NationStates Jolt Archive

Let talk Baseball.

I am a White Sox fan and they will win the AL Central this year. I see Oakland or Boston winning the AL Pennant.

I hate the Cubs

I love the Cubs, and have for years even though I've never been to Chicago. But if Prior comes back in good shape they've got a pitching staff that will be hard to touch.

I hold no ill will for the White Sox, but I have to say that it looks like whoever comes out of that division is just cannon fodder in the first round of the playoffs. Kind of like the NL West as it stands right now. The teams are all about equally mediocre.

The Cubs pitching good? Look at Zambrano and Clement in their last starts. Maddox isn't a godsend either.

THe Sox are good. Mags had his 3rd straight HR game

cubs lost

Boston Red Sox, best team in the major leagues!

The Twins will win the AL Central easily. Sox second. Royals not a factor.

My team, the Cardinals :shock: will struggle with their pitching. Should finish in the top three, hopefully first. Damn those Astros for being so loaded. Cubs starters can pitch the ball.

Cards beat Cubs tonight!!

Playoff predictions:

AL East: Boston
AL Central: Minnesota
AL West: Oakland
Wild Card: NY Yankees

Division Series: Boston over Minnesota, 5 games, Oakland over New York, 7 games
Championship Series: Boston over Oakland, 6 games

NL East: Florida
NL Central: Chicago
NL West: Los Angeles
Wild Card: Houston

Division Series: Chicago over Los Angeles, 4 games, Houston over Florida, 7 games
Championship Series: Chicago over Houston, 7 games

World Series:

Boston Red Sox vs. Chicago Cubs

And knowing my luck, the Red Sox would lose.

The Twins will win the AL Central easily. Sox second. Royals not a factor.

My team, the Cardinals :shock: will struggle with their pitching. Should finish in the top three, hopefully first. Damn those Astros for being so loaded. Cubs starters can pitch the ball.

Cards beat Cubs tonight!!

I'm glad the Cubs lost, I saw the game and tip my hat to the Cards. I loved it when LaTroy walked the guy to get the loss.

I don't think the Twins will win. Go Sox

I call Red Sox over Marlins

I call Red Sox over Marlins

Bah, I don't think the Marlins have the firepower to get out of the NL. They've got the pitching, but so do Chicago and Houston.

AL: Twins, Angels, Yankees, Red Sox
NL: Cardinals (I can dream), Astros, Padres, Braves

World Series of my dreams: Cards beat Twins in 7 (pay backs for '87)
World Series of my reality: Astros beat Angels in 7 ('Stros too good)

World Series:

Boston Red Sox vs. Chicago Cubs



And in game 7 of the series, bottom of the ninth, tie score, the earth opens up and swallows both teams whole, thus preserving karmic integrity for all eternity.

Anyone but the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees.

I'd like to see the Florida Marlins and maybe the Seattle Mariners.

I'd say the Toronto Jays, but, damnit, they suck! The onky good Toronto team are the Maple Leafs and our ok CFL team the Argos. The Raptors suck worse than the Jays.

I'd say Montreal Expos, but they are also doing terribly this year.

Philadelphia started off weak, but they seemed to have started living up to the expectations - it'll take a while until they regain the status they had at the beggining of the season. (Where a lot of people had them winning the NL).

Anaheim fails. That's all I have to say.

Philadelphia started off weak, but they seemed to have started living up to the expectations - it'll take a while until they regain the status they had at the beggining of the season. (Where a lot of people had them winning the NL).

BAH! Flyers can kiss Leaf ass! :P

Anyway, maybe you're right about the Phillies. After all, no one knows...

i put the Mariners and the Braves in the Series.

Philadelphia started off weak, but they seemed to have started living up to the expectations - it'll take a while until they regain the status they had at the beggining of the season. (Where a lot of people had them winning the NL).

BAH! Flyers can kiss Leaf ass! :P

Anyway, maybe you're right about the Phillies. After all, no one knows...

Psst... He's talking about the Phillies. The thing at the end about how people had them winning the NL gives it away.

I'm a White Sox fan myself, but I don't see us winning anything other than pride this year, and I certainly don't hate the Cubs. Like all proper Sox fans, I hate the Indians and Tigers. The Cubs are merely remembered as that team of chumps we beat up back in aught-six.

I spend too much time hating AL teams to waste any hate for NL teams. Except, maybe, the Dodgers. But then, I hate all things related with LA - 1959 is just an excuse.

Philadelphia started off weak, but they seemed to have started living up to the expectations - it'll take a while until they regain the status they had at the beggining of the season. (Where a lot of people had them winning the NL).

BAH! Flyers can kiss Leaf ass! :P

Anyway, maybe you're right about the Phillies. After all, no one knows...

Psst... He's talking about the Phillies. The thing at the end about how people had them winning the NL gives it away.

Psst...he knew that. Didn't you read the tongue out smilie face or the second half of his post?

