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Thought it would be good to start up a baseball thread seperate from the fantasy thread.
I'm a lifelong White Sox fan hungry for a repeat because I was out of town when they won last year. I still can't quite believe it no matter how many times I watch the DVDs and I still get goosebumps every time I drive by Comiskey and see the "Home of the 2005 World Champions" sign.
I'm also a big stats/Sabremetrics/objective analysis guy (although that's not the only perspective I apply). I see the AL Central this year as a pretty tight three way race between the Twins, Sox and Indians, but I might bet Twins if I had to wager all my worldly belongings. The White Sox pitching can't possibly be as good/lucky as it was last year, and there are a lot of "ifs" involved for their run production to take up the slack. The Indians really had a statistically better season than the Sox last year, so that's scary too. The Twins rotation is as good if not better than the Sox, Santana might be the single most valuable player in the majors, and they've got one of the two or three best "ready" pitching prospects in the league in Liriano.
I'll be "drafting" my 10 games from a shared season ticket this weekend, avoiding music festival dates and hoping to snag Opening Day and ring ceremony tickets (funny how that Cubs series seems like a lot less of a big deal this year ;D).
I'm a Mariners fan and the way I see it all they can do is improve.
Going from a 116 wins in 01 to the current situation was a little disheartening to say the least. Right now I'm not too impressed with the roster, but I'm hoping for some surprises and hopefully a bounceback season or two for some of the veterans.
The West looks like it should be pretty exciting with all the teams beating up on each other.
Post by famousblueraincoat on Mar 16, 2006 12:39:56 GMT -5
I beg to differ. As a Cubs fan, I think this is perhaps one of the most important Cubs/White Sox series in years. And the Cubs, if healthy, good make a run for it this year. ( I know, don't we say that every year?) The Cardinals have weakened a good bit, leaving the Central up for grabs, and Milwaukee and Pittsburgh have improved exponentially all around. I like the Cubs to make a big move or two before the trading deadline, and I think we will win the NL Central this year, and have a real shot at the World Series in October.
I think the AL East will be interesting once again(particularly with the overhaul of the Blue Jays lineup and Damon in New York), and I think the White Sox will clean house in the AL Central.
The Mets, for me, are the most interesting team to watch this year. They've been due to have a big year for some time, and they keep getting better. Guys like David Wright should just about be in their prime. I'm curious to see what kind of season they'll have.
Well so far my team is 3-1 (Mariners). Now I just have to not get my hopes up too far because I know everything could change in a week or two. Ahh screw it Mariners all the way this year!
Post by doobiedewey on Apr 7, 2006 18:20:02 GMT -5
dude, whats wrong the phillies burgandy... so they got off to a bat start... they've got one hell of a lineup and all it takes is for madsen and floyd to have great years and they are a playoff team....
I'm an Orioles fan but live sort of close to philly and have seen a bunch of phillies and red barons games so I like to rout for them as well in the NL....
the season's early we'll see how things shape up... cheers to johjima Samhall... I've got him on my fantasy team and hes been pretty clutch so far
Little bit of a rough start to the White Sox title defense. We're 1-2, the Indians looked hungrier, and Freddy Garcia looks broken.
I will never forget what it was like to see the banners unveiled and see them get their rings though (special brownies + air force flyover + video montage + fireworks + 2005 World Series Chamion banner reveal=woah!).
Post by billybluenose on Apr 9, 2006 8:05:06 GMT -5
LETS GO METS!!!
At long last, it appears that the METS may no longer be "the other team in New York" or "the other team in the National League East." We've spent money wisely, developed some youth, and collected a team of solid ballplayers.
Plus the Bonnaroo colors are very close to METS colors... It's gotta be a sign!
YA GOTTA BELIEVE!
-Billy
ps - I like what I see with the Blue Jays, Tigers, Brewers, and Dodgers having good starts.
