San Jose State Spartans football headed to the Cure Bowl

Photos by Kavin Mistry

The San Jose State Spartans football team is headed to its first bowl game since 2012, when quarterback David Fales led them to the Military Bowl.

The Spartans will take on the Georgia State Panthers in the AutoNation Cure Bowl on Dec. 19 at 9 a.m. in Orlando, Florida.

SJSU boasts an all-time record of 6-3 in bowl games, including victories in its past three appearances. This will be the first bowl game for head coach Ron Caragher.

This will also be the first bowl game for the Georgia State program that began in 2010.

Scoring wise the Spartans and Panthers are nearly identical in their per game output on offense and defense.

The Spartans averaged 28.0 points per game on offense, while its defense surrenders 28.2 points per game.

Meanwhile, the Panthers averaged 27.8 points per game, and surrender an average of 28.4 points.

However, the offensive identities of the two teams are vastly different; the Spartans offense runs through senior running back Tyler Ervin, while the Panthers offense flows through the arm of quarterback Nick Arbuckle.

Ervin, who earned First Team All-Mountain West honors, rushed for 1,469 yards and managed 2,410 all-purpose yards for the season, ranking him second in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

Arbuckle finished the season with 4,160 passing yards, 32 total touchdowns (26 passing), and averaged 346.7 passing yards per game for Georgia State.

As a compliment to their quarterback, Georgia State’s wide receivers Penny Hart and Robert Davis propel Georgia State’s aerial attack.

Hart led the Panthers with 71 receptions for 1,095 yards and eight touchdowns, including seven receptions for 129 yards and a touchdown in the team’s regular season finale against Georgia Southern on Saturday.

Davis added 60 receptions for 979 yards and six touchdowns.

The matchup to focus on will be the explosiveness of the Panthers receivers against the grit of the Spartans secondary.

SJSU’s defense held opponents to 153.6 passing yards per game this season, second fewest in the FBS.

Jimmy Pruitt and Cleveland Wallace III lead the Spartan secondary with three interceptions a piece.

The Spartans path to the Cure Bowl was unconventional; they were surprised that they were even being considered for a bowl after their final loss to Boise State clinched a losing season.

However, there were only 75 teams in the FBS that had at least six wins this season (which is the minimum to be considered for a bowl game) and there needs to be 80 teams to fill all the bowls.

Georgia State’s path to the Cure Bowl was through their emphatic upset victory over their rivals Georgia Southern in the final game of the season that propelled them to a 6-6 finish. Which was surprising because they started the season 1-5, but then hit their stride and won five of their last six games.

The inaugural AutoNation Cure Bowl will take place in the Orlando Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando, Florida.

Roger Goodell, there is still an issue

SPORTS OPINION

An estimated 1.6 to 3.8 million concussions, whether they’re related to sports or recreation, occur each year in the United States according to protectthebrain.org.

Most of the sports teams here at San Jose State have the risk of a student athlete suffering from a concussion.

Concussions or Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) are becoming a much larger issue and are putting athletes in serious life-threatening situations on the field.

Whenever a player during a game suffers a blow to the head, or any other head or neck injury, they are taken to the team doctor and put through the “concussion protocol.”

This consists of a baseline determination diagnosis during a neurological exam performed by a doctor, a gradual exercise program on the sidelines (such as stationary bike, light aerobic activities and before being allowed to check back into the game, they must be cleared by a doctor and an independent neurological consultant.

Today more than ever we see reports of plays showing “concussion-like” symptoms during football games and the NFL is not taking this issue seriously enough.

According to an article on pbs.org, in 2007 NFL commissioner Roger Goodell called for the first ever concussion summit, which included league doctors and outside sources.

The outside sources presented their findings about the dangers of concussions and were promptly dismissed by the league officials. In a press conference following the summit, Goodell sold to the media the “accomplishments” that have been made by the NFL doctors with this issue despite the fact there were none.

St. Louis Rams receiver Wes Welker, who was signed to the team a few weeks ago, was absent from the field for the past 10 months because of multiple concussions.

