MLB 2009

[Paelos]

Pitchers/catchers report in 2 days. Here's what we know so far:

- The Yankees are going out of their way to buy the World Series, again, in a terrible economy.
- A-Rod's a douchebag, and proving yet again that it's not "who" was juicing, it's "who got caught."
- Manny Ramirez is a douchebag, and people aren't willing to pay him ridiculous amounts of money to act as such.
- The NL West still may be the shittiest division in baseball, and they are making no real efforts at improving that situation.
- My Braves still have no hitting, but they have at least a chance at decent pitching with Derek Lowe leading the way.

I can't wait for the season to start now that football is over. Who's ready?!?! 

[HaemishM]

Wait, you're counting on Derek Lowe to lead the Braves pitching?

Roofles pwned.

The Cubs have improved as much by subtraction as addition. Removing the overpaid Marquis, having Harden for a year, adding Bradley and removing the gaping hole in center field (though not sure if Fukodome will hit well enough this year) and becoming extremely versatile in the infield. Not sure if Fontenot can hit every day, but he and Miles ought to be able to tag-team at least a .270 average. Micth Hoffpauir (The Hoff) can hopefully give Soriano and Derek Lee a day off now and then.

Dunn signed with the Nationals, continuing his string of being the most powerful on a shitty shit team. Abreu may go to the Angels. No one is biting on Manny. The NL West is going to be a graveyard this year. The Central may be even less competitive than last year unless the Brewers find some pitching under a rock. THe Phillies may actually continue to be the class of the East because the Mets can't seem to buy a division. The AL East will totally depend on how well the Yankees gel, the AL Central will be a mess of teams beating up on each other and the West will suck hind tit to the Angels.

[Paelos]

Better to rely on Lowe than to rely on a 40+ John Smoltz coming off surgery, Mike Hampton who's never pitched even half a season, or Tom Glavine who's 42. Still, they may actually make a deal with Glavine, but I'm not sold on that at all. The rest of the rotation includes Javier Vasquez, Jaier Jurrjens, some Japanese dude, and a 5th that could be Glavine or a slew of other ho-hum less than .500 dudes.

Lowe's put in more than 200 innings average over the last four years, and he has a 54-48 record in that time with around a 3.60 ERA. The Braves need a guy like that for consistency who is not an injury concern. He's only 36 with at least 3 quality years left.

[Ingmar]

Giants still haven't run Brian Sabean out of town. Hope for season: low. 

[HaemishM]

Oh the Giants will suck it hard. But they really won't be alone in that division. Have fun paying Schmidt an assload for DL time.

I get what you're saying about Lowe, he's a consistent innings guy. Which means he's a #3 starter at best on a good team. The fact that you might have to rely on Glavine OR Smoltz OR Hampton for anything would depress the fuck out of me. If Lowe is your ace, you're fucked.

[Paelos]

Well, Lowe may be paid more, but I think in reality our best talent is Jurrjens, and almost nobody has heard of him. He's 23, had a 13-10 record in a VERY shitty Braves season where almost nobody had a winning record, and he had 140 K's to 70 BB's. If he got any kind of run support he would have been a 20 game winner with a 3.68 ERA.

[cmlancas]

Well, the Rays look awesome this year.  Adding a bat to the lineup sure does help.  I've also noticed one of the guys I played against as a kid, James Howser, has made it to the big show!

 

[Paelos]

Manny Ramirez has officially lost his mind. Scott Boras has also lost his mind and thinks he is apparently God.

Bill Plaschke calls Manny a "Lost Cause"

He turned down a deal that would give him $25M in one year, the rights to immediately get a better deal next season if he performed well, and $20M in the second year if he didn't have a stellar year. $45M for two years work, in this economy, at 36 years old, and he turned it down. As Bill put it, "This is not Manny being Manny. This is Manny being stupid."

Personally, I hope he ends up like Barry Bonds and nobody signs his dumb ass. I would hate to see a guy like him on my Braves right now, no matter how he plays. He's a distraction, a clubhouse cancer, and a player hardly any fan could love.

[HaemishM]

Fuck's sake, what a complete goddamn idiot. I wish I was secure enough to turn down a guaranteeed $25 million. What the fuck was wrong with that Dodger offer, not enough years? Shit, he gets paid $25 million and has the ability to void the contract if he does well and sign a better deal in what's likely to be a better economy next year? HOW IS THAT NOT A SERIOUS OFFER?

Scott Boras needs to be fired into the sun.

[Paelos]

On the Manny/Boras front:

Boras: “I assure you, we have no deal.”
Manny: "“The economy is making everyone adjust. I will be happy to play for LA. Tell everyone Mannywood is coming.”

Yes, he actually said Mannywood. I hate him so much more now.


Also the World Baseball Classic starts soon with the first USA match v. Canada on Saturday. It's debatable how many people actually give a crap about it, because it's relatively new, and most ppl are gearing up for March Madness. However, until the actual tournament starts or until the USA loses for good (again), I'll be watching.

Why? Because there is fuckall to watch except hockey, and my teams suck this year.

[raydeen]

[moment of silence]

Harry Kalas died today. He was the Frank Sinatra of announcers in my book. Watching/listening to the Phill's won't be the same anymore.

[/moment of silence]

[Abagadro]

Mark 'The Bird' Fidrych also died today in a farming accident.

[WayAbvPar]

I am JUST old enough to remember Fidrych's summer of glory. I didn't really know wtf was going on, but I heard his name a lot 

[Paelos]

That's 3 baseball deaths in a week now. 

