2018 MLB Preview & Lineups:

American League Central: It is the Cleveland Indians’ division to lose since they have the best rotation and roster in this division but one of the best rotations in all of baseball. The only thing that will hold back this team is injuries since 2B Jason Kipnis, LF Michael Brantley, CF Bradley Zimmer and C Yan Gomes have each battled injuries these past year and so has Danny Salazar and Carlos Carrasco. They did lose Bryan Shaw in free agency but did pick up Matt Belisle to be that multi-inning reliever that Shaw was for awhile setting up Andrew Miller and Cody Allen. Anytime you have Corey Kluber leading your rotation, Francisco Lindor and Edwin Encarnacion leading your lineup you should be in the pennant game every year.  

Batting Lineup:

1.      CF Brady Zimmer

2.      SS Francisco Lindor

3.      3B Jose Ramirez

4.      DH Edwin Encarnacion

5.      2B Jason Kipnis

6.      1B Yonder Alonso

7.      RF Lonnie Chisnehall

8.      C Yan Gomes

9.      LF Tyler Naquin 

Pitching Staff:

Corey Kluber	Carlos Carrasco	Danny Salazar	Trevor Bauer	Josh Tomlin	CL-Cody Allen
SU-Andrew Miller	SU-Dan Oreto	MI-Zach McAllister	MI-Matt Belise	MI-Nick Goody	LHP-Tyler Olson

Bench:

OF-Rajai Davis

INF-ErikGonzalez

OF-Brandon Guyer

C-Roberto Perez 

LF-Michael Brantley-DL

Manger-Terry Francona

The Minnesota Twins roster is talented enough to be a wild card team again/finish second but also since the other three teams are rebuilding. They added Lance Lynn, Jake Odorizzi to help out Ervin Santana in the rotation and redid the back end of the bullpen by signing Zach Duke, Addison Reed and Fernando Rodney. The offense is what makes them a contender with Miguel Sano, Brian Dozier, Joe Mauer and Eddie Rosario but they added Logan Morrison to DH to make that lineup even deeper. Again the pitching will be the thing that holds them back.

Bating Lineup:

1.      CF Byron Buxton

2.      C Joe Mauer

3.      2B Brain Dozier

4.      3B Miguel Sano

    5.      DH Logan Morrison

6.      LF Eddie Rosario

7.      RF Max Kepler

8.      C Jason Castro

                      9.      SS Eduardo Escobar 

Pitching Staff:

Ervin Santana	Jake Odorizzi	Lance Lynn	Kyle Gibson	Jose Berrios	CL-Fernando Rodney
SU-Addison Reed	SU-Zach Duke	MI-Ryan Pressly	MI-Taylor Rodgers	MI-Trevor Hildenberger	LR-Phil Hughes

Bench:

OF-Robbie Grossman

INF-Ehire Adrianza

OF-Ryan LaMarre

C-Mitch Garver

INF-Jorge Polanco-Suspended

Manger-Paul Molitor

The White Sox will finish in third place based on the potential of their young rotation and good position players since they still have Jose Abreu, Avisail Garica and will have a full season out of 2B Yoan Moncada, Matt Davidson and Nick Delmonico. They even signed veteran catcher Wellington Castillo to mentor the young staff and deepen the lineup since the development for Carson Fulmer, Reynaldo Lopez and Lucas Giolito over a full season which will be key going forward. The bullpen on the other hand is going to be an experiment all season with six veterans they signed to minor league deals and two veteran relievers they got in a trade (IE Joakim Soria) to get the  ball to Nate Jones who is yet to be healthy over a course of a full season. Look for them to trade James Shields, Miguel Gonzalez, Wellington Castillo, Joakim Soria/other veteran relievers who make the team at the deadline to continue this rebuild. 

Batting Lineup:

1.      SS Tim Anderson

2.      2B Yoan Mancda

3.      1B Jose Abreu

4.      RF Aviasil Garcia

5.      3B Matt Davison

6.      DH Nicky Delamonico

7.      C Welling Castillo

8.      LF Ryan Cordell

9.      CF Adam Engel 

Pitching Staff:

James Shields	Miguel Gonzlaez	Renyondo Loepz	Lucas Gilito	Carson Fulmer	CL-Nate Jones
SU-Joakim Soria	SU-Luis Avilan	MI-Gregory Infante	MI-Danny Farquhar	LHP-Xavier Cedano	LR-Hector Santiago

Bench:

OF-Charlie Tilson

UTL-Carlos Sanchez

UTL-Leury Garcia

C-Kevan Smith –DL

C-Omar Navarez

SP-Carlos Rodon-DL

Manger-Rick Renteria 

The Kansas City Royals only lost two of their four free agents by resigning Alcides Escobar and Mike Moustakas which isn’t bad but it left a hole in CF and a hole in the middle of the lineup/leadership hole. They at-least brought in Jon Jay to play CF and Lucas Duda to play 1B but lost Jorge Bonifacio to a 80 game suspension who they were relying on/Duda to make up for the offense lost from Lorenzo Cain/Eric Hosmer. The bullpen which was their strength for years is no longer that good outside of Kelvin Herrera who can be traded and multiple questions in their rotation after Danny Duffy, Ian Kennedy and Jason Hammel. The positive is they didn’t purposely tank like other teams since they signed a few veterans here and there to major and minor league to make it look like they were trying plus they aren’t as bad as the Tigers. 

Batting Lineup:

1.      2B Whit Merrifeld

2.      CF Jon Jay

3.      LF Alex Gordon

4.      3b Mike Moustakas

5.      1B Lucas Duda

6.      C Salvador Perez

7.      RF Jorge Soler

8.      DH Cheslor Cuthbert

9.      SS Alcides Escobar 

Pitching Staff:

Danny Duffy	Ian Kennedy	Jason Hammel	Nate Karns	Jakob Junis	CL-Kelvin Herrea
SU-Brandon Maurer	SU-Justin Grimm	MI-Blaine Boyer	MI-Brad Keller	MI-Brian Flynn	MI-Burch Smith

Bench: 

OF-Paulo Orlando

INF-Raul Mondesi JR

C-Drew Butera

INF-Ryan Goins

OF-Jorge Bonifacio-Suspended

Manger-Ned Yost

The Detroit Tigers are purposely trying to lose games despite having Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez and Nick Castellanos in their lineup still. They are stuck with Jordan Zimmermann’s contract but also signed Francisco Liriano and Mike Fiers which makes no sense when they have three young pitchers like Michael Fulmer, Daniel Norris and Michael Boyd plus they didn’t do anything to fix the bullpen what so ever. They are throwing Castellanos in the outfield even thought he isn’t one which will cost them games/causes a hole at 3B and already have one at 2B. Hello 100 lost season again for the Tigers like the pre Miguel Cabrera years as they will be seeing last place for awhile. 

Batting Lineup:

1.      CF Leonys Martin

2.      SS Jose Iglesias

3.      1B Miguel Cabrera

4.      DH Victor Martinez

5.      3B Nick Castellanos

6.      LF Jacoby Jones

7.      RF Mikie Mahtook

8.      C James McCann

9.      2B Dixon Machado

Pitching Staff:

Michael Fulmer	Jordan Zimmermann	Francisco Lirano	Mike Fiers	Michael Boyd	CL-Shane Greene
SU-Alex Wilson	SU-Daniel Stumpf	MI-Joe Jimenez	MI-Drew Verhagen	MI-Buck Farmer	MI-Warwick Saupold

Bench:

INF-Jeimer Candelario

OF-Victor Reyes

C-Jordan Hicks

INF-Niko Goodrum

Manager-Ron Gardenhire

American League East: This off season the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees were trying to outdo each other with acquisitions but not in areas of need but in areas of strength. Boston has the best outfield in baseball and New York had five outfields already before each acquired outfielders to DH in JD Martinez and Giancarlo Stanton respectively. With the Stanton trade the Yankees made a whole at 2B and 3B to clear space to take on his contract and Boston is now making Hanley Ramirez and Mitch Moreland split time at 1B. But they corrected the holes they made by getting Neil Walker and Brandon Dury respectively while Boston has the same rotation depth issues and no real bridge to closer Craig Kimbrel. The Yankees at least have one of the best bullpens because of the four headed monster they have in Aroldis Chapman, David Robertson, Dellin Betances and Tommy Kahnle. Boston has the better rotation on paper because of David Price, Chris Sale and Rick Porcello but each have an issue that is holding them back. Despite the injury history of the Yankees top 4 starters of Masahiro Tanaka, Luis Severino, Sonny Gray and CC Sabathia they each will start the year healthy unlike Boston who has spots wide open since the three options are out. Each team’s strength will be the offense and that is what will carry them for the season through tough times for each pitching staff’s issue but each will need to make some move for pitching since they are both behind the Astros and Indians.

