Where The Thunder Go From Here

If the evolution of the Oklahoma City Thunder were a staircase, we would have reached that point of the stairs where they are eye-level with the landing. They can see the top, but they’re not quite there yet. However, the bottom is a long way behind them. With a few tweaks, the Thunder can take those final steps to an NBA title.

Here’s the three things the Thunder need to do to become NBA champions in 2013.

1. Get rid of Derek Fisher. With all the praise Fisher received for being a leader and a clutch shooter, he was just plain bad at defense. He’s also going to be very expensive to re-sign and the Thunder don’t need him because Eric Maynor will be back at the start of next season. While Fisher is a better “leader”, Maynor is a much better floor general and the last thing the Thunder need is for Fisher to take away minutes from a better passer and defender.

2. Find a scoring big man through a trade. It’s been one of the knocks on the Thunder for the past few years now, but they are still looking for a reliable big man that can score with his back to the basket. It’s safe to say Kendrick Perkins will never be a big time scorer, but there is hope with Serge Ibaka. Ibaka’s ability to knock down the midrange jumper was key to opening up the floor and providing driving lanes for Westbrook, Harden and Durant. However, if Ibaka can spend the summer working on his post moves, he could provide even more value to the Thunder by being able to give OKC easy points on a consistent basis.

That said, odds are Ibaka is not going to make that big of a transition in just one year. For OKC to win a title next year, the Thunder need to bring in someone new. The draft is a crapshoot and most of the players (especially big men) take years to develop. As Jalen Rose would say, it’s hard to find big men that can walk and chew gum, and thinking you’re going to find a big man that is ready to contribute in his first year is a expecting a lot.

Trying to trade for a scoring big man, while keeping the Big Four intact, will be difficult. Which leaves the Thunder looking to strengthen their frontline through free agency. Young, big men are expensive, so the Thunder would have to look for a veteran willing to sacrifice some money for a shot at a title. (And no, I’m not talking about the Thunder picking up Juwan Howard.)

Chris Kaman makes a lot of sense for the Thunder. OKC could use the midlevel exception on Kaman (which keeps caps space to re-sign Ibaka and Harden) and he’s a proven scorer when healthy. He’s averaged over 12 points a game the last five seasons while shooting 48.3 percent for his career. Getting Kaman would mean the Thunder would most likely part ways with Perkins. However, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Perkins is set to make $8.5 million in ’13 and $9.1 million in ’14. That money could be used in much better ways. (Segue to my third point…)

3. Re-sign James Harden and Serge Ibaka THIS offseason. This is the most important part of the offseason in my eyes. Harden and Ibaka are both locked up for two more years before becoming unrestricted free agents. As crazy as it sounds, their stocks will probably continue to rise over the next year, so the Thunder need to lock up both players while they still can.

With quotes like the ones in this story, you can tell that Harden sees how special the Thunder can become. If he can stay true to his word, and Ibaka joins the cause, the Thunder will reach the landing soon.

NBA Playoffs: Where Disappointment Happens

The main reason that the NBA lockout sucked was because this was supposed to be the most exciting season in the history of the NBA.

Everything was in place for a great year: great teams, great talent and budding rivalries (Heat-Bulls and Thunder-Mavs).

For the most part, the regular season delivered. LeBron James had his best season statistically, the Thunder and Mavs played four exciting games and the top teams performed like it….

…But then the playoffs started.

Within 48 hours of the beginning of the playoffs, last year’s MVP Derrick Rose, and promising New York Knicks guard Iman Shumpert were out with torn ACLs.

A few days later, Chicago Bulls’ center Joakim Noah went down with a sprained left ankle. Knicks guard Baron Davis suffered a gruesome knee injury in Game 4 of their series with the Miami Heat. Amare’ Stoudemire hurt his hand (that’s a nice way of putting it) causing him to miss a pivotal game 3.

Atlanta forward Josh Smith and Boston guard Avery Bradley have both missed time in their series.

But enough with the injuries, what about all the poor play?

No first round series was tied 2-2 after four games. The defending champion Dallas Mavericks, no-showed and got swept. The Orlando Magic, playing without Dwight Howard, lost in five games to the Pacers in quite possibly the most boring playoff series ever. Oh, and the 1-seed in the East, the Chicago Bulls, are on the verge of losing to the 8-seed Philadelphia 76ers because they lost their two best players to injuries.

However, there is hope that the NBA Playoffs turn around soon.

The marquee matchup of the second round will be the Lakers against the Thunder. While it’s always fun watching Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant go at it, the added excitement of seeing James Harden vs. The Artest Formerly Known as Ron will make this series must-see TV.

