MLB Thread

[Caliban]

Discuss MLB related items of discussion in this thread.

Fukudome. Greatest Asian Ever.

[Fez]

Last season I decided to adopt the Nationals as my 'pet NL' team as a side interest to the Red Sox, its not a coincidence that this was the same time Wily Mo Pena was traded to them.

I know they're not very good, but if this 3 and 0 start is any indication of the season for them, I don't think they'll end up in the cellar. Not saying they'll make the playoffs mind you, but I think they can reach the living room as it were. Also, love the new ballpark.


As for the Red Sox, I was worried. But with the news that Beckett is coming back this weekend, and Lester looking impressive, I think the starting rotation is in good shape. Which was really the only question about them, the offense is going to be fine.




Something interesting to me is that for years the Yankees had the highest payroll (by far), the Red Sox had the second highest, and then a break before a bunch of teams clustered together. Well the Yankees still have the highest payroll by far, but because the Red Sox have kept basically the entire team from last year without having to sign any major contracts both the Tigers and Mets now have higher payrolls then them thanks to their large offseason deals.

[Myshkin]

You people make me hate the Cubs. I mean every MLB thread we have eventually degenerates into some deluded Cub fan love-fest where you guys tell each other how great the Cubs are when we all know the suck. Fukudome isn't going to be the MVP. Kerry Wood isn't going to be a good closer. The Cubs aren't going to win the World Series, or even the NL pennant.

Ok, now that that's out of the way we can get down to talking about real teams, and how awesome Larry Bowa is. Go Dodgers!

[Mack Kilimaro]

[quote name='Myshkin' post='1299719' date='Apr 3 2008, 15.29']You people make me hate the Cubs. I mean every MLB thread we have eventually degenerates into some deluded Cub fan love-fest where you guys tell each other how great the Cubs are when we all know the suck. Fukudome isn't going to be the MVP. Kerry Wood isn't going to be a good closer. The Cubs aren't going to win the World Series, or even the NL pennant.[/quote]

I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to see a sports thread on this board that wasn't sprinkled with some of Caliban's (probably) drunken ramblings. But hey, I guess we can move on to talking about teams where the third base coach gets ejected in the 2nd inning for not standing in the coaches' box! That would be a real baseball thing to happen there.

I'm just messing with you. But I'm sure my contributions this season will be a bit bitter. Please forgive me in advance. If you had Kevin Millar hitting 4th and Aubrey Huff hitting 5th, you'd be a little bit out there too.

[Bronn Stone]

I am not a Cubs fan, but I do think they win their division and are as likely as anyone to represent the NL in the World Series.

The Dodgers may be off to a good start, but losing even a single game at home to the Giants has to be considered a poor start. To win the NL West, a team must feast on the Giants. DeWitt seems like a nice find though. Were I Torre, he'd stay in as long as he maintains his good level of play, Nomar or anyone else aside.

Cardinals look like an 80-85 win team to me. The pitching just doesn't compare with either of the other two divisions and you still play an awful lot of games against teams from the East and West. The Cardinals will also have major bullpen problems.

San Diego has a nice rotation, a good infield, a decent bullpen (not a strength though) and serious questions in the outfield. They really need three out of these five things to happen a) Hairston continues to play like a ML outfielder, b) Headley comes up and plays like a major league outfielder, c) Edmonds stays reasonably healthy, d) Giles stays reasonably healthy or e) someone else emerges as a major league outfielder. In that each is about a 50-50 proposition, getting three out of five would be take some good luck.

[Andrik the Unsmiling]

The Giants offense sucks. I know, I know, big shock. SF fans are being talked down from the rooftops as we speak.

But...

After last night's win, it's nice to know that the Giants won't be the first team to go 0-fer on the season. And besides Cain and Lincecum, Brian Wilson has also been encouraging, both in spring training and in earning his first save of the year last night. And, if one game is any indication (which it clearly isn't, but bear with me because I don't have much to be excited about here) once A-list prospect Merkin Valdez has returned from the dead with some serious heat on his fastball, registering 96 on the gun last night against the Dodgers when he struck out 4 in two innings.