Welker has suffered three concussions in the NFL which made his comeback to the field all the more puzzling, as he is putting his life in danger and the league is allowing this to happen.

“I don’t think you’re courageous. Or tough. I think you’re f—ing stupid,” said prominent sportswriter Jeff Pearlman in an ESPN article. “Wes, you’re a young guy, and you need to retire right now.”

The NFL is not doing anything to stop him from continuing his career. There needs to be a rule implemented to stop players from re-entering the game after multiple concussions, it is just stupid that they are condoning this.

The other problem is the issue of playing for a paycheck. Football players have stated that if they notice they have a concussion, they will try to hide it because they need to make money and put food on the table for their families.

Clearly the concussion protocol is either not implemented enough, or it needs to be improved, because these players should not be putting their lives at risk to play a game.

According to an article on concussions by CNN, 87 of the 91 former NFL players who donated their brains after death to science, tested positive for CTE.

San Francisco 49ers player Justin Smith said in an ESPN report that players know what problems can occur by playing with a concussion, yet would risk further damage for the money.

“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out if (you have) a concussion … Yeah I’d still play through it, It’s part of it. It’s part of the game,” Smith said in the ESPN article.

The most frustrating thing Smith said was when he talked about how the NFL handles these concussion situations.

“I think if you are noticeably messed up, yeah, they’ll take you out. But if you’ve just got some blurry vision, I’d say that’s the player’s call. And most guys – 99 percent of the guys in the NFL – are going to play through it,” Smith said.

After hearing these professional players speak about the danger they are putting themselves in just to play football, it makes you step back and look at the big picture.

We are here at SJSU, we have a football team and it almost beckons the question, are they doing everything in their power to protect these athletes?

The switch has been pulled on the Kaepernick era

SPORTS COMMENTARY

After weeks of telling the press that Colin Kaepernick is the starting quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, head coach Jim Tomsula has pulled the string and announced Blaine Gabbert will now be replacing Kaepernick under center.

The patience of coach Tomsula and his staff has reached its boiling point, resulting in their need to try a new signal caller as the team sits in the bottom tier of the league at 2-6.

The team has been in free fall since the departure of former head coach Jim Harbaugh this past offseason and the future of the franchise is in jeopardy.

This has become the low point of 49ers owner Jed York’s tenure as CEO of the franchise, exposing his inability to construct a winning team and a positive image for himself in the eyes of fans.

Since the on-field altercation between York and Harbaugh at the end of last season (when the two reached a breaking point in their relationship) contributed to the firing of Harbaugh, the team has been in constant shambles.

On ESPN’s “Mike and Mike,” one of the hosts said, “the 49ers organization deserves this. Their quarterback who he turned into a superstar has now forgot how to play,” Mike Greenberg said. “The organization deserves this because they had one of the two or three best coaches in football in any level and they threw him out as soon as possible. And now they went from being in the Super Bowl to being the worst team in football.”

With this level of fallout, it will be difficult for the 49ers to salvage anything at this point. Nobody in the 49ers front office nor coaching staff knows what to do.

They took one of the smartest coaches in football, who took a team that for years nobody wanted to watch and turned into a perennial contender.

The Niners made the NFC Championship game three out of four years when Harbaugh was the head coach.

After he left, players such as Patrick Willis, Justin Smith and Chris Borland jumped ship.

The mass exodus combined with questionable moves made by the front office, such as not resigning Pro Bowl guard Mike Iupati, had Niner fans shaking their heads.

Adding more salt to the franchise’s wound was Sunday’s 27-6 loss to the division rival St. Louis Rams. It was another dismal performance by the offense that failed to score a touchdown for the second straight week.

“This is a quarterback that this team has lost faith in,” said Adam Schefter on SportsCenter. “This benching effectively ends the tenure of Colin Kaepernick with the 49ers.”

The benching came at an interesting point of Tomsula’s reign as head coach because each week prior to now he assured everyone he had Kaepernick’s back.

The timing of the benching comes one week before the 49ers’ bye week and opens the door for speculation as to whether the team is finished with Kaepernick.

