MLB 2015

[kgambit]

Well spring training is almost over and somebody has to start this ...... 

 

And here's the first fastball under the chin .....

 

Edited April 1, 2015 by kgambit

[Hurlshort]

Giants are as questionable as they were last season, so everything is going according to plan.  

[Guard Dog]

Here are my predictions:

 

World Series: Tigers defeat the Nationals in 6

 

AL East:

1. Baltimore: Only team that did not get a complete upheaval or lose a major piece to injury
2. Toronto: Decent pitching, good hitting and a weak division means a wild card game north of the border.
3. Boston: They will make some noise but pitching depth will be a hindrance
4. New York: Could easily finish 3rd but won't factor in the pennant race. Every position is either too old or too young.
5. Tampa Bay: Gonna be a long year. My team was dead last in runs scored last year and nothing changed to improve that. Lot of other changes though.

AL Central:

1. Detroit: Offense? Check! Pitching? Check (1-4 in the rotation at least. 5 is iffy). Consistency in the clubhouse? Check. They are going all the way.
2. Cleveland: Cluber leads a solid staff. But I'm not sold on the Tribe. Finishing second depends on what KC & the White Sox do more than what the Indians do.
3. Kansas City: The team is more or less intact minus two key pieces from the World Series team. They can easily work their way into a WC game,
4. Chicago: You have got to love this teams future. Sale is a Cy Young candidate and the line up is full of young talent. If they put it all together the can be a factor. But there will be growing pains. Next year is more likely.
5. Twins: Can you name one player on this team not named Joe Mauer? Me neither.

 

AL West:

1. Los Angeles: The Angels are loaded in talent again. As they are every year but never seem to put it all together. But this year their division is in shambles.
2. Seattle: They would be good in any division but with 19 games against the Astros, Rangers, & A's, a WC is not out of the question.
3. Oakland: Leferd's boys had a disappointing end to 2014 and only went backwards during the offseason.
4. Houston: Getting better, but will still battle the Rangers for "Worst Team In Texas"
5. Texas: What a mess

NL East:

1. You know, I've picked them every year for the last three years and they have screwed me every time! No this year. They are going all the way. To Detroit anyway.
2. Miami: Once again the Marlins have mortgaged their future for today. A good chunk of their farm system has been traded away. Lets see if it was worth it.
3. New York: They were looking a lot better until Wheeler tore his UCL. They have the makings of a good club but are still a year away.
4. Philadelphia: an object lesson in the folly of big contracts to old players.
5. Atlanta: Even their GM is admitting this season is a throwaway.

NL Central:

1. Cardinals: This is the best division in baseball this year. And the Cards should be the best team in that division.
2. Pirates: Still a one man show bur good enough to keep pressure on the Cardinals
3. Cubs: New manager, same roster problems. Yeah they got Lester but they also have Edwin Jackson. But the future is bright and they will make noise.
4. Milwaukee: Did they even sign anyone this off season? They will win 81 games and might come in third, but not much more. 
5. Cincinnati: Now here is a big bowl of vanilla pudding.

NL West:

1. San Diego: The new-look and loaded Padres will either win big or implode. I'm glad I don't have money on this pick.
2. Los Angeles: If the Padres stumble they will be good enough to win.
3. San Francisco: Sorry Hurlshot, it's an odd number year. they won't suck though.
4. Arizona: Some new arms on the mound this year, but no new bats to compliment them.
5. Colorado: Let's see. They have Tulowitzki, Gonzalez, and....

[Vaeliorin]

I hope you're right about the Tigers, but I'm not betting on it. They've disappointed me the last several years with better pitching (at least up front) so I'm not holding out hope for them. At least they've won a World Series in my lifetime, so my teams from the big 3 sports are 2 for 3 on that (Tigers, Pistons, Browns ).

[Leferd]

Inspired by the Royals I decided to mix things up this year.

 

Prediction is that my fantasy team is going to lead the league in bags and near the bottom in homers. Also overloaded with high K relievers.

 

For the first time in five years, I was going to draft a batsman with my top pick. But playing with a bunch of Giants fans, I had Kershaw drop to me at number 5.

[Hurlshort]

Hah, I was playing MLB The Show last night, and I got drafted by the Dodgers in the 1st round.  I decided to go back to college instead of sign.  

[Guard Dog]

C'mon folks, let's hear some predictions here! I put mine out there.

[Hurlshort]

I'm not going to count the A's out, their pitching staff still looks really good.  Other than that, I don't pay much attention to the American League.   

[Leferd]

I'll just work off my predictions from last year. Should still be good!

 

AL EAST

BOSTON

TAMPA BAY

New York

Baltimore

Toronto

 

AL CENTRAL

DETROIT

Kansas City

Cleveland

Minnesota

Chicago

 

AL WEST

OAKLAND

ANAHEIM

Texas

Seattle

Houston

 

MVP: Mike Trout

CY YOUNG: Felix Hernandez

 

 

NL EAST

WASHINGTON

Atlanta

Philadelphia

New York

Miami

 

NL CENTRAL

ST. LOUIS

PITTSBURGH

CINCINNATI

Chicago

Milwaukee

 

NL WEST

LOS ANGELES

San Diego

San Francisco

Arizona

Colorado

 

MVP: Andrew McCutchen

CY YOUNG: Stephen Strasburg

 

 

WORLD SERIES: Oakland over Washington

[Gfted1]

MLB Is Supercharging Its Stats System With Radar and AI.

[Leferd]

Can I just say that I really liked Keyrock's name for last year's thread?

