Daniel Millhouse's Blog, page 3

Millhouse Awards: MLB First Half Awards

Mike Trout photo by Daniel Millhouse
Another season goes by seemingly faster than ever before. It didn't seem that long ago when people just knew the Milwaukee Brewers and the Colorado Rockies were going to be bad and that the Chicago Cubs would be awesome again thanks to the arms of Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta. Then the season began and everything we knew turned upside down.

Mike Trout and Adrian Gonzalez both went down with injuries and in their places, two rookies, Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger rose and took their respective leagues by storm.

So, I now give to you the Millhouse first half of the season awards for Major League Baseball.

American League:
MVP: Aaron Judge - It should be no surprise that the rookie right fielder for the Yankees has taken the MLB by surprise. He's only a few big hits from leading the MLB in the triple crown categories, runs scored, and even has a bit of unexpected speed to boot. Judge broke the Yankees rookie homerun record set by Joe DiMaggio within the first half of the season. He also just won the homerun derby without breaking a sweat. Judge may give Mike Trout future competition for the American League MVP on a yearly basis.
Cy Young: Chris Sale - This was a close call between Sale and Jason Vargas. The edge goes to Sale because even though he has one less win than Vargas and is second to Vargas' first place hold on ERA, Sale has 100 strikeouts more and a better WHIP as well. The Chicago White Sox better hope that Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech turn out to be stars or their trade of Sale to the Boston Red Sox might look very one-sided.
Rookie of the Year: Aaron Judge - This also shouldn't be a surprise. There hasn't been a rookie hitter that has made this much of an impact on their team in years.
Fireman of the Year: Brandon Kintzler - This one is a surprise, especially since so many people thought the Minnesota Twins would be a flop this season. Kintzler wasn't even originally thought to be the Twins main closer during Spring Training. Second in the AL in saves, Kintzler has a better ERA and WHIP than the Rays' Alex Colome.
AL All-Star Team: C - Salvador Perez; 1B - Justin Smoak; 2B - Jose Altuve; 3B - Jose Ramirez; SS - Carlos Correa; OF - Aaron Judge, George Springer, Avisail Garcia; DH - Nelson Cruz; SP - Jason Vargas, Chris Sale, Lance McCullers Jr, Corey Kluber, and Ervin Santana; RP - Brandon Kintzler

National League:
MVP: Paul Goldschmidt - He goes out and proves he's the best first baseman in the MLB everyday without a whole lot of fanfare. Goldy is ninth in the league in batting average and homers, but he also leads the league in runs scored, is eighth in stolen bases, and is second in the league for on base percentage. Goldy may not get as much press as Bryce Harper or Kris Bryant, but he has quietly had the most solid season so far in the National League.
Cy Young: Max Scherzer - Some may make the argument that Clayton Kershaw deserves this award, but they'd be wrong. While Kershaw has four more wins than Scherzer, the Nationals ace leads the league in ERA, WHIP, and strikeouts. He's been consistently more dominant than Kershaw has been this season.
Rookie of the Year: Cody Bellinger is the clear runaway for this award. Not even originally supposed to be a starter this season, Bellinger has made the most of his playing time after Adrian Gonzalez went down. What has been even more surprising is the power that Bellinger has shown. There doesn't appear to be another rookie in the National League that could challenge Bellinger for the overall season award.
Fireman of the Year: Greg Holland - Taking a flyer on Holland's comeback, the Rockies have been rewarded with Holland's 28 saves in the first half of the season. This is on top of his 1.62 ERA and a stellar WHIP.
NL All-Star Team: C - Buster Posey; 1B - Paul Goldschmidt; 2B - Daniel Murphy; 3B - Nolan Arenado; SS - Zack Cosart; OF - Bryce Harper, Marcell Ozuna, Charlie Blackmon; SP - Maz Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Gio Gonzalez, and Robbie Ray; RP - Greg Holland

Things I Miss from my Childhood

Image is a screencap from the computer game The Oregon Trail
As I get older, the more I'm reminded of the things I enjoyed in my youth that are no longer around...especially when I'm in an antique shop. These things may seem trivial now, but looking back, they helped shape who I am or at least entertained me for hours at end in some way.