It is worth noting that a part of Kaepernick’s six-year $110 million contract includes an opt-out clause, which allows the Niners to cut him at the end of any season in the contract time.

It should come as no surprise that the Niners are struggling as much as they are.

The team has shown no signs of real leadership. The offense struggles to score points and the defense, which used to be one of the most powerful units in the league, seems unable to stop anyone.

The Niners will look to try and salvage their season this week with their new starting quarterback Gabbert against the Atlanta Falcons.

Check out the full published article in the Spartan Daily

Infographic by Kavin Mistry

Brown people can't play baseball

OPINION

“And the winner, based on his speed and accuracy, is Rinku Singh! He's won $100,000 U.S., a trip to America and a tryout with a Major League Baseball team!” according to an excerpt from the movie “Million Dollar Arm.”

These guys got the opportunity to play baseball without even knowing what a strike or ball was.

Yet here I am, knowing more about baseball that someone probably should and just because I didn’t live in India, I have to fight each day to get a coach to turn his head.

Nobody understands what it’s like to be an Indian baseball player growing up in America. Singh got the opportunity because he was one of the only boys in India to throw a strike.

I have dealt with so much unnecessary criticism being an Indian man trying to play the game of baseball.

I may not have the strength of the white player on my right; I may not have the talent level of the Mexican player to my left and I may not fit the bill of a baseball player in the eyes of the coach, but that doesn’t mean I can’t challenge that player for his spot on the diamond.

Rinku Singh became the first person of Indian descent to play for an American team when he signed to the Pittsburgh Pirates’ minor league team in 2009.

"If I continue to do what I'm doing right now, just believing in myself, believing in my work ethic, believing where I'm going from, it's gonna happen one day," Singh said in a CBS report in 2013.

According to MLB.com, only two Indian people have made it onto a minor league roster in the long history of baseball. The first was in 2009.

I have spoken to many people who said they enjoyed the movie “Million Dollar Arm,” and think it was an inspirational story about bringing Indian players into baseball.

Yet many people fail to understand how difficult it is to be an American-born Indian player attempting to have a career in the game.

I have loved baseball for as long as I can remember. I used to go to San Francisco Giants games as a kid and tell my dad, “I am going to be on that field someday.”

He would say, “I believe that you will be. I have no doubt.”

I stepped away from the game in sixth grade because I couldn’t handle the mocking. I didn’t want to let people tell me whether or not I can play the game I love.

I can’t describe the number of times people have said, “hey! This isn’t a cricket field! Why are you here?” or “there is no way that guy is Indian; he must be black. Indian people don’t play baseball.”

But none of that compared to the worst experience of my baseball career.

I was batting in the last game of the little league season in 2006 against a white pitcher who always told me I didn’t belong in baseball. He hit me in the neck with the first pitch.

I gave up on baseball after that. I thought it wasn’t worth the ridicule I received because I wasn’t like everyone else.

In my sophomore year of high school, I dreaded physical education class. I hated having to run around the track while I watched the baseball team practice on the field next to me.

I decided it was enough and I worked as hard as I could to get my arm back in shape to try out for the team. And I made it.

I went on to play for the varsity team as a junior and senior.

I was still ridiculed by teammates and people on campus, but I knew what I was capable of and what I needed to do to get there.

Unfortunately, my coach didn’t see my dream the same way. I received little to no playing time in the first half of the season.

My first appearance as a pitcher after four years off was with the bases loaded and nobody out.

My coach basically threw me into the fire, but I got out of it without giving up a run.

I told myself that I wasn’t going to get many opportunities to pitch so when I did, I knew I had to force the hand of my coach to let me.

Sometimes in life you need people to tell you can’t do something. Proving them wrong only fuels you.

I continued to grow as a pitcher and a person in my three years of playing in high school. As a senior, other teams thought I was black because they didn’t think Indian people could do what I did.

Coaches and other people told me my career was over after high school, that I had no chance to play at a higher level despite the success I had in my senior year.

I made the team at De Anza College in Cupertino in spite of the backlash I received for even trying out. I spent two years there as a pitcher and now I’m trying out for the team at San Jose State.