Batting Lineup:

1.      2B Eduardo Nunez

2.      LF Andrew Benintendi

3.      RF Mookie Betts

4.      DH JD Martinez

5.      1B Hanley Ramirez

6.      SS Xander Bogarts

7.      3B Rafael Devers

8.      CF Jackie Bradley JR

9.      C Christian Vazquez 

Pitching Staff:

Chris Sale	David Price	Rick Porcello	Drew Pomeranz	Eduardo Rodriguez	CL: Craig Kimbrel
SU-Carson Smith	SU-Matt Barnes	MI-Heath Hembree	MI-Joe Kelly	MI-Tyler Thornberg	LR-Steven Wright

    Bench:

UTL-Brock Holt

UTL-Blake Swihart

INF-Mitch Moreland

C-Sandy Leon

2B-Dustin Pedroia-DL

Manager-Alex Cora 

Batting Lineup:

1.      LF Brett Gardner

2.      CF Aaron Hicks

3.      RF Aaron Judge

4.      DH Giancarlo Stanton

5.      C Gary Sanchez

6.      SSDidi Gregorius

7.      1B Neil Walker

8.      3B Brandon Dury

9.      2B Tyler Wade

Pitching Staff:

Luis Severino	Masahiro Tanaka	Sonny Gray	CC Sabathia	Jordan Montgomery	CL: Aroldis Chapman
SU-David Robertson	SU-Dellin Betances	MI-Tommy Kahnle	MI-Chad Green	MI-Adam Warren	MI-Chasen Sherve

Bench:

INF-Ronald Torreyes

INF-Tyler Austin

C-Andrew Romine

OF-Shane Robinson

OF-Jacoby Ellsbury-DL

OF-Clint Frazier-DL

1B-Greg Bird-DL

Manager-Aaron Boone

Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays will be competing for 3^rd place but could surprise people and snag a wild card spot if the Yankees and Red Sox beat each up other up. Each has a great lineup and a solid rotation 1-5 with no real big time starters but good reliable starters none the less. The only difference is that the Orioles will be without their closer Zach Britton to start the season while Toronto will have Roberto Osuna to start the year but outside of their closers they have no real good bullpens. Toronto still has Josh Donaldson, Kendrys Morales, Justin Smoak, Troy Tulowitzki, and Russell Martin plus they traded for Aledmys Diaz and Yangervis Solarte as insurance for the middle infield since health has been an issue there. While Baltimore has Manny Machado, Jonathan Schoop, Adam Jones, Mark Trumbo, Chris Davis and Trey Mancini but still have same issue from last year of who is lining up in the outfield alongside Jones. But at least they fixed their rotation but signing Alex Cobb, Andrew Cashner and resigning Chris Tillman to pair with Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman. Toronto signed Jaime Garcia to be their 5^th starter which means they probably have the best 5^th starter in baseball but if each team thinks they’re in the race will need to get bullpen help.

Batting Lineup:

1.      LF Craig Gentry

2.      3B Tim Beckham

3.      CF Adam Jones

4.      1B Chris Davis

5.      SS Manny Machado

6.      2B Jonathan Schoop

7.      DH Trey Mancini

8.      RFColby Rasmus

9.      C Caleb Joseph

Pitching Staff:

Dylan Bundy	Alex Cobb	Andrew Cashner	Kevin Gausman	Chris Tillman	CL-Zach Britton
SU-Brad Brach	SU-Darren O’Day	MI-Mychal Givens	MI-Miguel Castro	MI-Richard Bleier	LR-Michael Wright Jr

Bench:

OF-Andrew Santander

C-Chance Sisco

INF-Danny Valencia

INF-Ruben Tejeda

DH-Mark Trumbo-DL

Manager-Buck Showalter

 Batting Lineup:

1.      LF Curtis Granderson

2.      2B Devon Travis

3.      3B Josh Donaldson

4.      DH Kendrys Morales

5.      1B Justin Smoak

6.      C Russell Martin

7.      RF Randal Grichuk

8.      CF Kevin Pillar

9.      SS Aledmys Diaz 

Pitching Staff:

JA Happ	Aaron Sanchez	Marco Estrada	Marcus Stroman	Jaime Garcia	CL-Roberto Osuna
SU-John Axford	SU-Tyler Clippard	MI-Seung-Hawn Oh	MI-Aaron Loup	MI-Ryan Tepera	MI-Danny Barnes

Bench:

UTL-Yangervis Solarte

UTL-Steve Pearce

C-Luke Malie

OF-Teoscar Hernandez

SS-Troy Tulowitzki-DL

Manager-John Gibbons 

The Tampa Bay Rays are following suit with the other Florida team in a full scale rebuild-trade away players since they finally traded Evan Longoria while also trading Jake Odorizzi for one marginal prospect and letting All-Star DH Corey Dickerson go on waivers. Chris Archer, Alex Colome, Sergio Romo, Denard Span, Carlos Gomez, Brad Miller and Wilson Ramos are all possible trade pieces to even further this rebuild and what will be a continued stay back in the cellar like the days of the Devil Rays. Plus they are going with a four man rotation all season which is another head scratching move they have made. 

Batting Lineup:

1.      LF Denard Span

2.      3B Matt Duffy

3.      1B CJ Cron

4.      C Wilson Ramos

5.      DH Brad Miller

6.      RF Carlos Gomez

7.      CF Kevin Kiermaier

8.      2B Joe Wendle

9.      SS Adieny Hechavarria

Pitching Staff:

Chris Archer	Blake Snell	Nathan Evoaldi	Jacob Faria	Matt Andriese	CL-Alex Colome
SU-Sergio Romo	SU-Chaz Roe	MI-Jose Alvarado	MI-Andrew Kittredge	MI-Austin Pruitt	MI-Ryan Yarbrough

Bench:

OF-Mallex Smith

UTL-Daniel Robertson

INF-Rob Refsnyder

C-Jesus Sucre

Manager-Kevin Cash

American League West: The reigning World Series champions Houston Astros are again the favorites to win it all and that is because they improved their rotation by getting Gerrit Cole since they already have Dallas Keuchel, Justin Verlander and Lance McCullers Jr as this makes their rotation even better. But now have two extra starters depending on who is their fifth starter between Charlie Morton, Brad Peacock and Colin McHugh. Their biggest weakness will be their bullpen and LF and the hope is they trade one of those starters for a LF or some bullpen help if they really want to have no weakness as its World Series or bust. They still have one of the best lineups in baseball anchored by MVP Jose Altuve, World Series MVP George Springer and Carlos Corrrea to name some of it. 

Batting Lineup:

1.      RF George Springer

2.      3BAlex Bregman

3.      2B Jose Altuve

4.      SS Carlos Correa

5.      DH Evan Gattis

6.      C Brian McCann

7.      LFJosh Reddick

8.      1B Marwin Gonzalez

9.      CF Derek Fisher 

Pitching Staff:

Dallas Keuchel	Justin Verlander	Lance McCullers JR	Gerrit Cole	Charlie Morton	CL-Ken Giles
SU-Will Harris	SU-Chris Devenski	MI-Hector Rondon	LHP-Tony Sipp	MI-Joe Smith	LR-Brad Peacock

Bench:

OF-Jake Marisnick

INF-JD Davis

C-Max Stassi

LR-Colin McHugh

1B-Yuli Gurriel-DL-Suspended

Manger-AJ Hinch

There are three teams fighting for 2^nd place, the Rangers, Mariners and Angels but all three have major flaws. The Texas Rangers have a chance due to their lineup since they still have 3B Adrian Beltre, Joey Gallo, RF Nomar Mazara, Shin-SooChoo, 2B Rougned Odor and SS Elvis Andrus. But they have a whole in LF and at catcher which means they might actually trade Jurikson Profar to a team needing an infielder so they can fill one of those holes or fix the real holes that are in the pitching staff as a whole. After Cole Hamles it’s a patch work rotation of Doug Fister, Mike Minor, Matt Moore and an injured Martin Perez with a chance of Bartolo Colon or Jesse Chavez. The bullpen is also patchwork with Tim Lincecum trying to be the closer since they don’t have a real good bullpen. 

Batting Lineup:

1.      CF Delino DeShields Jr

2.      DH Shin-Soo Choo

3.      3B Adrian Beltre

4.      1B Joey Gallo

5.      RF Nomar Mazara

6.      2B Rougned Odor

7.      LF Ryan Rua

8.      SS Elvis Andrus

9.      C Robinson Chirinos

Pitching Staff:

Cole Hamels	Doug Fister	Matt Moore	Mike Minor	Martin Perez	CL-Tim Lincecum
SU-Jake Diekman	SU-Matt Bush	MI-Keone Kela	MI-Alex Claudio	MI-Tony Barnette	MI-Jose Leclerc

Bench:

UTL-Jurickson Profar

UTL-Daniel Robertson

OF-Carlos Tocci

C-Juan Centeno

Manager-Jeff Banister 

The Anaheim Angels made some splashy moves by reigning LF Justin Upton, trading for 2B Ian Kinsler, signing SS Zach Cozart to play 3b, and signing the “Babe Ruth of Japan” to pitch and DH. None of these moves really matter since it’s all about their pitching staff since the top three pitchers have yet to ever be consistently healthy and have to make a six man rotation to accommodate Shohei Otani meaning someone who shouldn’t be starting will be starting. Plus their bullpen isn’t any good despite them trading for Jim Johnson since a bullpen is more than just one guy. The only chance they have is having the best player in baseball in CF Mike Trout and the former best player in baseball Albert Pujols despite them asking him to play 1B more often in his advanced age. 