And with the Bulls possibly losing in the first round, the Boston Celtics have a clear path to the Eastern Conference Finals where they would most likely face off with the Miami Heat.

So if you’re still awake, hang in there.

It’s about to get exciting. (At least we hope.)

“Why Stop Grinding?”

I know this is kind of long for a blog post, but I thought that this would be a great story to share on Oklahoma State cornerback Yves Batoba. I hope you enjoy.

No matter what Yves Batoba is doing, you can guarantee he’s not taking it for granted.

He has been through too much for anything to be dismissed.

Batoba, an Oklahoma State junior cornerback, was born in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.

“People always ask me, ‘Did you see lions?’ but it’s nothing like that,” Batoba said. “It’s really just like South Dallas, just the houses probably weren’t as nice.”

Batoba lived in Democratic Republic of Congo until he was 6 when the Congo War broke out.

“We had to escape,” Batoba said. “We had to live as refugees for a bit because of the war. We were actually in Brazzaville, where the war began, because we were visiting my aunts and uncles.”

Leaving the war-torn country was difficult. To leave Brazzaville, Batoba, his parents, and four of his siblings (his youngest brother wasn’t born) had to take a boat across the Congo River back to Kinshasa.

The boat ride across the river would be easy. Getting to the boat was a different story.

“The only way to leave was to actually go through the war zone,” Batoba said. “We were on our elbows and knees, bullets flying above us. I just remember I was around 6 at the time, and just seeing bodies drop left and right.”

After Batoba and the rest of his family made it safely back to Kinshasa, it was time to pack up and move. Johannesburg, South Africa was the destination.

With Batoba’s family focusing on their home country, they didn’t realize South Africa wasn’t much better off.

“It was terrible over there,” Batoba said. “We moved there right at the end of apartheid and we didn’t know what apartheid was because we were living in Congo so we didn’t really know what was going on in South Africa. When we got there, we moved into a white neighborhood, and we would got robbed at least once a week. We got death threats and all sorts of stuff. So we left from there and moved to New York.”

Those two years spent moving from Democratic Republic of Congo to South Africa and the United States, were hard on Batoba.

But Batoba is a firm believer that every thing happens for a reason.

“Going through that experience, and seeing how my family was able to make it out of that, when so many people weren’t able to, you know that you’re here for a purpose,” Batoba said. “I don’t know what that purpose is, but I do know that God is moving. He’s making major moves and I pray every day, to just include me in those plans.”

After moving from New York to Irving, Texas, when Batoba was 8, his family moved to Keller, Texas, a place where Batoba lived for eight years before attending Oklahoma State.

Despite the problems Batoba encountered in Africa, his sister, Patricia, says home  holds a special place in his heart.

“Yves is so proud of where he came from and he will always stand up for his country,” Patricia said.

There is a six-year age difference between Patricia and Batoba, but the two are close. Patricia is one of Batoba’s two older sisters.

“When you have a big family, there’s always going to be one sibling that you’re closer to,” Patricia said. “He’s a guy I know I can always talk to, and he knows he can talk to me about anything.”

Although not everyone shares as close a bond as Batoba and Patricia do, Patricia said Batoba finds a way to get close with anyone he meets.

“I always admire his personality, he gets along with everybody,” Patricia said. “We had a fire in our house in Keller, and Keller is not too much of a community. Most people go to work and then come home and hang out with families. But Yves knew everybody in the neighborhood.

“The firefighters came and all the neighbors came out and they all asked how Yves was and he wasn’t even there. We were all standing there, but they just asked about him.”

His personality caught the eye of Terry Henley, a senior academic counselor for football at Oklahoma State University.

“He’s very well liked by his teammates,” Henley said. “You wouldn’t be able to tell that he was a walk-on. He’s very well respected.”

Batoba went to Keller High School before walking on to the football team at OSU.

When it came to deciding on a college to go to, Batoba’s personality played a role in the decision. With an outgoing personality like his, a communications major seemed to be the perfect fit.

“It really came down to LSU and Oklahoma State because of the broadcast programs,” Batoba said. “I knew that OSU was one of the only schools in the nation that had a sports media program. And LSU had a pretty good media program, too.”

Batoba initially came to OSU for the media possibilities, but he switched majors to Sports Management and Marketing shortly after arriving on campus.

The switch had nothing to do with the class schedules or other conflicts. The reason for the switch had more to do with something that involved him on the football field.

“Two summers ago, whenever the whole conference realignment stuff started happening, I got really interested,” Batoba said. “When Nebraska left, and then Colorado left, just keeping up with that and doing all the research I did with that just to keep my self informed, I got really interested. I started to see what was going on and I really like that field.”