1. Panini sticker books: I remember as a little kid, paying something close to a quarter for a pack of baseball stickers to stick on my sticker book. Similar to baseball cards, you would buy a blank album with spots on each page that were numbered. You would then buy the sticker packs and place the stickers in the correct numbered spot in your sticker book. Sort of like a sticker version of a baseball card set. What Panini did that was awesome was that they allowed you to mail in your doubles and they would randomly mail you out more stickers. I collected baseball, basketball, and football albums. I would have collected hockey if my local grocery stores offered them. Along with baseball cards, I would memorize the stats of every player I collected. What shocked me even more while writing this blog...Panini is still in business and they still make sports-related albums.

2. Blockbuster Video: In the 1990's, this was the place to be on a Friday or Saturday night. Picking a movie or two to watch on your night off was a lot different than it is today. You physically had to get off your butt, go to a store, and look at multiple shelves filled with potential movies you may want to watch. On occasion, the movie you wanted to watch was rented out, but you had so many options that you usually could find something else to watch. Today, you simply click away on Netflix, Amazon Prime, or some other streaming site of your choice. The act of "searching" is no longer something that today's youth will ever get to enjoy.

3. The Oregon Trail: At a time when kids were transitioning from having to find ways to entertain themselves to playing video games, The Oregon Trail was one of the first video games that kids in my generation played. Schools would have this game installed in their DOS based computers to teach children about history, computers, and budgeting, all at the same time. That black screen, green graphic, horrible graphics game was something you looked forward to every week. It would be the day of the week that you would try your hardest not to be sick on. There are versions of this game still around, but nothing will beat the 1980's version. If you want to relive your childhood through The Oregon Trail, there are still emulators out there online that allow you to play it. On a side note, no kid will ever understand the disappointing phrase of "You have died of dysentery" like kids in the 1980's did.

4. Scholastic Book Order Forms: Kids attending public schools in the 1980's would get these mini catalogs passed out once every month to two months that would feature books that you could buy cheaply. It may have been because of this child's version of the book of the month club that I learned to enjoy reading. It was also because of this program that I learned to love and now miss the next item on this list.

5. Choose Your Own Adventure books: A series of books created by the publisher Bantam Books, a kid could read these books and have a different ending every time depending on the choices they made during the story. Big in the 1980's and 1990's, these books came in multiple genres including science-fiction, mystery, and more. I would look forward to the newest Scholastic Book Order Form to be handed out at school so I could beg for my parents to allow me to get the newest addition to the Bantam Books collection.

6. Scented Markers: Originally created to encourage you to draw more and also created during a time period where kids were presented with a vast amount of products that appealed to their ole factory senses (i.e. scratch'n'sniff stickers), these markers carried a scent that would go along with the color. A blueberry scent may have come from the blue marker. An apple scent may have come from the red marker. It's possible these markers could be the reason for so many junkies later on in life. Who knows if the chemicals that created the scent that you enjoyed sniffing were hazardous to your health. Either way, you liked drawing with these markers as a kid.

7. Elvira's Movie Macabre: No, the movies weren't A-list movies, but Elvira would introduce her audience to old horror movies from years before. The movies were often campy, but Elvira had a way of keeping them fun and giving new life to movies that would have otherwise been forgotten with time.

8. Cinnamon Toothpicks: Yes, this was a thing, at least in the early 1990's for Anaheim kids. They were toothpicks flavored like cinnamon and you would just pop them in your mouth and drain the flavor away until the toothpick became mushy. This was an actual candy for kids my age.

9. Pencil Wars: Public schools used to have small vending machines that would sell pencils that were covered in various designs. This ended up leading to a craze that would be a form of gambling. One kid would hold a pencil horizontally while the other kid took a turn and flicked this pencil with one of his own. The point was to break the pencil being held horizontally. If you did, that kid would owe you a pencil. Simple, but this was a trend in early 1990's.

Adam West is my Batman: RIP

Screen cap from Batman movie
Before there was Ben Affleck, Christian Bale, and Michael Keaton, there was Adam West. A new generation has grown up, mentally visualizing Christian Bale as their Batman. There's also plenty of argument that Bale's Batman is a more realistic portrayal of Batman. And it's a slam dunk to argue that Kevin Conroy may be the best Batman voice actor of all-time.