Before leaving De Anza, I had an exit meeting with my coach.

After telling him I was headed to SJSU, he said, “hmm … wow, OK. Well, good luck trying to get on that team. It might be hard for someone like you.”

I have lived my life and baseball career by telling myself that it’s not about what people say you can’t do, it’s all about how you can show them they’re wrong.

My dream of making the major leagues is still alive.

Robotic umpires will ruin America’s greatest pastime

OPINION

Baseball is moving further into the 21st century after implementing instant replay, and is now considering putting robot umpires behind the home plate.

Major League Baseball will use these robotic umpires to call strikes and balls during every game. Players have argued that umpires now control the outcome of games more than the players themselves, and they are in support of the robots.

This problem became evident in a huge game between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night in their battle for first place.

Giants batter Alejandro De Aza was called out on a pitch that was unhittable and clearly out of the strike zone. This had a direct effect on the outcome of the game because the umpire took away San Francisco’s chance to tie the game.

According to a tweet by Alex Pavlovic, Giants insider for Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, manager Bruce Bochy said it was the “worst call at the worst time.”

But it is unfair for the blame to be placed solely on the umpire because the Giants could have scored in any of the other eight innings.

As a college baseball pitcher myself, I hope to never see a robot umpire on the field. They would give the hitters an unfair advantage, knowing exactly what would be called a strike and what would be called a ball.

Pitchers have an unspoken relationship with umpires. When the game begins, the umpire reveals how the strike zone will be called for that game and the pitcher adjusts his game plan accordingly.

This is something that hitters have to figure out for themselves during the course of the game, along with trying to understand the pitcher.

If there were robot umpires, hitters would only have to worry about what pitch is going to be thrown. It takes away strategy in the mind of the pitcher.

By putting in robots to call the game, it takes away from the human aspect of baseball, including the ongoing battle between hitters and pitchers to outsmart each other.

If I had to deal with robot umpires there would be added pressure on how to throw strikes. If the pitches are close, but not in the clear-cut computer strike zone, it would be frustrating.

Despite the negative effects of having these robot umpires, the movement has already begun to take shape.

According to csnbayarea.com the Bay Area was the first to ever test out this system on July 28, 2015 during an Independent league game in San Rafael.

The system was run by a computer that calculated if the pitch was a ball or a strike and an announcer told the players and the crowd if the result.

It seems inevitable that this new system might make its way to the major leagues and then in time to the college level as well. If it does, it will change the whole dynamic of baseball and the sport will lose a lot of the game within the game between the pitcher and the hitter.

- See more at: http://spartandaily.com/143133/robotic-umpires-will-ruin-americas-greatest-pastime#sthash.0QBE6KPb.dpuf

Check out my other articles in the Spartan Daily.

American League: Who' In? Who's out?

We have passed the century mark in games for each team in 2015 and the playoff hunt is still up in the air. Thanks to the second wild card, teams that would usually be giving up are finding themselves still in it. Here is a look at some of the American League teams that still have a shot at making the postseason that are on the outside looking in.

American League Wild Card

Who's in?

Baltimore Orioles (2.0 GB)
The Orioles are in an interesting position in the AL Wild Card. They made one deal at the deadline and that was to acquire Gerardo Parra which helps them solidify their outfield with a gold glove player and a hot left handed bat. In order for them to get back into the playoffs, they will need to follow the hot power bat of Chris Davis who has started to find the same stroke he had two years ago in his breakout campaign. They will also need a healthy Chris Tillman who is sporting a 0.83 ERA since the All-Star break.

Texas Rangers (3.0 GB)
The Rangers made a huge swing at the deadline acquiring Cole Hamels, which gives them a bonafide ace at the top of their rotation. Paired with their power bats and high powered offense, the Rangers look to sneak into the wild card game and with Hamels, they have a real shot at winning the play in game. It is very important that the rest of the rotation follow Hamels and stay healthy. This is a team that has a history of being plagued with injuries ever since their run at the World Series title in 2011.

