I hope you enjoyed the Gigantic Sox and Dawgs 2015 MLB preview. Over the last week we gave you a team by team look at the key players, new faces, potential MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year candidates, possible starting lineups and rotations as well as a quick summary.
I hope you enjoyed this look at the upcoming season. And huge thank you to my proof reader, Linda, who plowed through all of this making needed corrections and offering suggestions.
After previewing all six divisions today is the day we look at the big winners and managers who could be in trouble in 2014. You can check out all the division previews by following the links.
Sunday: NL West
Monday: AL West
Tuesday: NL Central
Wednesday: AL Central
Thursday: NL East
Friday: AL East
Play Ball!
Managers on the Hot Seat
In the final day of the Gigantic Sox and Dawgs 2015 MLB Preview, with a little help from Ian, we reveal our playoff picks. This includes the World Series winner and the major Award winners for 2015 but first let’s take a quick look at what managers are in dire straits as we begin the new season.
Toronto’s John Gibbons has to be one of the guys on the fence this year. In his first stint with the Blue Jays he was an even 305-305 and in his second time through he has a sub .500 winning percentage after two seasons at 157-167. He has a team that should be able to contend in 2015 and I’d assume anything short of being in the running at end would mean the end of him in Toronto.
Robin Ventura of the Chicago White Sox is also between a rock and hard place. The first three seasons not a lot was really expected of the team and over that period they have gone 211-265. But this off season the White Sox front office stepped up and made some bold moves and expects to contend in 2015. Anything shy of a September with some meaningful baseball and Ventura will be done on the South Side.
Fredi Gonzalez of Atlanta is in an interesting position in that the front office had a major change this offseason but the guys now in charge in Bobby Cox and John Hart have elected to leave Gonzalez on the bench. This is partly because he was the handpicked successor to Cox but he may be on a short leash. They know the team won’t contend but Gonzalez over the years has had many questionable in game decisions that have defied logic and it could push him out the door.
Philadelphia’s Ryne Sandberg is on the hot seat it has been reported there are several clubhouse issues and you have to wonder about his leadership ability from the bench. Granted the team is one of the worst in baseball but it still doesn’t mean you have to have a dysfunctional clubhouse and Ryno may end up paying for it.
In Milwaukee’s Ron Roenicke’s four seasons his win totals have gone from 96 to 83 to 74 back to 82 as their place in the NL Central went from 1st to 3rd to 4th to 3rd in that span. I was a bit surprised he got to this season especially after a good start to last year only to see them fade off as the season progressed missing the playoffs for the third consecutive year. I think a year similar to last season and you will see a change for 2016.
Colorado’s Walt Weiss hasn’t faired any better than his predecessor Jim Tracy did in his final four seasons. After a 10 game up swing in Weiss’ first season they fell back to where they were with Tracy at the helm in 2012. Weiss who had never managed at any level before may just be in too far over his head.