That said...Adam West is my Batman.

I remember what it was like to be a Batman fan before Michael Keaton even wore cowl. I remember what it was like to be a Batman fan before the animated series became a reality and Kevin Conroy became THE voice of Batman.

I was first exposed to Batman through Super Friends, a wannabe cartoon version of the Justice League. It wasn't until I saw the reruns of  Batman '66 that Batman became more than a passing character of interest. West's portrayal of Batman solidified the Caped Crusader as one of my favorite fictional characters of all-time.

West only played Batman for three seasons and 120 episodes, along with one movie, but that was enough to mark his place in television history. Acting in many different western movies and television shows, West was new to the comic book genre when he earned the role of Bruce Wayne. West has played Doc Holiday, Wild Bill Hickock, acted alongside Paul Newman, Chuck Connors, The Three Stooges, and guested on Perry Mason, all before he became Batman. He was a working actor and had a successful career going prior to being Batman.

After playing Batman, West became known for his voice talents, acting in animated series such as Family Guy, Rugrats, The Simpsons, SpongeBob Squarepants, and more.

No matter how you view it, West had a successful career and shouldn't have had to wait as long as he did to earn that star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

With 193 screen credits to his name, I will always think of Adam West as my Batman.

Yes, he was campy.

Yes, he was cartoon-y at times.

But Adam West was my Batman and will always be.

R.I.P. Chris Cornell

Screencap of Chris Cornell seen in the music video of "Black Hole Sun" by Soundgarden
I was a fan since "Jesus Christ Pose" was released, but it wasn't until I first watched the video for "Black Hole Sun" that I considered Soundgarden one of my favorite bands. One of the four horsemen of the grunge music scene out of Seattle, Washington, Chris Cornell along with Kurt Cobain, Layne Staley, and Eddie Vedder introduced the world to a flannel-wearing music revolution that would fade out after Cobain's suicide.

Unlike Staley and Cobain, Cornell evolved from the grunge music scene. Going solo, Cornell released alternative rock hits on his own, proving that he could be a star on his own without the A-list talent that made up the rest of Soundgarden. He'd won a Grammy for "Can't Change Me", but it was his solo release, "Sunshower", that made it onto the Great Expectations soundtrack that I played over and over again. For a movie that did fairly well but not great, it was accompanied by an excellent soundtrack led by Chris Cornell and included other hit artists such as Poe, Tori Amos, Scott Weiland, Iggy Pop, Verve Pipe, and Duncan Sheik. It also included the hit "Life in Mono" by Mono, yet "Sunshower" was my favorite song on that CD.

A fan of Rage Against the Machine and saddened by their breakup, I was both nervous and excited when it was announced that Chris Cornell had joined up with them to replace Zach de la Rocha and form super group, Audioslave.

Audioslave released three albums right at the time I began working in radio. I remember getting my hands on a copy of "I am the Highway" and playing it before I ever heard another radio station play it. Though there were five singles from Audioslave's self-titled album release, it was a non-hit, "Shadow of the Sun" that I would play over and over again. I always felt like this was a hit song that missed being a hit. I did feel a sense of satisfaction when the song would make it to the soundtrack of Collateral which starred Tom Cruise and Jaime Foxx. The song was used in a pivotal scene and I couldn't think of a better moment to use in that movie.

I was glad that after two more Audioslave albums, Cornell eventually found his way back with Soundgarden. No, they wouldn't cobble up hits as famous as "Black Hole Sun" or "Blow Up the Outside World", but it was still nice to hear new music.

Cobain would always remain young in our memories as he passed away at 27. Staley also remains young for about the same reason, though a little older than Cobain when he passed. Cornell was the one that aged, yet didn't appear to physically grown old. Maybe he was part-vampire, but whatever the reason, he looked almost the same as the day he appeared in the music video for "Black Hole Sun".

Cornell may have died last night at the age of 52, but he will always remain the same rock icon that I enjoyed listening while he jammed out to Temple of the Dog, Audioslave, Soundgarden, and in his solo work.

