Top 10 predictions for the 2014 baseball season

The well-rounded club put together by Oakland's general manager will win its first World Series in 25 years. The A's, who have won just one postseason series

Joe Lemire | Jan 3, 2014

Top 10 predictions for the 2014 baseball season /

Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton combined for just 38 home runs in their first year as teammates in Anaheim. — Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton combined for just 38 home runs in their first year as teammates in Anaheim :: Tony Gutierrez/AP

The well-rounded club put together by Oakland's general manager will win its first World Series in 25 years. The A's, who have won just one postseason series in eight tries under Beane's leadership, have either above-average players or capable platoons at every position, plus a dynamic young rotation and the makings of the game's best bullpen. They'll defeat the Nationals -- who will do in 2014 what they were supposed to do in '13 by reaching the Fall Classic -- and return the championship trophy to the Bay Area for the third time in five seasons.

Published Jan 3, 2014

JOE LEMIRE

Staff Writer, Sports Illustrated Staff writer Joe Lemire is in his seventh year at Sports Illustrated and his fourth season covering baseball full time. Lemire writes features and analysis for SI and SI.com and is responsible for the website's weekly MLB Power Rankings. He has profiled Pirates star Andrew McCutchen and Braves rookie sensation Evan Gattis for the magazine. Lemire's penchant for covering America's pastime is to be expected considering his inspirations, Tom Verducci and Peter Gammons, are among the most well-known writers in the sport. Before his current role, Lemire spent his first three years with SI oscillating between baseball, college basketball, high school football and sports business. This came on the heels of a summer internship with the magazine in 2004 and a tenure as a stringer with SI: On Campus. Born in Richmond, Va., and raised in Lowell, Mass., Lemire graduated from the University of Virginia in 2005 with a B.A. in government and a minor in economics. Before joining SI he covered high school and college sports for the Daily News-Record in Harrisonburg, Va. He earned two Virginia Press Association awards for his work, one while a student writing at University of Virginia's Cavalier Daily and one at the Daily News-Record.