Even though Batoba doesn’t pursue a communications degree, his personality and communication skills have helped him assume leadership roles.

Henley said Batoba is setting himself up nicely for success after school.

“He is the guy that needs to get his masters because he is management material,” Henley said. “He has those qualities that if I was hiring him, I would sit there and look and be saying to myself, ‘This is a young man that I’m going to groom to put up in a higher position after he learns the ropes.’ ”

Batoba is putting himself in leadership roles on campus.

He is the president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, an organization that provides help for student-athletes at Oklahoma State.

“Two years ago, I found out about the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee because of Deron Fontenot, who used to play football here,” Batoba said. “He was the marketing guy for SAAC, so I asked him about it because I had just switched over to sports management. He told me to come to some of the meetings and you’ll find out more about it. So I got involved with that as just a representative of the football team.”

That was Batoba’s freshman year. By his sophomore year, Batoba was the vice president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

Batoba said some of the main goals of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee include helping out other student-athletes and keeping all the athletes informed about NCAA rules.

“We try to support each other in the athletic department,” Batoba said. “We pretty much try to get a representative from every sport to just tell their teammates about things that are going on within OSU Athletics and different events that we can participate in. We also have a leadership summit that we go to every summer with other members of the Big 12 to discuss NCAA rules and regulations. As far as the legal side of the NCAA, I’m pretty familiar with it. Like that story with Ochocinco.”

Unfortunately for Batoba and his sneaker collection, he knows the law.

Chad Ochocinco, the entertaining New England Patriots wide receiver, tweeted back at Batoba after Batoba commented on wanting a pair of Louboutin shoes, like the ones Ochocinco had.

Ochocinco tweeted back, offering to give Batoba a free pair, but Batoba had to decline because of the possibility of breaking an NCAA rule. The story got a lot of media coverage.

“My position coach (Jason Jones) came up to me and said, ‘I heard you’re talking to celebrities now.’ He told me it was on the front page of MSN.com,” Batoba said. “People are always like, ‘I would have taken the shoes,’ but I know the rules.”

After declining the shoe offer from Ochocinco, Batoba made sure to tweet the NCAA.

“Don’t worry NCAA, I turned em down… I know y’all were on yall’s way over here,” Batoba tweeted.

When Batoba isn’t doing school stuff, or working with football or the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, there is a good chance he’s doing something to better himself spiritually.

Patricia said Batoba shows his faith all the time, even if it’s not the cool thing to do.

“He’s always been the popular guy among his peers, but he’s not afraid to stand out for his faith,” Patricia said. “He is very confident with who he is.”

Batoba says his dedication to his faith comes from his family.

“I come from a religious family,” Batoba said. “And over the past couple years, I’ve been trying to grow spiritually. My No. 1 goal every day is just to seek God, and become more Christ-like. Whenever you look at Jesus’ life, every single day he had a purpose. He always knew what he was going to do that day. I can’t just not do anything one day.

“When you look at John 5 or Matthew 8, Jesus talks about how God doesn’t rest.  Whenever the disciples ask him why he isn’t eating or sleeping, he says because he has a job to get done. I feel like if I’m striving to be like Christ, why stop grinding?”

Even if Batoba wanted to rest, he rarely has time to do so. When class is over, it’s straight to homework, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, or football.

“Time management is just the biggest thing,” Batoba said. “There’s no time to be wasted.”

Football is a year-round thing at college programs like Oklahoma State. There is no down time.

When the season is over, the Cowboys start preparing for the next one. With the amount of time Batoba has spent working out during the past three years, it would be expected that he would be muscular, which he is. It would also be expected that he would love to work out, which he doesn’t.

He will do it, just don’t plan to become L.A. Fitness partners after school is done.

“I actually don’t like working out,” Batoba said. “I can run. I could run all day. I mean I’ll do it and I won’t complain about it, but whenever this whole football thing is over, I don’t see myself going to the weight room three times a week.”

Batoba won’t complain about working out, going to school or anything else.

Henley said Batoba’s work ethic and attitude stand out, even from afar.

“Yves falls into that category of guys that I don’t work with a lot because they are so professional with how they take care of business,” Henley said. “You can tell Yves is goal-oriented and his work ethic is off the charts.”

When Batoba isn’t busy with school, football, or the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, he fills his time with sports, friends and his faith.

“I play beach volleyball, of course,” Batoba said. “We have this thing called men’s group; it’s a Bible study, at my house every Monday night. Other than that, I really like to just focus on spiritual growth and just hanging out.”

Batoba doesn’t know where he is going when he graduates from OSU, but he is not the only college student to feel that way. Throughout his life he has learned to go with the flow and things will eventually work out.