Philadelphia started off weak, but they seemed to have started living up to the expectations - it'll take a while until they regain the status they had at the beggining of the season. (Where a lot of people had them winning the NL).

BAH! Flyers can kiss Leaf ass! :P

Anyway, maybe you're right about the Phillies. After all, no one knows...

Psst... He's talking about the Phillies. The thing at the end about how people had them winning the NL gives it away.

Psst...he knew that. Didn't you read the tongue out smilie face or the second half of his post?

I know that....

One might wonder, then, why you felt the need to point out the painfully obvious. :roll:

One might wonder, then, why you felt the need to point out the painfully obvious. :roll:

To be a jerk, obviously.

Well, it did make you look like an idiot...I suppose that's closely related to a jerk. In that case, congratulations on your successful venture.

Well, it did make you look like an idiot...I suppose that's closely related to a jerk. In that case, congratulations on your successful venture.

So, any opinions on baseball or did you simply come here to flame me for no reason?

I've already expressed them, I believe. Five or six posts ago.

I would also like to apologize - I realize I was being somewhat of a jerk myself. Or an idiot? Maybe both. I dunno - just didn't get enough sleep, I suppose.

So right...baseball.

I realize I may be somewhat of a pessimist, but then I wouldn't be a very good Sox fan if everything was sunshine and roses, would I? I maintain that the exact second Kenny Williams is given the axe (fired or executed...I don't care) is the exact same minute I'll predict the Sox having a winning season.

I'm thinking the Twins in the Central - they've got the talent for the long haul, I think. The Sox have a fairly decent system (not nealy so decent as it was, say, before Kenny) and might be able to build a winner in the next couple years, but I'm thinking we're coming up on a rebuilding phase pretty soon. Y'know, like the Cubs did before they put together the best rotation in baseball (in this humble pundit's opinion).

Of course, we will have to build it around something - Carlos Lee and Mark Buehrle are my two favorites. Joe Crede, I think, is too much potential and not enough talent. Billy Koch is terrible and should be drug out into the street and shot. Loaiza has been showing signs of being more than a one year fluke. I love the Big Hurt as much as anyone, but it's painful to watch him play anymore. I suppose he could still break out this season, but I think 2000 was his last big year. Paulie's been awful streaky of late.

Um, I could probably go on, but I seriously doubt anyone cares.

So right...baseball.

I realize I may be somewhat of a pessimist, but then I wouldn't be a very good Sox fan if everything was sunshine and roses, would I? I maintain that the exact second Kenny Williams is given the axe (fired or executed...I don't care) is the exact same minute I'll predict the Sox having a winning season.

I'm thinking the Twins in the Central - they've got the talent for the long haul, I think. The Sox have a fairly decent system (not nealy so decent as it was, say, before Kenny) and might be able to build a winner in the next couple years, but I'm thinking we're coming up on a rebuilding phase pretty soon. Y'know, like the Cubs did before they put together the best rotation in baseball (in this humble pundit's opinion).

Of course, we will have to build it around something - Carlos Lee and Mark Buehrle are my two favorites. Joe Crede, I think, is too much potential and not enough talent. Billy Koch is terrible and should be drug out into the street and shot. Loaiza has been showing signs of being more than a one year fluke. I love the Big Hurt as much as anyone, but it's painful to watch him play anymore. I suppose he could still break out this season, but I think 2000 was his last big year. Paulie's been awful streaky of late.

Um, I could probably go on, but I seriously doubt anyone cares.

I don't know what's happened over there, but the White Sox are terrible nowadays (also, in the future, it might help if you called the Red Sox the Red Sox and the White Sox the White Sox, as I am from Boston and call my Sox the Sox also. I was confused for several minutes). I remember when the White Sox used to be a force, back when Frank Thomas really was the Big Hurt. I figure that the AL Central is so open right now that any team could come out of there and become the next dominating force in the division. Cleveland is at the beginning of reloading, while Chicago is about halfway through, and KC and Minnesota will never be able to put together a dynasty. So, I'd say your guys have a shot, but I don't know. They're still a few years off.

Heh...I suppose I can agree to that as long as you keep to Red Sox. Remember, ours came first ;).

Anyhow the White Sox aren't really terrible as such, but I'd have to say I disagree when you say we are currently 'rebuilding'. Most of our good young players have been traded away for Billy Koch, Todd Ritchie, Royce Clayton, David Wells, or D'Angelo Jiminez. I'd say we're on the last kicks of that wild ride from 2000 (for any Mariners fans out there, Carlos Guillen is a dirty rotten cheater-pants).

I'd like to see us rebuild, of course, but I'd like to see it done the proper way - not the Kenny 'let's trade our good players for 40 year old sacks of dog doo!' Williams way. I mean, so far all that's netted us is Willie Harris and his amazing .220 career batting average.

The White Sox have the advantage of being in a very even division this year. No one is going to run off and leave the rest of the pack, at least not right now. Throw in the improvement of the Tigers, who might not lose a hundred games this year, and it really becomes almost anyone's division.