2015 Projected Winners
Now here are the Sox & Dawgs picks for the 2014 playoffs and the major award winners:
Projected Playoff Teams
| Division | Steve | Ian |
| AL East | Baltimore Orioles (2) | Boston Red Sox (1) |
| AL Central | Detroit Tigers (3) | Detroit Tigers (2) |
| AL West | Seattle Mariners (1) | Los Angeles Angels (3) |
| AL Wild Card | Los Angeles Angels (4) | Baltimore Orioles (4) |
| AL Wild Card | Boston Red Sox (5) | Cleveland Indians (5) |
| NL East | Washington Nationals (1) | Washington Nationals (1) |
| NL Central | Pittsburgh Pirates (3) | Cincinnati Reds (3) |
| NL West | Los Angeles Dodgers (2) | Los Angeles Dodgers (2) |
| NL Wild Card | San Francisco Giants (4) | San Francisco Giants (4) |
| NL Wild Card | St. Louis Cardinals (5) | Atlanta Braves (5) |
Steve’s Postseason Picks:
| Postseason Round | Winning Team | Losing Team | Series |
| AL Wild Card Game | Los Angeles Angels | Boston Red Sox | 1-0 |
| NL Wild Card Game | San Francisco Giants | St. Louis Cardinals | 1-0 |
| AL Division Series | Seattle Mariners | Los Angeles Angels | 3-1 |
| Baltimore Orioles | Detroit Tigers | 3-2 | |
| NL Division Series | Washington Nationals | San Francisco Giants | 3-2 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | Los Angeles Dodgers | 3-2 | |
| AL Championship | Seattle Mariners | Baltimore Orioles | 4-2 |
| NL Championship | Washington Nationals | Pittsburgh Pirates | 4-1 |
| World Series | Washington Nationals | Seattle Mariners | 4-3 |
Ian’s Postseason Picks:
| Postseason Round | Winning Team | Losing Team | Series |
| AL Wild Card Game | Baltimore Orioles | Cleveland Indians | 1-0 |
| NL Wild Card Game | San Francisco Giants | Atlanta Braves | 1-0 |
| AL Division Series | Boston Red Sox | Baltimore Orioles | 3-2 |
| Detroit Tigers | Los Angeles Angels | 3-2 | |
| NL Division Series | Washington Nationals | San Francisco Giants | 3-1 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | Cincinnati Reds | 3-2 | |
| AL Championship | Boston Red Sox | Detroit Tigers | 4-3 |
| NL Championship | Washington Nationals | Los Angeles Dodgers | 4-2 |
| World Series | Washington Nationals | Boston Red Sox | 4-2 |
2015 Projected Award Winners
| Award | Steve | Ian |
| AL MVP | CF Adam Jones, Baltimore | 1B Miguel Cabrera, Detroit |
| NL MVP | RF Giancarlo Stanton, Miami | 1B Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona |
| AL Cy Young | SP Felix Hernandez, Seattle | SP Felix Hernandez, Seattle |
| NL Cy Young | SP Max Scherzer, Washington | SP Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles |
| AL Rookie of the Year | CF Byron Buxton, Minnesota | CF Rusney Castillo, Boston |
| NL Rookie of the Year | 2B Javier Baez, Chicago | CF Joc Pederson, Los Angeles |
| AL Manager of the Year | Lloyd McClendon, Seattle | John Farrell, Boston |
| NL Manager of the Year | Mike Redmond, Miami | Don Mattingly, Los Angeles |
All that’s left now is to play the games, smell the grass and enjoy being a fan of a terrific sport and hopefully you see your team succeed in 2015.
All the games listed below are available on MLB.TV, AtBat14 and SiriusXM Radio in addition to any local TV availability and team radio network.
Here are the opening day matchup’s:
| Date | Time | Visitor | Home | Television |
| 5-Apr | 8 p.m. | Cardinals | Cubs | ESPN2 |
| 6-Apr | 1 p.m. | Blue Jays | Yankees | ESPN,RSN,YES |
| 1 p.m. | Twins | Tigers | FSNN,FSND | |
| 2 p.m. | Rockies | Brewers | ROOTRM,FSNWI | |
| 3 p.m. | Red Sox | Phillies | NESN,WCAU | |
| 3 p.m. | Orioles | Rays | MASN,SUN | |
| 4 p.m. | Mets | Nationals | ESPN,SNNY,MASN2 | |
| 4 p.m. | White Sox | Royals | CSNC,FSNKC | |
| 4 p.m. | Angels | Mariners | FSNW,ROOTNW | |
| 4 p.m. | Pirates | Reds | ROOTPIT,FSNOH | |
| 4 p.m. | Padres | Dodgers | FSNSD,SNLA | |
| 4 p.m. | Braves | Marlins | FSNS,FSNFL | |
| 7 p.m. | Indians | Astros | ESPN,STOH,ROOTSW | |
| 10 p.m. | Giants | Diamondbacks | ESPN2,CSNBA,FSNAZ | |
| 10 p.m. | Rangers | A’s | FSNSW,CSNCA |