But as a man who is so focused and goal-oriented, Batoba knows where he wants to end up.

“I want to eventually become an athletic director at a major college program,” Batoba said. “I wouldn’t mind going to the pros, but college athletics is where my heart is at.”

You have been warned, Mike Holder.

Looking at the first round of the NBA Playoffs

I think I could get used to this short season thing. I was starting to get bored with all those meaningless games where the Celtics rest all their starters and the biggest story on SportsCenter was how bad the Bobcats are.

But enough with all the bad basketball, it’s time to talk about the good teams. It’s time for the playoffs!

Here’s a list of some of the interesting headlines coming into the playoffs:

• Here’s a look back at my Eastern and Western Conference predictions. I got 15 of the 16 right (not-so-Humblebrag), only missing the 8 seed in the East, the 76ers.
• Most interesting first round matchup in the Western Conference: Mavericks vs. Thunder. The Mavericks are the defending champs. It’s a rematch of last year’s Western Conference Finals. Does it get better than that?? The Thunder won the season series 3-1, but the Mavericks played them tough each game. With the uncertainty surrounding James Harden’s health, this matchup only gets tougher for the Thunder.
• Most interesting first round matchup in the Eastern Conference: Heat vs. Knicks. The Knicks, especially Carmelo Anthony, are playing really well right now. Unfortunately, they are running into the favorite’s to win the championship in Round One. Even if the Heat win in four or five, this will be a great series to watch with Melo vs. LeBron.
• Top seed that could be in trouble: Chicago Bulls. After last year, the easy answer would be the Spurs, but the Bulls make me nervous. Derrick Rose’s health is a huge factor and the Philadelphia 76ers are no joke. The 76ers started out hot and even though they struggled down the stretch, they are still capable of surprising the Bulls. They have a top 3 defense and they’re a very good rebounding team. The Bulls will probably still win, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this series goes six or seven games.
• Team that got the best first round matchup possible: Indiana Pacers. The three-seed in the East probably feels like they won the lottery. They missed out on playing the red-hot Knicks and instead, they get to play the Orlando Magic. With Dwight Howard out, the Pacers might as well have received a bye.
• Biggest first round upset: #6 Denver Nuggets over #3 Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers have no bench and the Nuggets love to play fast. With the Nuggets turning this series into a glorified pick-up game, the Lakers’ bigs won’t be able to establish themselves. Nuggets take a 3-2 lead coming back home and win in six games.

MLB Power Rankings from No. 20 to No. 1

Thank you again for reading, but before we get to the next post, a few things:

My apologies for being away from the blog for a while. This past month has been extremely hectic (Cough, cough, school), but things are finally settling down.

I’m also happy to announce that another reason for my lack of posts is that I have accepted a Media Relations internship with the Oklahoma City RedHawks. The RedHawks are the AAA Affiliate of the Houston Astros. (So if you need to know about the quality of the Astros’ farm system, don’t hesitate to call.)

Finally, we were on a roll going through the preseason MLB power rankings before Spring Break, but my schedule made it difficult to keep up with the posts so I’m going to fly through teams 20-1. (That way we can move on to other posts, namely the NBA Playoffs.)

Without further ado, the rest of the rankings:

(Sorry, one more note. I did these rankings in mid-March, but I have kept them the same because I feel like switching them around now would be cheating. Other than putting the Dodgers at 25, I’m pretty happy with how I’ve done with the first 10 teams we looked at.)

(I’ll shut up now, here’s the rankings.)

No. 20 Minnesota Twins

I honestly have no idea what the Twins are. At the end of the season, I probably still won’t know what they are. The lineup has potential (Mauer, Morneau, Willingham and Doumit), but the pitching staff will hold them back. Losing Scott Baker for the year won’t help.

No. 19 Colorado Rockies

There’s a theme among all these teams on the bottom half of the list: They either have a good offense, a good defense, but they definitely don’t have both. (The Athletics have neither.) Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez are studs and bringing in Michael Cuddyer will help the offense, but the pitching staff is terrible. Jamie Moyer, FORTY-NINE YEAR OLD JAMIE MOYER, was the Opening Day starter for the Rockies. Needless to say, I don’t like the Rockies chances as the season wears on.

No. 18 Pittsburgh Pirates

Since we’re on the subject of “Interesting Opening Day Starters”, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Erik Bedard was the Opening Day starter for the Pirates. Pittsburgh’s bullpen is very good, but the starting rotation will be this team’s undoing.

