a three team trade with the Oakland Athletics and Miami Marlins, the Diamondbacks traded Chris Young and cash to Oakland for Cliff Pennington and minor leaguer Yordy Cabrera, then turned around and sent Cabrera to Miami for Heath Bell.
• In a three team, nine player trade with the Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds, the Diamondbacks sent Trevor Bauer, Matt Albers, and Bryan Shaw to the Indians in exchange for Tony Sipp and Lars Anderson, and Didi Gregorius from Cincinnati.  Anderson was later cut.
• Signed J.J. Putz to a two year extension after picking up his option.
• Traded Ryan Wheeler to the Rockies for Matt Reynolds.
• Signed free agent Brandon McCarthy to a two year contract.
• Signed free agent Cody Ross to a three year contract.
• Signed free agent Eric Chavez to a one year contract.
• Signed free agent Eric Hinske to a one year contract.
• Signed free agent Rod Barajas to a minor league contract.

After showing a lot of promise in 2012, the Diamondbacks are looking to capitalize on a strong offseason by putting together a 2013 regular season worthy of winning the NL West.  This roster has a lot of versatility with guys who can play everywhere, and a pitching staff that has the ability to surprise a lot of people.  However, it could be harder than ever to win the division this season with the deep pockets in Los Angeles hell-bent on winning it all right away.

Colorado Rockies

2012 Roundup:

Record: 64-98 (28-44 vs. NL West); finished 5^th, 30 games behind the Giants.

Team BA: .274

Team ERA: 5.22

The Rockies began the 2012 season with a fairly decent April, finishing with a respectable 11-11 record. With the benefit of hindsight, they probably would have preferred if the season ended then.  May, June, and July brought a combined record of 26-53 with the team reaching double digit wins in only one of the three months.  Injuries took their toll throughout the entire season as the Rockies stumbled to a last place finish for the first time since 2005.

Key Offseason Moves:

• Signed Dexter Fowler to a two year contract.
• Traded Matt Reynolds to Arizona for Ryan Wheeler.
• Signed Jeff Francis to a one year contract.
• Signed Chris Volstad, Manny Corpas and Yorvit Torrealba to minor league contracts.
• Named Walt Weiss manager.

A quick look at the projected lineup for the 2013 Colorado Rockies shows what could be a very strong team offensively, but there are questions surrounding the team’s pitching.  The Rockies switched to a four-man pitching rotation in mid-June, and reports out of Denver late last season were saying the team planned on utilizing this strategy in 2013 as well.  With superstar players such as Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos González locked up long term, the Rockies have put together a solid base for success in the future, it’s just a matter of placing the correct pieces around them, and that starts with pitching.

Can Clayton Kershaw round back into Cy Young form and lead a voracious starting rotation to the promised land in 2013? By SD Dirk on Flickr (Originally posted to Flickr as “Clayton Kershaw”) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

2012 Roundup:

Record: 86-76 (35-37 vs. NL West); finished 2^nd, 8 games behind the Giants.

Team BA: .252

Team ERA: 3.34

The 2012 regular season could not have gotten off to a better start for the Los Angeles Dodgers.  After starting 9-1, the Dodgers finished 16-7 in the month of April, marking the most wins in franchise history in the first month of the season.  A ten-inning victory over the Chicago White Sox gave them a 42-25 record on June 17, which was quite impressive considering the injuries (specifically to Matt Kemp) the team had endured up until this point.  Alas, this marked the beginning of the end for the Dodgers; they lost fifteen of their next twenty games leading into the all-star break, and played .500 baseball throughout the second half of the season.  In mid August, the new owners attempted to salvage the season in a blockbuster trade with the Boston Red Sox, but it proved too be late.  In the trade, the Dodgers acquired Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto, along with their contracts that totaled over $260 million.

Key Offseason Moves:

• Signed free agent Zack Greinke to a six year contract.
• Signed free agent Ryu Hyun-jin to a six year contract.
• Re-signed free agent Brandon League to a three year contract.
• Signed free agent J.P. Howell to a one year contract.
• Traded Jake Lemmerman to the Cardinals for Skip Schumaker.
• Signed Mark McGwire as hitting coach.
• Named Sandy Koufax advisor to the chairman.
• Agreed to a one year extension with Vin Scully.
• Reports of a $7 billion Television deal with Time Warner (reports last week said Major League Baseball still has not received the paperwork to review this deal).

Although 2012 did not finish the way Dodgers fans would have liked, the events that transpired throughout the regular season and well into the offseason have provided renewed hope that the Dodgers organization can finally rise out of the ashes left behind from the oppressive reign of Frank McCourt. One of the most important additions in all of baseball this past offseason could be the addition of Mark McGwire to Don Mattingly‘s coaching staff. His legacy is tainted with steroids, but his talent as a pure hitter was matched by few and his insight will be important to the Dodgers lineup. This roster has the potential to be the best in baseball.