The question really is--what does a win in the division get you? You've got to figure that whoever comes out of the central is going to get eaten alive in the first round of the playoffs because the West is so stacked and the Yankees aren't going to suck all season.

Same situation in the NL West, where there's really no dominant team and they all have significant weaknesses.

Throw in the improvement of the Tigers, who might not lose a hundred games this year

Sad how not losing 100 games would be seen as a great accomplishment for that team. It's pathetic what has happened to small-market clubs in the majors.

Throw in the improvement of the Tigers, who might not lose a hundred games this year

Sad how not losing 100 games would be seen as a great accomplishment for that team. It's pathetic what has happened to small-market clubs in the majors.Small market teams that spend their money wisely and catch a couple of breaks can do well. Look at the A's, after all. I live in San Francisco now and I'm amazed at the difference in support for the two teams even though they're only a few miles apart. An A's ticket costs half what a Giants ticket does, the A's are arguably the better team right now, and yet you can't get into a Giants game to save your life.

You know what I'd really like to see addressed? It's related to revenue sharing--I've got no issue with a luxury tax and revenue sharing, but there needs to be a provision that says a team has to spend a minimum amount on salaries--say $45 million or so. It's the owners of teams like the Brewers who are really screwing baseball--running their teams like crap and making money from the teams that are doing well and still not putting any kind of product on the field.

All of you have left a very good team out of your discussions of the NL. Atlanta. Everyone who predicted the death of the Braves before the season began jumped the gun. With the exption of Smoltz, the Braves are a team full of young veterans, they can still hit the ball, they are a better defensive team than they have been in years, the starters pitch alot of innings and the bullpin is strong. So far, they have embarassed the rest of the NL East and they are going to win the division yet again.

Rangers going to suprise everyone and take the AL west, I'm calling it right now.

Rangers going to suprise everyone and take the AL west, I'm calling it right now.Their pitching has certainly surprised thus far. I've been impressed. Let's see if pennant fever lasts beyond May this year.

Rangers going to suprise everyone and take the AL west, I'm calling it right now.

The Texas summer will melt the Rangers like it does every year.

Even if it doesn't happen this year, I really like how much great young talent they have almost everywhere (lack of promising young pitchers being somewhat worrying, but so far the rotation has put up some very solid numbers).

The team batting average is around .315 right now and everyone who goes up to bat is a threat, just a couple games ago the 7-8-9 hitters went back to back to back homeruns. Now if they can just forget they are the rangers for a bit and get some good pitching -- they could be a threat for a long time.

The Cubs pitching good? Look at Zambrano and Clement in their last starts. Maddox isn't a godsend either.

THe Sox are good. Mags had his 3rd straight HR game

Wuf. Love that south side hatred.

And yes, Zambrano is clearly stinking up the field at 2-1. And Clement! What a loser! He's 3-1! Sure, Maddox is running low at 1-2, but we've also got Wood (3-1, 2.52 ERA), and our 5th starter's clocking in at 1-1 with a 4.43 ERA.

Yeah, Cubs pitching sure does suck. I wonder how many teams would like a staff that "sucked" like that.

Pfft.

The Cubs pitching good? Look at Zambrano and Clement in their last starts. Maddox isn't a godsend either.

THe Sox are good. Mags had his 3rd straight HR game

Wuf. Love that south side hatred.

And yes, Zambrano is clearly stinking up the field at 2-1. And Clement! What a loser! He's 3-1! Sure, Maddox is running low at 1-2, but we've also got Wood (3-1, 2.52 ERA), and our 5th starter's clocking in at 1-1 with a 4.43 ERA.

Yeah, Cubs pitching sure does suck. I wonder how many teams would like a staff that "sucked" like that.

Pfft.

I don't know, the Red Sox starting pitchers are pretty awful too:

Pedro Martinez: 3-1, 3.03 ERA
Curt Schilling: 3-1, 3.31 ERA
Derek Lowe: 3-1, 4.98 ERA
Tim Wakefield: 2-0, 2.14 ERA

Our fifth starter doesn't get his stats mentioned (0-1, 5.79 ERA) with the rest of them.

And that godawful Marlins pitching:

Josh Beckett: 2-2, 4.18 ERA
Brad Penny: 2-1, 2.67 ERA
Dontrelle Willis: 3-0, 2.73 ERA
Carl Pavano: 2-0, 3.33 ERA

And that Astros pitching! Man does it stink:

Roger Clemens: 5-0, 1.95 ERA
Roy Oswalt: 2-1, 2.48 ERA
Wade Miller: 2-2, 3.12 ERA

Boy those teams stink!

This is bad, the evil empire (NY Yankees) are coming back. I guess the Cubs won't make a series because of the curse. I see Loaiza getting a Psy Young. Sox will win the AL Central to lose to the red Sox, Yankees, or a West Coast team.

I live in Manhattan NY and I hate the Yankees. I am a Red Sox fan.

The Braves will surprise everyone and win it all. They will do this because they will acquire a big name player through a trade.