[Ingmar]

He's a distraction, a clubhouse cancer, and a player hardly any fan could love.

I'd take him in a minute. Being a "clubhouse cancer" doesn't really matter even a tiny bit in baseball.

[naum]

HOW BOUT THEM BUCCOS!

4-3, only 1.5 games behind 1st…

WORLD SERIES BABY!

[Ashamanchill]

It's finally a good time to be a Toronto Blue Jays fan again.  I'm going to ride this wave until they sink back under the tide.

[Paelos]

Florida Marlins.

I'm as shocked as anyone.

[Ingmar]

My Giants are putting up a team OPS of .662. 

On the plus side I went to a San Jose Giants game this week and saw our young guys kick some ass, so we should be good again in 2011 or so. 

[Paelos]

It's been a pretty wild first 1/10th of the season so far, roughly. From what I've seen we have some interesting developments:

The Shockingly Good: 

The Florida Marlins - leading the division at 11-4, even though they are on a current 3 game skid. 8 guys on the team are batting over .270 with a combined 52 RBIs in 15 games.

The Toronto Blue Jays - absolutely nobody thought this team would do a damn thing, and they are leading the Yanks and BoSox at 10-5 right now. I don't think they can pull off a run like Tampa Bay did last year though in that division. This is just a consequence of them playing shitty teams in the AL Central early.

The Shockingly Bad: 

The Brewers - CC wasn't the entire team, but it sure looks like it when they go 4-9 and are dead last in the 6 team NL Central. I don't see any potential way they can become playoff bound this year.

The Yankees pitching staff - It's hard to win games when your team ERA is 6.27 and tied for 27th in MLB. Their only saving grace is that they are in top 10 in run production, but you can't live and die on your team posting 7 or more a game for a whole season. It's actually shocking the team is 8-6.

[HaemishM]

The Yankees lived off offense last year... and didn't make the playoffs. But I think their pitching will be better this year. The AL East is a bit topsy turvy right now, and I expect it to reverse. Toronto is not that good a team.

You have to be afraid of the Marlins, because they've got shittons of young talent, much of which is entering their 2nd or 3rd year. This could be their year.

The Brewers are where I thought they'd be. Rather than improving their pitching, they went backwards, to the point where their rotation looks like it did a few years ago. They've spent a few good years building up a helluva lot of good, young offensive talent. Now they need to bring along some young arms. That division is not going to treat them kindly. Both the Brewers and the Astros kind of treaded water in the offseason, while Cincy, the Cubs and the Pirates all got better and the Cards weren't bad. I don't think any of the Central pitching staffs can hold up over the long haul like the Cubs can, but it's going to be a great division to follow.

[Azaroth]

BASEBALL SUCKS.

[HaemishM]

Don't you have a Flyers fan to torture? 

[Azaroth]

They're so easy though. 

[Azaroth]

What really made me laugh was the mention of the slide-tackle. It's a hilarious term from HFBoards, and the Flyers fans were blubbering all night about it (along with their theory that Bettman is instructing the refs to let the Penguins win, which they're 100% serious about). Very good stuff.

And FYI, this is me trolling baseball fans by derailing a baseball thread with a hockey conversation.


Oh, and the Jays suck and will begin showing their true suckiness soon enough. 10-5 is insignificant when you play like 4,000 games in a baseball season. The record is an anomaly.

[Paelos]

Go back to hockey, your team needs your shitty support 

[Azaroth]

My shitty team needs my shitty support. 

[Raging Turtle]

GO CARDS!  Pujols is kicking ass, Carpenter should be back in action (once again) pretty soon.  Gonna be a fun season. 

[WayAbvPar]

Mariners are in first place, but I can't get myself to care. The past 3 seasons have beaten the fandom right out of me. This is what happens when you hire utterly incompetent GMs and let them ruin the team for 5 years, you fucking retards.

Maybe I can give a shit after the Stanley Cup. At least between Sounders games.

[Paelos]

My Braves are sitting at 9-9 heading into a long homestand. I'm very positive we'll do well overall, but we open with the Red-Hot Cards, which is going to be a tough series.

[Ingmar]

Giants at 10-10 to end April? It won't last, but it is nice and a good sign for the future, assuming our pitchers stay healthy long enough for all the kids at San Jose to make it up in a couple years.

[Teleku]

Quick, somebody give me a rundown of what this season is like.     Who's good, who's bad, who's the top pitchers now, etc...

I feel horrible, I haven't kept up with baseball in the last 2 seasons (last one, and this).  Ever since I got back from Japan, no TV and no fantasy leagues.  All I know is that my Giants sucks ass, and the management is bound and determined that they stay that way.  Also, that we are in now in bizaro land, where the Giants actually have a line up of some good pitchers (but of course, nobody that can actually hit worth a shit now).  Holy god its scary to have more than one decent pitcher.

[Fordel]

Ingmar keeps informing me that the Jays don't suck anymore, is this true still?

[Paelos]

For now, yes. The Jays are ok. Also, KC is leading the Central, and Seattle is leading the West. The entire AL is on it's ear in my book.

In the NL it's business as usual. The Cards and Dodgers are dominating, while the NL East is the only one up for grabs.

[Ingmar]

I expect the Jays to regress to the mean - they're not as good as their current record (example: Aaron Hill is *not* a .950 OPS hitter really) - but they definitely don't suck. I kind of figure they're an 85-86 win team really.