San Diego Padres

2012 Roundup:

Record: 76-86 (34-38 vs. NL West); finished 4^th, 18 games behind the Giants.

Team BA: .247

Team ERA: 4.01

It seemed as if the San Diego Padres were doomed from the very beginning of the season; a 3-12 start led to a 34-53 record at the end of the first half. They followed this up with a 42-33 record in the second half of the season, and made a strong push at the end in an attempt to finish with a .500 record before they dropped six of their last 8, ultimately finishing with a 76-86 record.

Key Offseason Moves:

• Traded Andrew Werner and Andy Parrino to Athletics in exchange for Tyson Ross.
• Re-signed free agent Jason Marquis.
• Signed free agent Freddy Garcia.
• Signed Chase Headley to a one year extension.

The Padres did little this past offseason to help their chances in the NL West, and the one year contract to Headley seems to send the signal they have zero interest on keeping him long term. With that being said, this is not a bad team by any means, it just doesn’t help that other teams in the division have gotten much better as of late. The pitching rotation needs to get better if the team wants any chance of contending late in the season.

To win the NL West, you’ve got to go through AT&T Park. By Coasttocoast at the English language Wikipedia, via Wikimedia Commons

San Francisco Giants

2012 Roundup:

Record: 94-68 (45-27 vs. NL West); finished 1^st, tied for the third best record in the NL.

Team BA: .269

Team ERA: 3.68

At the start of the 2012 regular season it did not seem as if Buster Posey was going to win his second World Series title.  The Giants limped out to a 24-23 record by May 27. From then on they went 70-45 to finish a top the NL West for the second time in three years.  In the first two rounds of the postseason, the Giants went 6-0 in elimination games after coming back from series deficits of 0-2 and 1-3 against Cincinnati and St. Louis, respectively. Against the Tigers in the World Series, the Giants pitching posted a 1.46 ERA and held Detroit to a .156 batting average, clinching the World Series with ease.

Key Offseason Moves:

• Re-signed free agent Angel Pagan to a four year contract.
• Re-signed free agents Jeremy Affeldt and Marco Scutaro to a three year contracts.
• Signed free agent Andres Torres.
• Lost Melky Cabrera, Brian Wilson and Aubrey Huff.

In 2012 the Giants once again showed the baseball world that pitching is the key to winning in the playoffs, but will their passive offseason plan payoff?  Similar to the offseason after their World Series title in 2010, the Giants opted to keep the core of their team intact and focused on keeping the chemistry together; this plan clearly did not work in the 2011 season, so who’s to say it will work now? This past season the Giants got a lot of help since their number one hitter, for much of the season, was using steroids.  This offseason approach has created a number of questions that they Giants will be forced to answer this season.  With the roster the Dodgers have put together, making a case for the Giants to win the division has become much harder, but their pitching, once again, gives them the best chance to do that.

Can Clayton Kershaw round back into Cy Young form and lead a voracious starting rotation to the promised land in 2013? By SD Dirk on Flickr (Originally posted to Flickr as “Clayton Kershaw”) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

While there are still many bona fide power hitters in the majors (Miguel Cabrera, Jose Bautista, Matt Kemp, Ryan Braun, Robinson Cano, etc.), building a strong pitching rotation has become more of a prominent priority for successful teams. Just last season (2011), baseball had a pitcher, Justin Verlander, win both the MVP award and the CY Young award in the American League. Pitching has always been important to America’s pastime but now it’s more crucial than ever.

Here is my sixth installment and this time I’m taking my talents to the National League, breaking down each team’s potential starting rotation for the 2013 season with the average Earned Run Average (I know averaging an average isn’t scientifically sound, but I’m doing it anyway…): This time, the spotlight is on the NL West…

San Francisco Giants:

1. Matt Cain (16-5, 2.79 ERA, 193 Strikeouts)
2. Madison Bumgarner (16-11, 3.37 ERA, 191 Strikeouts)
3. Tim Lincecum (10-15, 5.18 ERA, 190 Strikeouts)
4. Ryan Vogelsong (14-9, 3.37 ERA, 158 Strikeouts)
5. Barry Zito (15-8, 4.15 ERA, 114 Strikeouts)

Average Combined 2012 ERA: 3.77

Los Angeles Dodgers:

1. Clayton Kershaw (14-9, 2.53 ERA, 229 Strikeouts)
2. Zack Greinke (15-5, 3.48 ERA, 200 Strikeouts)
3. Josh Beckett (7-14, 4.65 ERA, 132 Strikeouts)
4. Hyun-Jin Ryu, stats from Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) (9-9, 2.66 ERA, 210 Strikeouts)
5. Chad Billingsley (10-9, 3.55 ERA, 128 Strikeouts)