Remember, the Braves have surprised everyone for the past 12 years by winning the division.

It would be great if the Giants could give Barry a ring to make his career complete.

a pitiful Pirates fan

Baltimore Fan IN THE HOUSE - they are actually not playing all that bad this year considering they have kinda sucked since Cal retired. I am so happy maybe we will actually see the play offs this season! :D

It would be great if the Giants could give Barry a ring to make his career complete.

a pitiful Pirates fan
It would also be nice if they can give him a cup to piss in so we can see if he is taking steroids.

It would be great if the Giants could give Barry a ring to make his career complete.

a pitiful Pirates fan
It would also be nice if they can give him a cup to piss in so we can see if he is taking steroids.

You're just jealous.
He's keeping his focus on his job and his goals.
If and when tests are ordered he will pass and confound all the critics.

Yankees all the way!

Well, I'm a Yankees fan, and I definitely see them making the playoffs. I don't think we have the pitching to make it to the big dance this year though. Maybe we do and the guys will wake up.
I'm not even worried about Boston, because 100 games haven't passed yet, so they haven't swooned. They will swoon. And even if Boston makes it to the big dance, they won't beat Chicago (who I think will represent the NL).

Either way, as generation x fan of the Yankees, I could give a rat's ass how Boston does. They could win it all for all I care. As long as the Mets suffer and die a slow death I'm happy.

If I hate the Sox for anything, it's 1986. You handed a World Series to the !$@%#$@! Mets!!! Ugh!

It would be great if the Giants could give Barry a ring to make his career complete.

a pitiful Pirates fan
It would also be nice if they can give him a cup to piss in so we can see if he is taking steroids.

It's not the players that don't want to give samples. It's Donald Fehr and the SuperUnion. He thinks that if the union shows any sign of weakness, then the owners will walk all over the players. That's why they oppose a salary cap at every corner even though it would allow more than 8 teams to stay competitive, that's why they said it would be "detrimental to baseball" if A-Rod restructured his contract so he could play with the Red Sox for $20 million instead of $25 million, and that's why they don't want players taking drug tests publicly.

I bet the Yankees will buy pitchers around the All Star Bread. Good bye Prior and Loaiza

I bet the Yankees will buy pitchers around the All Star Bread. Good bye Prior and Loaiza

I doubt the Cubs will move prior. Look for the Devil Rays to send Carl Pavano to NY, or the Blue Jays to move Roy Halliday in the the big trade.

Carl Pavano is a Florida Marlin.

Braves vs. Rockies coming on right now. Go Braves!

bump

double header for the Sox

The Braves will surprise everyone and win it all. They will do this because they will acquire a big name player through a trade.

Remember, the Braves have surprised everyone for the past 12 years by winning the division.There might have been a season or two where the Braves surprised, but for the most part, they've been the favorites most every season. Not to diminish the feat or anything--just saying.

And if you really want to get picky about it, there were no division winners in 1994 because of the strike, and they were something like 5 games back with a month to go when the strike started. The leader? The lowly Expos, who were a major league team once. It's criminal what the Major Leagues have done to that team. You could stock an all-star roster with former Expos.

Braves will make the playoffs, but they won't win the pennant, unless they play the Cubs, then they lose in the series

Few things sound as good as Ken Harrelson and Darren Jackson yelling:
"You can put it on the boards.... YES!

Wuf. Love that south side hatred.

Although I'm quite sure that comment wasn't meant as a blanket statement, I'd just like to remind everyone that IDF speaks for only himself; myself, and most of the rational human beings I've ever met, know that:

...the Cubs have one of the best pitching staffs in baseball...

I still don't like them, and I certainly enjoy my White Sox vrs. Cubs debates, but there's really nothing to debate this year: the Cubs are just better, plain and simple. Our lineup is probably better, but, comeon - we have Danny Wright in the rotation. Danny Wright!

Anyhow, the NL Central is certainly shaping up to be fun. I think whoever comes out of that on top (or even in the Card, assuming they can grab it) has a decent shot at the Series.

Detroit Tigers, all the way! They've gotten better this year and I can tell they'll make it to the playoffs this time!

AL

AL East: Yankees
AL Central: Twins
AL West: Angels
Wildcard: Red Sox

NL

NL East: Phillies
NL Central: Cubs
NL West: Padres
Wildcard: Astros

AL Playoffs

Yankees over Twins
Red Sox over Angels

ALCS: Yankees over Red Sox

NL Playoffs

Cubs over Padres
Phillies over Astros

NLCS: Cubs over Philles

World Series: Yankees over Cubs

BoSox drop the first of their double header :D

BoSox drop the first of their double header :D

They still have the best record in baseball.

My White Sox won the 1st part and will win the 2nd of the d-header

some other teams started out bad so who cares

yeah, look at last year's Marlins. I think they started near the bottom, got a new manager and won it all.

