Classic Rockers from Styx, Alice Cooper, Pearl Jam Make Bold Predictions for Their Favorite Baseball Teams

Photo: Adam Balasco, The Empty Pockets

There’s a great article in Spin magazine where they asked a whole bunch of artists about their predictions for their favorite baseball teams. Lots of big names are quoted in the article like Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, Ricky Phillips of Styx, Paul Delisle of Smash Mouth, Pat Monahan of Train, and even our favorite local band touring the world, Adam Balasco of The Empty Pockets!

McCready, Pearl Jam’s lead guitarist, says he has a positive outlook for his team! When asked what the M’s ceiling and floor is he said, “The floor has to be 90 wins. It would be a huge surprise (and disappointment) if the Mariners don’t at least match their 2022 win total. And the ceiling has to be a legitimate World Series contender!”

Alice Cooper doesn’t have quite a rosy feeling about his beloved Detroit Tigers! “I’m so used to the Tigers sweeping out the cellar. I think maybe the Lions have given them a little bit of a push, saying, ‘Hey, we just finished the season winning eight out of 10. Why don’t you guys finish second or third, or even first? Be the surprise team!”

Ricky Phillips, the current bassist for Styx, says he likes where the Dodger are this year. He predicts a Dodgers/Yankees World Series, and he’s probably not wrong!

I LOVE The Empty Pocket’s drummer Adam Balasco’s comments as he gets really into the advanced metrics!

What’s your prognosis for the season?
When combining PECOTA and ZiPS projections, we get to about 150 wins.

What are your reasonable hopes?
Still fighting for that third wild card spot in July.

What’s the ceiling/floor?
Ceiling: mathematically eliminated in September. Floor: remain competitive long enough to sell off future assets at the deadline and falter down the stretch.

Who’s your player to watch this year?
Dansby Swanson. He’s coming off 6.4 fWAR!

Will they make the playoffs?
Unlikely.

What’s your record prediction?
75-87.

What’s your World Series matchup?
Yankees vs. Padres.

They have outlooks from Paul Delisle of Smash Mouth (San Francisco Giants), Charlie Benante of Anthrax (Cubs), Zach Lind of Jimmy Eat World (Arizona Diamondbacks), at Pat Monahan of Train (San Francisco Giants).

Read the entire article from SPIN here.