A year ago on Opening Day, Canadian baseball fans were all but planning the Blue Jays’ victory parade.
How’d that work out, Toronto?
Actually, with the Leafs making the playoffs last year, the Jays stumble drew a little less attention than it might have in a normal year. They won’t have that luxury this year.
Mired in the American League East, the Jays failed to land the starting pitching they needed to inspire much confidence in prognosticators. Can their offence carry them past the likes of Boston, Tampa Bay and the retooled New York Yankees? CKPR's Jeff Andreas thinks they still have a chance at the post-season. The rest of of us at 87 Hill Street North -- not so much.
After last year’s hits and misses (anyone remember Bryan Wyatt’s now infamous-in-our-newsroom Danny Espinosa NL MVP prediction), baseball diehards at Dougall Media thought we’d peer into our crystal baseballs once again and present our thoughts on 2014. The panel includes Thunder Bay Source editor Leith Dunick, TB Newswatch reporters Jamie Smith and Matt Vis and CKPR’s Bryan Wyatt and Jeff Andreas.
Leith Dunick
Editor, Thunder Bay Source
NL East: Atlanta Braves
NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals
NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers
NL wild-cards: Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh Pirates
AL East: New York Yankees
AL Central: Detroit Tigers
AL West: Los Angeles Angels
AL wild-cards: Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox
World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over New York Yankees
NL MVP: Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks
NL Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
AL MVP: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
AL Cy Young: Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers
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Bryan Wyatt
News director, CKPR
NL East: Washington Nationals
NL Central: Pittsburgh Pirates
NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers
NL wild-cards: St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves
AL East: Boston Red Sox
AL Central: Detroit Tigers
AL West: Oakland Athletics
AL wild-cards: Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners
World Series: Detroit Tigers over Los Angeles Dodgers
NL MVP: Adrian Gonzalez, Los Angeles Dodgers
NL Cy Young: Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals
AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
AL Cy Young: Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers
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Jamie Smith
Reporter, TB Newswatch
NL East: Atlanta Braves
NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals
NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers
NL wild-cards: Pittsburgh Pirates, Washington Nationals
AL East: Tampa Bay Rays
AL Central: Detroit Tigers
AL West: Oakland Athletics
AL wild-card: Kansas City Royals, New York Yankees
World Series: St. Louis Cardinals over Detroit Tigers
NL MVP: Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves
AL MVP: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
NL Cy Young: Jose Fernandez, Miami Marlins
AL Cy Young: Yu Darvish, Texas Rangers
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Jeff Andreas,
Reporter, CKPR
NL East: Washington Nationals
NL Central: Pittsburgh Pirates
NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers
NL wild-cards: Cincinnati Reds, Atlanta Braves
AL East: Boston Red Sox
AL Central: Detroit Tigers
AL West: Los Angeles Angels
AL wild-cards: Toronto Blue Jays, Texas Rangers
World Series: Pittsburgh Pirates over Detroit Tigers
NL MVP: Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates
NL Cy Young: Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals
AL MVP: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
AL Cy Young: Yu Darvish, Texas Rangers
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Matt Vis,
Reporter, TB Newswatch
NL East: Washington Nationals
NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals
NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers
NL wild-cards: Pittsburgh Pirates, Atlanta Braves
AL East: Tampa Bay Rays
AL Central: Detroit Tigers
AL West: Texas Rangers
AL wild-cards: Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels
World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over Tampa Bay Rays
NL MVP: Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals
NL Cy Young: Jordan Zimmerman, Washington Nationals
AL MVP: Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
AL Cy Young: Yu Darvish, Texas Rangers