Batting Lineup:

1.      2B Ian Kinsler

2.      3B Zach Costart

3.      CF Mike Trout

4.      1B Albert Pujols

5.      LF Justin Upton

6.      RF Kole Calhoun

7.      DH Shohei Otani

8.      SS Andrelton Simmons

9.      C Martin Maldonado 

Pitching Staff:

Garret Richards	Andrew Heaney	Tyler Skaggs	Matt Shoemaker	JC Ramirez	CL-Jim Johnson
SU-Cam Bedrosian	SU-Blake Wood	MI-Blake Parker	MI-Keynan Middelton	MI-Jose Alvarez	MI-Noe Ramirez

Bench:

OF-Chris Young

INF-Luis Valbuena

INF-Jefry Marte

C-Rene Rivera

Manager-Mike Scioscia  

The Seattle Mariners still have Nelson Cruz, 2B Robinson Cano and 3B Kyle Seager to anchor their lineup while still having Felix Hernandez to lead a rotation which is weaker than most years but they traded for Dee Gordon to leadoff. The twist is he is now a CF learning on the fly, his second position change and their starting LF Ben Gamel is stating the year hurt so an Ichiro Suzuki reunion is also on hand. Outside of James Paxton the rest of the rotation is patchwork with Mike Leake and others but they also resigned Hisahi Iwakuma to a minor league deal to see if he still has it if healthy. They have a good closer in Edwin Diaz but outside of that their bullpen is weak and it got even weaker with David Phelps having to go under for Tommy John Surgery. The strength of their lineup will be key for them if they don’t make moves to fix the pitching staff as a whole if they want to break their playoff-less drought of 16 years the most in any professional sport. 

Batting Lineup:

1.      CF Dee Gordon

2.      SS Jean Segura

3.      2B Robinson Cano

4.      DH Nelson Cruz

5.      3B Kyle Seager

6.      1B  Ryon Healy

7.      LF Ichiro Suzuki

8.      RF Mitch Haniger

9.      C Mike Zunino

Pitching Staff:

Felix Hernandez	James Paxton	Mike Leake	Erasmo Ramirez	Marco Gonzalez	CL-Edwin Diaz
SU-Mark Rzepczynski	SU-Juan Nicasio	MI-Nick Vincent	MI-Dan Atavilla	MI-James Pazos	LR-Wade LeBlanc

Bench:

OF-Guillermo Heredia

UTL-Andrew Romine 

1B-Dan Vogelbach

C-Mike Marjama

OF-Ben Gamel-DL

Manager-Scott Servais

The Oakland Athletics will be one of the worst teams but they are still trying in one way since they upgraded their outfield and catching situation with the trade for OF Stephen Piscoctty which pushes Kris Davis to DH role where he is better suited and signed Jonathan Lucroy who can be used as a trade piece. Plus they can also trade INF Jed Lowrie, OF Matt Joyce, RP Santiago Casilla and SP Trevor Cahill to teams looking for upgrades the deadline since they have a prospect waiting to play. Like Franklin Barreto in the infield and already have 3B Matt Chapman, 1B Matt Olson and OFs Dustin Fowler/Boog Powell in place to start the year. The rotation on the other hand has promising pitchers slated to start this year led by Kendall Gravaman and Sean Manaea.  

 Batting Lineup:

1.      CF Boog Powell

2.      2B Jed Lowrie

3.      RF Stephen Piscotty

4.      DH Kris Davis

5.      C Jonathan Lucroy

6.      LF Matt Joyce

7.      1B Matt Olson

8.      3B Matt Chapman

9.      SS Marcus Semien

Pitching Staff:

Kendal Graveman	Sean Manaea	Trevor Cahill	Daniel Mengden	Daniel Gossett	CL-Santiago Casilla
SU-Blake Treinen	SU-Chris Hatcher	MI-Ryan Butcher	MI-Liam Hendricks	MI-Emilio Pagan	LR-Yusmeiro Petit

Bench:

OF-Jake Smolinski

INF-Chad Pinder

INF-Mark Canha

C-Bruce Maxwell

Manager-Bob Melvin 

National League Central: It is the Chicago Cubs division to lose since they have the best roster but it will not be so easy since the Cardinals and Brewers have gotten better with their off season moves. Gone are pitchers SPs Jake Arietta, John Lackey and relievers Wade Davis, Justin Grimm and Hector Rendon. While SPs Yu Darvish, Tyler Chatwood, Drew Smyly and relievers Brandon Morrow, Steve Cishek and Shae Simmons are in. We all know the Cubs strength is their lineup since they have 3B Kris Bryant, 1B Anthony Rizzo, C Wilson Contreras, SS Addison Russell, 2B Javy Baez and LF Kyle Schwarberbut don’t even have any room for Ben Zobrist and Ian Happ to play every day. They will need to make moves at the deadline to get a better bullpen and a deeper rotation which they can do since they have too many position players and no way to play them all every day. 

Batting Lineup:

1.      CF Ian Happ

2.      SS Addison Russell

3.      3B Kris Bryant

4.      Anthony Rizzo

5.      LF Kyle Schwarber

6.      C Wilson Contreras

7.      2B Javy Baez

8.      RF Jason Hayward 

Pitching Staff:

Jon Lester	Yu Darvish	Jose Quintna	Kyle Hendricks	Tyler Chatwood	CL-Steve Cishek
SU-Justin Wilson	SU-Pedro Strop	MI-Brandon Morrow	MI-Brian Duensing	MI-Carl Edwards Jr	LR-Mike Montgomery

Bench:

CF-Albert Almora Jr

UTL-Ben Zobrist

INF-Tommy LaStella

C-Victor Caratini

UTL-Mike Freeman

Manager-Joe Maddon

The St Louis Cardinals traded away two thirds of their outfield in Stepehn Piscotty and Randal Grichuck but got one of the best outfielders in Marcell Ozuna and they are stating Tommy Pham who was a starter before fell behind the other outfielders to pair with Dexter Fowler. The strength for this team will be its offense due to its outfield but also since they still haveYadier Molina and Matt Carpenter leading the offense but also also hope SS Paul DeJong isn’t a one hit wonder like the previous SS Aldemis Diaz. Their rotation isn’t weak but after Carlos Martinez, Adam Wainwright and Michael Wacha but they have questions marks for the youngsters in the backend of the rotation along with the bullpen as a whole but they did signed Luke Gregerson to close which is a good star. The rest of the bullpen outside of Brett Cecil is all question marks that will only be solved via the trade deadline if not they will miss the playoffs for a second straight year.

Batting Lineup:

1.      CF Dexter Fowler

2.      2B Kolten Wong

3.      1B Matt Carpenter

4.      RF Marcell Ozuna

5.      C Yadier Molina

6.      3B Jed Gyroko

7.      LF Tommy Pham

8.      SS Paul DeJong

Pitching Staff:

Carlos Martinez	Michal Wacha	Adam Wainright	Luke Weaver	Miles Mikolas	CL-Luke Gregerson
SU-Brett Cecil	SU-Dominic Leone	MI-Tyler Lyons	MI-Matt Bowman	MI-Bud Norris	MI-Sam Tuivaiala

Bench:

OF-Jose Martinez

INF-Greg Garcia

C-Francisco Pena

INF-Yairo Munoz

INF-Luke Voigt

Manager-Mike Matheny  

After barely missing the playoffs last year the Milwaukee  Brewers decided to not play around since they traded for Christian Yelich and signed CF Lorenzo Cain who they originally drafted to play with Ryan Braun in the outfield but this team has too many outfielders since the still have RF Domingo Santana and Eric Thames which is a good problem since they have one of the best lineups in baseball that also has 3B Travis Shaw and C Stephen Vogt. The key will be how good their rotation since its relying on Zach Davies, Chase Anderson and Jimmy Nelson who have all shown promise but they will need them to pitch to their talents while hoping the veterans they brought in will help like Wade Miley and Jhoulys Chacin. They also brought in Boone Logan, Matt Albers to set up Corey Knebel and Jeremy Jeffress but they will made need to trade one of their position players for a starting pitcher upgrade if they want to make the playoffs. 

Batting Lineup:

1.      2B Jonathan Villar

2.      CF Lorenzo Cain

3.      LF Christian Yelich

4.      RF Ryan Braun

5.      1B Eric Thames

6.      3B Travis Shaw

7.      SS Orlando Arcia

8.      C Manny Pina

Pitching Staff:

Zach Davies	Chase Anderson	Jimmy Nelson	Jhoulys Chacin	Brent Suter	CL-Corey Knebel
SU-Jeremy Jeffress	SU-Matt Albers	MI-Oliver Drake	LP-Boone Logan	MI-Josh Hader	MI-Jacob Barnes

Bench:

OF-Domingo Santana

UTL-Hernan Perez

INF-Eric Sogard

INF-Jesus Aguliar

C-Jett Bandy

C-Stephen Vogt-DL

Manager-Craig Counsell

Well the Pittsburgh Pirates finally traded away Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole and turned the team over to Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco as Marte will play CF which he was going to do before his PED suspension last year. Ivan Nova is the last man standing in a rotation full of potential but inexperience even if some of them like Jameson Taillon and Chad Kuhl pitched year for them/Joe Musgrove pitching for Houston. Their lineup will actually be good since they got All-Star DHCorey Dickerson for nothing to play LF they still have 2B Josh Harrison, SS Jordy Mercer, C Francisco Cervelli, 1B Josh Bell and 3B David Freese. They quietly have one of the best closers in the game in Felipe Rivero, bet the Nationals wish they didn’t trade him for a half season Mark Melancon. Since they are the 4^th best team in the division and have already traded away two key players look for them to trade some of their infielders and Ivan Nova at the deadline to help them rebuild quicker around the young staff and Marte/Polanco/Bell. 