Post by suitcasemurphy on Apr 9, 2006 11:23:22 GMT -5
Detroit Tigers look good, but are they for real!!! First time since 85 to go 5-0. Batters 1-9 are hitters, and Shelton is batting .700 with lead leaguing, MLB record 5 hrs in first 4 games of the year. No player in history of baseball has done that. Detroit also has 17 homeruns in the first five games, a MLB record. I'm a die hard Detroit fan, who has to be quiet every year, because we suck. But this year, Leylands' gots the boys on a roll.
DETROIT BASE -BALL
All four detroit teams are in First place.
The Wings, The Pistons, The Tigers, and those undefeated Lions..... Lets go Motor City!
Post by Hipster Doofus on Apr 9, 2006 12:58:31 GMT -5
I think they have a definite shot to finish over .500, which has to be the first goal since they haven't done so in 13 years!
That lineup is just so solid from top to bottom, if they can stay away from injuries there's no reason why they shouldn't be able to keep scoring runs. I'm not expecting this huge power surge to continue at this rate though.
All 5 starting pitchers got a win in their first start too! Their fifth starter, 23 year old Justin Verlander, pitches 7 innings only giving up 2 hits with 7 K's....what a start!!
"We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, movie gods, and rock stars. But we wont, and we're slowly learning that fact & we're very, very pissed off......."
"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron." - H. L. Mencken
Well so far my team is 3-1 (Mariners). Now I just have to not get my hopes up too far because I know everything could change in a week or two. Ahh screw it Mariners all the way this year!
The day after posting this my team loses 3 in a row. Talk about bringing me back to Earth.
"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron." - H. L. Mencken
Baseball God? Come on, he was a good player, but really? Take away the consecutive games streak and what do you have?
BTW, anyone in here who is a fan of an American League team should probably go ahead and concede the league to my Sox. You can't stop Schilling and Beckett and Papi.
Post by wingsclipped on Apr 19, 2006 11:00:25 GMT -5
faletti said:
Cal Ripken and the Red Sox are both overated.
That's a great picture though, and it's pretty sweet that you met him.
The defending champs have won 8 out of 9, and all of their starters have at least one stellar outing under their belt in '06 after tonight.
Hey, you live north of Madison Ave.; you should be a Cubs fan! As to Ripken being overrated, I don't know about that. One of only 8 players with 400 HRs and 3000 hits; the stats speak of his longevity, certainly, but there's also the Gold Gloves, MVPs, Rookie of the Year, etc. I never really followed AL teams or players -- being an ardent Cub fan -- but I was certainly always aware of Ripken, and he's a certain first ballot Hall of Famer.
You'll notice also I said "baseball god," not "God." Baseball "God" would be:
"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron." - H. L. Mencken
Hey, you live north of Madison Ave.; you should be a Cubs fan! As to Ripken being overrated, I don't know about that. One of only 8 players with 400 HRs and 3000 hits; the stats speak of his longevity, certainly, but there's also the Gold Gloves, MVPs, Rookie of the Year, etc. I never really followed AL teams or players -- being an ardent Cub fan -- but I was certainly always aware of Ripken, and he's a certain first ballot Hall of Famer.
I grew up in the South Suburbs and have loved the Sox since birth (inherited) and hated the Cubs since I was ten (picked that up in elementry school).
Ripken is definitely a first-ballot HOFer, easily one of the best hitting shortstops of all time, and the consecutive game streak is amazing and will never be broken. On the slightly overrated side of the argument, he was an above average defensive shortsop for ten years or so and then average or below for the rest of his career. It's nice to have a guy who doesn't boot the ball or throw it into the stands every other game, but errors are a pretty useless way to measure the positive contributions someone makes on defense. Like Sandberg, he was steady but had mediocre to downright poor range, and wasn't anything special on the double play. The consecutive games streak got a bit contrived towards the end, and its arguable whether or not its the kind of thing that makes a meaningful contribution to winning baseball. I don't even know who holds the record in other sports, but it would be a far more impressive feat for a quarterback, running back or O-lineman for example. The sheer quantity of games he stacked up still boggles the mind though, and I would be giddy if I got the chance to meet him.