They still have the best record in baseball.

now the rangers have the most wins in the AL 8)

yeah, look at last year's Marlins. I think they started near the bottom, got a new manager and won it all.

Heh, the Marlins started out bad because the owner completely dismantled the team after the won the Series in... er... what was it, '95? Of course, their ancient coach has proved to be exceptionally compitant, but I don't think they'll make much noise this year.

Personally, I'm just liking how the NLC is shaping up. First place is close to a 4-way tie, and nobody's pulling ahead yet. Should be some interesting baseball.

Two other comments mentioned earlier:

1) Too bad about the second half of the doubleheader guys.
2) There's no way in Hell the Cubs will ditch Prior, unless his arm falls off. They still own his soul, so they've got no reason to even consider trading him. They'd trade Sosa first (not necessarily a bad idea, heh).

Heh, the Marlins started out bad because the owner completely dismantled the team after the won the Series in... er... what was it, '95? Of course, their ancient coach has proved to be exceptionally compitant, but I don't think they'll make much noise this year.

Personally, I'm just liking how the NLC is shaping up. First place is close to a 4-way tie, and nobody's pulling ahead yet. Should be some interesting baseball.

Two other comments mentioned earlier:

1) Too bad about the second half of the doubleheader guys.
2) There's no way in Hell the Cubs will ditch Prior, unless his arm falls off. They still own his soul, so they've got no reason to even consider trading him. They'd trade Sosa first (not necessarily a bad idea, heh).

1997. 1995 was the year Atlanta won.

I think the Cubs and Astros will pull away as the season moves on. Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati will crumble like they've done for the past forever seasons, and I don't think the Cardinals have the pitching to keep up with the Cubs and Astros.

I think you're right about the NL Central, Sdaeriji. The Cards have a good bit of pop offensively, but it's hard to face up to either of the pitching rotations that Houston or Chicago have.

Statistically, the Yankees are most likely to win. I will, however, not give up hope that my beloved SF Giants will come out on top. I am somewhat concerned about the Giants' (lack of) pitching staff.

Statistically, the Yankees are most likely to win. I will, however, not give up hope that my beloved SF Giants will come out on top. I am somewhat concerned about the Giants' (lack of) pitching staff.Are you as concerned about the Giants one man line-up?

Statistically, the Yankees are most likely to win. I will, however, not give up hope that my beloved SF Giants will come out on top. I am somewhat concerned about the Giants' (lack of) pitching staff.

I don't think the Yankees are that likely to win it all. Yeah, they may have the most potent offense in decades, and they'll probably average 8 runs a game, but past Brown and Mussina, they've got no one starting, and they've got no one to get them from their starters to Riviera anymore. For 10 years they've been dominating by concentrating on pitching, but they're not doing that anymore. Yeah, they'll score 8 runs a game, but what good is it if they're giving up 10? I just don't see the Yankees keeping up with the Red Sox or the A's pitching staffs. What happens when their offense has a run of bad luck, like they've been having so far? They start losing games 5-1, 6-2. You can't do that in October.

Statistically, the Yankees are most likely to win. I will, however, not give up hope that my beloved SF Giants will come out on top. I am somewhat concerned about the Giants' (lack of) pitching staff.

I don't think the Yankees are that likely to win it all. Yeah, they may have the most potent offense in decades, and they'll probably average 8 runs a game, but past Brown and Mussina, they've got no one starting, and they've got no one to get them from their starters to Riviera anymore. For 10 years they've been dominating by concentrating on pitching, but they're not doing that anymore. Yeah, they'll score 8 runs a game, but what good is it if they're giving up 10? I just don't see the Yankees keeping up with the Red Sox or the A's pitching staffs. What happens when their offense has a run of bad luck, like they've been having so far? They start losing games 5-1, 6-2. You can't do that in October.I don't know how closely you followed the NL East last year, but I,being a Braves fan, followed it very closely and Vasquez is for real, as well. If Lieber stays healthy the Yankess can pitch well, even in October. Thier offense is the problem, I see. They didn't add the thingthey really needed, a true lead-off hitter. They just managed to distributed the RBI's between more sluggers. They don't steal bases or have a really good on base percentage at the top of the order. I'm sure you've heard the old saying, "speed doesn't go into slumps.".

Statistically, the Yankees are most likely to win. I will, however, not give up hope that my beloved SF Giants will come out on top. I am somewhat concerned about the Giants' (lack of) pitching staff.

I don't think the Yankees are that likely to win it all. Yeah, they may have the most potent offense in decades, and they'll probably average 8 runs a game, but past Brown and Mussina, they've got no one starting, and they've got no one to get them from their starters to Riviera anymore. For 10 years they've been dominating by concentrating on pitching, but they're not doing that anymore. Yeah, they'll score 8 runs a game, but what good is it if they're giving up 10? I just don't see the Yankees keeping up with the Red Sox or the A's pitching staffs. What happens when their offense has a run of bad luck, like they've been having so far? They start losing games 5-1, 6-2. You can't do that in October.I don't know how closely you followed the NL East last year, but I,being a Braves fan, followed it very closely and Vasquez is for real, as well. If Lieber stays healthy the Yankess can pitch well, even in October. Thier offense is the problem, I see. They didn't add the thingthey really needed, a true lead-off hitter. They just managed to distributed the RBI's between more sluggers. They don't steal bases or have a really good on base percentage at the top of the order. I'm sure you've heard the old saying, "speed doesn't go into slumps.".

