Topic: The 2008 Baseball Thread

[Justin T]

Toronto Blue Jays

2007 Payroll: $81.9 million, 16th in MLB

2007 Record: 83-79, 3rd Place AL East

Key Transactions: Signed RP Armando Benitez, signed SS David Eckstein

Projected Lineup/age:
C Gregg Zaun/36
1B Lyle Overbay/31
2B Aaron Hill/26
3B Scott Rolen/32
SS David Eckstein/33
LF Reed Johnson/31
CF Vernon Wells/29
RF Alex Rios/27
DH Frank Thomas/39

Starting Pitching:
Roy Halladay/30
A.J. Burnett/31
Dustin McGowan/26
Shaun Marcum/26
Jesse Litsch/23

Relief Pitching:
Jason Frasor/30
Scott Downs/32
Brian Tallet/30
Brian Wolfe/27
Brandon League/26
B.J. Ryan, closer/32
Jeremy Accardo, closer/26

The Blue Jays should be nipping on the heels of the Red Sox and Yankees, perhaps closer than in years past. In order for that to happen Vernon Wells needs to return to his former glory and hope last year was just an off one. The rest of the lineup is potent with Rios and Thomas, the latter whom can still knock one out despite reaching his 40's before season's end.

The rotation is of course fronted by Halladay, whom you practically have to drag off the mound every game. He's an old school type pitcher who doesn't worry about pitch count and probably should have gotten the Cy Young last year. The Jays have two closers listed, both of whom are more than competent...it all depends on whether or not Ryan can remain healthy. Toronto should remain in 3rd Place, but could very well shake things up in the AL East.

I totally agree with you on the Blue Jays, watching them live in action vs the Yankess last season I was very impressed by how much they have
improved the team. They are the only other team in the East I worry about besides Boston. They still need a few more things but they are solid and
will def finish in 3rd place again easy. NY and Boston better not underestimate them.

If I get to go to another Yankee game this season, I'll gladly go to one vs the Blue Jays. If they keep at this
they can finally put together a team to win the World Series again like they did in back to back seasons in the early 90's.

[shemps#1]

The Red Sox start the season off right in Tokyo with a 6-5 10 inning victory against the Oakland Athletics. Brandon Moss, a last minute replacement for JD Drew, tied the game at 4-4 with a solo homer off of closer Huston Street, and Manny Ramirez broke the tie in the 10th with a two run double. Okajima got the win in relief while Street picked up the loss. Boston is 1-0 while Oakland is 0-1.

[jrvass]

S#1,

Did they show it tape-delayed in Boston?

I'm not all that excited about regular season games being played 1/2 a world away in Japan. MLB doesn't need to introduce baseball there, they have their own leagues. It must be that MLB is using games there as a recruiting tool.

MLB teams against Japanese teams in exhibition/pre-season makes more sense.

MLB teams against each other in Latin America (Pre or early regular season), makes more sense because of the time zone differences (minimal jet lag), real-time media coverage, and the # of Latin American players in MLB. It would be a good PR move for MLB.

James

[falsealarms]

Still not too late for predictions, so here goes -

1. NYY
2. BOS
3. TOR
4. TB
5. BAL

1. CLE
2. DET
3. CHW
4. MIN
5. KC

1. LAA
2. SEA
3. OAK
4. TEX

1. NYM
2. PHI
3. ATL
4. FLA
5. WAS

1. CHC
2. MIL
3. CIN
4. HOU
5. PIT
6. STL

1. ARI
2. SD
3. COL
4. SF

AL WC = BOS
NL WC = MIL

AL MVP = Sizemore
NL MVP = Wright

AL ROY = Longoria
NL ROY = Fukudome

AL CY = Beckett
NL CY = Santana

WS = NYM over CLE in 6

1ST MGR fired: Gibbons (TOR)

[FineBari3]

Pittsburgh Pirates

2007 Payroll: $38.5 million, 27th in MLB

2007 Record: 68-94, 6th Place NL Central


I truely pity the long suffering fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates moreso than any other fans. Every other franchise that has been around since the 1992 season has had at least one good season since...that's the last year the Pirates were relevant. The future in the Steel City does not look to get any brighter, what with a tightwad owner and very little talent. The new ballpark may be beautiful, but the baseball being played there is going to be ugly once again.

While the lineup does have a bit of pop with Bay and LaRouche, and Sanchez will hit .300, the rest of the order is ho-hum at best. The rotation is atrocious and the bullpen is horrible with the exception of Capps, who will most likely not see too many save opportunities again. Despite being in the weakest division in MLB the Pirates are destined for last place once again.

It's pretty bad! I even worked for the Pirates back in the 1996 season, and I didn't go to games!

