Junk Food Nation, I know not all of you likes sports.  But you know what? I DO. And I love, year and year, writing my predictions for the upcoming (or in this case, occurring) MLB season. I also love never revisiting my predictions to see just how wrong I was.  For example, last year I predicted the Red Sox would finish in last place in the AL East. Then they won the World Series. Yup, I’m a genius.

Anyways, to save you non-sports fans the agony, I’ll do the junk food review first, ok? Then, baseball fans can scroll to the end to see my 2014 MLB predictions.  Deal? Deal.

Today’s junk food: Frito-Lay India Sunkissed Tomato Baked Lay’s!

FOREIGN LAY’S POTATO CHIPS!  Any time I can get my hands on these, I eat them.  Frito-Lay India Sunkissed Tomato Baked Lay’s were found at my local Lotte Korean grocery store.

Sunkissed Tomato?  Like…sundried tomato?  And what are the chili peppers doing on the bag?

Ok, at this point, I think we’ve ALL had Baked Lay’s, the real question is how do these Frito-Lay India Sunkissed Tomato Baked Lay’s taste?  I have to admit, I’m not really a huge fan of sundried tomatoes.  I had a friend in college who used to eat them straight out of the jar and I wanted to hurl.  So tangy.

Wait, Frito-Lay India Sunkissed Tomato Baked Lay’s – why is paprika featured over tomato powder?  Hmmmm.

Frito-Lay India Sunkissed Tomato Baked Lay’s looked very much like US Baked Lay’s.  As soon as I opened the bag, I could smell the tang of the tomato powder.

I’ll say this: Frito-Lay India Sunkissed Tomato Baked Lay’s had PLENTY of flavor. The feel of the baked chip was exactly the same as the US version – light, crispy, potato starch-y in flavor. The flavor of the Sunkissed Tomato?  I have to admit, my first thought was KETCHUP.  These were REALLY tangy and tomato-y, so much that I thought they tasted very much like ketchup potato chips I had had.  The junk Food Gal agreed, though she said the tanginess of the chip did indeed remind her of the sharp flavor that sundried tomatoes have.  I couldn’t argue with that.

All in all, these were decent – nice and crisp, and if you like ketchup OR sundried tomatoes, you’d like these.  Ok, Frito-Lay India…not bad with your foray into abked chips.

PURCHASED AT: Lotte Korean Grocery

COST: er……….I have no clue.  Sorry.

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Junk Food Guy Predictions:

ALRIGHT, let’s get right to it this year. I know the season is almost…3 weeks in???  Damn you, games in Australia!  Makin’ me crazy… it’s like when the NCAA calls the first four play-in games of the tournament “the First Round.” IT’S NOT THE FIRST ROUND.  Losers.

AL EAST: RED SOX. I’ve learned my lesson – though I think the loss of Jacoby Ellsbury hurts, it all comes down to pitching. Lester, Buchholz, Peavy, and Lackey are as reliable as you can get.  Will their offense produce with everyone on the DL already (I’m looking at you, Victorino). I think it will. YANKS come in second, as they have added MORE offense and pitching.  Does it matter that I don’t really recognize anyone? Nope. Do it, Guitar Masahiro! O’s run 3rd, and it looks like they knew what they were doing getting rid of Jim Johnson – yikes.  I had TAMPA higher, until Matt Moore went down.  That hurts them BIG time.  Finally BLUE JAYS…awh, you’re cute there with all that offense and no pitching (quietly ignoring the dominant performances by RA Dickey and M Buerhle so far).  It’s clear that in this division – almost ANYONE could come out on top.

1-Red Sox, 2-Yankees, 3-Orioles, 4-Rays, 5-Blue Jays

AL CENTRAL: TIGERS.  Ugh, I hate that I pick the Tigers YEAR AFTER YEAR.  But you can’t argue with a $300 million dollar player and a generally solid rotation and bullpen. I actually like the addition of Ian Kinsler – should give them plenty of speed.  If Kinsler still knows how to run.  INDIANS have improved dramatically, and I think Zach McAllister and Danny Salazr help Justin Masterson take this team over the hump.  Their offense is clicking, and Yan Gomes is a revelation.  I could see Cleveland in the postseason.  ROYALS are next, as all of their young guys, especially Eric Hosmer are starting to really hit their stride. But is it enough to overcome the Tigers and Indians? I say nay.  TWINS and CHISOX can duke it out for the bottom of the division.  I’d probably put Chicago ahead by a little because of Chris Sale, Adam Eaton, and Jose Abreu…but it’s close.

1-Tigers, 2-Indians, 3-Royals, 4-ChiSox, 5-Twins

AL WEST: ATHLETICS. Fine. FINE. I’ve heard you Billy Beane. Year after year, I don’t pick Oakland to win the division, and then they do. So fine – with your hipster young pitching staff and great fly ball rate, you’ll win the division. You better figure out what’s happening with Jim Johnson though. He’s SUCKING.  I have to be honest, I have no idea where to go with the rest of this division.  I feel like RANGERS and ANGELS have too much offense to be kept down, but now Adrian Beltre and Josh Hamilton are both injured. SEATTLE has added Cano and their pitching has been great, while I STILL don’t have much faith in Texas or Anaheim’s pitching.  Still, those offenses…hmmm.  Meanwhile, HOUSTON is awful, despite showing signs of improvement (You da man, Dexter Fowler!)