Detroit Tigers (5.0 GB)
Even though the Tigers did some heavy unloading at the deadline, getting rid of ace David Price, closer Joakim Soria, and All-Star outfielder Yoenis Cespedes. Despite all this, I believe the Tigers still have a shot after I watched their series against the Royals this week where they took 2 out of 3. Plus you can never rule them out when the best pure hitter in the game of baseball Miguel Cabrera is on the mend and will be back in the coming weeks.

Who's out?

Minnesota Twins (3.0 GB)
Despite only being 3 games back in the Wild Card chase, the Twins have been in a freefall ever since the All-Star break and are struggling to find any consistency. Plus with the high powered offenses that are in front of them, it is hard to see them catching up. Their rotation has been nothing but inconsistent and don't seem to have what they need to stay in contention.

Chicago White Sox (5.0 GB)
The White Sox have had a weird year this season. Their are times when you believe that they will find their stride and go on a run, with their lineup as nice as it is, but the fact is the Sox are just not there. Jose Abreu is having a very down year and Adam LaRoche has not been at all been what they had invisioned. Their pitching has hit a wall, Chris Sale has not been himself his past two starts, Carlos Rodon is incredibly inconsistent and the rest of the staff is so up and down. It will be hard to see them make up the ground to chase down the Blue Jays.

What has gone wrong? Teams with high hopes struggling out of the gate

There have been a handful of teams that are having to take a step back at this point of the season and take a long look at themselves. Teams that believed that they would be in the hunt for first place in their respective divisions find their club in the cellar as we get closer to the quarter point of the 2015 season. It is puzzling to understand why some of these teams are where they are considering the talent that is present on their teams, but others are just underachieving. Here is a look at some of the teams that have had a slow start to 2015, despite having high hopes during spring training.

Chicago White Sox
The team from the windy city made a few big splashes in the offseason acquiring right handed starter Jeff Samardzija from the Athletics and signing free agent outfielder Melky Cabrera and closer David Robertson. After the incredible rookie season by Jose Abreu and a breakout year from Alexei Ramirez, the Sox seemed poised to make a run at the Tigers and Royals in the American league central. This however has not been the case. They find themselves at 17-17 and 5 games behind the Royals for first. It is really hard to put a finger on why the Sox are underachieving, they seem to be really inconsistent, one day their pitching will be great and the next their hitting. There is still a ton of time for this team to hit its stride and make a run, but it needs to find a balance, and after watching them play the Athletics this past weekend I think they are starting to find it. Abreu has not been the same hitter he was last season but Avisail Garcia has begun to emerge as an offensive force, batting at .336 with a .371 OBP. And if Samardzija can find a way to be more consistent with Chris Sale and Carlos Rodon, look out because here come the White Sox. I personally believe that they can be a scary team to play because of the middle of their lineup, but unless they find some consistency, that will not be a factor.

Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays. It seems like every year we keep saying that on paper this is a great team but on the field it is a different story, 2015 has been the same. The Jays made a huge move in the offseason acquiring Josh Donaldson from the Athletics and signing catcher Russell Martin. They did however suffer a major blow in spring training when their ace Marcus Stroman tore his ACL during pitchers fielding practice. This team has puzzled me for some time now, they have an immense amount of talent in their lineup that includes Jose Reyes, Donaldson, Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, Martin and newcomer Devon Travis who has been hitting the cover off the baseball. Despite all these talented hitters, they just have not seem to be able to put it together. It is hard to say what exactly this team needs to do to compete in this difficult division, players just need to step up and grind through it. The Jays just finished getting swept over the weekend in a 4 game series against the Astros, losing all but one game by one run. When it all comes together this team will be putting up video game like home run numbers, but someone needs to step up and get them on the right track.