Extra Innings

Photo by Daniel Millhouse of Seattle Mariners infield
Unlike many other sports, Major League Baseball has never settled for a tie game in regulation or postseason play. It's just not done. It's not baseball and it's not American. Baseball fans do not accept ties like fans of soccer, hockey, and even NFL football after a quarter of overtime.

With the Yankees versus the Cubs game that aired on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball going 18 innings, there was discussion amongst even the broadcasters that the MLB should not allow games to go so long.

Suggestions have been made in recent years to prevent baseball games from going past 12 innings. The MLB also tested the idea of putting runners on first and second with no outs beginning in the 11th inning of a game. This was done during the World Baseball Classic this year to hasten the end of a game.

In the Nippon Professional Baseball League (Japan), the KBO League (Korea), and the Chinese Professional Baseball League, all games are to be considered a draw if there is no winner after 12 innings. In postseason play, this extends to fifteen innings. What's worse is that the games have a time limit of three and a half hours. While their games are fun to watch, there's still the feeling of being let down when one of their games ends in a tie.

For those that remember, the 2002 MLB All-Star game ended in a tie, causing outrage amongst the fans that paid hundreds of dollars to be at the game and amongst those watching on television who were hoping to watch the best players in the game play.

The thing is that games going into extra innings contain even more drama as the game goes on. Every error, every base hit, every ball, could cost or earn a team a win. Why limit this drama with a time limit? Or an innings limit?

Let's use the Yankees versus Cubs game as example. Going 18 innings deep, we got to see the MLB record for strikeouts in a single game be broken.

Relief pitcher Chasen Shreve got a chance to bat for the first time in his professional career.

Pitchers Jake Arrieta, Kyle Hendricks, and John Lackey were used as pitch-hitters after the Cubs ran out of healthy position players to play.

Kyle Schwarber diving over the brick wall and into the stands to catch a ball in the 12th inning.

Cubs players developed new forms of rally motivators beyond the "rally caps". This included rally helmets, sprinkling the field with gum and sunflower seeds, players wearing catchers masks, and eventually players wearing helmets backwards.

The umpires running out of baseballs, causing the Cubs equipment manager to open up a new box of baseballs.

Is this normal? No, obviously not. What it is though is a storied moment for the fans and players alike. It's a moment that people will remember for years to come, unlike a game that last nine innings and may be one of many that a fan or player is part of. It gives the game character and that feeling that anything can happen.

Is a game that ends in a tie or comes to an end due to time limits as memorable as an 18 inning game? Of course not.

Leave baseball the way it is and stop trying to change it. Baseball is not a game that should be "clocked" or limited. There should be no ties. Baseball is a game that should have clear winner at the end of the day and should not leave the fan feeling gypped when a game ends in a tie.

Bettie Page's 94th Birthday; Still Hasn't Aged

One of Irving Klaw's surviving Bettie Page photos
On this date, 94 years ago, Bettie Mae Page was born in Nashville, Tennessee. Nearly a hundred years later and Bettie is still known as being the queen of pinups. This hasn't always been true though.

For many years, Bettie's photos were mainly found "underground" and through publications meant for adults only. Also, Bettie didn't start her modeling career as early as many other models did.

At 27-years-old, Bettie had a Bachelor of Arts degree, was working her way through life as a secretary, and was living in New York. Despite the Average-Jane start, Bettie wanted to be an actress. Bettie is said to have gone on multiple auditions, but is never chosen for a part on the big screen.

Instead, while walking on a Coney Island beach, a NYPD cop named Jerry Tibbs met Bettie and offered to shoot her...not with a gun, but with his camera. Tibbs was a amateur photographer on the side and a member of photography clubs that were often a cover for pornography shoots. Tibbs was also the one that suggested to Bettie that she style her hair with what would eventually become her signature look, bangs that draped over her forehead.

Eventually she met Irving and Paula Klaw and moved into modeling with BDSM themes. This is when those in mainstream media referred to Bettie as being the queen of bondage, which confused Bettie herself. She had only done this type of modeling between 1952-1957 for the Klaws.