All in all, it promises to be quite a crappy year. But you know what? I'm actually starting to believe this team [i]could[/i] make it to double digit victories this year. I mean, one down, nine to go, right? (in actuality, I would now predict somewhere between 90-95 losses on the year whereas a couple of days ago I would have guessed 100. Ah, the optimism of April baseball).

[Andrik the Unsmiling]

[quote name='Triskele' post='1299935' date='Apr 3 2008, 14.24']That Zito signing has got to sting pretty bad. Even before he underperformed last year I thought that was [i]way[/i] too much money for him. If he can't get it together, than off the top of my head I can't think of anything burning a hole in any team worse than a 120 million dollar pitcher with 6 years left who can't give you jack. Something aint' right with him. He's lost velocity and as a result, his curve is not as effective, just like his old boy Mulder whose slider is nullified by his lack of velocity.

Further evidence of Billy Beane's genius.

I'm just glad Mulder isn't costing us so much.[/quote]

so, billy beane's a genius because he didn't pay barry zito more that $126 mil? Riiiight... I mean, I'm not constantly walking into brick walls, so I too must be a true mastermind, correct?

The Zito signing was indeed stupid, and as time goes on I'm more and more convinced that ownership was to blame. They panicked, worrying about not having any "stars" after Bonds left (or looked like he was leaving) last year, and very stupidly made a horrendously bad baseball decision because of that panic. I will denounce Sabean for any number of mistakes he's made over the years, but I don't think that was his call.

I will repeat what I've said before though: as bad as the Zito signing was, that's not why the Giants are so awful right now. They're horrible because they've failed to develop a single legitimate major league starting position player (i.e. Pedro Feliz doesn't count) since Bill Mueller (now retired), and Mueller didn't even do his best work with the Giants. It's the offense that will drag this team down, not the pitching.

Ah, well. with the way baseball is going today, economically, I figure it will only be another couple of years before some team makes an equally bad decision for bigger money, and then I can stop hearing so much about this one.

[Eddison]

[i]Cardinals look like an 80-85 win team to me.[/i]

So you're saying they will win the central...

[Bronn Stone]

[quote name='Eddison' post='1300166' date='Apr 3 2008, 18.24'][i]Cardinals look like an 80-85 win team to me.[/i]

So you're saying they will win the central...[/quote]


Not this year. Last year, yes. But I think the Cubs are better. Second or third.

[Jaxom 1974]

[quote name='Myshkin' post='1299719' date='Apr 3 2008, 16.29']You people make me hate the Cubs. I mean every MLB thread we have eventually degenerates into some deluded Cub fan love-fest where you guys tell each other how great the Cubs are when we all know the suck. Fukudome isn't going to be the MVP. Kerry Wood isn't going to be a good closer. The Cubs aren't going to win the World Series, or even the NL pennant.

Ok, now that that's out of the way we can get down to talking about real teams, and how awesome Larry Bowa is. Go Dodgers![/quote]

I don't know you anymore.

[Myshkin]

[quote name='Jaxom 1974' post='1300238' date='Apr 3 2008, 18.38']I don't know you anymore.[/quote]
Don't kid yourself, you can't resist me.

[Caliban]

[quote name='Bronn Stone' post='1299762' date='Apr 3 2008, 16.52']San Diego has a nice rotation, a good infield, a decent bullpen (not a strength though) and serious questions in the outfield. They really need three out of these five things to happen a) Hairston continues to play like a ML outfielder, b) Headley comes up and plays like a major league outfielder, c) Edmonds stays reasonably healthy, d) Giles stays reasonably healthy or e) someone else emerges as a major league outfielder. In that each is about a 50-50 proposition, getting three out of five would be take some good luck.[/quote]

You just named the two worse outfielders on the Padres right now. McAnulty/Hairston are both better then Giles at this point and so much better then Edmunds its not even funny. With half his games at Petco it will be hilarious to see how bad his numbers look after 100 ABs. I mean, hilarious. Both of those guys are potentially awesome and have a floor about as high as an old edmonds' ceiling, and a ceiling very high. The fact that Giles is taking ABs from these guys is silly. Look what they both have done at ever miL stop they have been to.