Miami Marlins
Sometimes you can have all the young talent in the world and still struggle, and the Marlins are a perfect example of a team that has all the right pieces, but none are falling into place. The fish announced the firing of their manager Mike Redmond on Sunday after almost getting no hit by the Braves. It is safe to say that they have hit the panic button on the 2015 season. This is a team that is searching for answers, and it hoping that a new voice in the clubhouse will help answer their problems. The Marlins acquired Dan Haren, Dee Gordon, Mat Latos, Martin Prado, David Phelps and signed Michael Morse and Ichiro Suzuki this offseason, giving a whole revamped look to their lineup. I just cannot understand why this team is struggling this much, although I know one reason is they have not been able to hit to their full potential. There are certain players that are holding their own in the lineup but others are nowhere to be found. Giancarlo Stanton, Dee Gordon and Adeiny Hechavarria are contributing their share of offensive, but everyone else has been either streaky or not living up to their hype. Hopefully when they get back their ace Jose Fernandez next month they can start playing at a higher level, but until then, they need to start winning ball games or else they will fall far behind the Mets and surging Nationals in their division.

April Review

The first month of the 2015 season has come and gone and we have learned a lot already in only the first 4 weeks. There have been a couple teams and players that have caught the attention of the baseball world and seem to climbing the ladder at a quicker rate than most people expected. Teams that most people thought were still in the works of rebuilding have now shown everyone that they are for real and ready to start making a run at a title. Other teams made bold moves over the offseason to try and bolster their roster but those moves have started to backfire and a couple teams find themselves already in a deep hole. It is sill too early to make bold predictions about the playoff picture, but as an analyst it is always fun to make them and see how it all turns out in September.

Here is my first month analysis of some of the big stories that came out of the first 4 weeks of the season.

Must see teams that have grabbed everyones attention.

Houston Astros
Yes the Astros. The team that only two season ago had 111 losses have almost half the number of wins they had that season through the first 28 games. It is exciting to see that one of the teams that spends almost every year in the cellar of baseball is now playing great baseball and found a great balance of hitting and fantastic pitching to lead the charge. Led by offensive stud Jose Altuve who won the batting title last year, the first in the Astros franchise history and under the radar acquisitions of Evan Gattis, Colby Rasmus, Jed Lowrie and Jake Marisnick. The Astros just had their 10 game winning streak snapped this past week, but are still sitting atop the AL West with a 5 game cushion over the second place Angels. Their pitching has been very impressive in the early going led by ace Dallas Keuchel who is 3-0 with a 0.80 ERA (which leads the MLB) in 45 innings this season.

St. Louis Cardinals
A team that always finds themselves at the top of their division are off to a high flying start again in 2015, with the best start in their franchise history through 27 games. The Cardinals were horrified with news a few weeks ago that they would have to go the rest of the season without their ace Adam Wainwright who tore his achilles after turning his ankle running out of the batters box on a pop up. But ever since they heard that news they have not missed a beat, the rest of the rotation has picked him up tremendously and the team has opened up a 5.5 game lead in the NL Central. Offensively they are led by the usual cast of Matt Carpenter, Matt Holliday, Matt Adams and newcomer Jason Heyward who they acquired in the offseason from the Braves.

Must see players.

Joc Pederson
The pride of Palo Alto high school here is the Bay Area has been a spark for the Dodgers this season as their new everyday centerfielder to replace Matt Kemp who they traded to the Padres in the offseason. Joc is off to a tremendous start in the outfield, already helping out the Dodgers on defense, especially with Yasiel Puig being on the shelf for most of the season so far. Offensively he is hitting .272 AVG with 9 HRs 18 RBIs and 19 R in his first 27 games. The craziest statistic about Pederson has come in the past week, his last 7 hits have all been home runs. After his ridiculous season last year in minor leagues last year his success so far seems pretty sustainable, the home runs are coming at a crazy pace, but he is doing all he can to help the Dodgers. Definitely a player people should keep their eye on this season.

Nelson Cruz
Cruz has brought his boomstick to Seattle and the Mariner fans are loving so far this season. The veteran slugger has been tearing the cover off the baseball with 14 home runs in his first 28 games. To go along with a .333 AVG with 26 RBIs, 19 R, .757 SLG he has been the most potent bat in the Mariners lineup this season that is searching for some consistency this season after a dismal 11-17 start to the season with a seat in the bottom of the AL West. Regardless of how the Mariners are doing, Cruz is definitely a player to watch this season and see how many home runs he can hit.