No. 17 Washington Nationals

The Nationals are off to a hot start and they could definitely sneak into the playoffs. Heck, they could win the NL East the way it’s looking right now. Stephen Strasburg has looked dominant and with Jordan Zimmermann and Edwin Jackson pitching well, the Nationals are dangerous. Losing leftfielder Michael Morse until at least the All-Star Break is bad for the lineup, they need to find some power in the trade market because this team has a real chance to contend.

No. 16 Cincinnati Reds

The Reds are a team that always seems to under perform. Once again, the 2012 Reds have a stacked lineup (Brandon Phillips, Joey Votto, Scott Rolen and Jay Bruce) plus, they picked up a potential ace in the offseason (Mat Latos) while getting rid of one of the most productive/most stressful closers of all time (Francisco Cordero). Cordero is the king of coming in with a three run lead, giving up three straight hits, throwing a wild pitch, giving up two runs and somehow getting 40 saves a year. It’s actually quite remarkable.

No. 15 Cleveland Indians

It’s hard for me to be rational about my favorite team, but I will say this: The Indians are going to the World Series! (Damn it, I tried.) In all honesty, the Indians have an above-average lineup with a fantastic bullpen. The key to the Tribe this year will be how much they get out of starting pitchers Justin Masterson and Ubaldo Jimenez.

No. 14 Milwaukee Brewers

Our first playoff team from 2011 makes the list. The Brewers offseason was terrible (Prince Fielder leaves and the Ryan Braun fiasco), but the main reason I have them this low is because of who they have batting clean up. Last year, Fielder was the clean up hitter. This year, Aramis Ramirez bats clean up. Not exactly like going from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers. (Did you see what I did there? If only I could have found a way to fit the Bucks in there, I would have had the Wisconsin pro sports teams trifecta!)

No. 13 San Francisco Giants

Different year, same story for the Giants. Once again, they have an awful lineup, but their pitching staff makes up for it. However, this year is looking a little more dicey than others because closer Brian Wilson is out for the year and ace Tim Lincecum can’t find the strike zone.

No. 12 Atlanta Braves

Serious question: Why do the Braves never suck? In the past 18 years, they’ve finished third or higher in the NL East 17 times including their run of 11 straight division titles from 1995-2005. They have finished second in the NL East the last three years, but they are poised to make another postseason run as long as some key pitchers (Tim Hudson and Tommy Hanson) can stay healthy all year.

No. 11 Boston Red Sox

I wasn’t as high on the Red Sox as others, but I still consider this a bad call on my part. The Red Sox are just not that good this year. Losing closer Andrew Bailey for a few months was bad, losing Jacoby Ellsbury for at least a month was worse, but Bobby Valentine managing to piss off the entire Red Sox clubhouse 10 games into the season was the worst of all. I wouldn’t count this team out, though. Bringing back Ellsbury, Bailey and Carl Crawford from injury could be enough for the Sox to steal a Wild Card spot.

No. 10 St. Louis Cardinals

Yes, they lost Albert Pujols and Chris Carpenter is hurt, but this is still a very good team. Pitcher Adam Wainwright is back after missing all last year and free agent signing Carlos Beltran is tearing it up through the first weeks of the season. Also, as of April 23, Albert Pujols’ replacement at first base, Matt Carpenter, has more home runs than Albert. (Carpenter 1, Pujols 0) Who needs that Pujols guy anyway?

No. 9 Miami Marlins

The next two teams on this list were my sleepers coming into this year. I love the Jose Reyes/Hanley Ramirez dynamic even though the Marlins are off to a rough start in 2012. The Marlins will bounce back, but for the Marlins to contend for a World Series they need Josh Johnson to pitch at an All-Star level.

No. 8 Toronto Blue Jays

Things I love about Toronto: Their lineup, Jose Bautista, Ricky Romero (Romero has quietly been one of the best pitchers since the 2011 All-Star Break) and, of course, Brett Lawrie. Things I don’t like: having to play in the AL East, Francisco Cordero (See No. 16.)

No. 7 Arizona Diamondbacks

As we’ve seen in baseball and especially basketball this year, franchise stability is key for a team’s success. Arizona didn’t make any crazy moves over the summer, but they didn’t need to. They had a team that made the playoffs last year that will continue to get better. Once Justin Upton’s injured thumb heals, he will continue to put up the big numbers he did last season.

No. 6 Detroit Tigers

So the Tigers lose Victor Martinez for the year and Justin Verlander is sure to regress a little, yet somehow the signing of Prince Fielder will turn this team into a World Series champion? I’m not buying it. The Tigers will still run away with the AL Central, but after Verlander the starting rotation is full of question marks.