[Guard Dog]

Less than 24 hours to go. I'm excited about it. I'm a fan of all the major pro sports in the US, as well as soccer & Rugby when the national teams are playing. But of all of them I like Baseball the best. I've always wondered why that is. Football and Hockey are certainly more exciting to watch. But to me they are like watching a movie. It's short, intense and over quickly. They are about the action. Baseball is like reading a book. The season does not explode in front of you then flame out in a few short weeks. It unfolds slowly. And while it does have plenty of action it's driven more by the characters. I like watching it on TV. I prefer it on the radio while doing other things but it's always best when you're at the park. Sportswriter Geoff Young once wrote "To be at a baseball game is to be outside the confines of time—at least for a while. Yes, time is always present, inescapable in the long run. But in the short run, there is only green grass and the false promise of eternal youth." You know exactly when a football game will end. A baseball game ends when it's over.

 

I think the reason I like it the best is because it's the game I played with my brother. It's the game our dad taught us. It's what I used to talk to my grandfather about. He lived his whole life a fan of the Braves, from Boston, to Milwaukee, to Atlanta. He must of told me a hundred times about the time he met Hank Aaron. I used to take my father in law to Marlins games and he'd spend the whole game talking about the Dodgers & Ebbets Field. 

 

I don't know why but the NFL, NHL, & NBA who all have long histories are never remembered the way baseball is. I guess it's because the athletes of bygone days for the most part could not compete with the players of today in any sport other than baseball. Jim Thorpe was good enough to be in the Olympics and play pro football. But today he'd be lucky to be a third string tailback on a bad team. If Mickey Mantle in his prime were playing CF for the Yankees on Monday their odds of contending would double.

 

Every magazine and paper I've read tell me the Rays are going to have a terrible team this year. They hit the "self destruct" in the offseason no doubt. But I'll have the game on at 2:00 PM on Monday when they play the Orioles because you just never know.

[Guard Dog]

Well, except for Longoria and Kieremier the Rays performance was quite crappy. But, the upshot it we'll try again tonight.  

[Guard Dog]

Sonny Gray just missed a no-hitter in Oakland: http://m.mlb.com/news/article/116668668/sonny-grays-bid-for-history-foiled-by-rangers-ryan-rua

[Leferd]

Sonny Gray just missed a no-hitter in Oakland: http://m.mlb.com/news/article/116668668/sonny-grays-bid-for-history-foiled-by-rangers-ryan-rua

And the A's won their first opening day in ten years. I was switching between this game and the Duke -Wisconsin final.

[kgambit]

 

Sonny Gray just missed a no-hitter in Oakland: http://m.mlb.com/news/article/116668668/sonny-grays-bid-for-history-foiled-by-rangers-ryan-rua

And the A's won their first opening day in ten years. I was switching between this game and the Duke -Wisconsin final.

 

 

Sonny Gray owns Texas. 1.74 career ERA versus the Rangers.   I wrote that game off when I saw the matchup.     It's going to be a long LONG year in Arlington .... 

[Hurlshort]

It is starting to seem less like the Giants are super lucky in the even years, and more like they are super unlucky in the odd ones.  

[Guard Dog]

The Rays picked up their first win last night. Odorizzi was razor sharp. With all the injuries to the pitching staff it's nice to see one of them can do better than just throwing BP to the other team.

 

In other news I've got tickets to the Redbirds home opener against the Cubs tonight! Yeah, it's the Iowa Cubs but still...

[Leferd]

http://www.draysbay.com/2015/4/7/8353281/the-night-is-dark-and-full-of-errors-mlb-teams-as-game-of-thrones

 

Some of these are a stretch, but pretty good nonetheless.

[kgambit]

http://www.draysbay.com/2015/4/7/8353281/the-night-is-dark-and-full-of-errors-mlb-teams-as-game-of-thrones

 

Some of these are a stretch, but pretty good nonetheless.

 

 

October is coming ......

[Guard Dog]

Another appalling pitching performance from the Rays last night. They got down 8-1 in the 2nd inning. But then battles back to tie it at 9-9 in the 9th. Only to choke on it on a worm burner single in the 10th. Just heartbreaking.

 

In other new the Fabulous Fighting Fish of Miami let a 8-1 lead slip away in the 7th. What the hell? At least they pulled it out with a walk off single in the 10th.

 

 

It's odd watching your two favorite teams play each other isn't it?

[Guard Dog]

Well, Alex Rodriguez can still play. I guess you can't have an Evil Empire without a dark lord to give it menace.

[Leferd]

The A's have 5 shutouts in their first 12 games and are second in the Majors in runs scored.

 

Yet they're 6-6.

 

The maths....

[Volourn]

I love all the crying by butthurt anti A -Rod morans.

\

HERE'S A SECRET THAT NOBODY TELLS: Drugs don't make you skilled at baseball. Skills do.

[Guard Dog]

http://www.raysindex.com/2015/04/rays-dfa-grant-balfour.html

 

What happened to this guy? He went from a top tier reliever to a late innings disaster and shows no sign of turning that around. I have to hand it to Silverman & Co. this was a gutsy and much needed move.

 

Maybe we could trade him to Detriot? Dobrowski owes the Rays one. He got David Price for Drew Smyly, a used tigers gym bag, and the contents of his office wastebasket. The tigers need bullpen help don't they?

 

I'll say one thing, Having Ball-Four in the pen will motivate the starters to pitch complete games.

Edited April 20, 2015 by Guard Dog