Batting Lineup:

1.      2B Josh Harrison

2.      SS Jordy Mercer

3.      CF Starling Marte

4.      3B  David Freese

5.      1B Josh Bell

6.      LF Corey Dickerson

7.      RF Gregory Polanco

8.      C Francisco Cervelli 

Pitching Staff:

Ivan Nova	Jameson Tallion	Trevor Williams	Chad Kuhl	Jose Musgrove	CL-Felipe Rivero
SU-George Kontos	SU-Michael Feliz	MI-Josh Smoker	MI-Dovydas Neverauskas	MI-Edgar Santana	MI-Steven Brault

Bench:

UTL-Adam Frazier

UTL-Sean Rodriguez

INF-Collin Moran

C-Elias Diaz

OF-Jose Ozuna

Manager-Clint Hurdle

Last place again and for awhile in Cincinnati despite having a talented team led by Joey Votto.  Gone from the Reds is Jay Bruce, Brandon Phillips, Todd Fraizer, Jhonny Cueto and now Zach Cosart leaving Votto and Homer Bailey as the old guard for the new look young/in rebuild mode Reds. They have a promising team since they have one of the best outfields with Billy Hamilton, Scott Schebler and Adam Duvall plus their 3B isn’t too shabby in Eugenio Suarez. Catcher Tucker Barnheart was the backup to start the year and still won the gold glove so of course he is the starter and they have a promising pitching staff if they stay healthy in Anthony DeSclafini, Brandon Finnegan with Bailey in the rotation. Raisel Iglesias and Michael Lorenzen lead a good bullpen that also brought in Jared Hughes and David Hernandez. The future is bright but not enough for this year or the next few years based on whose head of them in the division IE Cubs-Cards-Brewers.

Batting Lineup:

1.      CF Billy Hamilton

2.      2B Scooter Gennett

3.      1B Joey Votto

4.      3B Adam Duvall

5.      RF Scott Schebler

6.      3B Eugenio Suarez

7.      SS Jose Pereza

8.      C Tucker Barnheart

Pitching Staff:

Homer Bailey	Anthony DeSclafani	Brandon Finnegan	Luis Castillo	Sal Romano	CL-Raisel Iglesias
SU-Michael Lorenzen	SU-Jared Hughes	MI-David Hernandez	MI-Wandy Peralta	MI-Kevin Quackenbush	MI-Austin Price

Bench:

OF-Jesse Winkler

OF-Phillip Ervin

INF-Phil Gosselin

INF-Cliff Pennington

C-Devin Mesoraco

Manager- Bryan Price  

National League East:This is the make or break year for the Washington Nationals since it is RF Bryce Harper’s last year under contract before he eventually leaves for green pastures. It will help if both outfielders Adam Eaton, Michael Taylor and SS Trea Turner are healthy for most of the year. It will also help having an improved bullpen all year then having no closer for most of the season. They will probably need to make a move for another starting pitcher but are hoping the late spring training signing of Jeremy Hellickson will help them out but regardless it’s their division.

Batting Lineup:

1.      CF Adam Eaton

2.      SS Trea Tuner

3.      RF Bryce Harper

4.      1B Ryan Zimmerman

5.      3B Anthony Rendon

6.      C Matt Wieters

7.      2B Howie Kendrick

8.      LF Michael A Taylor 

Pitching Staff:

Max Scherzer	Stephen Strasburg	Gio Gonzalez	Tanner Roark	Jeremy Hellickson	CL-Sean Doolittle
SU-Ryan Madson	SU-Bradon Kintzler	MI-Shawn Kelly	MI-Enny Romero	MI-Joaquin Benoit	MI-Koda Glover

Bench:

OF-Brian Goodwin

INF-Wilmer Difo

INF-Matt Adams

C-Miguel Montero
INF-Matt Reynolds 

2B-Daniel Murphy-DL

Manager-Dave Martinez

If the New York Mets starting rotation of Jacob DeGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Matt Harvey, Stephen Matz, Zach Wheeler, and closer Jeurys Famila stay healthy they will compete for the division or a wild card. They got contingency plans by signing Jason Vargas, Anthony Swarzak and last year trading for AJ Ramos as closer protection. To relive stress off the pitching they brought in Todd Fraizer, Adrian Gonzalez and even brought back Jay Bruce to bolster the lineup around Yonesis Cespedes, Asdrubal Cabrera and Michael Conforto when he comes back from surgery.

Batting Lineup:

1.      2B Asdrubal Cabrera

2.      CF Juan Lagares

3.      RF Jay Bruce

4.      LF Yoenis Cespedes

5.      3B Todd Frazier

6.      1B Adrian Gonzalez

7.      C Travs d’Arnaud

SS Ahmed Rosario

Pitching Staff:

Noah Syndergaard	Jacob DeGrom	Matt Harvey	Stephen Matz	Jason Vargas	CL-Jeurys Familia
SU-AJ Ramos	SU-Jeremy Blevins	MI-Anthony Swarzak	MI-Paul Sewald	MI-Jacob Rhame	LR-Robert Gsellman

Bench:

OF-Brandon Nimmo

UTL-Jose Reyes

UTL-Wilmer Flores

C-Kevin Plawecki

INF-Dominic Smith

OF-Michael Conforto-DL

Manager-Mickey Callaway

Of the reaming three teams in this division, only one is trying to compete this year and it’s the Philadelphia Phillies. It’s about the future and the present with this team as the top prospects will get a chance to play like SS JP Crawford, CJorge Alfaro and OF Nick Williams. They also signed 1B Carlos Santana to anchor the lineup with rising star Rhys Hopkins who will be in LF and they signed Jake Arrieta to finally give Aaron Nola help in the rotation. As well as signing veterans Pet Neskek and Tommy Hunter. It is a nice attempt at trying to be competitive but they will not make the playoffs but they will finish 3^rd in their division.

Batting Lineup:

1.      CFOdubel Herrera

2.      2B Cesar Hernandez

3.      LF Rhys Hoskins

4.      1B Carlos Santana

5.      3B Makiel Franco

6.      RF Nick Williams

7.      C Jorge Alfaro

8.      SS JP Crawford 

Pitching Staff:

Aaron Nola	Jake Arrieta	Jerad Eickhoff	Vincent Velasquez	Nick Pivetta	CL-Hector Neris
SU-Tommy Hunter	SU-Pat Neshek	MI-Luis Garcia	MI-Adam Morgan	MI-Edubray Ramos	MI-Jake Thompson

Bench:

OF-Aaron Altherr

UTL-Scott Kingrey

INF-Pedro Florimon

C-Andrew Knapp

OF-Roman Quinn

Manager-Gabe Kapler 

In a salary-dump trade the Atlanta Braves took on the salaries of Scott Kazmir, Brandon McCarthy and 1B Adrian Gonzalez by sending out LF Matt Kemp which means they have a hole in LF and trying to plug it with one of the 8 guys. They also shipped out their closer to save money which means it will be all on Aroldis Vizciano to close games. The lineup will still have 1B Freddie Freeman, RF Nick Markakis, and leadoff hitter CF Ender Inciarte but will have three youngsters handling the infield with Freeman. Their rotation still has Julio Teheran and Mike Foltynewicz but also has a plan with veterans occupying spots instead of letting their pitching prospects take all the punches off a rebuilding team this year by getting McCarthy and Anibal Sanchez which they didn’t do previously.

Batting Lineup:

1.      CF Ender Inciarte

2.      2B Ozzie Albers

3.      RF Nick Markakis

4.      1B Freddie Freeman

5.      LF Preston Tucker

6.      C Kurt Suzuki

7.      3B Johan Camargo

SS Dansby Swanson

Pitching Staff:

Julio Teheran	Mike Foltynewicz	Brandon McCarthy	Anibal Sanchez	Sean Newcomb	CL-Arodys Vizcaino
SU-Rex Brothers	SU-Peter Moylan	MI-Jose Ramirez	MI-Chase Whitley	MI-Sam Freeman	MI-AJ Minter

Bench:

OF-Peter Bourjos

OF-Lane Adams

INF-Ryan Flaherty

UTL-Charlie Culberson  

C-Tyler Flowers

Manager-Brian Snitker

The Miami Marlins will be bad for awhile since they are in a full scale rebuild after their fire sale of the best outfield in baseball and traded one of the premier leadoff hitters in baseball as well. Gone are Giancarlo Stanton, Dee Gordon, Marcell Ozuna and Christian Yelich. The only salvage players will be traded like JT Realmuto, Justin Bour, Starlin Castro, Martin Prado and SP Dan Straily. The whole pitching staff is a patchwork while the outfield is a mess since they brought back Camron Maybin to play CF with Derek Dietrich in LF when he is a 2b. Once they trade their good players it will be a complete mess of a team that will lose 100 games. 