I haven't been impressed with Vasquez so far. Maybe he's just still getting acclimated to the AL East, but he looked sloppy against my Red Sox. And I think Lieber has lost his stuff. I don't think he's worth more than 5.2 innings a game. And that's the real problem. Even if we count Vasquez and Lieber and say the Yanks have 4 starters, they've still got no one to get the game to Rivera. Rivera's still one of the best closers in the game, but he's not useful if the bullpen gives up the game before he gets the ball. I disagree that they needed a true leadoff hitter. Soriano had all the speed in the world and had power too. He almost had a 40/40 season. They trumpetted him as the future of the franchise, and then they traded. So what they got Rodriguez? They lost the one advantage they've always had in the AL, pitching. I just don't think they can ask Vasquez, Lieber and Contreras to replace Clemens, Pettite, and Wells. Pitching wins championships, after all.

Or maybe I just don't want the Yankees to win....

Braves lost 1st game of doubleheader with Rockies 3-2, won 2nd game 11-7.

It would be great if the Giants could give Barry a ring to make his career complete.

a pitiful Pirates fan
It would also be nice if they can give him a cup to piss in so we can see if he is taking steroids.

It's not the players that don't want to give samples. It's Donald Fehr and the SuperUnion. He thinks that if the union shows any sign of weakness, then the owners will walk all over the players. That's why they oppose a salary cap at every corner even though it would allow more than 8 teams to stay competitive, that's why they said it would be "detrimental to baseball" if A-Rod restructured his contract so he could play with the Red Sox for $20 million instead of $25 million, and that's why they don't want players taking drug tests publicly.

Did you see that the feds got a warrant and have taken all the 1200 steroid samples? It's in the news.

Now we just wait for someone to leak the urine tests.

Willie Mays said that Barry Bonds is a gym freak because he works out 8-10 hours a day.

If you work out that much, you're going to hit some home runs. That's why I don't think he took steroids.

The Twins will win the AL Central easily. Sox second. Royals not a factor.

My team, the Cardinals :shock: will struggle with their pitching. Should finish in the top three, hopefully first. Damn those Astros for being so loaded. Cubs starters can pitch the ball.

Cards beat Cubs tonight!!

Twins will destroy the SOX, It isn't a factor. I see the Twins making almost all the way but I doubt they'l take it all. Maybe though (I'd like them too)

Rangers going to suprise everyone and take the AL west, I'm calling it right now.

Quite simply, I agree.

Everyone on the Yankess feels pressure to excel; they're supposed to be unbeatable now. They look like they're choking. It's a bad position in which to be a manager.

I agree about Bonds, I liked him as a Pirate and he always got bad press because he was proud and independent and kept his mind on his job. Like those are bad things, somehow.

The Cubs may have lost today, but I just checked the standings, and the NL Central is the only one where every team is at .500 or better. The last place team, the Pirates, are holding even. It won't last, of course, but it's still cool to see.

The Cubs may have lost today, but I just checked the standings, and the NL Central is the only one where every team is at .500 or better. The last place team, the Pirates, are holding even. It won't last, of course, but it's still cool to see.

Grr. Argh.

HIT THE DAMN BALL!

Ahem, sorry. It's just really frustrating to see the starting pitching do wonderful, only to have no runs be produced.

...not that that happened last night, but still.

I've officially given up on the Red Sox until September 21st. I refuse to have an ulcer over them this season.

AL West: Rangers
AL Central: Tigers
AL East: Yankees
AL Wildcard: Red Sox

NL West: Padres
NL Central: Astros
NL East: Marlins
NL Wildcard: Cubs

ALDS

Red Sox over Rangers in 7.
Yankees over Tigers in 5.

ALCS
Yankees over Red Sox in 6.

NLDS
Astros over Marlins in 7.
Cubs over Padres in 6.

NLCS
Astros over Cubs in 7.

World Series
Yankees over Astros in 7.

You heard it here first.

Rangers? :?

I don't follow baseball. I prefer football and basketball.

Rangers? :?

I don't follow baseball. I prefer football and basketball.

Then you shouldn't post here.

Darn it! The Tigers lost!

I don't think there will be two teams from the NL Central in the play-offs. That division is very good and with the new unbalenced schedule they will beat each other enough to eliminate each other from the wildcard, same with the AL East. And, the Braves are going to win the NL East, again.

Can I just say that rooting for the Yankees is like rooting for Mike Tyson versus a 5 year old girl, or rooting for a hurricane versus a wood shack?

Yankees...

I want the Braves to win the East, but they won't.