Impact of the new rules
The new pace of play rules have been implemented this season around the MLB and a clock has been put in stadiums that gives 2 minutes and 25 seconds between each inning for pitchers to warm up between innings to keep the game moving and allow fans to stay more interested. I believe that the changes are making a little difference, as an everyday fan I have noticed that games have been moving at a lot swifter pace than usual, so it seems like the new rules are working.

Final review
It is hard to make serious predictions in April with such a long season, but as many people say, it is hard to win a division in April, but it is easy to lose one. A few teams that are going to have trouble turning this around are the Milwaukee Brewers, Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies. I am not sure that the overall plans are for these teams, they do not seem to be making serious enough moves to make them contenders.

Week 2 Early season surprises

Two weeks of the 2015 season have already come and gone, and quickly we can see which teams are headed in the right direction and which teams are not. There are a few teams and individuals that are doing a lot better than people have anticipated, and should get the credit they deserve.

Surprise teams so far:

New York Mets.
I have since the beginning of spring training liked the Mets rotation, Bartolo Colon, Matt Harvey, Jacob Degrom, Zack Wheeler and potentially Noah Syndergaard (one of the Mets top prospects) and the back end of their bullpen seemed pretty solid with Jenrry Mejia. But once I found out that Wheeler was getting Tommy John, Mejia got suspended for PEDs and David Wright went on the DL, that this would just end up being another injury plagued season for the Mets. They have proved me wrong. The surging team from Queens is in the mixed of an 8 game winning streak with and early 4 game lead in the division over World Series favorite the Washington Nationals. Their pitching has been lights out and their offense has been potent throughout the streak. Keep an eye on the Mets this season.

Chicago Cubs.
Now on paper this should be a good team, and we have learned in the past couple years thag being good on paper is never the same result on the field. The Cubs are started to defy that trend. They spent most of last week in first place, with the help of their well powered offense, and young talent showing what they have to offer. With call up Kris Bryant now finally in the big leagues, the Cubs are bound to keep scoring and take a lot more pressure off their pitching staff. So far they are getting great contributions from new comers Dexter Fowler and Miguel Montero. I am quite disappointed in the first 3 starts by super high paid Ace Jon Lester, who has given up 24 runs in his first 3 starts. As soon as he turns the corner, the Cubs are going to be a scary team to play.

Atlanta Braves.
Trade away all your power, let two of your more dominant pitchers go, and trade away the best closer in the game and what do you get? An 8-4 start to the season and only a game out of first in the NL East. The Braves have so far defied the logic behind all the moves that have been made this offseason by their GM, a team that most believed would being bringing up the rear of the division along with the Phillies are now shocking everyone. They are going at it with a very balanced attack of hitting and pitching, led by slugger Freddie Freeman and newcomer pitcher Shelby Miller. Freeman already has 4 home runs and 8 RBIs, with the supporting cast of Johnny Gomes and Nick Markakis helping power the Braves offense. The Braves have also thrived off the revitalization of reliever Jim Johnson and Jason Grilli who is 6 for 6 in saves this season. We will see how long the Braves are able to sustain this hot start.

Surprise Players

Alex Rodriguez.
Yes, ARod. The man who has been attacked his entire career for his use of performance enhancing drugs has returned to the baseball field after serving his suspension. He has not missed a beat. He is surprising everyone with his hot start to the season, on a team that spent a lot of money on Chase Headley in the offseason to be his replacement and be there when the Yankees believed ARod would struggle. Out of spring training he won his spot in the Yankees opening day roster and has not looked back. He is batting .316 with 4 HR, 11 RBIs, 10 R, and an OBP of .447. Definitely doing a lot better than even I expected, I thought it would be hard for him to readjust to the speed of the game after having not played for over a year.