Edmonds getting hurt is the best thing that can happen to SDPs. He is no longer anywhere near the defensive (as overrated as it was) player he used to be. Giles absolutely sucks. There is no reason for him to recieve even one ab in Petco now that his steriods are gone. Id rather Jody Gerut playing for me then Giles. It pisses me off that Giles and Edmunds have everyday jobs when there are 3 guys at least 6 years younger and better on the same roster. I like Bud black, but if he doesnt figure it out soon, hes not a smart manager.

Khalil Greene is te most underrated infielder in baseball. Kouzmanoff should become very good. Adrian Gonzalez is a top 15 hitter in baseball. Gooch is a very good player. Bard and Barrett are both very good hitting catchers. The SDPs have a top 3 infield in the NL.

Jake Peavy, despite being overrated, is still a very good pitcher, Maddux still has skills, Chris Young is gonna get a fastball in his back when he comes to chicago but is good.

The SDPs would win the west if they dont give edmunds any playing time.

[Caliban]

[quote name='Myshkin' post='1299719' date='Apr 3 2008, 16.29']You people make me hate the Cubs. I mean every MLB thread we have eventually degenerates into some deluded Cub fan love-fest where you guys tell each other how great the Cubs are when we all know the suck. Fukudome isn't going to be the MVP. Kerry Wood isn't going to be a good closer. The Cubs aren't going to win the World Series, or even the NL pennant.[/quote]

Wow, man, im crushed. What kind of worthless piece of garbage doesnt win the MVP his first MLB season? Yea, i dont expect an MVP out of th guy but if youve been paying attention youd notice hes going from a question mark to an exclamation point. The guys plate awareness and discipline is better then Derrek Lee's, i.e. the best iver ever seen on the Cubs. Hes got more power hen i expected too. He took an inside slider to the opposite field wall today. But whatever, no MVp, he sucks.

Your comment about Kerry Wood is laughable, and offensive. Hes an extreme of high reward, no risk. In case you havent noticed, throughout his career, whenever Kid K is healthy, hes very good. Hes a demon inside the friendly confines. We arent paying him anything, and if he has health problems or inexplicably loses the stuff he shoed late summer and fall last year and then ST this year, then we simply insert Carlos Marmol into the closer role. Not complicated. Kerry Wood is a niece piece to this club, but an extremely expendable one. Our pitching depth, both on the northside ad in AAA Iowa is easily able to absorb a Wood injury. This isnt 2004 anymore.

Im not saying the Cubs will for sure win the World Series, but my optimism is certainly not unresonable.

FYI: The Andru Jones Signing was absolutely horrible. And the fact that you also have Jaun Pierre, sucks absolute ass, makes me laugh. Two old, way overpaid CFs, coming off aful seasons on the same roster, go blue. Matt Kemp had a very lucky season last year. He proved in the minors he cannot take a walk, and just about anybody would look good if they lucked into a .425 BABIP. That will never happen again. He will have a dissapointing sophomore slump. Raph Furcal was horrible last year. He was actually worse then Theriot, who makes rouchly 1/15 the money. Loney looked good last year, but hes had a very suspect miL career for a first baseman. So id say you have two good position players Martin and Kent. You have have an ace and a stud reliever and then a fairly mediocre staff and pen. You simply gonna get outclasssed in a division that has 3 teams better then you.

[Mya Stone]

[quote name='Caliban' post='1300401' date='Apr 4 2008, 02.03']FYI: The Andru Jones Signing was absolutely horrible. And the fact that you also have Jaun Pierre, sucks absolute ass, makes me laugh. Two old, way overpaid CFs, coming off aful seasons on the same roster, go blue. Matt Kemp had a very lucky season last year. He proved in the minors he cannot take a walk, and just about anybody would look good if they lucked into a .425 BABIP. That will never happen again. He will have a dissapointing sophomore slump. Raph Furcal was horrible last year. He was actually worse then Theriot, who makes rouchly 1/15 the money. Loney looked good last year, but hes had a very suspect miL career for a first baseman. So id say you have two good position players Martin and Kent. You have have an ace and a stud reliever and then a fairly mediocre staff and pen. You simply gonna get outclasssed in a division that has 3 teams better then you.[/quote]

Wait, Pierre had an awful season? Seriously? Your lack of knowledge of baseball outside Chicago is starting to show itself.

