We've got less than a week until Christmas, and there are plenty of fanbases that are still itching for something related to their team's onfield performance for the 2013 season this winter. So I decided to put my thinking cap on, and ponder just what exactly each fanbase wants for their team for the 2013 season. I came up with three items for each team. Enjoy, and happy holidays.
Arizona Diamondbacks
1. Justin Upton isn't traded in July for spare parts
2. Didi Gregorius evolves into a capable hitter and fielder, and becomes a cornerstone at shortstop
3. Kevin Towers stops trading prospects for veterans
Atlanta Braves
1. Jason Heyward signs an extension to become a Brave for life
2. Julio Teheran and Randall Delgado finally have success in the major leagues, and lead up the new era of Atlanta's rotation
3. Brian McCann rebounds from a down 2012 and reasserts himself as the face of the franchise, post-Chipper Jones
Baltimore Orioles
1. The team proves last year wasn't a fluke, and wins 90 games again
2. Manny Machado continues to draw comparisons to Cal Ripken Jr, and perhaps exceeds Ripken's potential
3. Dylan Bundy becomes a right-handed Clayton Kershaw in 2013
Boston Red Sox
1. The team's patchwork offseason results in a competitive team as opposed to the disaster of 2012
2. John Farrell is universally more well-liked by the fans, media, and players than Bobby Valentine
3. Jacoby Ellsbury stays healthy and signs an extension to stay in Boston
Chicago Cubs
1. The Cubs keep moving forward under Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer, and don't spend money for the sake of spending money
2. Anthony Rizzo turns into Mark Grace with more power
3. Some silly team trades actual talent for Alfonso Soriano (and pays at least half of his contract)
Chicago White Sox
1. People actually start to show up at White Sox games with the team playing pretty well
2. Alex Rios has back to back good seasons for the first time in five years
3. Chris Sale is once again a Cy Young candidate
Cincinnati Reds
1. All Joey Votto voodoo dolls are desstroyed, and the first baseman plays a full, healthy season
2. Aroldis Chapman doesn't miss a beat transitioning to the rotation
3. Shin-Soo Choo is anything better than a disaster in center field
Cleveland Indians
1. Trevor Bauer proves Kevin Towers wrong, and pitches like the third overall pick from 2011 in his first season with Cleveland
2. The Indians manage to trade off some veterans (Chris Perez, Asdrubal Cabrera, perhaps Justin Masterson) and get a young core in place
3. Ubaldo Jimenez has a season like his miraculous first half of 2010, and powers the Indians rotation
Colorado Rockies
1. The four man starting rotation and 75 pitch cap is buried somewhere in the Arizona desert during Spring Training
2. Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki each play at least 150 games
3. The team actually finds some capable starting pitching
Detroit Tigers
1. The Tigers rotation is the best in baseball after the re-signing of Anibal Sanchez
2. The Tigers offense is the best in baseball after bringing in Torii Hunter and a now-healthy Victor Martinez
3. The Tigers defense is at least somewhere near adequate with all of the lead gloves on that team
Houston Astros
1. The Astros somehow don't lose 100 games
2. The team lands another monster prospect #1 overall in June's draft, and continues the rebuilding of the farm system
3. Watching Astros games are anything but a chore in 2013
Kansas City Royals
1. The new and improved Royals rotation leads the team to a division title, and all is forgiven in Kansas City
2. Eric Hosmer rebounds after an awful 2012 season, and reclaims his spot as one of the best young talents in baseball
3. Wil Myers has a bad season in the Rays system, and Dayton Moore cackles his way to the bank
Los Angeles Angels
1. Mike Trout has a 40/40 season and wins the MVP award
2. Josh Hamilton stays healthy and thrives with his new team
3. The back-end of the Angels rotation manages to throw 600+ innings of 4.00 ERA ball
Los Angeles Dodgers
1. Anything less than a championship is a disappointment with the largest payroll in baseball history
2. Clayton Kershaw stays healthy and gets a long-term deal to form a fearsome duo with Zack Greinke for the next five years
3. Ned Colletti doesn't trade any more prospects for middling talent that won't help his club too much (SEE: Victorino, Shane)
Miami Marlins
1. Giancarlo Stanton hits 50 homers, and the club offers him a massive contract extension with a no-trade clause (for the first time ever)
2. The prospects acquired in the Blue Jays trade all look like legitimate future stars