Shelby Miller.
The forgotten part of the trade that sent slugger Jason Heyward to the Cardinals has been the Braves best pitcher so far this season, he has helped add to their rotation in a big way. He leads the Braves with a 1.69 ERA through his first 3 starts and is sporting a 2-0 record with 11 strikeouts in 16 innings.  He has opponents hits a cool .211 off of him so far and is helping the Braves to their surprisingly fast start.

Joey Votto.
Welcome back Votto. The talented Reds slugger was quiet last season as he struggled in an injury plagued season. He has turned that around to start 2015. Votto has changed his batting stance and is putting more emphasis on his back leg which helps him drive and turn on pitches that he missed last year, along with that he is pulling the ball a lot more which helps him expand his power to all fields. He has also become a lot more aggressive, he was a guy that took a lot of pitches in power counts which put him behind quickly. Votto is hitting .364 with 4 HRs, 10 RBIs, and a sizzling 1.209 OPS. Sitting comfortably in the 2 spot of the Reds order, Votto looks to help keep the Reds in the hunt this season.

Welcome to the 2015 Baseball season

Baseball is back! The moment fans have been waiting for since Pablo Sandoval caught that ball in foul territory in the 2014 World Series which helped the San Francisco Giants capture their 3rd Crown in 5 years. Now everyone has a clean slate and the trophy is up for grabs.

The preseason favorites by many people to hoist the 2015 World Series Trophy are:

Washington Nationals 

Los Angeles Dodgers

Detroit Tigers

Boston Red Sox

Los Angeles Angels of Anahiem 

Storylines:

San Diego Padres, with new GM A.J. Preller have made the baseball world notice that they are not afraid to make a big splash and give their fans something to cheer about. He was constantly working out new deals to acquire the best the league has to offer. His acquisitions included, Justin Upton, Matt Kemp, Derrick Norris, James Shields, Will Middlebrooks, Wil Meyers, Melvin Upton Jr, and Craig Kimbrel. This makes the Padres an immediate force in the National League West and puts them up there with the Giants and Dodgers. We will see what happens and how these players gel together as the season goes on. 

Boston Red Sox, one of the most interesting teams in baseball, they finished in last place in 2012, then they came back and won the World Series in 2013. They went back to the cellar in 2014, but they have stocked up this offseason and are now back as favorites to win the World Series in 2015. Some of the key moves they made this offseason were acquiring Pablo Sandoval, Hanley Ramirez, Rick Porcello, an Wade Miley. This has made their lineup a force and their offense poised to keep their team out of the cellar in the AL East. Now we will watch and see how their pitching staff holds up as the season progresses.

Chicago Cubs, yes the Chicago Cubs are making moves and the time is now for fans of the team that has not won a World Series in over 100 years to get excited. An overhaul of prospects for the Cubs are now ready to be called up and they are ready to get the Cubs out of the basement in the NL Central. Players to watch in 2015: Jorge Soler, Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, Mike Olt, Arismendy Alcantra and Anthony Rizzo. GM Theo Epstein did not leave his team with just prospects, he was busy this offseason as he acquired Jon Lester, Jason Motte, Dexter Fowler and Miguel Montero. I personally think that this team will be improved but is not at the point where they will compete for the playoffs just yet. This young players need to grow, but they will definitely open the eyes of many and get peoples attention.

Oakland Athletics, I feel like this team could be on this list every year just because they have their GM Billy Beane. No matter what anyone says about the guy, he knows what he is doing, and I will give him credit for pulling off the gut-wrenching moves that he did while having his teams fan base screaming in his ear. It was a shipping out party for the team that held the best record in baseball for a long period of time in the season last year. Players gone: Josh Donaldson, Brandon Moss, Jeff Samardzija, Jed Lowrie, Alberto Callaspo, Jason Hammel, Jon Lester, John Jaso, Geovany Soto, Daric Barton, Nick Punto, and Johnny Gomes. With all these losses Beane worked his magic and got players that he knows has potential that nobody else believes is true. These additions are: Tyler Clippard, Kendall Graveman, Brett Lawrie, Ike Davis, Billy Butler, Mark Canha, Marcus Semien, Ben Zobrist and Cody Ross. It will be interesting to see how this season plays out for the green and gold.