She also went on to model in beach-style photography for fellow model Bunny Yeager. It would be Yeager who would send in photos to Hugh Hefner for Playboy. Hefner selected a photo of Bettie a made her the Playmate of the Month in a 1955 issue.

What many people don't know is that by 1957, Bettie stopped modeling. Her legendary modeling career only spanned approximately seven years.

An underground following began in the 1970's, and artist Olivia De Beradinis often used Bettie's likeness for her artwork. Bettie herself was unaware that she actually had gained mainstream fame beginning in the 1980's, about 30 years after she retired from modeling.

Bettie made it a point not to let her current image be seen in public. This probably added to the mystique of Bettie and the forever youthful images that the public knows her by. Like other celebrities who died young such as Marilyn Monroe and James Dean, Bettie would never grow old in the public's eye.

There would even be more images of Bettie out there if it weren't for Irving Klaw burning a large portion of the photos and negatives he had of her to avoid being arrested for his photoshoots he had with Bettie and other models.

Bettie did eventually appear on some off Broadway productions and on television on The Jackie Gleason Show. These opportunities came after her modeling career began with the Klaws and one has to wonder if people such as Jackie Gleason may have been aware of Bettie's risqué modeling.

During a 2003 Playboy event, Bettie allowed herself to be publically photographed for the first time in years. Eighty-years-old at that point, Bettie is bookended by Pamela Anderson and Anna Nicole Smith.

Bettie passed away in 2008.

To this day, her estate is consistently one of the top 10 earners for dead celebrities and she is known as one of the world's most famous models.

Bettie's work would go on to inspire other celebrities such as Madonna, Dita Von Teese, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Beyoncé, NCIS's Pauly Perette, and more.

Coors Water is not so Rocky Mountain High

Photo is of Coors Light logo
"...brewed with pure Rocky Mountain spring water."
Heard that phrase before? If you're an adult, someone who watches television, or just been an American in the last few decades, you've probably heard this catch phrase numerous times through advertisements for Coors beers. Hell, Coors Light even has "Rocky Mountains" right on their can that turn blue to tell the consumer that the beer is cold.
But ask yourself, if Coors Light is the second most consumed beer in America, are they able to bottle all those beers in the Rocky Mountains alone? Or course not.
Albany, Georgia; Irwindale, California; Elkton, Virginia; Fort Worth, Texas; Trenton, Ohio; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin are all bottling plant locations for various styles of Coors beers beyond the Golden, Colorado plant. Not exactly cities that give you the mental picture as having the same quality water as the Rocky Mountains.
If you take a tour at a Coors owned facility, they don't like when you ask questions such as, "Do you guys truck in the water from the Rocky Mountains?" You will get a dirty look. I can attest to this personally.
Now, I'm not saying that Coors had to advertise that they use water from Fort Worth, Texas, which may conjure up images of cow-fields and manure, but saying they use Rocky Mountain water is a misleading image that they plant in their potential customers heads.
That's not to say they're the only beer company that does this. A beer I like, Blue Moon, comes off as being a "craft beer" even though it is mass produced and released all over the country as well. Oh wait, Blue Moon is made by MillerCoors, parent company to Coors beers. That said, it's not uncommon for beer companies to mislead their customer base, but being the second most consumed beer in America means that MillerCoors may be one of the biggest perpetrators of misleading their customer base. 
Now if you like the Coors brand beers, go head, keep drinking them up (responsibly), but for those of us, such as myself, who live in Southern California, just know that you're probably drinking pure Irwindale water and not Rocky Mountain spring water.

Rickles' RIP

A comedy legend passed away this morning, but what most people probably don't realize is that Don Rickles was one of the last living unofficial members of the Rat Pack.

A mainstay in Las Vegas stand-up comedy for years, Rickles gained popularity performing what is known as insult comedy. He didn't care who it was that he ribbed. Rickles would poke fun at the average Joe and even the biggest of celebrities. In a Miami nightclub, he spotted Frank Sinatra and poked the future pack master of the Rat Pack. Some were scared of how Sinatra would take it, but Sinatra knew Rickles did it all in the name of laughter and didn't actually hate the people he "insulted".

From then on, Sinatra would often call on Rickles to be by his side, even asking Rickles to open up for himself and other Rat Packers in Las Vegas at the peak of their fame.