Pierre's stats from last year:

avg - .293
runs - 96
2b - 24
sb - 64

What kills Pierre is he doesnt take enough walks and his arm is about as strong as a 5 year olds, but what major league team wouldn't take those kind of stats from a lead off hitter?

Furcal was injured off and on last year, but he's off to a great start this year, and his defensive play so far is up to par (which is excellent). Plus this is a contract year for him so hopefully that will give him that extra incentive to play for the big money again.

Loney is "mil" (which I assume means middle of the line)? The kid's bat is incredible and could develop into a solid 3 hitter, and his "career" at first base is just beginning since this will be his first full year at 1b in the bigs, and he's been won countless awards and recognition in the minors...all at 1b.

Our starting rotation could be better, but Im happy with the way Billingsley has developed, and we have some really good up and coming pitchers like Clayton Kershaw and Jon Meloan who will see some time this year and probably spot start at some point.

Shit, I have to head to work, but I'll finish this when I get home.

YW

ETA: God fucking damnit...damn woman!

[Caliban]

[quote name='Mya Stone' post='1300508' date='Apr 4 2008, 05.30']Wait, Pierre had an awful season? Seriously? Your lack of knowledge of baseball outside Chicago is starting to show itself.

Pierre's stats from last year:

avg - .293
runs - 96
2b - 24
sb - 64[/quote]

Those numbers [i]could[/i] belong to a good baseball player. But since they were produced byt the same guy as these:

AB - 670
obp - .335
slg - .350
ops+ - 74
HR - 0
CS - 15

it means hes not good.

He had 33 walks and 32 extra base hits in in 670 ABs. I have no lack of knowledge of Juan Pierre's lack of offensive ability. Having a high batting average and stealing bases are are positives but dont justify a player by themselves, and I dont consider individual run totals that meaningful (especially in Pierre's case because he played 162 games and got 700 ABs, and he never, ever scores himself witha HR). In general if you has zero power and are not an excellent shortstop or catcher defensively or a pitcher, you arent that good. The fact is, is that Ive seen Pierre play with the Cubs for an entire season and thats all i really need to see. He is the same player now he was in 2006, and thats a bad player.

[quote name='Mya Stone' post='1300508' date='Apr 4 2008, 05.30']Furcal was injured off and on last year, but he's off to a great start this year, and his defensive play so far is up to par (which is excellent). Plus this is a contract year for him so hopefully that will give him that extra incentive to play for the big money again.[/quote]

I dont know how much id like a player that only plays well in contract years. But anyway, Furcal is good, but if I were interested in the LADs succeeding this year id be concerned that Furcal might play like he did last season which is about average for a shortstop and far from worth average production given his salary. If he plays like 2006 hes one of the best SS in baseball, and since that is closer to his career norm, he'll probably be okay, but its possible he will play like 2007 or continue to trend downard, and if i were you id be worried about. As for his hot start, Tony Gwynn Jr is batting over .500 right now.

[quote name='Mya Stone' post='1300508' date='Apr 4 2008, 05.30']Loney is "mil" (which I assume means middle of the line)? The kid's bat is incredible and could develop into a solid 3 hitter, and his "career" at first base is just beginning since this will be his first full year at 1b in the bigs, and he's been won countless awards and recognition in the minors...all at 1b.[/quote]

By 'miL' i meant minor leagues, which actually may not be an accepted abreviation because i got "miley cyrus" on a google search just now. [url="http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/L/james-loney.shtml"]James Loney's minor league numbers are not terribly good for a first baseman[/url]. Never hit more then 11 home runs.

I never said the LADs will be bad. 82-80 is not bad. Its just not going to get you into the playoffs. What reason do we have to believe they will be better then last year. Joe Torre cant strike out a batter or hit a home run. And plus, the division is just too good for LA. If LA were in the central, they'd contend for the division, but they arent and will not win the West.