I hate the Yankees, but they'll end up winning it all...again...

Can you say salary cap?

Braves Damnit!

I want the Braves to win the East, but they won't.

I hate the Yankees, but they'll end up winning it all...again...

Can you say salary cap?

While I think a MLB salary cap should be implemented (or, made stricter), to be fair the Yankees didn't win last year, although they do pretty regularly either win the World Series or make it to the World Series.

The Cubs may have lost today, but I just checked the standings, and the NL Central is the only one where every team is at .500 or better. The last place team, the Pirates, are holding even. It won't last, of course, but it's still cool to see.

Grr. Argh.

HIT THE DAMN BALL!

Ahem, sorry. It's just really frustrating to see the starting pitching do wonderful, only to have no runs be produced.

...not that that happened last night, but still.

I personally like it, I am the Sox fan who hate the ****ing Cubs.

O-E-O Magglio!

I guess you won't here things like "You can put it on the boards... YES!!" in the North side since they don't hit anything there

Hey, LET'S GO METS! They lost to the Padres again today. Jose Reyes' injury was mishandled and it looks like he's going to be in rehab a long time. I just hope he doesn't turn into a Cliff Floyd. I don't see what's going wrong with the Mets. I guess it's pitching. They really lack an ace, unless you want to call either Al Leiter or Tom Glavine an ace. They're well past their acehood. I wouldn't be in favor of a salary cap. I hate the Yankees as much as the next Yankee-hater, but the front office has just made some great business decisions. They have more money because they've made more money, someway somehow. I think the Braves are done, just like the Lakers. The great thing about baseball is you need skill to be good at it. Shaquille O'Neal is very dominant. But it's mostly genetic. Most of his prowess comes from the fact that he's huge. Not trying to incite an argument though, so I'll shut up now......

I personally like it, I am the Sox fan who hate the ****ing Cubs.


Hm. I would have thought a Boston fan would hate the Yankees.

Oh, wait... oh yeah. There's that other team in town, isn't there?

I guess you won't here things like "You can put it on the boards... YES!!" in the North side since they don't hit anything there

Actually, you won't hear that because it sounds pretty dippy, really.

Come back and talk when you get a player that's hit over 60 HRs a season multiple times.

...or even once.

I personally like it, I am the Sox fan who hate the ****ing Cubs.


Hm. I would have thought a Boston fan would hate the Yankees.

Oh, wait... oh yeah. There's that other team in town, isn't there?

I guess you won't here things like "You can put it on the boards... YES!!" in the North side since they don't hit anything there

Actually, you won't hear that because it sounds pretty dippy, really.

Come back and talk when you get a player that's hit over 60 HRs a season multiple times.

...or even once.

come back and talk to me when you have a player who has done it without cork in his bat.

Hey, LET'S GO METS! They lost to the Padres again today. Jose Reyes' injury was mishandled and it looks like he's going to be in rehab a long time. I just hope he doesn't turn into a Cliff Floyd. I don't see what's going wrong with the Mets. I guess it's pitching. They really lack an ace, unless you want to call either Al Leiter or Tom Glavine an ace. They're well past their acehood. I wouldn't be in favor of a salary cap. I hate the Yankees as much as the next Yankee-hater, but the front office has just made some great business decisions. They have more money because they've made more money, someway somehow. I think the Braves are done, just like the Lakers. The great thing about baseball is you need skill to be good at it. Shaquille O'Neal is very dominant. But it's mostly genetic. Most of his prowess comes from the fact that he's huge. Not trying to incite an argument though, so I'll shut up now......

They make money because they're in the biggest city in the country.

They do need a salary cap. Business should have no place in baseball.

saw a fabulous bumper sticker the other day:

I Love NY, But I Hate The Yankees

hells yeah. plus, the Twins should win it all!! seriously, the '91 series was one of the best of all time, and the Twins have a history of being really entertaining underdogs. granted, they kind of suck in fairly crucial ways in recent years, but if the Cubs can whoop it up as well as they did last year then there's hope for all of us!

Hey, LET'S GO METS! They lost to the Padres again today. Jose Reyes' injury was mishandled and it looks like he's going to be in rehab a long time. I just hope he doesn't turn into a Cliff Floyd. I don't see what's going wrong with the Mets. I guess it's pitching. They really lack an ace, unless you want to call either Al Leiter or Tom Glavine an ace. They're well past their acehood. I wouldn't be in favor of a salary cap. I hate the Yankees as much as the next Yankee-hater, but the front office has just made some great business decisions. They have more money because they've made more money, someway somehow. I think the Braves are done, just like the Lakers. The great thing about baseball is you need skill to be good at it. Shaquille O'Neal is very dominant. But it's mostly genetic. Most of his prowess comes from the fact that he's huge. Not trying to incite an argument though, so I'll shut up now......

They make money because they're in the biggest city in the country.