Batting Lineup:

1.      CF Lewis Brinson

2.      SS Miguel Rojas

3.      2B Starling Castro

4.      1B Justin Bour

5.      RF Cameron Maybin

6.      C Tomas Tellis

7.      LF Derek Dietrich

8.      3B Brian Anderson

Pitching Staff:

Dan Straily	Jose Urena	Wei-Yin Chen	Odrisamer Despaigne	Justin Turner	CL-Brad Ziegler
SU-Junichi Tazawa	SU-Kyle Barraclough	MI-Drew Steckenrider	MI-Brian Ellington	MI-Chris O’Grady	MI-Tayron Guerrero

Bench:

INF-Garrett Cooper

C-Chad Wallach

C-Bryan Holiday

INF-ScottV an Slyke

INF-Eric Campbell

3B-Martin Prado-DL

C-JT Realmuto-DL

SS-JT Riddle-DL

Manager-Don Mattingly

National League West: The reigning NL Champs came out of this division and so did the two wild cards. It will be the same story like it is always is for the Los Angeles Dodgers; they will need more starting pitching at the deadline due to injuries and same goes for bullpen except that it’s a combination of both health and ineffectiveness. Their offense will always be their strength centered around their young stars SS Corey Seager & 1B Cody Bellinger. But are anchored by veterans 3B Justin Turner, C Yasmani Grandal, 2B Logan Forsythe, the ever confusing RF Yasiel Puig/CF Joc Pederson and now don’t have a black hole in LF since they required LF Matt Kemp. SP Clayton Kershaw and CL Kenley Jensen will be their dominate self but will need help to win a World Series via trades or the rest of the staff will have to step up. They will win the division no doubt about it but their goal is a World Series.  

Batting Lineup:

1.      3B Logan Forsythe

2.      SS Corey Seager

3.      1B Cody Bellinger

4.      LF Matt Kemp

5.      C Yasmani Grandal

6.      RF Yasiel Puig

7.      CF Joc Pederson

8.      2B Chase Utley

Pitching Staff:

Clayton Kershaw	Alex Wood	Rich Hill	Kenta Maeda	Hyun-Jin Ryu	CL-Kenley Jensen
SU-Tony Cingrani	SU-Josh Fields	MI-Pedro Beaz	MI-Yimi Garcia	MI-Scott Alexander	MI-JT Chargois

Bench:

UTL-Chris Taylor

UTL-Kike Hernandez

OF-Andrew Toles

C-Austin Barnes

UTL-Kyle Farmer

3B-Justin Turner-DL

Manager-Dave Roberts

They have fixed their bullpen/3B-LF holes by signing Tony Watson to pair with closer Mark Melancon/LHP Will Smith who they hope both to be healthy with Sam Dyson and Hunter Strickland.  Plus they traded for 3B  Evan Longoria & CF Andrew McCutchen to play RF which shifts Hunter Pence to LF to add to their good lineup anchored by the best catcher in Buster Posey. They have a great 1-2 punch of Madison Bumgarner and Johnny Cueto but they traded away their leadoff hitter and CF Denard Span. They did however replace him with CF Austin Jackson, but he has failed at being a leadoff hitter in his career plus to clear space to take on those two’s contract they traded away their #3 starter Matt Moore which makes two holes in the rotation. They will need to acquire an SP at the deadline to go further then the wild card game which isn’t certain since the two wild cards from last year were the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks. 

Batting Lineup:

1.      CF Austin Jackson

2.      2B Joe Panik

3.      3B Evan Longoria

4.      C Buster Posey

5.      RF Andrew McCutchen

6.      1B Brandon Belt

7.      LF Hunter  Pence

8.      SS Brandon Crawford

Pitching Staff:

Madison Bumgarner	Johnny Cueto	Jeff Samardzija	Derek Holland	Chris Stratton	CL-Mark Melancon
SU-Sam Dyson	SU-Tony Watson	MI-Hunter Strickland	LP-Will Smith	MI-Cody Gearrin	MI-Josh Osich

Bench:

OF-Gregor Blanco

OF-GorkysHernandez

INF-KelbyTomlinson

INF-Pablo Sandoval

C-Nick Hundley

Manager-Bruce Bochy

 The Arizona Diamondbacks will have a hard time with three playoff contending teams to deal with since they have one of the worst bullpens in baseball which they didn’t really do anything to address besides acquire Brad Boxberger and make former starter Archie Bradley the closer since they have a surplus of position players they have that they could have traded for relievers. They had too many outfielders(8) before they acquired OF Steven Souza for INF Brandon Dury in three way trade, are also going with three catchers and have too many infielders(11) despite that trade. They signed OF Jarrod Dyson to backup Souza, AJ Pollack and David Peralta which means Yasmany Tomas is being paid to be in AAA and they are making INF Chris Owings a backup despite having one in Daniel Descalso. When you have Zach Grienke and Paul Goldschmidt leading your team you always have a chance but they will need to fix their bullpen.

Batting Lineup:

1.      RF Jarrod Dyson

2.      2B Ketel Marte

3.      1B Paul Goldschmidt

4.      3B Jake Lamb

5.      CF AJ Pollack

6.      LF David Peralta

7.      C Alex Avila

8.      SS Nick Ahmed

Pitching Staff:

Zach Greinke	Robbie Ray	Patrick Corbin	Taijuan Walker	Zach Goodey	CL-Archie Bradley
SU-Brad Boxberger	SU-Randal Delgado	MI-Fernando Salas	MI-TJ McFarland	MI-Andrew Chafin	LR-Jorge De La Rosa

Bench:
UTL-Chris Owings

INF-Daniel Descalso

C-Jeff Mathis

INF-Devin Marrero

C-John Ryan Murphy

OF-Steven Souza-DL

SP-Shelby Miller-DL

Manager-Torey Lovullo

The Colorado Rockies will again have a great offensive lineup anchored by CF Charlie Blackman and 3B Nolan Arenado plus they resigned OF Carlos Gonzalez. The pitching will be an issue which is history for them but their bullpen is the opposite of Arizona since they signed Wade Davis, Bryan Shaw and brought back Jake McGee too pair with Adam Ottivano and Mike Dunn. If your rotation is shakey and inexperienced it might as well beef up your pen to help the youngsters get through the year.  The only question is why they don’t let their own young catchers play a full year? Last year they used Ryan Hanigan and Jonathan Lucroy instead of their three young catchers this year they traded one and but brought back Chris Iannetta who has not been good since he left them years ago instead of seeing what they have. It could have been the rare young catching group catching a fleet of young starters to grow into success with each other but I guess not. 

Batting Lineup:

1.      CF Charlie Blackmon

2.      2B DJ LeMahieu

3.      LF Carlos Gonzalez

4.      3B Nolan Arenado

5.      1B Ian Desmond

6.      LF Gerardo Parra

7.      SS Trevor Story

8.      C Chris Iannetta

Pitching Staff:

Jon Gray	Tyler Anderson	German Marquez	Chad Bettis	Kyle Freeland	CL-Wade Davis
SU-Jake McGee	SU-Bryan Shaw	MI-Mike Dunn	MI-Adam Ottavino	MI-Chris Rusin	MI-Scott Oberg

Bench:

OF-Raimel Tapia

INF-Pat Valaika

C-Tony Walters

INF-Ryan McMahon

OF-Mike Tauchman

Manager-Bud Black

This is a four team race for this division which leaves the San Diego Padres who will be in last place but not for 3^rd straight season since the Giants and D-Backs were in last place last two seasons. They signed the best position player on the market in 1B Eric Hosmer despite having Wil Myers at 1B who was only there to avoid injury in the outfield but will go back there despite it being crowded with six other guys. They brought back 3B Chase Hedley and traded for Freddy Galvis to solve the SS hole but again will have a patchwork pitching staff full of unknowns and guys trying to rebound after poor or injury plagued seasons. 

Batting Lineup:

1.      CF Manuel Margot

2.      SS Freddy Galvis

3.      RF Wil Myers

4.      1B Eric Hosmer

5.      LF Hunter Renfroe

6.      3B Chase Headley

7.      C Austin Hedges

8.      2B Carlos Asuaje

Pitching Staff:

Clayton Richard	Bryan Mitchell	Luis Perdomo	Jordan Lyles	Colin Rea	CL-Brad Hand
SU-Kirby Yates	SU-Craig Stammen	MI-Buddy Baumann	MI-Matt Strahm	MI-Paul Maton	LR-Robbie Erlin

Bench:

OF-Matt Szczur

OF-Travis Jankowski

UTL-Jose Pirela

INF-Christian Villanueva

C-AJ Ellis

OF-Alex Dickerson-DL

Manager-Andy Green

Broadcast Fall TV Review

Fall 2017 TV Review

CBS: 

Kevin Can Wait: The show has its usual physical humor to it like most shows with the main character being a big guy (Kevin James). It had all the similarities of the old show with having a wife wanting him to lose weight and do more things around the house. It also had his group of friends and a relative in the mix. The differences are he is a retired cop not a delivery guy and he is married but with three kids and one is engaged to a British guy he isn’t the biggest fan of. It had a great first season with the usual laughs and things he would get himself into but the decision for season 2 to have his wife dead and Leah Remini be apart of main cast isn’t the best. The plot for season 2 is his owning a security company with Remini since they are both retired cops and are eventually going to make them love interests. The way it is going it will probably turn off most people with it being a copy of The King of Queens. It will still have Kevin James who makes us laugh so even if the show goes south people will still watch it. 

Verdict: Should be renewed and could be on for at least five years.