Rickles would often be seen on many classic television shows such as The Addams Family, Gilligan's Island, I Dream of Jeannie, and on one of his best friend's (Don Adams) shows, Get Smart. 

He was also a frequent guest on talk shows. Before either one hit it big, he often would appear on Larry King's late night radio show in the Miami area. The two would remain friends for life.

Another fellow unofficial member of the Rat Pack, Johnny Carson, had Rickles on his show over 100 times. At times Rickles even guest hosted the Tonight Show.

Years later, Rickles found himself excited to be cast as a pit boss in the mafia movie, Casino. He loved to rib Robert DeNiro in front of the others and even Scorsese about the amount of lines he had in the film.

A short time later, he was approached to voice Mr. Potato Head in Toy Story. At first, he was reluctant to do so, not believing himself to be kid-friendly and unsure about an acting role that he couldn't be physically seen in, but he took the part anyway. When the movie debuted and became an instant success, Rickles stated that he called John Lasseter right away, asking when the sequel would go into production.

He also performed for royalty and presidents during his lifetime. He was even "ribbed" himself by Barbara Bush who asked why he performed in the Frankie and Annette beach party movies when he had so much success.

Rickles continued to work into his 80's. He never felt the need to retire.

As for me, I loved Rickles' comedy because I knew he never was mean spirited. In some ways, I feel like I have secretly jinxed him as I literally finished reading his autobiography, Rickles' Book, last night, only hours before his death.

There's almost the desire to say that there won't be another comedian like him, but then I would be lying. He was just the godfather of his style of comedy. It would be hard to find a comedian with as much history under their belt as Rickles had, but because of him, comedians such as Ian Bagg, Dave Attell, Louis C.K., and more can do what they do today.

2017 Millhouse MLB Predictions

Former Lake Elsinore Storm player, Hunter Renfroe, looks to take the NL Rookie of the Year.Photo by Daniel Millhouse
A new season is nearing and it's that time of the year again for the Millhouse Major League Baseball Predictions. Often half-right, but still worth checking out, some of these predictions give me bragging rights for the following season and in some cases for life.

American League:
AL West: 1. Houston Astros, 2. Texas Rangers, 3. Seattle Mariners, 4. ANAHEIM Angels, 5. Oakland A's. The Astros will continue to gain momentum as they have for the past few years. Remember when Sports Illustrated had that cover that proclaimed the Astros the 2017 World Series champs in 2014? Well, they were far off. The Astros will win the division while teams like the A's will wonder where they went wrong.

AL Central: 1. Cleveland Indians, 2. Kansas City Royals, 3. Detroit Tigers, 4. Chicago White Sox, 5. Minnesota Twins. The Indians will come out strong as their pitching staff will help guide them along with their new additions such as Edwin Encarnacion. At the start of the off-season, the Tigers had potential to leap-frog past the Royals and contend with the Indians, but they didn't do a whole lot to grow their team. Instead, the Tigers' veterans are just another year older and a little bit more frail.

AL East: 1. Boston Red Sox, 2. Toronto Blue Jays, 3. New York Yankees, 4. Baltimore Orioles, 5. Tampa Bay DEVIL Rays. If the Red Sox can stay healthy and play at least an average level of defense, then they could bounce back and take the East. They could see some competition from the New York Yankees. The Bronx Bombers have a roster that could potentially take the division, but this is probably too dependent on their veterans staying healthy (they already have an injury to Didi Gregorius) and for their youngsters to prove themselves.

Wildcard Teams: Kansas City Royals and Toronto Blue Jays

League Champion: Houston Astros

AL Awards: MVP - Manny Machado; Cy Young - Aaron Sanchez; Rookie of the Year - Aaron Judge; Manager of the Year - A.J. Hinch; Fireman of the Year (closer) - Zach Britton

Silver Sluggers - Catcher: Gary Sanchez; 1B: Miguel Cabrera; 2B: Jose Altuve; 3B: Manny Machado; SS: Carlos Correa; OF: Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Kris Davis; DH: Nelson Cruz

Most Interesting Stories for the AL:
1. Will the Houston Astros live up to Sports Illustrated's 2014 prediction that they will be the 2017 World Series champs?
2. If the White Sox don't win this year, will we see players such as David Robertson, Jose Quintana, and even Jose Abreu on the move?
3. If the Angels don't win, will Mike Sciosca finally be on the hot seat?