No. 5 Texas Rangers

Oops. While there is no way that Josh Hamilton keeps up his hot start, the Rangers are for real. Yu Darvish has some nasty stuff (when he can command it) and Neftali Feliz has had a good start to his first year in the Rangers’ starting rotation. With the pitching staff figured out, and possibly the best lineup in baseball, this might finally be the year that the Rangers get over the hump in the World Series.

No. 4 Los Angeles Angels

Bigger oops. Whenever you sign Albert Pujols for $240 million and you find yourself looking up at the Seattle Mariners and the Oakland A’s, you know you’ve had a rough start to the year. But the Angels will be fine. Eventually, Pujols will hit his first home run of the year (with plenty more to come after that) and the offense will get rolling. I still like the Angels chances to make a run in the playoffs because they have the best pitching staff in baseball. (Jered Weaver, Dan Haren, Ervin Santana and C.J. Wilson) I haven’t lost faith in the Angels.

No. 3 Philadelphia Phillies

Biggest oops of all-time. Now the Phillies are a team I’ve lost faith in. There are not enough negative words in the English language to describe how bad their offense is. Adding Ryan Howard and Chase Utley (let’s stop kidding ourselves, Utley will be back on the DL in a matter of weeks) is not enough to stop this train wreck. The 3-4-5 hitters for the 2012 Philadelphia Phillies: Jimmy Rollins, Hunter Pence, Shane Victorino. (I’m not kidding) Let’s pretend I didn’t pick the Phillies as my top National League team…

No. 2 New York Yankees

Surprisingly quiet offseason for the Yanks. The only major signings were Raul Ibanez and Hiroki Kuroda. The trade of catcher Jesus Montero to Seattle for Michael Pineda obviously didn’t work out for this year, but the Yankees will manage to get through it. The lineup is just as good as the Rangers and the pitching staff will be good enough to allow the Yankees to win a lot of games.

No. 1 Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays are no longer the surprising upstarts. They are legitimate contenders and this year is no different. The Rays didn’t miss a beat after losing Carl Crawford last year and their lineup got better this offseason by adding Carlos Pena back into the mix. The starting rotation (James Shields, David Price, Jeremy Hellickson, Matt Moore and Jeff Niemann) is the best the Rays have ever had. Oh, and they have the best strategic manager in the game in Joe Maddon.

MLB Season Preview: No. 21 Chicago White Sox

(For a preview of No. 22 the Chicago Cubs, click here.)

The theme of the 2011 White Sox was disappointment. And the poster boy was the man featured above, Adam Dunn. Chicago shelled out big cash to lure the free agent from the Washington Nationals, but Dunn proved to be a dud in his first year with the White Sox. Dunn, a hitter known for his power, hit .159 and had only 11 home runs and 42 RBIs last year. Utility player Brent Lillibridge had more home runs (13) in 280 less at-bats!

The White Sox finished 2011 with a 79-83 and I’d expect another below-average year after the club lost many key performers without bringing in any big-name free agents to fill their holes. Pitchers Mark Buerhle, Jason Frasor and Sergio Santos are all gone, as well as outfielder Carlos Quentin.

Reason(s) for Optimism: There is absolutely no way that Adam Dunn is worse this year than he was last year. The pitching rotation can be solid as long as Jake Peavy can stay healthy and Phil Humber can pitch like he did in his rookie year last year.

Reason(s) for Concern: Outside of Paul Konerko and Alex Rios, the rest of the lineup is full of question marks. I like centerfielder Alejandro de Aza as a fielder, but his hitting is suspect. (And he’s projected to bat leadoff.) We’ve already seen just how bad Dunn can be and although I don’t think he will be that bad again, you never know. And at this point in his career, I have officially given up hope that second baseman Gordon Beckham will ever be good.

Best Possible Scenario: Besides the Tigers, the rest of the AL Central is up for grabs. If the White Sox can beat up on the rest of Central, they might be able to sneak into a Wild Card spot. The White Sox could make noise in the playoffs because their bullpen is stocked with young talent. (Watch out for Addison Reed.)

Worst Possible Scenario: The lineup can’t hit, Dunn has another terrible year and the White Sox finish last in the AL Central for the first time ever.

Chances of seeing the White Sox in the playoffs: 19 percent. Winning the division is pretty much out of the picture, but a Wild Card spot is a definite possibility.

MLB Season Preview: No. 22 Chicago Cubs

(Check out the most unlucky franchise in all of sports, No. 23 Baltimore Orioles, here.)

After looking at the most unlucky baseball franchise, we move on to the most tortured baseball franchise, the Chicago Cubs.

