Final 2014 MLB Standings Projections

American League East				American League Central				American League West
Boston Red Sox	96-66	–		Detroit Tigers	94-68	–		Oakland Athletics	86-76	–
Baltimore Orioles	87-75	9		Cleveland Indians	84-78	10		Texas Rangers	82-80	4
Tampa Bay Rays	86-76	10		Kansas City Royals	83-79	11		Los Angeles Angels	82-80	4
New York Yankees	81-81	15		Minnesota Twins	72-90	22		Seattle Mariners	75-87	11
Toronto Blue Jays	80-82	16		Chicago White Sox	66-96	28		Houston Astros	67-95	19
National League East				National League Central				National League West
Washington Nationals	88-74	–		St. Louis Cardinals	94-68	–		Los Angeles Dodgers	88-74	–
Atlanta Braves	82-80	6		Pittsburgh Pirates	87-75	7		Colorado Rockies	85-77	3
Philadelphia Phillies	74-88	14		Milwaukee Brewers	81-81	13		Arizona Diamondbacks	84-78	4
Miami Marlins	72-90	16		Cincinnati Reds	81-81	13		San Diego Padres	79-83	9
New York Mets	70-92	18		Chicago Cubs	66-96	28		San Francisco Giants	78-84	10

2014 MLB Standings Projections

American League East				American League Central				American League West
Boston Red Sox	95-67	–		Detroit Tigers	94-68	–		Texas Rangers	89-73	–
Baltimore Orioles	87-75	8		Cleveland Indians	86-76	8		Oakland Athletics	86-76	3
Tampa Bay Rays	86-76	9		Kansas City Royals	82-80	12		Los Angeles Angels	77-85	12
Toronto Blue Jays	81-81	14		Minnesota Twins	71-91	23		Seattle Mariners	73-89	16
New York Yankees	78-84	17		Chicago White Sox	63-99	31		Houston Astros	66-96	23
National League East				National League Central				National League West
Washington Nationals	89-73	–		St. Louis Cardinals	97-65	–		Los Angeles Dodgers	94-68	–
Atlanta Braves	83-79	6		Pittsburgh Pirates	87-75	10		Colorado Rockies	84-78	10
Philadelphia Phillies	72-90	17		Cincinnati Reds	80-82	17		Arizona Diamondbacks	84-78	10
Miami Marlins	71-91	18		Milwaukee Brewers	80-82	17		San Diego Padres	80-82	14
New York Mets	69-93	20		Chicago Cubs	69-93	28		San Francisco Giants	77-85	17

2014 MLB Standings Projections (Early Edition)

American League East				American League Central				American League West
Boston Red Sox	96-66	–		Detroit Tigers	97-65	–		Oakland Athletics	92-70	–
Tampa Bay Rays	86-76	10		Cleveland Indians	84-78	13		Texas Rangers	86-76	6
Baltimore Orioles	82-80	14		Kansas City Royals	83-79	14		Los Angeles Angels	80-82	12
Toronto Blue Jays	79-83	17		Minnesota Twins	66-96	31		Seattle Mariners	76-86	16
New York Yankees	78-84	18		Chicago White Sox	61-101	36		Houston Astros	65-97	27
National League East				National League Central				National League West
Atlanta Braves	87-75	–		St. Louis Cardinals	96-66	–		Los Angeles Dodgers	94-68	–
Washington Nationals	87-75	–		Pittsburgh Pirates	86-76	10		Colorado Rockies	89-73	5
Philadelphia Phillies	74-88	13		Cincinnati Reds	85-77	11		Arizona Diamondbacks	86-76	8
Miami Marlins	70-92	17		Milwaukee Brewers	77-85	19		San Diego Padres	77-85	17
New York Mets	66-96	21		Chicago Cubs	68-94	28		San Francisco Giants	77-85	17

My Personal Hall of Fame

The following is a list of all the players I would enshrine in Cooperstown, starting from scratch. The years represent the year of final season.