National League:
NL West: 1. San Francisco Giants, 2. Los Angeles Dodgers, 3. Colorado Rockies, 4. San Diego Padres, 5. Arizona Diamondbacks. In what is perhaps the weakest division in Major League baseball, the Giants and Dodgers will be like kings. The Giants will outlast the Dodgers as they are better coached and have a better pitching staff, but a team to watch this year even though they'll have a losing record is the San Diego Padres. They will have some fun players to watch and may be the equivalent of the 2014 Houston Astros.

NL Central: 1. Chicago Cubs, 2. St. Louis Cardinals, 3. Pittsburgh Pirates, 4. Milwaukee Brewers, 5. Cincinnati Reds. Short of a season full of injuries, the Cubs are basically a lock to win the division. The Pirates should be a team to watch because they can sneak up on the Cards and possibly contend for a Wildcard spot if their younger players step up this season. The Brewers have some nice pieces in place as well, but not enough to be a contender this year.

NL East: 1. Washington Nationals, 2. New York Mets, 3. Philadelphia Phillies, 4. Miami Marlins, 5. Atlanta Braves. The Nationals will take this division, led by their pitching and the bat of Harper. The Phillies will be a surprise with their "no-name" roster, but not enough to capture a Wildcard spot. Injuries will plague the Marlins once again.

Wildcard Teams: Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals

League Champion: Washington Nationals

NL Awards: MVP - Bryce Harper; Cy Young - Matt Scherzer; Rookie of the Year - Hunter Renfroe; Manager of the Year - Dusty Baker; Fireman of the Year - Greg Holland

Silver Sluggers - Catcher: Buster Posey, 1B: Paul Goldschmidt; 2B: Jonathan Villar; 3B: Nolan Arenado; SS: Trea Turner; OF: Bryce Harper, Kris Bryant, Andrew McCutcheon; P: Madison Bumgarner

Most Interesting Stories for the NL:
1. How much of a hybrid will the San Diego Padres' Christian Bethancourt be? Brought up as a catcher, he's also expected to pitch and even play some outfield this season.
2. Can the Nationals finally live up to expectations? With their youngsters finally getting some experience under their belts, Harper, Turner, and Scherzer look to attempt to take the team to their first World Series.
3. Can the Chicago Cubs repeat what they did last season?

World Series Champions: Houston Astros. In a battle of two teams looking for their first World Series win, the Astros will defeat the Nationals in six games. The Astros pitching staff is built for the playoffs and their younger players are more seasoned now. The difference between the two teams will be the bullpen pitching.

Cremation...The Answer to the Zombie Apocalypse

Screencap from The Walking Dead
Americans love zombies. The seemingly current trend in supernatural creatures, partially due to television shows such as The Walking Dead, books such as World War Z, and video games such as Resident Evil, zombies have taken over the fancy of Americans where the vampires have left off. Perhaps this is because of the Twilight books and movies.

Because of this fascination, often people would discuss "what if" scenarios in jest, contemplating what they would do if there was a real zombie invasion. The United States even turned to Max Brooks, son of Mel Brooks, to dream up scenarios that could happen so the government could plan for the worst case scenarios.

It seems to me that the quickest and easiest way to ensure that zombies never happen, not that they would, is to make sure to cremate the dead. Sure, this doesn't exactly stop The Walking Dead scenario from happening, but it would prevent the classically known zombie who digs himself out of his own grave to frighten the living. If a deceased person is buried, they could feasibly come back as one of the walking dead. If cremated, the ashes would not reassemble into a zombie...well, you know, in a fictional world that is.

Cremation is the answer.

Plus, it would save a ton of space on land that would normally be dedicated to coffins and tombs. Land that could otherwise go to use for the living. Use as in more homes, schools, or parks.

For those that are cremated, but are still buried, it would still be a space saver...and could foreseeably prevent the zombie apocalypse.