Average Combined 2012 ERA: 3.37

Arizona Diamondbacks:

1. Ian Kennedy (15-12, 4.02 ERA, 187 Strikeouts)
2. Trevor Cahill (13-12, 3.78 ERA, 156 Strikeouts)
3. Brandon McCarthy (8-6, 3.24 ERA, 73 Strikeouts)
4. Wade Miley (16-11, 3.33 ERA, 144 Strikeouts)
5. Tyler Skaggs (1-3, 5.83 ERA, 21 Strikeouts)

Average Combined ERA: 4.04

San Diego Padres:

1. Edinson Volquez (11-11, 4.14 ERA, 174 Strikeouts)
2. Clayton Richard (14-14, 3.99 ERA, 107 Strikeouts)
3. Jason Marquis (8-11, 5.22 ERA, 91 Strikeouts)
4. Eric Stults (8-3, 2.91 ERA, 55 Strikeouts)
5. Casey Kelly (2-3, 6.21 ERA, 26 Strikeouts)

Average Combined ERA: 4.49

Colorado Rockies:

1.  Jose de la Rosa (0-2, 9.28 ERA, 6 Strikeouts)
2.  Jhoulys Chacin (3-5, 4.43 ERA, 45 Strikeouts)
3.  Drew Pomeranz (2-9, 4.93 ERA, 83 Strikeouts)
4.  Juan Nicasio (2-3, 5.28 ERA, 54 Strikeouts)
5.  Jeff Francis (6-7, 5.58 ERA, 76 Strikeouts)

Average Combined ERA: 5.90

The stats above are from the 2012 season and based off of ERA alone. We know averaging ERA’s isn’t a great metric, but we’re doing it anyway.

This is one of the tricky divisions to evaluate because I believe that every team in this division can be good next season. That being said, a “good season” has a different meaning for each team.

For the Colorado Rockies, their pitching can’t get any worse than it was last season, with the starting rotation posting almost a 6.00 ERA (above). The Padres numbers also weren’t pretty, but San Diego is a young team and young teams can do some damage in this division.

Three teams can actually contend: The Giants, Dodgers, and D-backs.

Arizona contended until the last week or so of the season until finally fading away.  The Diamondbacks won 81 games last season and 94 in 2011, winning their division with basically the same core players that they have now. There is no reason they can’t repeat that success this year.

Speaking of those big-dogs, how can we forget the World Champs? The Giants have the same rotation and lineup as they did this past year. Why fix what isn’t broke, right? Repeating is a very difficult thing to do in sports (except in the Alabama football program’s case) but with reigning National League MVP, Buster Posey, it isn’t too farfetched to think about a repeat. The Giants will be trying to become the first team since the Yankees from 1998-2000 to win back to back championships.

As for the other big-dog team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, have spent a whole lot of money on what people are now calling, “the new look Yankees”. Throw in the Boston deal from August combined with the offseason spending (Greinke and Ryu) and the Dodgers payroll for the 2013 season is over $200 million. The main question being asked about this team is “Will they live up to the hype?” and my answer to that is yes. They went 8-2 to end the season, just barely missing the Wild Card.

Not often am I to say this about my favorite team because I am a very harsh critic about sports (I will admit it) but I truly believe that Magic Johnson and the rest of the Dodgers management will end the 25-year title drought and bring the title back to Los Angeles. Whether or not I am right about the Dodgers, the NL West is set to be a barn-burning race.

Before a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks and Miami Marlins, veteran umpire Jim Joyce — the man best known for ruining a shot at pitching perfection for Tigers hurler Armando Galarraga (Watch here) — avenged his sport error tenfold by conducting CPR on fan, Jayne Powers at Arizona’s Chase Field.

The result: redemption.

The longtime disco jam has been used by multiple CPR professionals over the years, when training individuals on how to conduct the life-saving act. It is the syncopated beat of the “Ah, Ah, Ah” before the “Staying alive” section of the chorus that is perfectly timed for the necessary chest compressions on an individual.

For Joyce,  it was a day of sweet salvation.

“I’ll be very honest with you,” Joyce told MLB.com. “The way I look at it is, somebody needed help and I was fortunate enough to know what to do.”

By knowing what to do, I’m sure Joyce is referencing CPR. Either that, or he is lucky enough to have had a bell bottomed disco flashback right in the nick of time.

Practice CPR with this tutorial from Family Guy star, Peter Griffin (No pleae don’t do that.)

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt_ZdWoCoQ0