One thing that is good: we got a new pitching coach. The old coach really messed some of the guys up, and the bullpen is doing real well in spring training.

Oh, please....just .500!   

[Justin T]

Well, the Yankess finally got to start the season yesteday and did it in a good fashion. They won
their 11th straight home opener, which is a new record from what ive heard. Beat the Blue Jays
3-2, close game but they got it done and gave Girardi his first win as Yankee Skipper.

The Mets sure learned quick that getting Santana was good since he won them their home opener
also, but they lost to the Marlins in extra innings last night, and Pedro is hurt AGAIN, what a shocker 

Any surprises or dissapointments for any one else?

[JazzBill]

No surprises here. Only two games in and the Cubs are already tanking.

[jrvass]

KC over the Tigers twice? 

James

[Justin T]

KC over the Tigers twice? 

James

I was suprised by that, the Tigers are def a contender this year. Either their off to a bad
start or the Royals are better than people think.

[metaldams]

Yeah, who's this Bannister guy out of KC?  Did a heck of a job today against a tough line-up.  But Tigers fans, I wouldn't worry, the Nationals have the best record in baseball right now, which means there's PLENTY of baseball left.

Speaking of which, the Nats friggin' one-hit the Phils and ruined Cole Hamels great performance today.  Do the Phillies EVER get off to a strong start?

As for Boston, taking 3 out of 4 from Oakland is something I can live with.  I have the Comcast Extra Innings package this season so I can watch all the games.  Watching Paps defend that 2 - 1 lead and striking out the side gave me that adrenalin rush I've been missing all winter.  I'm always intense when Paps is out there, so I'm glad baseball's back.

[metaldams]

As for Pedro?  Still love the guy, always will, but I can't say I'm shocked with what happened.

[metaldams]

Oh, and congratulatios to Kevin Youklis for setting a major league record today!  YOUK!

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080402&content_id=2484761&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

[JazzBill]

Hey James..... How did you like the series against the White Sox this week-end ?

[metaldams]

I watched the Red Sox Vs. Blue Jays game today.  The Jays announcers quoted Roy Halladay as saying Toronto plays New York and Boston fine, it's the other teams they need to turn it up for.  Boston has the reverse problem, unfortunately.  With their shortened spring training, this ridiculous Japan trip, and they fact thy always struggle against Toronto, this series had disaster written all over it.  Didn't the Yanks have similar problems in '04 after they went to Japan? 

Boston will be fine once they settle into a groove, trade Crisp for some middle relief, and if he's ready, have Jed Lowrie replace Julio Lugo around the all-star break.  At the same time, you don't want to rush prospects (see Hansen, Craig), so we'll have to wait and see.

[jrvass]

 

Fuck you! 

 

James

[metaldams]

Fuck you! 

 

James

Best of luck to you guys starting Friday.

[Justin T]

I watched the Red Sox Vs. Blue Jays game today.  The Jays announcers quoted Roy Halladay as saying Toronto plays New York and Boston fine, it's the other teams they need to turn it up for.  Boston has the reverse problem, unfortunately.  With their shortened spring training, this ridiculous Japan trip, and they fact thy always struggle against Toronto, this series had disaster written all over it.  Didn't the Yanks have similar problems in '04 after they went to Japan? 

Boston will be fine once they settle into a groove, trade Crisp for some middle relief, and if he's ready, have Jed Lowrie replace Julio Lugo around the all-star break.  At the same time, you don't want to rush prospects (see Hansen, Craig), so we'll have to wait and see.

If I recall I think they did have it a bit rough after their Japan tour in 04, you cant rule out that long trip + jet lag in that situation.

Yankess ran into a similar problem this weekend with Tampa Bay, the Rays are no basement feeder in the AL East anymore. Kennedy and Pettitte
had really bad outings which didnt help matters. Thankfully Wang has been bringing the goods to start the season as he had a 4 hit shut out to keep
Tampa from sweeping the Yanks at home on Sunday. Hopefully we can bounce back vs the Royals before we have our first Yankee/Red Sox series of
the year next weekend. Wang, Hughes, Joba and Rivera have all been very good to start the season which made me happy.

Yeah, the Blue Jays give the Red Sox and Yankess a challenge every time they face off, I saw that first hand when I went to a Yankees/Blue Jays
game in NY last September. If they played like that more consistantly they could give both our teams a run for the money in the division, but for now
Toronto is firmly stuck in 3rd untill it gets a few more tools into its arsenal. I have alot of respect for the Blue Jays.

James: Sorry your Tigers are off to a horrible start, that has got to be fustrating with all the high expectations put on them with the moves
they made in the offseason. I think their going to bounce back soon though, but they def need to work on their bullpen from what Ive seen.

[metaldams]

If I recall I think they did have it a bit rough after their Japan tour in 04, you cant rule out that long trip + jet lag in that situation.