9JKL: Newly divorced Josh is an actor between projects who moves home to New York to regroup and into an apartment sandwiched between his parents and his brother's family. As he gets back on his feet, he's faced with his most challenging role yet: being a good son and brother while keeping his relatives at bay. As they literally come at him from both sides, he realizes he desperately needs to establish some ground rules, because his loving family is always going to be there for him. The show started off bad and has no real over story arch for the season. It’s in a long line of CBS sitcoms that are still on the air and you question why this show is on still (or the others that lasted five years or more) but others aren’t on the air anymore or were cancelled after one year. It is an acquired taste since the main character is grounded-normal with everyone else being crazy. CBS waited for the show to get better over time since it added a full season order of 16 episodes a few months into the show but didn’t give it many episodes to being win since they weren’t that confident of where it was going. If you waited for it to get better you got rewarded with better episodes. It is also filled with lots of Jewish humor that not everyone understands. 

Verdict: Cancelled but since they gave it a full season order and didn’t stay with original number that’s a positive sign for the show to stay on the air. 

Bull: It isn’t your typical court room drama since it’s not about a lawyer.  He isn’t a lawyer but you see him in court rooms apart of the defendant or prosecutor’s team. He is a psychologist and trial science expert who can help you pick the perfect jury depending on what you need to win the case/to help his clients' lawyers decide which type of argument will win over jurors best. He has a whole team with their own expertise. One in fashion/how you appear, a former district attorney so if someone needs a lawyer you have one, a former FBI agent to investigate things, a computer expert who can find out everything online about someone, and another psychologist/neurolinguistics who has built an algorithm to help find mirror jurors to help Dr. Jason Bull practice beforehand/get a judge of how the jury is actually feeling. It has a good combination of light humor but also can be very serious when the case is very serious plus the characters are all interesting and important to the story. 

Verdict: Should be renewed and stay on the air for 5-7 years. 

MacGyver: You are going to say another reboot come on be original! I can say I have seen both and both are different premises despite the character basically being the same except when they learned their abilities (Vietnam War and Iraq/Iran war/what year of college). They have the same expertise and a Swiss army knife. The current trend of superhero/law enforcement shows of some type is all about teams not just about one man doing it alone. That is the strength of this show is yes MacGyver doing it on his own is but what the show is about is having a team to back him up is great. Maybe because his two best friends are a major part of the show; one is his roommate/childhood best friend who joins the Phoenix Foundation later on based on his talents, and his army best friend Jack Dalton who always has his back. The show has changed who’s his boss and who is computer tech person to help him but outside of the actress playing leader #2 being a little person that just throws off the scene because that’s all you can think about. The character arch of tech person #2 has made the show better since her addition  has a back-story with Jack Dalton from her past. Plus they added another female character who’s a secret agent that makes the show better with the skills she brings to the team. Just don’t think of it as a reboot but as a completely different premise and show just with updated technology for current times compared to the 1980's. 

Verdict: Should be renewed and could be on the air for 3-5 seasons. 

Me Myself and I: This show was a very creative idea and can be considered one of the most appropriate shows for a family to watch with their kids. It takes place during three times periods of Bobby Moynihan’s (formally of SNL) life. One as 14 year old living with a single mother flight attendant who uproots his life to LA during the height of the Chicago Bulls championship run with Michael Jordan to live with a step dad and a brother in Lakers town after his mother marries a pilot. This is the part of his life he has to navigate a new school, new city and new a family. Then in present day it is Bobby playing a divorced single dad living in his best friend/business partner’s garage as a struggling inventor (something he had been doing since he was a kid). He is trying to be a good father but also trying to become that rich and famous inventor he knows he can be/navigate the dating scene being recently divorced. The last part is in the future when he is 65 years old in 2042 and a retired, rich, inventor and company owner who is struggling with retired life.

Verdict: Should be renewed. Update: Removed from schedule basically dead. 

Man with a Plan: This is Matt LeBlanc’s third sitcom since his days as Joey on “Friends”. It is another family sitcom really about the parent’s life as parents, their jobs and their semi social life. LeBlanc plays a dad who has to be more of a stay at home dad since his wife decided she would go back to work after their daughter started kindergarten. He is a father of three and has to balance his job as contractor with his brother (Kevin Nealon) and being the parent who does all the little things his wife used to like pick the kids up from school or make their lunches Etc. He realizes it’s harder than it looks and some of the humor is how he thinks he knows what he is doing but really doesn’t/his kids outsmarting him. If you’re a fan of his or another cute/safe family sitcom that kids can watch you will enjoy this show about raising kids/how not to raise your kids unless it’s his wife doing the parenting.

Verdict: Should be renewed as it can be long running sitcom and last for at least 5 seasons. 

Seal Team: This show can be viewed as its all predicable or not real in the minds of current soldiers or veterans who watch the show but if you not in the service/a veteran you will enjoy this action-drama. You know the code about Navy Seals: They are a United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group, the most elite unite of the Navy Seals that do missions other soldiers can’t do/the government can’t acknowledge they sent them on the mission at all. They don’t get any notice if they succeed like if they don’t get the mission done they get disavowed by the government as collateral damage. David Boreanaz from Bones and Buffy the Vampire Slayer produces so it’s natural he is the leader of his Seal team-Bravo team. The difference between this show and NBC’s the Brave is his unit works with other forms of government like the CIA or FBI Etc to coordinate the plan like the CIA liaison and logistics specialist they have to help them. It also sometimes has too much off the battlefield drama that you hope they cut back once we have fully developed the characters on the show in the future.  

Verdict: Should be renewed and could last 3-5 years. 

S.W.A.T.: In a long line of remakes/reboots here is another one based off a show that only lasted two seasons and was a spinoff to begin with. The major difference between both is more characters but that the lead Hondo is played by Shemar Moore who is black unlike the original played by Steve Forrest who is white. The premise is the commissioner appoints Hondo to lead the team based on the color of his skin to try to die down racial tensions between cops and African Americans in LA. Also since the original leader Buck was suspended and then quits after he mistakes a perp for a black kid and shoots him. The show is like another cop show they take down the bad guy/solve the crime. There are lots of action and some unneeded drama between Hondo and his female captain but outside of that Justin Lin’s impact is a good one since he is known for the Fast and Furious franchise. You definitely want it to be on for more than a year to get to know the characters more than just what their best at in the field.  One great thing is they actually have a theme song unlike most shows nowadays.

Verdict: Should be renewed was given a full season of 22 episodes and stay on for at least 3 years. 

Young Sheldon: CBS is full of remakes/reboots and spinoffs but this one is actually worthwhile to watch and to watch with your kids. Think the Wonder Years with Fred Savage and the Big Bang Theory writing put together. For those who watch BBT and wondered about how Sheldon grew up this is a good way to see the child prodigy grow up in Texas with his typical Texan family. The show is how he handles being this prodigy living with his not so smart/not well financially able family and attending high school at age 9 instead of a private school(to get a real life experience) with his older not so smart brother and dad who is the football coach. His stay at home religious bible mother trying to protect her kid at all costs, and his twin sister who’s a trouble maker and his Mema(grandmother) who he talks about so fondly in the BBT. Even if you are the smartest it is hard to navigate high school at age 9. Also has a great theme song like BBT.

Verdict: Should be renewed and could be on the air for 7 years or more like its predecessor. Update: Renewed for season 2.

Wisdom of the Crowd: One of the most creative/original ideas ever for a TV with a good cast lead by Jeremy Piven. A Silicon Valley tech innovator who has a big time social media site like Facebook and Mark Zuckerburg finds out his daughter has been murdered and after the trial thinks they had the wrong guy. It eats at him for awhile until he steps down from his company and sells his share to start up a new site. The site is called Sophie that takes crowd sourcing to a new level, creating a digital platform for people around the world to publicly share and evaluate evidence for criminal investigations. What starts as a mission to find the real murder of his daughter by osmosis becomes the go to site to solve crimes in SF with the help of the detective who originally worked on his daughter’s murder case. With his dedicated staff of computer geniuses/hackers with his girl friend they create this amazing site to help solve crimes with the help of the people AKA you. The SF police only use it initially since it is good PR for the commissioner’s office but becomes the only way the detective can solve all of these cases.

Verdict: Should be renewed. Update: Due to allegations of sexual harassment from the past Piven has denied and taken a polygraph test to prove aren’t true CBS pulled the plug on additional episodes and renewing it. Due to that and the low ratings by putting on Sunday nights in the fall when Fox is king with animated sitcoms and NBC has football it wasn’t the best spot for it. CBS should have given it the 13 episodes and not made a decision to cancel it. Wait till allegations are handled in court and have his character find the real murder in the finale and let his girl friend Sarah take over as the lead. The show has enough creativity and endless types of cases to solve to at least get three seasons. 

NBC: 

The Brave: A similar show to CBS’s Seal Team about an elite unit of special operators with specific set of skills for each member who go places and do the missions others can’t or are unwilling to do. One of the differences is they work for one government agency the Defense Intelligence Agency and report to one person Deputy Director Patricia Campbell. They also aren’t’ based here in USA but in a remote neutral site in Europe/Asia border. The show does a better job with the team and liking the whole team and its leader. All of the members of the team are likeable and you root for them unlike the other show where maybe you only like or a get a sense from a few of the members of the team or just the lead. The annoying thing is Campbell every time puts on her glasses to only take them off a few seconds later. They also have two agents helping them in DC with Campbell who are also experts at what they do.

