Now that the All-Star break is in the rearview mirror, we can start thinking about the rest of the season. Specifically, who will make the playoffs and then hoist the World Series trophy?
We aren't going to re-do all of our predictions, though. That doesn't seem fair, since we had preseason picks. But things happen -- injuries, under-performance, over-performance, breakouts, busts and just plain ol' terrible picks. So we're gonna get to re-do two picks and call them mulligans (golf reference!). Why two? No real reason. Just felt like more would have been too many.
Our full preseason picks here are available for your mockery and our accountability. We aren't going to do the whole standings here, though. We'll go through the playoff teams and World Series picks and, again, we get two mulligans.
Matt Snyder
Preseason division winners: Blue Jays, Royals, Astros, Mets, Cubs, Giants
Preseason wild cards: Red Sox, Rangers, Pirates, Diamondbacks
World Series pick: Cubs over Royals
Mulligans used: Indians over Royals for both the AL Central and the AL entrant in the World Series
I'm in decent shape in most places here and though the Royals have a much better chance to win the AL Central then the Diamondbacks do a wild card, I think it's most important to get the Indians in this thing and replace my World Series pick. After all, I'm trying to get the most picks correct as I possibly can and being 100 percent is off the table here.
Ultimately, I think the Nationals are going to take the East, but the Mets aren't an atrocious pick so I have to stick with them. The Diamondbacks pick is, however, atrocious. No excuses. That was a total whiff on my part. In fact, it's probably good self-punishment to leave that one intact anyway.
R.J. Anderson
Preseason division winners: Blue Jays, Royals, Rangers, Mets, Cubs, Giants
Preseason wild cards: Red Sox, Mariners, Dodgers, Nationals
World Series pick: Mets over Rangers
Mulligans used: Orioles over Mariners for AL wild card; Giants over Mets for World Series champs
I'd use my first mulligan on the Orioles snub. I undersell them every spring, and every summer-into-fall Buck Showalter makes me look like a moron. So, at minimum, I would like to change one of the Wild Card picks to the Orioles (because my impulse to underrate the O's is so strong that I do it even when dealing in hindsight). My second mulligan would be picking the Mets to win the World Series. I'd replace the Mets with the Giants, which means the Mets are almost certainly winning the World Series now. You're welcome, folks.
Mike Axisa
Preseason division winners: Blue Jays, Royals, Astros, Mets, Cubs, Dodgers
Preseason wild cards: Yankees, Rangers, Cardinals, Nationals
World Series pick: Mets over Rangers
Mulligans used: Indians over Royals in AL Central; Giants over Dodgers in NL West
I'm using my first mulligan on the Royals. I had them winning the AL Central, so I'm going to change that to the Indians, who certainly look like the most well-rounded team in the AL at the moment. Kansas City's rotation is a mess and they have too many Whit Merrifields and Paulo Orlandos in the everyday lineup for my liking. (No offense.) The Mike Moustakas injury was a big blow too, as was losing Alex Gordon all those weeks. He still hasn't gotten going.
I don't love the way my Mets picks are looking right now, but I'm going to stick with them as the NL East champs and eventual World Series champs, and instead use my second mulligan on the NL West. I had the Dodgers winning it before the season. Now give me the Giants. They've lost a lot of key players to injuries (Hunter Pence, Joe Panik, Matt Duffy, etc.) yet they keep winning. They also have a knack for going out and getting the right guy at midseason (Pat Burrell in 2010, Marco Scutaro in 2012, Jake Peavy in 2014). I have more faith in the Mets making a run and beating out the Nationals in the NL East than I do the Dodgers making a run and beating out the Giants in the NL West, basically.
Yes, the Yankees as a Wild Card team is a terrible pick. If I had a third mulligan, I'd use it there and put the Red Sox in. But since I only have two mulligan, I think it's more important to use them on division winners.
Dayn Perry
Preseason division winners: Blue Jays, Royals, Astros, Nationals, Cubs, Giants
Preseason wild cards: Rangers, Yankees, Cardinals, Dodgers
World Series pick: Blue Jays over Cubs
Mulligans used: Indians over Royals in the AL Central; Red Sox over Yankees for second AL wild card
My NL's in pretty good shape, but my AL picks are looking like a bit of a mess. I can't see the Royals coming back on the Indians at 6 1/2 back, so I'll use on mulligan there. That lifts the Indians out of the wild card spot, so I'm replacing them with the Rangers there. It's possible I'm breaking the rules here by not spending a mulligan to get the Rangers into wild-cad position, but last I checked I was born free. I'll use my second mulligan to get the Red Sox in the remaining wild card spot at the expense of the Yankees.
I'll leave the NL unchanged. I'll also leave my World Series pick alone, even though I don't feel great about it right now. If I'm making a a Series pick right now, I'd probably take Giants over Indians. However, I feel I need those mulligans elsewhere.
