2008 MLB Thread

[Red001]

The mets might be more concerened about the hitters not peforming up to par but when Alou comes back and the mets bite the bullet and move Delgado to the 6 or 7 hole,his bat has slowed alot,they should hit better. trusting bullepen guys year after year is tough the mets group is good they are just making bad pitches. I belive Barry Zito is headed to the bullpen if the local paper is right boy the giants messed up with him. I see the pirates released Matt Morris good for them i hope the stick with whomever they replace him with. The rockies stuck with Redman for the suck it for the team hit so they don't wear out thier bullpen to soon. The Rays are the team to watch the hitters are getting better and the minors are loaded with frontline pitching prospects that if any 3 pan out completely they will have the best pitching in the division flat out

red001

 

[senob44]

The mets might be more concerened about the hitters not peforming up to par but when Alou comes back and the mets bite the bullet and move Delgado to the 6 or 7 hole,his bat has slowed alot,they should hit better. trusting bullepen guys year after year is tough the mets group is good they are just making bad pitches. I belive Barry Zito is headed to the bullpen if the local paper is right boy the giants messed up with him. I see the pirates released Matt Morris good for them i hope the stick with whomever they replace him with. The rockies stuck with Redman for the suck it for the team hit so they don't wear out thier bullpen to soon. The Rays are the team to watch the hitters are getting better and the minors are loaded with frontline pitching prospects that if any 3 pan out completely they will have the best pitching in the division flat out

Good point about Alou coming back. He should be an improvement in some areas over Angel Pagan. Who, to his credit, has played pretty well. It will be interesting to see how Delgado would react to being moved down in the order, if that is indeed what happens.

I can't believe about Zito. What a collapse. Here's another guy who was supposed to be coming into his prime and just fell on his face. Although pitchers are much harder to predict than hitters.

Interesting about the Rays. I'm still not 100% convinced they have staying power. Their middle infield, Bartlett and Iwamura haven't hit for shit, and the only real stud starter right now is Shields. Scott Kazmir will return this next weekend though. That should be a boost. My prediction is that the bullpen, brilliant thus far, is due for a big collapse. For one thing, they have no one who is proven to get out lefties. Other than Percival, the rest of the bullpen is not very well-known. I think they perhaps are pitching over their head. That being said, I think the Rays can finish at least over .500 this year and are showing signs of great improvement through a sound farm system and prudent management by the GM.

 

[Magnet]

Good point about Alou coming back. He should be an improvement in some areas over Angel Pagan. Who, to his credit, has played pretty well. It will be interesting to see how Delgado would react to being moved down in the order, if that is indeed what happens.

I can't believe about Zito. What a collapse. Here's another guy who was supposed to be coming into his prime and just fell on his face. Although pitchers are much harder to predict than hitters.

Interesting about the Rays. I'm still not 100% convinced they have staying power. Their middle infield, Bartlett and Iwamura haven't hit for shit, and the only real stud starter right now is Shields. Scott Kazmir will return this next weekend though. That should be a boost. My prediction is that the bullpen, brilliant thus far, is due for a big collapse. For one thing, they have no one who is proven to get out lefties. Other than Percival, the rest of the bullpen is not very well-known. I think they perhaps are pitching over their head. That being said, I think the Rays can finish at least over .500 this year and are showing signs of great improvement through a sound farm system and prudent management by the GM.

I think the Rays have a very good team and they are very young. I dont think they will stay in first but I have a feeling they will be over .500 for the year. The have a shit ton of good hitters, but I dont really like there bullpen. Percival looks good, but he is also old. So I feel he is still a mystery.

OKay, now what the hell is going on with Big Papi? There is know why his knee is 100%. I know he started to heat up a little bit, but lets face it some of those hits were luck, and they werent even hit hard. It would be different if he was lining out everytime.

On a good note though Matt Kemp is starting to hit now. Now if he could just lay off the low outside slider.

thanks for the link Senob.

 

[bodie54]

The reason I am not worried is the surprise emergence of Nelson Figueroa.

Nelson Figueroa's back?
And he's pitching well???
That sounds like a seinfeld bizarro world scenario!

Delgado and Beltran have been anemic

Well shoot, we know Carlos has a viable explanation for that, right?

"We've got so much talent I think sometimes we get bored."

[size=-2]Sept. 22, 2007[/size]

I'm very optimistic about the Mets' chances this year though.

