MLB - 2008 Season

[Stuie]

Is this Japan series really necessary? Is MLB going to make even MORE money because of it?

Will Barry Bonds play this year? Or are the owners colluding to keep him out of baseball? What about Roger? His he finished for real now?

And most importantly of all.... will the Phillies defend their division title? Will they go further in the playoffs (or at least win a game this time )?

Nothing like the mild Spring weather, a cold beer, and a ballgame on the TV.

Play ball!!

[snoopy369]

Roger is finished, Barry will be signed on or around July 31st by a probably AL team that loses out on the trading deals and needs a hitter (possibly Anaheim if they are in the thick of it and they lose one or two of their aging outfielders to injuries; possibly NYY if Giambi gets hurt; etc.)

The Braves will win the NL East (and will continue to do so for another 7-8 years) thanks to the Phillies and the Mets beating eachother up (and thus getting lots of suspensions! ) and the bat of Mark Teixeira and the pitching of various Braves.

The Japan series is probably a bad idea until we invent teleportation, and either way should involve Seattle, not Boston.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Is MLB going to make even MORE money because of it?

Yes, undoubtably. Especially when the first game involves Matsuzaka.

Or are the owners colluding to keep him out of baseball?

No. He's 43, asking for over $10mil a year, and can't play defense. Not to mention any potential PR hit. And injuries can hit at any time.

will the Phillies defend their division title?

No. Santana (and a healthy Pedro for abouts 3/4th of the season) will make sure there is no Mets collapse this time around.

[snoopy369]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
No. Santana (and a healthy Pedro for abouts 3/4th of the season) will make sure there is no Mets collapse this time around.

Good one, a healthy Pedro for 3/4 of the season is like asking for Konerko to go 30/30 (as in, 30 SBs)... yeah, not happening.

[Guynemer]

Okay, are the Angels gonna put Escobar and Lackey on the DL or what? Christ Almighty.

[Guynemer]

Quick predictions

AL East: Boston
AL Central: Cleveland
AL West: Seattle
AL Wild Card: Detroit

NL East: New York
NL Central: Chicago
NL West: Arizona
NL Wild Card: Atlanta

Boston over Cleveland
Detroit over Seattle

Arizona over New York
Atlanta over Chicago

Boston over Detroit

Arizona over Atlanta


Arizona over Boston

[Imran Siddiqui]

Arizona?!!!

You mean the luckiest team in the majors last year? The playoff team that gave up more runs than they scored?

[snoopy369]

They'll be better this year, but so will Colorado. I don't think ARI will win the division or make the playoffs, unless they get heroic performances from several pitchers and significant improvements from several hitters, plus contributions from young guys not on the team yet... but it's not impossible, either, no more than is my belief that the White Sox have a shot this year

[snoopy369]

My predictions:

AL:
East: NYY (but not by a lot, this division will be weak this year; BOS will fall hard, as will NYY, but not as hard.)
Central: CLE (Very close 3 team race here.)
West: SEA (Over LAA by a hair, also with OAK in the running until late; hence only 1 team makes it.)
Wild: CHW (The Central has the Royals and hopefully the Twins to beat on for lots of division wins.)

NL:
East: ATL (Again, 3 solid teams means too many division losses and only 1 team makes it - ATL, when Pedro goes down early, Santana takes too much time to adjust, and the Phillies fall back to earth)
Central: CHC (Weak division, easy one here; MIL will fall back significantly once people figure how to pitch to Braun; but Prince Fielder may win the MVP anyway)
West: COL (Ahead of ARI and LAD by a good bit)
Wild: STL (Weak division again, so WC comes here)

AL Div: CWS over SEA, CLE over NYY
ALCS: CWS over CLE

NL Div: CHC over COL, ATL over STL
NLCS: ATL over CHC

World Series: Yeah, like the Braves could actually win one without at least 4 or 5 tries at it?

[Guynemer]

White Sox over Tigers in the AL Central?

That's infinitely more weird than picking the D-Backs. Their pitching is gonna be scary as hell.

[snoopy369]

The White Sox hitting is scary as hell, and their pitching isn't too bad either If Konerko reverts to his normal, as he did for the latter part of the season, and some of their other hitters do as expected, they will be once again quite possibly the top offensive team in the game. 1-9, with Uribe replaced by Ramirez, they are very scary, with no weaknesses (whether Owens hits 1 or 9).

Just look at the lineup:
Owens, Cabrera, Thome, Konerko, Swisher, Dye, Crede/Fields, Pierzynski, Ramirez

How many other teams in baseball have a hitter of A.J.'s capacity in the EIGHTH hole?