Verdict: Should be renewed and could be on for at least 3 seasons. 

Taken: This is a prequel to the movie franchise Taken, and it is a good idea since we all want to know how Brian Mills became the man with the very particular set of skills. He is a former Green Beret and CIA operative which is how he got his training and combat skills. He has left that life behind and while on vacation with his sister a man from his past, a very bad man who Brian took down the man’s illegal operations sends a hit man to kill Brian but they kills his sister instead. From that day he vowed to avenge his sister’s death and to not let anyone else lose a loved one nor himself again. On his quest for revenge he is on the same trail as the DNI who happen to be looking to take down the same bad guy too. The leader sees his potential for greater things than just revenge like his need to save everyone who is in danger at all costs. She wants to hewn his skills he has already with his passion to save others  to be on her team that already does missions others will not do and lots of rescue missions of people left behind. He agrees to join as long as they take down the guy responsible for his sister’s death.

Verdict: Should be renewed for a season 3 but it’s on Friday nights which is a tough time slot but it was renewed for season 2 despite it's struggles in season 1. Season 1 was hard to figure out  with him being put into a team when he is not a team man. It was also all over the place hoping they fix it for this season and if they do it can be on for 4 or 5 seasons. 

The Good Place: From the creator of the American Office, Brooklyn 99 and Parks and Recreation comes a unique comedy no one could have thought off besides Michael Schur. It is a sitcom but with some sense of Sci-Fi to it where the premise for season 1 felt like it could be the premise for many seasons. Schur then threw us a curveball and changed the premise of season 1 towards that bleeds into current season 2 where we still don’t know where it is going to go and what they can do in season three. The show has suspense that makes you want to tune in every week to see what’s going to happen/how they are going to get out of this situation. The premise is Kristen Bell’s dies and wakes up to find out she is not in hell or heaven but in the good place. That this Michael guy played by Ted Danson is the architect of this good place where he made the choices for what shops are there and what other things are put into this particular good place. She soon meets her three other residents who have all joined her on the same day. However, she quickly realizes that she was sent there by mistake, and must hide her morally imperfect behavior, and try to be a better person. She asks for the help of her “Soul mate” Chidi an ethics professor who bound by his morals to help her and Jason another person who feels like he doesn’t belong there. The point of the season is to blend in and be good but oh does Schur throw a wrench in the premise to start the season as it has changed a few times since the original idea.

Verdict: Should be renewed for season 3. Update: Was renewed for season 3. 

This is Us: This is one unique drama where you want to have the “feels” of happiness, sadness/crying and the feeling of wanting to be close to your family. It stars Milo Ventimigila and Mandy Moore as the parents and Sterling K Brown, Justin Harley and Chrissy Metz as the kids. It is a unique idea of a family drama that takes places over time but mostly in the present with flashbacks to the “Big 3” the main characters during their youth as babies-high school. Those flashbacks help shape who they are today. A hardworking dedicated blue collar middle man marries the woman of his dreams and finds out she is having triplets not just one kid. He gets this idea of a “Big 3” since he is having three kids, but unfortunately one of the triplets dies on the day of the delivery, leading him to still have a “Big 3” still. By miracle the hospital is left with a baby born on the same day and he tells his wife he has to adopt the baby (even though back then having a black kid being adopted by a white family wasn’t common practice). He adopts a black baby boy that becomes his son even though is adopted/black and you would never know it from how he raised him equal to the rest. They are all raised as the “Big 3” during the late 70s-early 80s as the show takes places in present day as they are in their 30s each with their own lives and struggles. Child one is an actor, child two is basically her brother’s assistant and child three is a weather trader with a family of his own. As the show goes on it gets better and better that t makes you grow along with them as they struggle with their issues and try to overcome them.

Verdict: Should be renewed for season 3 since there is so much more storytelling to do in current day but through the flashbacks that help shapes the current story. It could be on for at least 5 seasons. Update: It was  renewed for season 2 & 3 last year.  

ABC: 

The Good Doctor: This isn’t Grey’s Anatomy or ER which are/were long running medical dramas or a sitcom like Scrubs it is actually a show with good merit even if it’s a drama. Dr. Shaun Murphy has a savant syndrome with near-photographic recall and the ability to note minute details and changes. He is a surgical intern at a hospital in San Jose who has never left the small town he is from but leaves to venture out of his comfort zone. The only issue with Shaun is he is autistic and suffered a troubling childhood beforehand and is alone in the world and unable to personally connect with those around him. The advice of mentor Dr. Aaron Glassman(who has been like his dad for years) convinced him to use his extraordinary medical skill and intuition to save lives and challenge the skepticism of his colleagues who don’t think someone who is autistic can make it as a doctor.

Verdict: Should be renewed. I don’t watch many medical shows besides one that are a hybrid of cops/firefighters/paramedics or the sitcom Scrubs. It is the number one new show on tv and the main actor was nominated for best actor in a TV series for his great work. It could be on for 5 seasons. 

Designated Survivor: When the president gives the state of union or they have important government meetings where all the senators, governors, congress and the whole white house staff (VP, Secretary of State, many of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and all nine of the Supreme Court Justices) is one in building what happens if its blown up in a terrorist attack? Well each party sets a designated survivor in a separate well guarded secret location in case this happens. That person then becomes the leader of country, he becomes the president.  

Kiefer Sutherland stars as Tom Kirkman a low level cabinet member who is Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and was chosen to be the designated survivor. He becomes president at the hardest time after a terrorist attack wipes out all of the government officials and he has to rebuild the government with new senators, governors and congress. He has to also figure who blew up the Capital building and decide about who he might have to go war with. He also has to do this without the help of a vice president and forms his own white house staff from his staff being a cabinet member and lots of junior senators/other positions ones with no real experience either at the job like the white house press secretary played by Kal Pen(Harold and Kumar). The show is about him rebuilding America piece by piece in each episode but the show also has the plot line of FBI Agent Hannah Wells investigating the terrorist attack so it’s not just about Kirkman. 

Verdict: Should be renewed since even in season two there is so much still that has to be done to fix America and put it back together to how it once was. Plus he has to serve his full term before we end the show so it could be a four-five year show. Probably has 4 seasons at most in it. 

Speechless: This isn’t your typical family drama that ABC has on its airwaves it isn’t about a white collared family like in Modern Family or Blackish etc its even below blue collar, since the show starts off with them moving into the poorest/cheapest dilapidated home in the town. The show is centered around a family that moves quite a lot to find the best situation for their oldest son JJ who has cerebral palsy. The mother who is British no-holds-barred attitude mother who does whatever it takes to find ways to help her kid have the same resources and experiences all kids have no matter the disability. They pick this school because it prides itself on being inclusive and where JJ will have an aide to speak for him. The rest of show is about the other kids growing up knowing all the attention will go to JJ while each kid has their own problems like the middle kid who is the moral compass/voice of reasoning to counteract the over the top mother. The youngest kid is the one who is the athlete and goes with the flow kid like the father who just lets his wife do whatever needs to be done and doesn’t care what other people think about him. They find the right person to be their son’s voice and he becomes more than just an aid he becomes a part of the family as well.

Verdict: Should be renewed for a 3^rd season since they are figuring out what this season is going to be since they are not moving again like before the show started. It could be a 5 year show. 

American Housewife: In a world where being skinny as a rail, rich, doing yoga or working out, eating healthy and letting your kids run free/do whatever they want or have your maids raise them there is one family/wife who isn’t in the norm in the northeast. She is the kind who doesn’t care what you eat, if you’re not super skinny who actually raises her own kids. She only lives in this town to support husband’s career as college professor and her daughter going to the best special needs program for her youngest daughter.  She does have to deal with her son turning into one of the rich arrogant men in this town and corporate America that he loses values and morals while her oldest daughter could be turning into one of those skinny blonde robots who is all about looks, dieting/yoga or money. She isn’t your typical housewife but she gets it all done by herself like most blue collar middle class families.

Verdict: Should be renewed since it’s an original creative idea that isn’t like most family sitcoms; where you have the ideal wife and children it is one different family sitcom that isn’t all about being rich and beautiful. It could be a 5 year sitcom. 

Inhumans: For those who don’t read Marvel Comics and just watch the TV shows or movies you would be lost watching this show like I was over its eight episode arch. You have no idea who to root for and who is what unless you Google the comic book story. The show’s premise is two brothers fight over the right to be the king of Attilan, the ruler of the all the Inhumans who are super powered humans who live on the moon. Blackbolt one of the brother’s has all of the non inhumans working in the mines.  While his brother Maximus doesn’t have any powers and hates that he is not leader because he doesn’t have powers and how people with powers are treated on Attilan. The ones with powers are in the armies and have special places in the kingdom. Maximus devises a coup to take over the throne and succeeds by sending his brother, his sister in law, her sister and some of the most power/trusted people working for Blackbolt to earth.  The premise of the season is the Inhumas trying to get back home while being scattered on earth and trying to stop Maximus who has taken over the kingdom. Do you root for the non powered humans on Attlian or do you root for Blackbolt and his crew to take back the throne and kingdom. I certainly didn’t know who to root for so that was challenging not knowing who the bad guy is really.