1-A’s, 2-Angels, 3-Rangers, 4-Mariners, 5-Astros

AL Wildcard 1: YANKEES – Mark it down. WE’RE BACK BABY!

AL Wildcard 2: INDIANS – I think the Indians will shock the world this year.  Never doubt Nick Swisher.

ALCS: RED SOX & ATHLETICS – I’m too worried about the Yanks pitching to put them in the ALCS just yet. If the Sox get healthy and the Athletics figure out their bullpen, I think these two teams will be hard pressed NOT to end up here.  Why not Detroit? Gut feeling.

AL CHAMPS:  ATHLETICS. You know what, eff it.  This is the year Billy Beane gets his due.  The rotation is solid, Jim Johnson can turn it around to make the bullpen amazing, and the bats are mathematically calculated to be successful.  A’s A’s A’s!

NL EAST: NATIONALS. That’s right, THAT’S RIGHT.  NATITUDE IS IN FULL FORCE.  Sure Ryan Zimmerman can’t throw to first base, and Bryce Harper has only sort of broken out of his mini slump.  You know what? The addition of Fister is HUGE (when he *cough* gets off the DL), and Anthony Rendon / Ian Desmond are the best hitting infield tandem in the bigs.  Strasburg will resume his ace form – everything will click right this year. I FEEL IT.  ATLANTA will be a distant second after losing most of their rotation to Tommy John surgery. Holy hell.  As for the remaining METS, PHILLIES, and MARLINS…yikes.  Not even worth discussing.  I’ll put Miami ahead just because of Jose Fernandez and Giancarlo Stanton.

1-Nats, 2-Braves, 3-Marlins, 4-Mets, 5-Phillies

NL CENTRAL: CARDINALS.  Yeah I know the Brewers are in first place – I’m still not buying it.  The Cardinals have the type of lineup, even with the loss of Beltran and Freese, that is designed to OBP other teams to death.  PIRATES come next for me, as Liriano continues his progress and McCutchen challenges Trout as the best player in the game.  BREWERS next, as I think the re-emergence of Ryan Braun and Yovani Gallardo spells big things for the Brew Crew.  REDS – what happened here?  I thought Jay Bruce and Joey Votto were supposed to guarantee postseason appearances all over the place?  My view: Homer Bailey isn’t enough, rotation wise.  We’re looking at the NL version of the Blue Jays.  Finally, the poor CUBS – three weeks in, already in last place.  Somebody get Anthony Rizzo a glass of water.

1-Cards, 2-Pirates, 3-Brewers, 4-Reds, 5-Cubs

NL WEST: DODGERS. I have no idea how to predict this division, but the Dodgers have invested too much money for things to go wrong, and that’s even WITH Kershaw starting the season on the DL.  When he comes back, Dodgers will cruise. Let’s just hope Yasiel Puig figures out how to run bases, that maniac.  GIANTS have it all, along with my breakout candidate of the year, Brandon Belt.  Mark it down.  DBACKS will score plenty of runs, but can they prevent them too? Unsure.  Same with the ROCKIES.  The PADRES are always a team I have no idea how to evaluate.  Who are their stars again?

1-Dodgers, 2-Giants, 3-DBacks, 4-Rockies, 5-Padres

NL Wildcard 1: PIRATES – They were a tough out last year, and they’ll be even tougher this year.

NL Wildcard 2: GIANTS – I wavered here between Milwaukee and San Fran, but I just think that the way the divisions stack up means more wins for the Giants.  Sorry Milwaukee.

NLCS: NATIONALS & CARDINALS – Well, well, well, here we are again, in the same position as my prediction last year. Friggin’ Nats – SHOW SOME GRIT, DAMNIT.

NL CHAMPS: NATIONALS. I’m placing all my egg in this basketball.  I have a headache now. C’mon Nats.

WORLD SERIES: NATIONALS over ATHLETICS – YES!  DC BRINGS HOME A CHAMPIONSHIP?  Both teams have good rotations, both teams have good defense, both teams can score runs, and both teams have good bullpens.  I’m basing this pick on pure homerism.

I’ve decided not to do individual award guesses anymore, because I’m tired.  So there you have it.  My 2014 MLB Predictions!  That was fun.

Here are SI’s picks, and here are ESPN’s picks.

WHAT DO *YOU* THINK?  I want to see what your predictions are, in the comments below.  You can replicate the same categories I posted, or you can pick and choose.  Point is, I want to know what you think.  COMMENT BELOW!

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Thoughts? Please comment below or hit me up on Twitter @junkfoodguy or LIKE my Facebook Page and message me there. I also have Google+!! Let’s hang out.

Sincerely,

Junk Food Guy