[Jaime L]

My favorite story from the young season:

A hawk living in Fenway Park attacks a little girl named...wait for it...Alexa Rodriguez.

[quote]BOSTON -- A 13-year-old girl touring Fenway Park on a school trip was attacked by a resident red-tailed hawk that drew blood from her scalp Thursday.

She wasn't seriously hurt, but some observers saw an omen for a certain New York Yankees slugger in the attack at the home of the Boston Red Sox. The girl's name is Alexa Rodriguez.

Vince Jennetta, a teacher who chaperoned her class trip from Memorial Boulevard Middle School in Bristol, Conn., told The Boston Globe that Alexa is "a little shaken, but OK."

The hawk was perched on a railing in the upper deck behind home plate while the group toured the stadium. The hawk flew at the girl and swooped with its talons extended, scratching her scalp.

A single egg lay in the hawk's nearby nest in an overhang near the stadium's press booth.

The nest and egg were removed at the direction of state wildlife officials.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press[/quote]

It's going to suck when little Jorgina Posada visits.

[Bronn Stone]

The Padres really only need Edmonds to be an average hitter and a good glove. They need a Padres-era Kotsay-esque performance, not Angels-era Edmonds.

If he can play 130 games, hit .270 with 20 HR and 45 doubles, they'd be golden. And he is capable of that at this stage of his career, with a bit of luck.

Hairston, Gerut, et. al are not. McAnulty, possibly, but I don't often hold my breath waiting for 27 year old hitter to suddenly find the plate that has avoided him to date.

I am sure the Padres could have Coco Crisp or Kenny Lofton or Juan Pierre if they wanted. I am glad they don't seem to want to make that deal.

[Young Wolf]

[quote name='Caliban' post='1300613' date='Apr 4 2008, 08.02']By 'miL' i meant minor leagues, which actually may not be an accepted abreviation because i got "miley cyrus" on a google search just now. [url="http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/L/james-loney.shtml"]James Loney's minor league numbers are not terribly good for a first baseman[/url]. Never hit more then 11 home runs.

I never said the LADs will be bad. 82-80 is not bad. Its just not going to get you into the playoffs. What reason do we have to believe they will be better then last year. Joe Torre cant strike out a batter or hit a home run. And plus, the division is just too good for LA. If LA were in the central, they'd contend for the division, but they arent and will not win the West.[/quote]

Well Loney is only 23, and in both call ups with the Dodgers, especially last year, he's produced pretty well in part time action. The whole HRs factor for me is a trade off is he can bat .330 and drive in guys with doubles and what not.

As an organization, the Dodgers have not in recent memory really been a team to pound you with the deep ball, so maybe that's why Loney fits for me. They usually have one or two guys who can go deep, but nothing like the Red Sox, Cardinals, or Yankees lineups of the past decade.

I dont think the division is "too good" for LA, I honestly think they have a shot at it. I think Arizona, Colorado, San Diego, or LA can win the division. They are all pretty evenly matched and they beat the hell out of each other throughout the year. That's the thing with the West, its a horse race and no true odds on favorite.

Regarding Pierre, I suppose we'll just disagree with what constitutes a "bad" player and what doesnt.

YW

[duchess of malfi]

What in the name of God is that [i]thing[/i] on Bobby Jenks' face? How [b]Fugly[/b]!!!!

Man, I hope my poor Tigers start playing better. :(

[Myshkin]

Caliban,

Your rant just goes to prove one of the points I was trying to make in my first post: Baseball doesn't exist to you outside of Chicago. Your assessment of the Dodgers shows nothing but your own bias towards teams that aren't the Cubs. Perhaps I came off as a bit harsh in my first post, and for that I apologize. The point I was trying to get across is that I wish we could have a baseball discussion on this board without fully half of the posts being dedicated to how awesome the Cubs are, or how Carlos Zambrano is the best pitcher in the history of the world, or how this is totally going to be Kerry Wood's comeback season. You know I used to like the Cubs, until I started meeting their fans.

ETA: Except for you Jax. I'll always like you.