Post-Winter Meetings MLB Power Rankings

1. Detroit Tigers
2. Boston Red Sox
3. St. Louis Cardinals
4. Oakland Athletics
5. Colorado Rockies
6. Los Angeles Dodgers
7. Atlanta Braves
8. Pittsburgh Pirates
9. Texas Rangers
10. Washington Nationals
11. Tampa Bay Rays
12. Kansas City Royals
13. Cleveland Indians
14. Cincinnati Reds
15. Arizona Diamondbacks
16. Seattle Mariners
17. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
18. Toronto Blue Jays
19. Baltimore Orioles
20. San Francisco Giants
21. Milwaukee Brewers
22. New York Yankees
23. Philadelphia Phillies
24. San Diego Padres
25. New York Mets
26. Miami Marlins
27. Minnesota Twins
28. Chicago Cubs
29. Chicago White Sox
30. Houston Astros

My (Hypothetical) 2014 BBWAA Hall of Fame Ballot

Barry Bonds - Yes, he used steroids. But if we assume he was clean through 1998, he would still have over 400 HRs and 400 SBs just through age 33, along with a 164 OPS+ and 99.6 WAR. In other words, Bonds was already an inner-circle Hall of Famer even before he (likely) began using steroids.

Roger Clemens - Essentially the same argument as Bonds. He had already reached 60+ WAR through age 29, at which point he had 3 Cy Young awards.

Greg Maddux - 355 wins. 3371 strikeouts. 104.6 WAR. 4 Cy Youngs. Enough said.

Mike Mussina - While he doesn't have the glitz and glamour of some of the other candidates, no pitcher with 250+ wins and 2500+ strikeouts has ever been left out of the Hall. 270 wins, 2813 strikeouts and 82.7 WAR easily makes the cut.

Tom Glavine - Perhaps a bit overrated, but nonetheless a tremendous pitcher. 305 wins, 2607 strikeouts, 74.0 WAR and 2 Cy Young awards is more than enough.

Frank Thomas - Stands as probably the greatest "clean" hitter of the Steroid Era. 521 home runs matches McCovey and Teddy Ballgame. A 156 OPS+ and 73.6 WAR place him in elite company. The 2 MVPs are just icing on the cake.

Curt Schilling - Tremendous postseason resume (11-2, 2.23 with 3 rings) backed up by a great regular season career. Win total is a bit low, but 3116 strikeouts and 80.7 WAR is fine by me.

Jeff Bagwell - Suspicion is the only reason he's not already in. 449 home runs and 1529 RBI are elite in any era. 79.5 WAR places him just outside the top-5 among first basemen.

Mike Piazza - Likely suffers from same problem as Bagwell. 427 home runs and a 143 OPS+ leaves him as unquestionably the greatest hitting catcher ever. Even with horrendous baserunning and porous defense, he still comes in with 59.2 WAR, a fantastic number for a catcher.

Alan Trammell - Should have gotten in a long time ago (see comps to Barry Larkin). 70.3 WAR and a 110 OPS+ are Hall of Fame level for a shortstop. Beats out Tim Raines for final spot due to fewer years of eligibility left. Would also put in (given larger ballot): Larry Walker, Edgar Martinez, Craig Biggio, Rafael Palmeiro.

My 2014 Expansion Era Committee Ballot

Even though I don't have an official vote, here's who I would vote for if I did:

Bobby Cox - 4th all-time in wins, 5 pennants, 1 World Series title, more playoff appearances as a manager than anyone else

Tommy John - 288 wins, 2245 strikeouts, 62.3 WAR, revolutionized the ability to repair pitching injuries

Tony LaRussa - 3rd all-time in wins, 6 pennants, 3 World Series titles

Marvin Miller - a true baseball pioneer, transformed the MLBPA into a powerhouse

Joe Torre - 5th all-time in wins, 6 pennants, 4 World Series titles; as a player: 57.4 WAR, 129 OPS+