As well it appears you should be. Thanks for an excellent recap :thumbsup:

 

[Red001]

yes the rays bullpen is pitching well above there talent but all you need sometimes is some confidence from the coaches,and yes there middle infield is weak currently but they have prospects to play those spots. i think the current guys are there to buy time from them to be ready and remember some of the starters they have in the minors could be awesome bullpen guys
george sherill of the orioles is doing a great job as fill in closer notched his 10th save last night. gotta love the a's predicted to be last and fighting for first once again never underestimate billy beane's baseball smarts

red001

 

[senob44]

Nelson Figueroa's back?
And he's pitching well???
That sounds like a seinfeld bizarro world scenario!

:rofl:

Well shoot, we know Carlos has a viable explanation for that, right?

"We've got so much talent I think sometimes we get bored."

[size=-2]Sept. 22, 2007[/size]

I don't even have to ask which Carlos you meant. lol That quote will live in infamy forever in the recesses of my brain!

yes the rays bullpen is pitching well above there talent but all you need sometimes is some confidence from the coaches,and yes there middle infield is weak currently but they have prospects to play those spots. i think the current guys are there to buy time from them to be ready and remember some of the starters they have in the minors could be awesome bullpen guys

Retouching on the Rays bullpen, you've got a good point. Guys who are "unknown quantities" sometimes just need a chance and good coaching. If I had to single out one guy in that bullpen, it would be Dan Wheeler. I got to see this guy for the Mets a couple years back. He has bounced around a lot in his career, but I feel he is one of the most underrated relievers in the game. When he is sharp, he mows 'em down.

george sherill of the orioles is doing a great job as fill in closer notched his 10th save last night.

Sherill has been a lefty specialist most of his career and has waited a long time for an opportunity like this. Good to see him making the most of it. The reason the O's could make Sherill the closer is because they have another lefty specialist, the underrated Jamie Walker. He's not off to a great start, but after languishing in the minors for years, he has put together over the last few years a very nice track record with the Tigers and now with the O's.

gotta love the a's predicted to be last and fighting for first once again never underestimate billy beane's baseball smarts

Good Lord are you right about that! Whether or not the A's can keep this up for the whole season, Beane is the master of doing a lot with a little money. The silver lining on the A's season regardless of how it turns out is that they will likely be even better next year.

 

[D-rock]

Good Lord are you right about that! Whether or not the A's can keep this up for the whole season, Beane is the master of doing a lot with a little money. The silver lining on the A's season regardless of how it turns out is that they will likely be even better next year.

One of the things Beane does well, although not even he always succeeds at it, is recognizing mid season what needs to be done, what can improve, and taking steeps to try to get there. I have always wondered if that was a lot of the reason the A's often have late season surges.

 

[Red001]

that is certinaly part of the late surge's the other is once you get used to your new teammates you can just play ball that's why when the a's start well the other west teams should worry. beane's already made one shrewd move in picking frank thomas back up, franks average is going to suck but he will be on base a ton making the a's lineup better. and rember the a's are doing this without thier regular 3rd baseman eric chavez,back may 28th, or last years rookie travis buck,hurt early, conrtibuting to the team. you just wait about 3 years when the group of pitchers they have at a ball are ready i think 4 of the 5 starters can through 95+ with other quality pitches

red001

 

[lester08]

Don't count out the Yanks!

 

[Magnet]

Don't count out the Yanks!

Yankee's suck. There pitching is old, and the young guys suck. I dont even think they make it to the playoff's this year and if they do it will be a first round knockout just like last year.

Oh by the way, Joba is overrated :2 cents:

 

[senob44]

Yankee's suck. There pitching is old, and the young guys suck. I dont even think they make it to the playoff's this year and if they do it will be a first round knockout just like last year.

Oh by the way, Joba is overrated :2 cents:

This is just a note for anyone that might like to know. One of the young guys the Yankees expected the world of and expected to shoulder the load, Philip Hughes, is now on the DL. This after 4 starts and an ERA over 9.00. The Yankees as I mentioned before, can pin some hope on Pettitte and Wang, but Mussina, Hughes and Kennedy IMO can not be counted on to do very much at all. That back end of the Yanks rotation is absolutely brutal. I don't think even their big bats can pick up all that slack.

 

[D-rock]

This is just a note for anyone that might like to know. One of the young guys the Yankees expected the world of and expected to shoulder the load, Philip Hughes, is now on the DL. This after 4 starts and an ERA over 9.00. The Yankees as I mentioned before, can pin some hope on Pettitte and Wang, but Mussina, Hughes and Kennedy IMO can not be counted on to do very much at all. That back end of the Yanks rotation is absolutely brutal. I don't think even their big bats can pick up all that slack.