Yankess ran into a similar problem this weekend with Tampa Bay, the Rays are no basement feeder in the AL East anymore. Kennedy and Pettitte
had really bad outings which didnt help matters. Thankfully Wang has been bringing the goods to start the season as he had a 4 hit shut out to keep
Tampa from sweeping the Yanks at home on Sunday. Hopefully we can bounce back vs the Royals before we have our first Yankee/Red Sox series of
the year next weekend. Wang, Hughes, Joba and Rivera have all been very good to start the season which made me happy.

Yeah, the Blue Jays give the Red Sox and Yankess a challenge every time they face off, I saw that first hand when I went to a Yankees/Blue Jays
game in NY last September. If they played like that more consistantly they could give both our teams a run for the money in the division, but for now
Toronto is firmly stuck in 3rd untill it gets a few more tools into its arsenal. I have alot of respect for the Blue Jays.

James: Sorry your Tigers are off to a horrible start, that has got to be fustrating with all the high expectations put on them with the moves
they made in the offseason. I think their going to bounce back soon though, but they def need to work on their bullpen from what Ive seen.

The Jays have a good line-up, good bullpen, and a good rotation.  If they stay helathy, I see no reason why they can't compete.

As a Red Sox fan, they give me nightmares.  Part of it is because when I was a young teen, the 1992 and 1993 Jays were always ahead of us (I still get the chills from Oakland too for some reason, even though the Roid Bros. and Dave Stewart are long gone), and they frankly pants us more times than not.  The irony is Roy Halladay is the Jays pitcher we hit best, it's guys like Sean Marcum and Gustavo Chacin (though I think the latter may be gone, finally), that always beat us.  Plus, they've won the last seven times we faced them.  Believe me, I wish Toronto can move out west and the Angels would move east.

[JazzBill]

Don't worry, it's still early. I don't think KC is for real, and I don't see White Sox pitching holding up much longer. Detroit has too much talent to stay dormant much longer. But on the other hand, no one has won the World series after losing the first six games. It used to be four games but Boston changed that. 

[metaldams]

One great thing about te Red Sox having Barolo Colon is you get great headlines like this:

Sox postpone Colon's medical exam


Will we see future headlines like:

Colon pounded.

Colon stinks as Sox drop third straight.

Clean outing for Colon.

Colon's a gas in the clubhouse.

Colon looking strong as he rips past the Yanks.

Something to ponder, folks.

[Justin T]

What I find interesting is the Yankees and Red Sox are both 4 and 4 right now and BALTIMORE
is 6 and 1? That's not going to last very long but its kinda weird to see them on top when
I know for a fact their the weakest team in the AL East.

Hopefully Jeter will be rested enough when we play the Red Sox this weekend. But Im not
holding my breath.

[shemps#1]

Baltimore is not going to remain in first place and Detroit isn't going to remain in the cellar. It's still early folks.

What is cause for concern in Detroit is that along with being 0-7 they also now have the second highest payroll in MLB ($139 million, Boston is $133 million).

How did the Sox payroll lower despite keeping just about everybody?

[metaldams]

How did the Sox payroll lower despite keeping just about everybody?

Five or six million less on Schilling.
I'm assuming Cash is cheaper than Mirabelli, though that may be pinching pennies.
Don't have to pay Eric Gagne.

Next year, we don't have to pay Edgar Renteria anymore.

[metaldams]

Boston will be fine once they settle into a groove, trade Crisp for some middle relief, and if he's ready, have Jed Lowrie replace Julio Lugo around the all-star break.  At the same time, you don't want to rush prospects (see Hansen, Craig), so we'll have to wait and see.

I made this quote before Lowrie saw his first major league pitch.  Now that Lowrie has played a few games, he looks great.  You can't say these things for sure with such a small sample size, but you can pretty much guarantee that Lowrie at his worst is better than Julio Lugo.  God damn 4 year, 9 million contract!

I have the Comcast MLB package this year and am watching about all the Red Sox games when I can plus various other games.  Mankind's greatest invention.

[Justin T]

Well, the injury bug continues to plaque the Yankees, Posada went on the DL for the first time in his career
last week due to a shoulder problem and now A-Rod is headed there due to that strained quad muscle.
Hughes continues to struggle, i dont know whats wrong with him.

So i'm impressed their at .500 despite all the injuries and pitching problems. I'm shocked Mussina has won
his last two starts and has pitched well, dont know if this is going to last but I'll take what I can get
from him right now. Also alot of guys have stepped up and started hitting like Damon, Melky, Cano,
esp Matsui. Even Giambi is getting a few hits, though I still think they prob need to dump him eventually.
His defense at first base is a nightmare.

Anyone else happy or dissapointed with their teams' performance so far?