The Cubs finished fifth in the NL Central in 2011 with a 71-91 record under first-year manager Mike Quade. (Quade was fired after the season and the Cubs have since brought in Dale Sveum.) The Cubs were in the middle of the pack in both hitting and pitching categories last season and they are destined for another year of mediocrity.

The Cubs offense took a hit in the offseason when third baseman Aramis Ramirez and first baseman Carlos Pena left the team. On the pitching side, the Cubbies finally got rid of Carlos Zambrano. To replace Zambrano, who left for Miami, the Cubs signed Chris Volstad and Paul Maholm, two solid pitchers that will eat innings and should be in the starting rotation to start the year.

Reason(s) for Optimism: The pitching staff. Most of the teams ranked behind the Cubs in my preview have little pitching, but the Cubs are the exact opposite. The starting rotation is solid, especially for a team in the National League. And with Carlos Marmol holding down the back of the bullpen, the Cubs will be in a lot of games based solely on their pitching. Matt Garza and Ryan Dempster will need to pitch 200+ innings and be workhorses for the Cubs to contend in the NL Central.

Reason(s) for Concern: Lack of power hitters. Besides Alfonso Soriano, the Cubs are a team full of guys who hit singles (if they even get hits at all). Losing Pena and Ramirez means the Cubs will have to rely on Bryan LaHair to pick up the slack. After not playing in the major leagues since 2008, LaHair played in 20 games last year batting .288 with 2 HR and 6 RBI. Not exactly the track record you want to see from your projected clean-up hitter.

Best Possible Scenario: Shortstop Starlin Castro continues his progression towards being an All-Star and the rest of the lineup hits well enough to win games. The big arms (Garza and Dempster) are able to stay healthy all year, giving the Cubs a chance at a Wild Card.

Worst Possible Scenario: When you haven’t won a World Series since 1908, every year seems like a worst possible scenario. I’m going to refrain from throwing more salt in the wound.

Chances of seeing the Cubs in the playoffs: 15 percent. If the Cubs are able to pitch well, they have a chance to make some noise this season. But in a division with three quality teams (Cardinals, Brewers and Reds) it’s hard to see the Cubs making the playoffs. The long wait for a World Series win will continue into 2013.

MLB Season Preview: No. 23 Baltimore Orioles

(Here’s the link to No. 24 Kansas City Royals)

Is any team, in any sport, in a worse situation than the Baltimore Orioles?

Nothing is fair in the AL East. And that was before the Tampa Bay Rays got good. It’s all about the Yankees, Red Sox and now the Rays. (Even the Toronto Blue Jays will be markedly improved this year.)

Once again, the Orioles are destined for the bottom of the standings. They can’t keep up with the Yanks and Sox in the standings, or in the checkbooks, no matter what they do. Last year, the Orioles finished 69-93, which was the fourth-worst record in MLB. But those win/loss stats are skewed considering the O’s have to play the better teams in the AL more often than most teams.

Just like last year (and the year before, and the year before…), the Orioles have more talent than their record will indicate.

Reason(s) for Optimism: How can you be optimistic about Baltimore after you just said they never have a chance of winning the AL East? (Good point.)

Reason(s) for Concern: The Orioles have a decent lineup, but the pitching is brutal. Essentially, they are the Anti-Padres. In a division that features three, if not four, of the top offenses in the major leagues, quality pitching is paramount. The Orioles finished last in ERA, Quality Starts and WHIP in 2011, and they enter 2012 without their best pitcher from last year (Jeremy Guthrie, now with the Rockies). I consider myself a knowledgeable baseball fan, and I haven’t even heard of the No. 4 or No. 5 starters for the O’s (Wei-Yin Chen and Tsuyoshi Wada). I googled “Jim Johnson”, the new Baltimore closer, and the first three things to come up were: the former Defensive Coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles, the former CEO of Fannie Mae, and Jim Johnson Nissan Hyundai of Bowling Green, Kentucky. That, in itself, is concerning.

Best Possible Scenario: It’s unfortunate that the Orioles are in such a difficult division because I actually really like their lineup. Nick Markakis is turning into a stud, Adam Jones continues to hit and Matt Wieters is coming into his own. I also really like the signing of outfielder Endy Chavez, who should bat leadoff for Baltimore from day one. So I guess what I’m trying to say is, the best possible scenario is that the Orioles keep hitting?

Worst Possible Scenario: Already destined for last place in the AL East, Baltimore begins trading all its young talent to dump salary. Devoid of talent, the Orioles continue their decade (and counting) of irrelevancy.

Chances of seeing the Orioles in the playoffs: Zero percent. Baltimore hasn’t made the playoffs since 1997, and it won’t join the party this year either. The AL East is just too good.