Good point. But the Mets are in the same city as the Yankees, and they don't have any money....but wait....the Mets have Mo Vaughn.....and Fred Wilpon. Never mind.

come back and talk to me when you have a player who has done it without cork in his bat.

Pfft. Doing it with cork would be even harder, take a look at the physics of it. Corking the bad does reduce the weight, allowing the batter to swing it faster, yes.

However, it also reduces the mass of the bat, meaning the batter hits the ball with less force. Corking a bat has a minimal effect on the batter's ability to get base hits (that's all it's really good for), and it (again, minimally) reduces the batter's chance of hitting a homerun.

However, if you still want to discount Sosa because of the cork, let's move on to pitching...

They do need a salary cap. Business should have no place in baseball.Not a fan of the salary cap, personally, but I would like to see a minimum salary requirement for the teams that receive money from revenue sharing. I think it's utter crap that the owners of the Brewers get millions from the other teams and then don't spend any of it to put a decent team on the field.

The Sox are getting ready to play the twins, Go Sox.

As Hawk and DJ say:

Come on, get up stretch, it will, you can put it on the booooaaarrrrd Yeeessss!

or

HE GONE!

I'm excited because I just got cable TV and I live near Cleveland Ohio. Fox Sports Net airs Indians games every time they play. This season they play the Mets like 3 times. I also have Turner Broadcasting System, which airs Braves games. The Mets are bitter rivals with the Braves, and play around 3 serieses(?) against them, which will all be broadcasted. I also have the Chicago local network, which I think airs Cubs games, and the same situation applies. So I get to watch them on TV a lot instead of on CBS Sportsline.

I'm excited because I just got cable TV and I live near Cleveland Ohio. Fox Sports Net airs Indians games every time they play. This season they play the Mets like 3 times. I also have Turner Broadcasting System, which airs Braves games. The Mets are bitter rivals with the Braves, and play around 3 serieses(?) against them, which will all be broadcasted. I also have the Chicago local network, which I think airs Cubs games, and the same situation applies. So I get to watch them on TV a lot instead of on CBS Sportsline.

WGN, the Chicago station, airs both Sox and Cubs games. They alternate between the two with FSN Chicago.

Sox in 1st and Cubs slump. Prior comes back and got ROCKED today. To that it's time for a Hawk and DJ yes so lets say: YEEEEEESSSSS!

view this site
http://invisionfree.com/forums/NationState_Baseball/index.php?act=idx

Sox lost :(

Braves Damnit!

Braves will die in Chicago this weekend. go Sox!

Gee, wonder who I voted for! :twisted:

It's going way back, he looks up, you can put it on the booooaaaarrrrddddssss eee YESSSSS!- Ken "Hawk" Harrelson

Braves will die in Chicago this weekend. go Sox!
tomorrow is the rubber game.

Hampton vs. Buehrle should be a good one.

Braves will die in Chicago this weekend. go Sox!
tomorrow is the rubber game.

Hampton vs. Buehrle should be a good one.

Braves will die in Chicago this weekend. go Sox!
tomorrow is the rubber game.

Hampton vs. Buehrle should be a good one.
Mark Buehrle wins and el Caballo (that's what Hawk calls Carlos Lee) tied a team record wtih a 27 game hit streak. Frank kicked *** again with another homerun.

You can put it on the board yes!

I'm watching the Mets on TV tomorrow against the Indians. Jake Westbrook won't pitch against them, so they should have smooth sailing. Mike Piazza is going to rawk their other starters past that Pepsi sign on the home run porch.

*zweite post*

Sox and Marlins.

*giggles like a school girl* Balls....


*streaks through thread*

Sox and Marlins.
Good luck to the Sox, I hope they sweep FLA.

Good series this weekend against my Braves. I am an Auburn fan and will always pull for the Big Hurt.

*chases after her*
you did NOT just streak the baseball thread

*chases after her*
you did NOT just streak the baseball thread

There are no exception to streaking the threads!

Sox and Marlins.
Good luck to the Sox, I hope they sweep FLA.

Good series this weekend against my Braves. I am an Auburn fan and will always pull for the Big Hurt.

Big hurt pulls through, 4 homers in last 3 games now leading AL. Sox come back and win eee YES!

bump

for now on my bumps will be related to the White Sox

Hawk: up 1st, the leadoff batter, Centerfielder Willie Harris.

DJ: He has been much improved over last year's .192 BA with over a .310 BA this year

Hawk: He also has many stolen bases and the speed to turn out doubles and triples, but he doesn't have any HRs yet.

DJ: He gets on base and is an overall good Leadoff hitter for guys like Uribe, Mags, and The Big Hurt to hit home

Hawk: The pitcher for the horrible Cubs is Kerry Wood, an overrated pitcher who's record last year was 14-11, yet people think he is some Cy Young winning God of a pitcher.

DJ: 1st pitch is high for a ball.

Hawk: Barrett had to jump up to catch that one.

DJ 1-0 pitch, hit hard by Willie, down the right field line fair. rounding 1st, he safely gets into 2nd for the leadoff double