If the Yankees can get to the playoffs anything can happen, but I think their philosophy on how to build a team keeps catching up to them as fast as they can bring in expensive free agents. Some people tend to forget one thing, even with all the money in the world; it's hard to bring in good young people that are going to be entering the prime of their careers unless you develop some of them yourself. Most big free agents are already in their mid to late 20s by the time they get a big contract in free angency and a lot of them are going to start going downhill then while the teams bought high on them.

 

[Magnet]

Except for A-Rod who may never have a down hill (yes, one of my dogs name is A-Rod before he became a yankee).

But I completely agree. Most teams lock up the stars, until they either want to much money or are on the down fall. And a lot of the time when a team does sign a free agent to a bunch of money they never perform upto the contract.

 

[Red001]

the giants certianlly could learn how to not sign free agents,witness barry 0-6 zito. but the yankees could have signed kyle loshe and livian hernadez to fill in this year while kennedy and hughes got more experince in aaa.chamberlin would be a very good to great closer not sure his pitching repotoire is good enough to start and 100 mph fastballs won't happen when he is starting. nice to see the a's and rays in first place makes me happy to see low payroll teams do well

red001

 

[bodie54]

....the Andruw Jones watch continues....

last night - 3 strikeouts
through four innings today - 2 strikeouts

 

[ArabJames]

ok Joba is not overrated

im not a yankees fan...and i think the yankees as a whole are overrated year in and year out
but joba is not overrated....opponents are batting .200 against him, a 1.46 ERA and a .97 WHIP with 14 K in 12.1 innings

 

[D-rock]

But I completely agree. Most teams lock up the stars, until they either want to much money or are on the down fall. And a lot of the time when a team does sign a free agent to a bunch of money they never perform upto the contract.

I think A-Rod is one of those players that's skill set and performance would statistically suggest he would age a little better than the average player. Not that the Yankee's probably took that into account, or even knew about it, but I think that's part of the reason he keeps on performing good. Plus he's probably only one of the three players of most of our lifetimes who I feel can rightfully be considered an inner circle hall of famer based on performance, (Along with Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, although both of them now have steroid suspicions around them.) so even if he did drop off a little he would still be pretty good. Considering the money the Yankees have they can afford to do things like that. They can't afford to keep giving money and maybe even more importantly use up roster spots that could go to developing young people and giving them to ageing people that are going downhill and are expensive.

What you said is true, but there is even more than that teams often don't realize. When a team can develop good talent and have then be cheap for a while that also allows them to be patient on the free agent market. If you can save money and not have to go looking for a lot of players every year, then you can wait and make a major push to try to get that occasional big time free agent that perfectly complements your team, even if they are expensive. That's a lot better than being constantly forced to go to the scrap heap every year and having a revolving door with expensive free agents.

 

[senob44]

Well, my Mets were pasted 10-4 today, but it was actually a nip and tuck game until the 8th inning when the D-Backs scored 5.

Duaner Sanchez's streak of not allowing a run this season came to a horrible end. He was christened for 5 runs in 1/3 of an inning. Like that, his ERA goes from 0.00 to 6.00. :wtf: Starter Mike Pelfrey "kept the Mets in the game" (see above previous posts) allowing 5 runs in 5 IP. Not good to be sure, but he's really just not that good of a pitcher at this point. The Mets won 7-2 yesterday behind John Maine, and look to take the rubber game tomorrow with Johan Santana starting.

One positive to be taken from the game was Carlos Delgado's three-run homer, further evidence that he may be getting back on track.

The D-Backs are now a sweltering 21-9 (12-4 at home). :flame:

---------------------------------------------------

Anyone notice the AL Central?

All 5 teams are separated by 2 games. Minnesota is at the top at 15-14 and the Royals are in their customary place at the bottom at 13-16. It is still anybody's division!

 

[Red001]

i'm not sure one game proves anything with delgado,lets seem him have a good month first but it's a start. The funny thing about the d-dacks is they are doing it with the hitters who couldn't score last year. the AL central will look like this all year i think unless the tigers hitters and pitchers get on a roll

red001

 

[Magnet]

Anyone see the Yankee's sent down Ian Kennedy?

I think the central will pan out. Tigers got off to a very slow start but they should be able to climb into first or second along with the indians within the next month or so.