Verdict: Cancelled. This other Marvel show on ABC is not Agent Carter or the show ABC didn’t green light about agents of shield before they were shield agents. It is hard to follow along and is confusing and too many unknowns to completely fix if there is a season 2 might be best for it to be on Netflix. 

The CW: 

Riverdale: For those who read Archie Comics as a kid or saw the many animated TV shows he had like weird mysteries this is a combination of the comics and animated shows but in particular the weird mysteries. The series follows Archie Andrews' life in the small town of Riverdale and explores the darkness hidden behind its seemingly perfect image. Archie and friends solve mysteries in both seasons by getting closer and closer to the truth in each and every suspenseful episode. Archie is still going to the lead character, the cool guy who is on the football team, a musician and girls find him attractive. While Betty is still this next door neighbor who is usually a goodie-two-shoes with the perfect grades, running the school newspaper and trying to be the perfect daughter. Veronica is the girl with a bad past that moves into town and wants to start over and of course befriends Betty and they each rub off of each other. Jughead in this one is the narrator; he is actually very smart and gifted as a writer. His dad is head of the motorcycle gang the Southside Serpents. His only friends are Archie and Betty who help him deal with his dad being in a gang and mom moving away with his sister. The major difference from the comics is how PC friendly the show is. Kevin is a main character and not Reggie. Kevin is their token gay friend whose father is the sheriff. Reggie is in the show but he is Asian and the all of the Josie and pussy cats are black (Josie’s mom is the mayor) and so is Pop Tate the owner of the Dinner; while Veronica and her family is Hispanic. The main four try to solve the murder of Jason Blossom the twin brother of Cheryl Blossom, the richest family in Riverdale with all the power. They do so behind their parents and the sheriff’s back despite the danger.

Verdict: Should be renewed for season 3 since season 2 has been as amazing as season 1. It could last 5 seasons.

Fox: 

The Gifted: There is no X-Men or the Brotherhood of Evil to protect mutants anymore after the government law prohibits using your powers and they can arrest you for using it. The underground is the only thing projecting mutants and their families from prisons cells or from being tested. The show centers on the Strucker family whose lives change course forever when they discover by accident their children have developed mutant powers. The father is a lawyer who tries mutants to their prison sentences but soon realizes he has to protect his and see how he was in the wrong with his job. When the threat of a hostile government forces the family to go on the run and they join the ranks of an underground network of mutants who have their own leaders and plans on surviving which sometime differ from the Strucker family. Together they fight to save other mutants and survive without being caught by Sentinel Services.

Verdict: Should be renewed for season 2 since there is so much that hasn’t been uncovered in the world of X-Men comics and other characters to introduce. Update: Was renewed for season 2. 

Lethal Weapon: This reboot is based off the movie franchise of the same name but does it even better since there is time to build story plots and character arches.  We all know about Roger Murtaugh’s life story already: Married to a successful lawyer, has a big home, has three kids but one was added later late in life by accident, has a heart condition and is thinking about retirement. We saw his whole life story in all four movies what we didn’t see is any sort of real story arch of Martin Riggs just where he is from and that he used to be in army/little crazy/likes to be in danger/people think he wants to kill himself. Say what you want about Mel Gibson but he didn’t do that much for the character this new actor bringing life to the character that we didn’t see before. We actually care what happens to him in this show. We learn more about his back-story, more about his current life and what motivates him every day. He is actually growing as a person in this show over two seasons almost. I can’t give away the things we learn in this show but only say what we do know the former navy seal turned cop from Texas who is married with a kid on the way but his wife tragically dies in a car accident killing the baby too. Grief-stricken he moves to LA to become a detective is paired with Murtuagh. There a few different support characters but that is only some of the differences.

Verdict: Should be renewed want to know more about the complicated character Martin Riggs is and it’s a great buddy cop/action comedy show. It could be on for 7 seasons. 

The Orville: Think Star Wars, Star Trek and Galaxy Quest morphed into a one hour show that is mostly about Sci-Fi and a great blend of comedy. Say what you want about Seth McFarlane and his Family Guy humor but he is a great writer of drama and comedy. The premise is he been an officer for the planetary union for years never getting that captaincy until now. He picks his best friend, who is the best helmsman in the fleet but has issues with authority, Bortus an alien from a single gender planet as his second in command, Isaac, an artificial life-form from a machine society to be his chief science officer, navigator John Lamarr; Alara Kitan, a young, inexperienced security officer to be head of security and highly regarded physician of exceptional credentials Dr Claire Finn as chief medical officer. The only problem is he has no first officer. The issue that arises is there is only one available and it’s his ex wife who cheated on him a few years back. He has to learn how to be a captain for the first time with a qualified but eccentric crew and to work side by side with his wife as they embark on various diplomatic and exploratory missions.

Verdict:  Should be renewed.  There is soon much to be on in Sci-Fi you have endless ideas and with writing of McFarlane and co they can come up with so many future plots. It should last at least 3 seasons maybe 5. Update: Was renewed for season 2. 

Ghosted: In a long line of half hour sitcoms on Fox to be put during the Animation Domination block on Sunday nights comes an original idea. It is about a secret government agency called the Underground Bureau who investigates paranormal cases. Think of a sitcom version of X-Files but not anywhere close to the level of a show with that magnitude but not a copy cat either since the characters/plot is different. It stars comedy actors Craig Robinson (From the Office and many movies) and Adam Scott(From Parks and Recreation and many movies). Scott plays a Stanford professor with a PHD who wrote a book about the multiverse and who also believes in all of the paranormal things after his wife was abducted by aliens. While Robinson is a former missing person’s detective who doesn’t believe that aliens could be real and abducting humans. This agency turns to Scott and Robinson who are both at low points in their life and are asked to work together to save one of the agents that have gone missing. The head of agency asks them to join permanently and since they both don’t have jobs (both fired from their jobs) they agree to save Earth and investigate all of the unexplained paranormal activity.

Verdict: Should be renewed and put in the same hour time slot with Brooklyn 99 to help its rating since it’s on Sundays during football and in the middle of the animated shows. There are enough paranormal things to explore in a half hour Sci-Fi comedy for awhile. Probably will last 2 seasons if it gets renewed. 

Rest in Peace Roy "Doc" Halladay:

Doc:

The baseball word and the world as a whole lost another human being too early. Harry Leroy “Roy” “Doc” Halladay died this week after his plane crashed into the Gulf of Mexico by Florida. He was just 40 years old and had recently just got his pilot’s license and the plane this year. He was excited to start another chapter in his life.

The previous chapter in his life is what most will remember him for. He had a Hall of Fame caliber career as a pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays and the Philadelphia Phillies. He won 2 Cy Young awards (in both leagues only five others have done that), made 8 All Star appearances, led the league in wins 2 times and pitched a perfect game and a no-hitter in the same season. Only one other pitcher has done it in a post season, and that was Hall of Famer Don Larson. He joined six other pitchers to throw both a perfect game and a no-hitter; five of the six are in the Hall of Fame.

He only finished with 203 wins and 2117 strikeouts overall, but retired four full baseball seasons ago due to injury, which he attributed to back troubles. We all can imagine if he played until his age 40 season he might have had more wins and strikeouts, but those are always the what ifs with injuries to all athletes. If you use the JAWS system, an evaluation tool that accounts for a player’s peak seasons as well as his overall career, Halladay is ranked as baseball’s 42nd-best starting pitcher. Only nine players ahead of him are not yet in the Hall of Fame, while more than 30 pitchers below him on the list are already enshrined in Cooperstown. His postseason success and his popularity with the news media also bolster his case.

From all accounts from former teammates, local people in his community (coaching little leaguers) the media and fans alike, he was considered to be one of the best humans out there not just one of the best pitchers. While he was a member of the Blue Jays, Halladay and his wife invited children and their families from the Hospital for Sick Children into "Doc's Box" at Rogers Centre during Blue Jays games. As part of Halladay's contract with the Blue Jays, he also donated $100,000 each year to the Jays Care Foundation. Halladay was the Blue Jays' nominee numerous times for the Roberto Clemente Award for his work with underprivileged children. For the same reason, he was also the Blue Jays' nominee in 2008 for the Players Choice Awards Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award.

His father used to be a pilot so he knew all the risks and even his wife urged him not but he didn’t want to sit around and do nothing. “I find myself kind of sitting around the house thinking, ‘There’s something missing here — I should be working out, I should be running, I should be doing something,’” Halladay said. “For a second, it’s kind of a little bit of panic, and then it kind of sets in: ‘O.K., that’s right. I’m retiring now.’ It’s actually a very peaceful feeling.”

Former Yankees catcher Thurman Munson famously died from piloting his own small aircraft died in 1979, and so did Halladay’s former teammate Cory Lidle in 2006.  One of his last acts of kindness was donating a police dog which they named Doc in reference to his name given to him by then Blue Jays announcer Tom Cheek, for Wild West gunslinger Doc Holliday.

The hope is in 2019 when he is eligible the Hall of Fame writers will look at his numbers and career as a whole and put him into the Hall of Fame eventually. He will probably be known as the greatest pitcher in Toronto Blue Jays history and will deserve to have his jersey number retired. He is survived by his wife Brandy and his two sons Ryan and Braden. Our condolences go out to them. You will be missed Roy “Doc” Halladay RIP!