The pitching will be MUCH better than last year, most likely, and if we're in it in June it's not impossible we will trade for another starter or a middle reliever. We have TWO quality veteran relievers to shore up our weakest point (Middle relief), and Danks and Floyd will be better than they were last year, making the rotation pretty darn good (not as good as DET, but still definitely a quality rotation).

I certainly don't suggest that CWS over DET is a done deal, but I think it's a reasonable probability, and as a White Sox fan I reserve the right to put them there just as you did with DET

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by snoopy369
They'll be better this year, but so will Colorado. I don't think ARI will win the division or make the playoffs, unless they get heroic performances from several pitchers and significant improvements from several hitters, plus contributions from young guys not on the team yet... but it's not impossible, either, no more than is my belief that the White Sox have a shot this year

Not impossible, but both are HIGHLY, HIGHLY unlikely. Recall, Arizona, even if they have a winning season are in a division with Colorado and San Diego. The D-Backs aren't going to finish 11 games above their Pythagorean Record again.

As for the White Sox, . Nick Swisher ain't that good .

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by snoopy369
The White Sox hitting is scary as hell, and their pitching isn't too bad either If Konerko reverts to his normal, as he did for the latter part of the season, and some of their other hitters do as expected, they will be once again quite possibly the top offensive team in the game. 1-9, with Uribe replaced by Ramirez, they are very scary, with no weaknesses (whether Owens hits 1 or 9).

Just look at the lineup:
Owens, Cabrera, Thome, Konerko, Swisher, Dye, Crede/Fields, Pierzynski, Ramirez

How many other teams in baseball have a hitter of A.J.'s capacity in the EIGHTH hole?

The pitching will be MUCH better than last year, most likely, and if we're in it in June it's not impossible we will trade for another starter or a middle reliever. We have TWO quality veteran relievers to shore up our weakest point (Middle relief), and Danks and Floyd will be better than they were last year, making the rotation pretty darn good (not as good as DET, but still definitely a quality rotation).

I certainly don't suggest that CWS over DET is a done deal, but I think it's a reasonable probability, and as a White Sox fan I reserve the right to put them there just as you did with DET

Kool-Aide sipper .

A.J. Pierzynski has been a BELOW average hitter since leaving Minnesota. His last four seasons have seen OPS+ of 86, 90, 94, and 83. I can think of plenty of teams with #8 hitters in that range.

Owens was horrible last year. And yes, he isn't all that old, but he is 26. Cabrera will be good. Konerko may return to old norms. Thome has always been good, but missing a few more games lately as he gets old. Swisher is good. Dye will likely get better, but don't expect a repeat of 2006, which was a massive outlier in his career. Crede will never live up to the hype.

Etc. They won't be the top offensive team in the AL, not even close, even though they will be better. Maybe more of an average offensive team than the disaster they were last season (team OPS+ of 87).

Not sure why you think the pitching will be incredibly better. It'll improve, but not that much.

I mean the White Sox finished 24 games back last season. And that was to a Cleveland team who had Travis Hafner having an incredibly bad year by his standards. And 16 back behind the Tigers, who added Miguel Cabrera.

I'd be surprised if the White Sox came within 10 games of the AL Central lead.

[snoopy369]

Swisher is that much better than who he's replacing (essentially nobody), though His OBP will be very helpful to the White Sox, who often struggled with OBP last year but shouldn't (Thome and Dye are both OBP hitters normally, and Konerko should have a much higher OBP than he did). Regardless of where he hits, he'll be another run for the power hitters to hit in over a third of the time ... I suspect that if he hits earlier in the lineup than I placed him (say, 3rd, or 1st or 2nd even, as he may well end up) he will score 100+ runs, and Thome/Dye/Konerko will all end up with 100+ RBIs this year (if all 3 are healthy).

Admittedly, health is a big concern for them this year, but I'm positive They also have several fill-ins they could use if necessary (Fields or Crede could probably go to 1st base if needed, Carlos Quentin can play outfield if Dye/Swisher goes down, they have several 2b/SS candidates, etc.) so it's not nearly as bad as last year was.

I'm aware that I'm being optimistic - but that's what a fan is supposed to be The changes they made this offseason were quite substantial, even if they weren't as substantial as they wanted (getting Torii Hunter); they were not flashy, but substantial in a way that helps Ozzy's style quite a lot (OBP and pitching). Closing the 7th-8th inning holes quite likely matters more than signing the Boston 3-4-5 hitters would ...

[Imran Siddiqui]

I'm aware that I'm being optimistic

Laughably so .

Lot of "if"s involved there.