3. Jeffrey Loria sells the team to someone who cares about more than just the bottom line
Milwaukee Brewers
1. Carlos Gomez continues evolving into a more complete player after a breakout 2012
2. Mat Gamel stays healthy and develops into the hitter he looked like in the minors
3. A young pitcher or two steps up in 2013 to make Milwaukee's rotation more presentable for the future
Minnesota Twins
1. The Twins rotation of strike throwers learns how to miss some bats and take some pressure off of the defense
2. Aaron Hicks steps in as Minnesota's center fielder, and outperforms both Ben Revere and Denard Span
3. Justin Morneau, god love him, plays a full season with absolutely no injury issues at all
New York Mets
1. The Mets young rotation in 2013 dominates, led by Matt Harvey and Zach Wheeler
2. David Wright continues to earn his new contract as the face of the franchise
3. Travis d'Arnaud develops into a stud behind the plate, and gives the Mets stability at the catching position
New York Yankees
1. The Yankees win a championship, and Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, and Andy Pettitte all ride off into the sunset together
2. The team realizes that Robinson Cano is worth giving a long-term contract extension to
3. Fans hold no ill will towards Kevin Youkilis, and he becomes a beloved Bronx hero
Oakland Athletics
1. Yoenis Cespedes hits so many moonshots at the Coliseum that the A's need to take the tarps off the upper deck so fans can get the balls
2. Hiroyuki Nakajima is, at worst, a great postgame interview, and at best, an All-Star at shortstop for dirt cheap
3. The A's repeat as AL West champions despite having no payroll wiggle room at all
Philadelphia Phillies
1. Ryan Howard stays healthy and hits like it's 2006 all over again
2. Roy Halladay doesn't fall apart after a disappointing, injury-plagued 2013 season
3. Domonic Brown and Darin Ruf are able to positively compete at the major league level if given the opportunity to play every day
Pittsbugh Pirates
1. A .500 season. Please, just finish .500 this year
2. Andrew McCutchen builds upon his MVP caliber 2012 season and becomes one of the faces of baseball
3. Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon thrive in the minors and take another step towards leading a new generation of Pirates into the future
St Louis Cardinals
1. Yadier Molina builds on his unreal 2012 and continues to earn his contract extension
2. Chris Carpenter doesn't have any freak injuries
3. Shelby Miller and Trevor Rosenthal are given a chance to stick in the majors, and make the most of it
San Diego Padres
1. Chase Headley dominates once again in 2013
2. Some young starting pitching steps up in the vast field of veteran mediocrity that is the Padres rotation
3. The Padres build on their solid finish to 2012 and play competent baseball in 2013
San Francisco Giants
1. The Giants' overpaid bullpen has another great year, despite getting paid more than $20 million cumulatively
2. Hunter Pence hits like he did in Houston, as opposed to the way he did in 2012 with the Phillies and Giants
3. Tim Lincecum rediscovers his magic, and once again pitches like a Cy Young winner
Seattle Mariners
1. At least one of Seattle's young hitters steps up to be a capable offensive presence in the lineup
2. Felix Hernandez continues to pitch like Felix Hernandez, and gets another long-term contract from the Mariners
3. The Mariners' bounty of pitching prospects all make the leap and positively contribute in the majors in 2012
Tampa Bay Rays
1. The low budget Rays cash in on every low risk move they made this winter, including James Loney and Yunel Escobar
2. Evan Longoria stays healthy
3. The team finally finds a long-term answer at catcher (somewhere)
Texas Rangers
1. Despite missing out on every free agent they targeted this winter, the Rangers still contend in the AL West
2. Jurickson Profar has a rookie season that blows the minds of everyone around the league
3. Yu Darvish continues to manhandle the rest of the MLB
Toronto Blue Jays
1. After the offseason that the Blue Jays have had, anything but a championship in the next three seasons is a disappointment
2. RA Dickey shuts down all the doubters calling 2012 a fluke and has another dominant season
3. Melky Cabrera proves that 2012 wasn't just a PED-driven season for him, and contributes in spades in left field
Washington Nationals
1. Bryce Harper has a 30/30 season, and people stop throwing buckets of hate at him for playing the game hard
2. Stephen Strasburg shows no ill effects after all of the talk about his shutdown last season
3. Dan Haren stays healthy and gives the Nationals a five win season as a fourth starter
Happy holidays, everyone.
