WHO IS ELITE?
Barry Laminack: Breaking down the MLB teams -- who are the real contenders?
Mar 15, 2018, 6:38 am
The Yankees will be among baseball's elite. Abbie Parr/Getty Images
It's Thursday, March 15 which means March Madness is officially underway and if you read my article from last week you know that I don't give a bleep, so let's talk some baseball!
I’ll do a division-by-division breakdown as we get close to opening day, and with a few key free agents still out on the open market, things could change a little between now and then.
For today's exercise, here are the categories we’ll be using to group teams:
Elite (90+ wins) - The best of the best. Any of these teams could end up in the World Series.
Good (80-89 wins) - These are the teams that should be in the wild card hunt all year.
Undecided (75-85 wins) - Teams that could end up being in the hunt for a wild card, but could also not reach 80 wins. These teams either have health or rotation questions (or both).
Close (65-75 wins) - Teams that are in the midst of a rebuild but could be good in the next couple of years.
Bad (<65 wins) - Teams that are starting a rebuild (or should be starting a rebuild) and are going to suck for the next 4-plus years.
Elite
Chicago Cubs
Cleveland Indians
Houston Astros
Los Angeles Dodgers
New York Yankees
Washington Nationals
Good
Arizona Diamondbacks
Boston Red Sox
Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles Angels
Milwaukee Brewers
Minnesota Twins
St. Louis Cardinals
Undecided
New York Mets
Seattle Mariners
San Francisco Giants
Texas Rangers
Toronto Blue Jays
Close
Atlanta Braves
Chicago White Sox
Philadelphia Phillies
Bad
Baltimore Orioles
Cincinnati Reds
Detroit Tigers
Kansas City Royals
Miami Marlins
Oakland Athletics
Pittsburgh Pirates
Tampa Bay Rays
San Diego Padres
Last year I made a pretty bold prediction in saying that the Rockies would make the playoffs (I had one guy tell me I didn’t know sh-- about baseball and should be kicked off the radio because of this prediction), so what’s my bold prediction for this year?
You’ll have to wait a week or two.
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Oswald Peraza hit a two-run single in the ninth inning to help the Los Angeles Angels snap a three-game losing skid by beating the Houston Astros 4-1 on Saturday night.
Peraza entered the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning and hit a bases-loaded fly ball to deep right field that eluded the outstretched glove of Cam Smith. It was the fourth straight hit off Astros closer Bryan Abreu (3-4), who had not allowed a run in his previous 12 appearances.
The Angels third run of the ninth inning scored when Mike Trout walked with the bases loaded.
Kyle Hendricks allowed one run while scattering seven hits over six innings. He held the Astros to 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position, the one hit coming on Jesús Sánchez’s third-inning infield single that scored Jeremy Peña.
Reid Detmers worked around a leadoff walk to keep the Astros scoreless in the seventh, and José Fermin (3-2) retired the side in order in the eighth before Kenley Jansen worked a scoreless ninth to earn his 24th save.
Houston’s Spencer Arrighetti struck out a season-high eight batters over 6 1/3 innings. The only hit he allowed was Zach Neto’s third-inning solo home run.
Yordan Alvarez had two hits for the Astros, who remained three games ahead of Seattle for first place in the AL West.
Key moment
Peraza’s two-run single to deep right field that broke a 1-1 tie in the ninth.
Key Stat
Opponents were 5 for 44 against Abreu in August before he allowed four straight hits in the ninth.
Up next
Astros RHP Hunter Brown (10-6, 2.37 ERA) faces RHP José Soriano (9-9, 3.85) when the series continues Sunday.