A strong season from Adam Wainwright could guide St Louis Cardinals to success. John Bazemore / AP Photo
A strong season from Adam Wainwright could guide St Louis Cardinals to success. John Bazemore / AP Photo

Beyond the obvious four choices, Cardinals and Mariners can spring a surprise this MLB season



Here we go again, as Major League Baseball opens the new season this weekend, with our annual fool’s errand: predicting who will rule the land.

As usual, MLB presents a glittering line-up of handsome, obvious choices. They would be the teams with recent successes, strong cores of returning players and big bank accounts to load up on even more talent.

This year, the crystal ball lights up for the defending World Series champion Chicago Cubs, the American League champion Cleveland Indians and those returning division winners who always have their chequebooks at the ready — the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Boston Red Sox.

How can we ignore those four show horses? We cannot. The Cubs still have their Most Valuable Player in Kris Bryant, their three Cy Young Award candidates in Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks. They also have the magnificent vibe from unloading the baggage of 109 title-less years.

Cleveland are the same team that dominated throughout the 2016 season with their starting pitching, finished with an even beefier bullpen, thanks to the mid-season acquisition of Andrew Miller.

They now also have added free agent slugger Edwin Encarnacion to the AL’s second most productive offence.

The Dodgers won the National League West again last season, partly because they have the best pitcher on the planet in Clayton Kershaw and Rookie of the Year shortstop Corey Seager, already among the very best at his position.

But they also used their spending power — MLB’s only $200 million-plus (Dh734m) payroll — to keep their top two free agents from leaving. Kenley Jansen, the game’s most overpowering closer, and run-producing third baseman Justin Turner stayed in Dodger blue, thanks to Dodger green.

The similarly well-funded Red Sox bought a prize free agent pitcher last year, David Price, then scored the most runs in baseball to win the AL East. This winter, they traded for another prize left-hander, Chris Sale, and added him to a staff that includes surprise Cy Young winner Rick Porcello.

Yes, Boston are without their power-hitting, face-of-the-franchise superstar David Ortiz for the first time in 15 years. But coming into their prime years are young stars Mookie Betts and shortstop Xander Bogaerts. They also have added top prospect outfielder Andrew Benintendi.

That foursome of teams may comprise the intimidating elite, but the other 26 franchises can take heart: this is baseball, home of the constantly evolving surprise.

The Kansas City Royals were almost laughably bad until 2014, and won a World Series in 2015. Cleveland were just an empty promise, until they put it all together last season. Few saw their World Series run coming.

Baseball has a way of humbling their aristocrats, and rewarding their ambitious under-class.

Teams seemingly in need of key pieces find them overnight. Journeymen have career years. Struggling starters find their perfect pitch.

So, with a nod to MLB’s penchant for keeping everyone guessing, we present two teams who might ruin it for the big boys.

The usually competitive St Louis Cardinals missed the play-offs last year, and their line up seems a bit dishevelled for such a well-run franchise.

But bounce-back years for starters Michael Wacha and Adam Wainwright, and a Cy Young-worthy effort by new star Carlos Martinez will have them back in the NL post-season.

In the AL, it is time for another long-time sad-sack, the Seattle Mariners, to have their day. The line-up is anchored by Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz and Kyle Seager. Their pitching is sneakily solid. They can win the West.

And if not them, well, then someone else will flip the script. Someone always does.

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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20HyveGeo%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abdulaziz%20bin%20Redha%2C%20Dr%20Samsurin%20Welch%2C%20Eva%20Morales%20and%20Dr%20Harjit%20Singh%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECambridge%20and%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%208%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESustainability%20%26amp%3B%20Environment%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24200%2C000%20plus%20undisclosed%20grant%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVenture%20capital%20and%20government%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Sustainable Development Goals

1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere

2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation

10. Reduce inequality  within and among countries

11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects

14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development

Know your Camel lingo

The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home

Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless

Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers

Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s

Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival

The%20Specs
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The specs

  Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now

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Boulder shooting victims

• Denny Strong, 20
• Neven Stanisic, 23
• Rikki Olds, 25
• Tralona Bartkowiak, 49
• Suzanne Fountain, 59
• Teri Leiker, 51
• Eric Talley, 51
• Kevin Mahoney, 61
• Lynn Murray, 62
• Jody Waters, 65

 

 

COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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MATCH INFO

Manchester United 1 (Greenwood 77')

Everton 1 (Lindelof 36' og)

Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Director: Venkat Prabhu
Rating: 2/5
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
  • Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000 
  • Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000 
  • Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000 
  • Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000 
  • HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000 
  • Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000 
  • Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000 
  • Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000 
  • Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000 
  • Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000 
  • Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000 
  • Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
  • Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
  • Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000

Gorillaz 
The Now Now 

The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre turbo

Power: 181hp

Torque: 230Nm

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

Starting price: Dh79,000

On sale: Now

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

What to watch out for:

Algae, waste coffee grounds and orange peels will be used in the pavilion's walls and gangways

The hulls of three ships will be used for the roof

The hulls will painted to make the largest Italian tricolour in the country’s history

Several pillars more than 20 metres high will support the structure

Roughly 15 tonnes of steel will be used

The five pillars of Islam
The Buckingham Murders

Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu

Director: Hansal Mehta

Rating: 4 / 5

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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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