Santo on the other hand doesn't get nearly the credit he deserves outside of Cubdom. I have to acknowledge that he deserved to be in the Hall of Fame a long time ago despite my hatred of all things Cub.
Objectively speaking, I think the Cubs have an honest shot at the playoffs this year, especially if their bullpen holds up to their great start. The Mets and the Indians look like the scariest teams in baseball right now to me, although both have question marks at the back of their rotation.
I'll be catching my third game of the year on Sunday with Contreras on the mound, but I wish I had tickets to Buehrle-Santana on Friday, which should be a classic.
The Tigers are super scary. I am really looking forward to their upcoming matchup with the Sox. Unlike a lot of the press/radio I do not think they are going to fade away (at least not any more than the Sox). People's memories are so short. That's what everyone thought about the Sox last year and now people want to say it about the Tigers.
I was lucky enough to catch two great games last weekend. I saw the Cubs-Sox brawl from the cheap seats on Saturday (which was a blast) and saw Frank Thomas return to Comiskey on Monday. I joined in the standing O for his first at bat (which was why I bought a ticket to this game in the spring), and then stood up and cheered again when he immediately deposited one into his favorite spot (left field power alley). I damn near cried. He was my favorite player growing up and I probably saw him hit about 40 HRs as a member of the Sox. It was a pretty amazing experience. Especially since it was topped off by Mackowiak's shot to tie it off of Street in the 8th and Ozuna's game winning suicide squeeze in the 10th.
I wouldn't be surprised if Cleveland or Minnesota got it together and jumped into the race, but to me it seems clear that the Sox and Tigers are by far the class of the American League right now (I guess I should say Tigers then Sox with the way the standings sit today). Should be a fun summer.
Where's my Phillies fans? Who else is tired of losing all these games, by 1 run lately. What's the deal? We really need a revenge sweep against the Brewers this weekend. Oh and one more thing, Chase Utley is my master. He's a dreamboat.
Post by Hipster Doofus on May 26, 2006 8:02:10 GMT -5
ka mai...
I sure hope you're right about the Tigers not falling apart, if their pitching stays anywhere near this good they should at least have their first winning season since 93 and hopefully their first playoff appearance since 87. My only issues with them right now is they're relying a little too much on the home run, and aren't taking enough walks. I know it may be silly to nitpick at this point but that could come back to haunt them later in the year when they need to manufacture some runs.
Detroit has a monster stretch coming up. Home series' against Cleveland, NY, Boston, then as you pointed out, they travel to Chicago. Honestly, if they can go .500 over that stretch I'll be thrilled.
I was happy to see Frank come through too, but that must have been something to have been there and be such a fan. I was a big Frank Thomas fan when he first started out, back when I was running a rotisserie (sp?) baseball league with my brothers and a couple friends all on paper at the age of about 12. I have a few of his rookie cards...for a while I thought they were really going to be worth something. But yeah, your GM really came off like a dick so I'm sure that had to be one of Frank's best nights ever....I'm glad the fans showed their appreciation.
Post by Hipster Doofus on May 26, 2006 8:05:50 GMT -5
papageorgio said:
Might be going to tiger game sat. night . They are on fire 13 of last 14. Lived in chicago for a year and hit some cubs games
I was going to go tonight, but with the possibility of rain we're pushing it back to tomorrow. I hope they do play tonight though so we can see Verlander pitch on Saturday vs. Byrd. I don't like tonight's matchup of Robertson vs. Westbrooke.
Have you been to any games so far this year? The stadium's really starting to fill up. I saw Detroit beat Cleveland back in early April, then I went to the Jake two weeks ago and saw Bonderman beat the Tribe. 2-0 so far, hopefully the streak continues tomorrow!!
