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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Critical takeaways from Rockets' Game 4 collapse versus Warriors
Apr 29, 2025, 1:22 pm
Jimmy Butler converted three free throws with 58.7 seconds left, grabbed the game-clinching rebound with 4 seconds to go and then made two more free throws on the way to 27 points in his return from a pelvic injury, sending the Golden State Warriors past the Houston Rockets 109-106 on Monday night in a heated Game 4 to take a 3-1 lead in the first-round playoff series.
Fred VanVleet missed a 3-pointer under pressure at the buzzer.
The teams return to Houston for Game 5 in the best-of-seven series on Wednesday night as seventh-seeded Golden State tries to close out the No. 2 seed Rockets on their home floor.
Brandin Podziemski scored 26 points, Stephen Curry finished with 17 in the frantic finish and Buddy Hield hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:32 left and scored 15 after joining the starting lineup.
Alperen Sengun scored with 40 seconds left for Houston to make it a one-point game. He had 31 points and 10 rebounds, while VanVleet hit a tying 3-pointer with 1:20 to play and scored 25 points.
Butler was back after sitting out Game 3 with a pelvic contusion and deep gluteal muscle bruise suffered on a hard fall when he was fouled by Amen Thompson early in Game 2.
The second quarter Monday featured four technical fouls and a flagrant 1 in two separate tussles, including shoving during one sequence involving Curry, Draymond Green and Dillon Brooks.
With the game tied at 36, Curry dribbled down the sideline when Green put a hard screen on Houston’s Amen Thompson. Brooks fouled Curry and he appeared to become angry about the push before going at Curry and Green.
Curry received a technical for “taunting” Brooks, who also received a technical along with Green. Warriors rookie Quinten Post and Houston’s Jabari Smith Jr. flailed their arms at each other but avoided technicals upon replay review by the officials.
Then with 2:44 left in the quarter, tempers flared again. Green received a Flagrant 1 foul for pushing Tari Eason’s face to the ground and Eason also received a technical. Green was dribbling when Eason went for a steal and the ball got loose and both players hit the floor trying to corral it. Green’s left leg was on the Rockets forward’s neck.
Butler shot 7 for 12 in 40 minutes after he watched Curry overcome a slow start to finish with 36 points, nine assists and seven rebounds in Golden State's 104-93 victory Saturday night without him.