MLB Season Preview: No. 24 Kansas City Royals

(If you missed No. 25, the LA Dodgers, click here.)

There will be a time when the Royals are legitimate contenders to win the AL Central. Unfortunately, this isn’t the year. The combination of youth and the emergence of the Detroit Tigers means that the Royals will be left on the outside looking in when the playoffs start in October.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but their is hope for the future in Kansas City. All of the Royals’ prized prospects are starting to make their way to the majors, and the Royals should be in good shape once they gain some more experience at the big league level. Even with the youth throughout the roster, KC has a good chance to improve on last year’s 71-91 record.

Reason(s) for Optimism: Eric Hosmer. The first baseman is going to be a stud. Hosmer showed power and some decent plate discipline in his rookie year, and he should continue to improve as the year goes on. The bullpen will be a strong point for the Royals as well. Closer Joakim Soria had an uncharacteristically bad 2011, but he should come back strong. With Aaron Crow, Tim Collins and Jonathan Broxton, the Royals will be in strong in the seventh and eighth innings. (That’s if the starters can make it that far into the game…)

Reason(s) for Concern: Starting rotation. (…what a segue!) For all the stud prospects the Royals have in the field, you think they would have focused a little more on the starting rotation. The rotation is atrocious. Luke Hochevar, Jonathan Sanchez (acquired in a trade for outfielder Melky Cabrera), Bruce Chen, Felipe Paulino and Danny Duffy are the projected starters. Right now, none of those pitchers have No. 3 starter stuff. (Duffy is young, 23, and the Royals are banking on him becoming an ace. He can develop into one, but it will take more than a year to get there.)

Best Possible Scenario: The Royals can, and will, score. Big years from Hosmer, Alex Gordon, Billy Butler and others give the Royals a chance to outscore teams. The Royals sneak into a Wild Card spot, but the lack of pitching dooms them in the playoffs.

Worst Possible Scenario: All of KC’s young players don’t improve as much as they should. The Royals become the worst team in MLB history to host an All-Star Game. Instead of being a celebration of the greatest players of the year, All-Star Weekend turns sour when commissioner Bud Selig tells the media that the Royals will be relocated “due to continued poor performance and the inability to give Royals’ fans any semblance of hope.”

Chances of seeing the Royals in the playoffs: 11 percent. Detroit has the AL Central pretty much locked up and their will be tough competition for the two Wild Cards. (Texas/Angels runner-up and the Big Three in the AL East.)

MLB Season Preview: No. 25 Los Angeles Dodgers

(As the countdown rolls on, take a look back at No. 26, the New York Mets, here.)

The Dodgers are an interesting team to watch in 2012. Last year, the Dodgers finished 82-79 and only 7.5 games out of the Wild Card spot. They also play in a weak NL West (other than the Diamondbacks) and they didn’t lose anyone of major importance off last year’s team.

So why do I have them so low? They didn’t improve anywhere. When Aaron Harang and Chris Capuano are your biggest offseason additions, you can’t really call that “improvement.” Also, I think centerfielder Matt Kemp is going to regress a little. Kemp is coming off an MVP-caliber year (.324 BA, 39 HR, 126 RBI and 40 SB), but it was a contract year. As we know, for some reason players perform better during their last year of a contract (I wonder why…). And with a new, eight year-$160 million extension, I expect Kemp to relax a little bit.

Reason(s) for Optimism: Dee Gordon. Gordon, a rookie shortstop, will start in the big leagues after coming up halfway through last season. Gordon, who hit .304 during 56 games with the Dodgers in 2011, will bat leadoff and provide a huge boost for the lineup. The lineup overall is solid and starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw is a stud. They also have Kemp, and even though I don’t think he’ll have as great of stats this year, he’s still going to put up big numbers.

Reason(s) for Concern: The starting rotation after Kershaw. Chad Billingsley, Ted Lilly, Harang and Capuano round out the starting rotation for the Dodgers. If I’m a Dodgers fan, I have absolutely no faith in any of them. Billingsley has a chance to prove me wrong, but he’s really struggled since the first half of the 2009 season.

Best Possible Scenario: 2012-Kemp plays like 2011-Kemp and the young guys in the lineup (Gordon and outfielder Jerry Sands) come up big in the spotlight. Other than the Diamondbacks, no one is scary in the NL West, so the Dodgers could make a run at one of the Wild Cards.

Worst Possible Scenario: Even if Kemp regresses a little, the lineup will be fine. For the Dodgers, it all comes down to pitching. If the starting rotation struggles and the bullpen gets worn out by the middle of May, things could get ugly.

Chances of seeing the Dodgers in the playoffs: 10 percent. You can only get so far without quality starting pitching.