by Dan Salem and Todd Salem (12-27-13)
We at Seesaw Sports are ending this year with ten new predictions for 2014. Another crazy year of sports is on the way and we'll tell you who wins and who goes home crying. Ten sports predictions for 2014, with six through ten here in Part two.
[Part one - Predictions one to five]
TODD:
6) 2014 MLB World Series
With the way spending and revenue are heading, everyone is a competitor in Major League Baseball. The Seattle Mariners just spent over $200 million on one player. Mid-market clubs like the Reds, Giants and others are signing their own star players to long-term contracts before they even hit free agency. Even the Rays have tried to do the same thing, just years in advance, by signing unproven prospects to long pro contracts.
In regards to 2014, there is no one that sticks out above the pack. However, I do like a couple teams more than the others. I think the Atlanta Braves will be the best team in the NL next season. Their pitching is young and electric. With better seasons from proven hitters who underachieved in 2013, this coming year should be a huge one for the Braves. In the AL, I like the Detroit Tigers to remain good and the Texas Rangers to be back atop the AL West. The overall quality of the American League seems like it will be lower than in recent years though. I am down on nearly everyone in the AL East.
7) 2014 Surprise NFL Team
Much like the Kansas City Chiefs a season ago, a surprise team must have a pretty putrid record to qualify for this. Even Carolina is borderline. Not many people remember but the Panthers were a respectable 7-9 in 2012. So let's say a surprise team has to have won fewer than five games the previous season. Here is the list of teams that would qualify at the moment:
Washington, Minnesota, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Cleveland, Jacksonville, Houston and Oakland.
The obvious choices here would be Atlanta, Houston or Cleveland. Both the Falcons and Texans have recent seasons where they were excellent. One blip does not make a trend. A rebound seems likely. And Cleveland has all the makings other than a franchise quarterback. With two first round picks and the return of Brian Hoyer behind center next year, many people will like them as AFC North winners. However, my choice is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
They lost a number of one-score games this year, a stat that often balances out season to season. They also have solid talent and a player they believe in at quarterback; plus, Doug Martin will be back next season to run the ball.
8) World Cup Prediction
Neither of us are soccer aficionados. I am aware that the United States was put into a less than ideal group to start the tournament. However, that is about as far as my futbol critical thinking can take me. I do predict there will be far less societal unrest in Brazil than people are preparing for. It seems bleak at the moment; mobs and protests require police intervention. People are dying and the area is unruly. However, Brazilians love and cherish soccer, right? Won't they be able to settle this down before the games begin in order to host and produce the greatest tournament in the world, in the sport they love the most?
9) 2014 College Football Playoff
The only logical prediction to make here is that proverbial shit will be hitting some sort of giant fan come next December. If people thought the BCS was bad, get ready for something far more uncouth: humans making uninformed decisions! AHH! There is no formula or basis of opinion for the upcoming four-team playoff. It will just be the four teams some panel deems are the best. Good grief. At least the BCS had some numbers to back up its decision.
10) Winter Olympics Thoughts
The Winter Olympics are being held this coming February. Shaun White is the best snowboarder in the world. However, the rest of that aforementioned world is catching up to him. In the past two winter games (Vancouver and Turin), White has grabbed gold in the halfpipe competition. He has won the gold medal in the superpipe competition at the past six winter X Games. I predict he falls short of grabbing a third-straight Olympic gold medal though. There is no way he fails to medal entirely, but I see someone unseating him for the halfpipe gold in Sochi.
DAN:
6) I'm not down on the AL East at all for 2014, but that doesn't mean the teams will all be around in October either. The Red Sox will have another strong year and the Yankees will be back in the playoffs as well. However, my team to watch in the American League is one that underachieved in 2013, but has the pitching and hitting to dominate if the dominoes all fall. The LA Angels will win the AL West this year. As for the AL World Series representative, this one is not a stretch but I'm saying it anyways. The New York Yankees will be playing for the title and a 28th championship.
As for the National League, I really like your Atlanta pick, mainly because it was mine from last season. However, they won't be the team to beat in 2014. That honor belongs once again to the St. Louis Cardinals. Yet the playoffs will be full of surprises and the NL representative in the World Series won't be wearing red. The Pittsburgh Pirates were no fluke and will be strong enough to earn a wildcard berth in 2014. I like them to ride the wave all the way through October and make the World Series in what will be a magical and memorable run for the ages.
7) My surprise NFL team in 2014 was also a surprise this season for all the wrong reasons. RG3 had himself a pretty bad sophomore slump, but I'm still on the bandwagon and a resurgence is in order. The Washington Redskins will bounce back in 2014 and push around the other NFC East teams, proving we can't judge a quarterback on his first, or his second season, but rather on a body of work.
8) Predicting less unrest than anticipated is like saying a bomb only killed 10K people when we thought 15K would die. Cop out! I'm going to make a completely uneducated guess here and pick the winner. Italy will win the World Cup and the US team will make the semifinals. Mark it down.
9) Am I the only one here making actual predictions? Well, the inaugural College Football playoff will consist of four undefeated teams. It won't be complicated, it won't be a head scratcher. Nope; only four teams will be without a loss next year and they'll all have a chance to compete for that giant glass football.
10) I like your Winter Olympics prediction and I'll raise you another MLB prediction.
Masahiro Tanaka is up for bid. The Japanese pitching ace will be playing in the majors in 2014, but which team will overpay for this one man? That honor will belong to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Fun LA fact, it has a huge Asian population and would completely embrace a foreign star like Tanaka. Look out, the Dodgers are throwing money again.
