The crown jewel of baseball, where any of the five teams in the division can win the Pennant. Predicted Standings Boston Toronto New York Baltimore Tampa Bay I only have Baltimore and Tampa Bay at the bottom of these standings because you can't have five teams in the top three. I wouldn't be shocked if all five teams finished the season .500 or better. The Rays are a team with incredible riches in their rotation captained by Chris Archer, and an interesting lineup with a ton of power but a ton of strike outs. Their high homers and low AVG's add OF Colby Rasmus and C Derek Norris (holding the fort for Wilson Ramos, one of the best catchers in the league who will need at least half the seas

Ah yes, the NL West, the division where any team can be picked to win it... except the Padres. Predicted Standings San Francisco Los Angeles Arizona Colorado San Diego The boldest predictions in these standings are placing the DBacks as high as third and the Rockies as low as fourth. The Diamondbacks get a few upgrades just from CF A.J. Pollock coming back from a lost season (2015 Gold Glove, All-Star, 14th in MVP voting), RF David Peralta back from injuries, a trade for top young SP Taijuan Walker from the Mariners and a few new additions to the bullpen. They are also hoping for a very much needed bounce-back from SP Shelby Miller who had a historically terrible year (3-12, 6.15 ERA and a

Since the last movie post I have seen a few 2017 movies to mix with a couple older ones. I saw: Logan (2017), Kong: Skull Island (2017), Get Out (2017), Cabin in the Woods (2012), and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007). Logan This is my first five-star movie of the year (it has been a strong year so far) and this one shows that superhero movies are only going to evolve through many genres and tones. Logan plays like a rugged modern western in the vein of Hell or High Water, Sicario, or Midnight Special and mixes it with x-men mythology and a science fiction future. Everything about this movie is just fantastic film making, fantastically directed, special effects, great story

As is the case every year, this division is doomed to collapse short of the finish. Predicted Standings New York Washington Atlanta Philadelphia Miami The Mets just have the most complete team in this division and they always have one more prospect pitcher to step up should anyone else get hurt. In previous years it came from Steven Matz and Robert Gsellman (not a typo) who are now the promising back end of the rotation. They may have a constant hole in CF but having a little less speed at that position hasn't seemed to hurt them too much the last few years. They also have a trump card in their pocket with RF Jay Bruce who the Mets can afford to trade away for an upgrade anywhere they may

And now, the Mike Trout division. Predicted Standings 1. Houston 2. Texas 3. Seattle 4. Los Angeles of Anaheim, California 5. Oakland This seems like a good enough year as any that the Astros could leapfrog everyone in the West to win the division. They mostly upgraded their lineup, adding veterans Carlos Beltran, James McCann, and Nori Aoki, adding Josh Reddick at what could be his prime season, and the first chances Alex Bregman and Yulieski Gurriel will have as a full season at the big league level. Their rotation will get a chance to improve just from an off season of rest out of Dallas Keuchel and added depth from Charlie Morton. Texas decided not to change too much as they only added

This spring I'll take a stab at having previews of all six divisions in the majors. First off, the AL Central. Predicted Standings 1. Cleveland 2. Kansas City 3. Detroit 4. Minnesota 5. Chicago There isn't anything especially shocking here based on last year's finish. The two changes from last year's final standings were flipping the Royals and Tigers, and the Twins and White Sox. Cleveland was a pretty big surprise to be so close to winning it all last year and they get Michael Bradley (3rd in AL MVP votes in 2014), and SP's Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar back from injuries that either cost them valuable parts of their 2016 seasons. They also signed Edwin Encarnacion, one of the bigge

Hi there. DD here. In college The Cars Greatest Hits compilation was a regular in my music rotation. Pat Benetar was also a frequent flyer in the line-up. If, like me, you are an 80’s baby then this soundtrack is for you. Sing Street is set in Ireland and follows the story of a boy trying to impress a girl by starting a band. In the process he discovers his identity. Love and heartbreak ensue and character is built. The songs speak to that process. There is a near-seamless blend of story and original music throughout: Girls is about fitting in vs. figuring yourself out while, you know, chasing after a girl. Up speaks to how young love (you guessed it) lifts you up. But the intensity

Since the last post I watched Dredd (2012), Spider-Man 3 (2007) The Lego Batman Movie (2017), Knocked Up (2007), and This is 40 (2012). Dredd Under the radar movie that was skipped in theaters by most who would have seen it because of the 1995 Stallone interpretation of the comic that betrayed the faceless nature of the character. This is beautifully directed with great special effects. Noms: Pete Travis directing, Special Effects, Alex Garland for writing, and Anthony Dod Mantle for cinematography. Letterboxd review. Spider-Man 3 I was shocked that this was even worse than I had remembered. I was pretty disappointed watching it ten years ago and went into rewatching it with an open mind b