The Baseball Thread: MLB




Posted by Admiral Anthrax

Who are you rooting for? What is going on with your team nowadays?

This has been a boring offseason for the Padres. One trade was made for a leadoff hitting CF (Dave Roberts, who graduated from my school, RBVHS), and some free agent signings were done, making our bullpen pretty much invincible. Everything else is much the same as before.




Posted by Mixhael

Anyone who follows baseball probably knows what happened with the Dodgers, but if not here's the basics...

GONE:
Adrian Beltre (3B), Shawn Green (1B), Alex Cora (2B), Brent Mayne (C), Steve Finley (CF), Jose Lima (P)

NEW:
J.D. Drew, Jeff Kent, Derek Lowe, Ricky Ledee, Jose Valentin, Paul Bako

Dodgers fans are calling for DePodesta's head, but it's too early to do so. To me, it kinda looked like change for the sake of change since they spent virtually the same amount of money on the NEW that they could have put towards the GONE. But all these trades and signings make it hard to tell who will stay healthy or who will produce, so hoping for the best is all there is.




Posted by Kamek

Well after the Yanks historic collapse, I expected to see a lot of change. I'm glad they brought back Tino. He was one of my favorite players from the old days, and certainly very clutch. I'm not too sure what to think about the RJ trade. It seems like we gave up a lot for an old pitcher who could very well go on the DL at any time. The addition of Jaret Wright and Carl Pavano are toss ups because the Yanks commited a lot of money to pitchers that have only come off one good season. This year shold deifnitely be interesting in the AL east with the loss of Pedro for the Sox, and all of Baltimore's additions (Sosa comes to mind).

The other New York team the Mets have also vastly improved with the addition of Beltran and Pedro. Not to mention the upcoming stars like Reyes and Wright. Not a bad pitching staff either when you look at Pedro, Glavine, Benson, Zambrano. Should be an interesting year for baseball.




Posted by PaintItBlack

I'm worried about the Phils in the NL East. That'll probably end up being one of the toughest divisions in baseball with Florida's already stellar line-up being improved and the Mets going crazy in the free agent market; the, of course, you have the Braves who simply don't know how to lose the division. The Phillies have been close to the wild card and even had a chance at the division for a while but haven't made much improvement. Their pitching is somewhat weak still towards the end of their rotation and they habitually underachieve with their bats.

If Rollins or Lofton step up as a solid lead-off man and use their speed, the rest of the line-up can make some stuff happen. Abreu, Thome, Burrell and even Lieberathal need to step up. I look forward to seeing what Chase Utley can do this season, too, and to what David Bell will bring to the table healthy. If injuries don't plague the Phils, they stand a chance. I'm hoping they at least make the postseason this year.




Posted by Axis

[COLOR=SandyBrown]I dont usually watch baseball, but every year I find myself watching the Colorado Rockies or the San Diego Padres. Colorado doesnt do that well and the Padres do pretty good.[/COLOR]




Posted by Al Borland

The Phillies were a major dissapointment in 2004, and I wouldn't expect them to do much better in 05'. Its pretty much the same team minus Kevin Millwood. The east is going to be very fun to watch this year, but I wouldn't count on the orioles beating out the sox or the yanks. Sosa is garbage now, and unless he gets back on the juice or starts corking his bat again don't expect much. The east will be very tight in the American League in my opinion. I think the sox starting rotation in 05 is actually better than the 2004 staff. With the addition of Wells, Clement, and Miller the Red Sox pitching rotation is much improved over the 2004 version. RJ is the best in the majors, and with Pavano/Wright backing him up in the rotation the Yanks are gonna be tough to beat. I still think that the two best teams in 04 will be fighting for the east, and eventually for the pennant.




Posted by Admiral Anthrax

Last year the Padres almost became the first team in baseball history to go from 98 losses to the playoffs. They went from so bad to so good - I'm proud of them!




Posted by Corrupt

[quote=Admiral Anthrax]Last year the Padres almost became the first team in baseball history to go from 98 losses to the playoffs. They went from so bad to so good - I'm proud of them!

Same here, man. I'm looking forward to the 2005 season, as I do for every year, and I'm interested in what the year has in store for the friars. It'll also be interesting to see how all the new pitchers/relievers fare in both spring training and the start of the regular season, seeing as their main focus this year is on the pitching staff. I know it's a few months yet, but it's good to prepare. I almost nabbed tickets to go to spring training in Peoria, but decided against it at the last minute. Oh well... I'll still be cheering the Padres on nevertheless.

Forget the Vegans... PADRES4LYFE :sonic:




Posted by Momentum

Like the Padres last year, I'm hoping the D-Backs have a major, major turnaround this year. With all the money we've been spending on free agents, we need to be, or the organization could be facing serious problems. This was really the first time the D-Backs have ever really gone and been a big factor in a bunch of things in one offseason. On one hand I'm glad to see the aggressiveness, but on the other hand I question some of the amounts that were paid out to the players. Great players were obtained, but overpaid? Pretty much.

Now all we need is a center fielder. And bullpen help. And more consistent starting. And the Padres, Giants, and Dodgers to play bad.

Yeah, this is going to be a long season after all.

Later




Posted by Admiral Anthrax


Quoting Corrupt:
Forget the Vegans... PADRES4LYFE :sonic:


Hear, hear!



Posted by Early Demise

The San Francisco Giants baby! They just picked up Alous son and they are ready for another World Series except this time they won't loose horribly in complete shame like last times fiasco.




Posted by Admiral Anthrax

Doubt it, now that Barry's roid source is gone.




Posted by Mixhael

You think his head will shrink back down to a cap size of 9?




Posted by SwampertMasta

Go RedSox they picked up Edgar Renteria, David Wells and Matt Clement!!! But boo the the Mets get Pedro




Posted by SwampertMasta


Quoting los angeles: You think his head will shrink back down to a cap size of 9?





Posted by Al Borland

Don't forget about Wade Miller, he's one of the best young pitchers in baseball. As for the Padres and Giants, I think that both teams have a legitamite shot at making the play offs. I think Khalil Greene will have a great year at short, and the addition of Moises Alou will help the Giants have a shot at that NL Wild Card.




Posted by The Nomad

I too like the Giants. Roids allow a player to hit the ball harder, but the player has to be able to hit the ball in the first place. Also they have good players at all positions. Although I don't believe that they are ready for another World Series, I do believe that they will do quit well this year, like take first in their devision.

P.S. Living in San Diego has compelled me to support the Padres, so... GO PADRES!!!




Posted by Early Demise


Quoting The Nomad: I too like the Giants. Roids allow a player to hit the ball harder, but the player has to be able to hit the ball in the first place. Also they have good players at all positions. Although I don't believe that they are ready for another World Series, I do believe that they will do quit well this year, like take first in their devision.


P.S.- Living in San Diego has compelled me to support the Padres as well, so,GO PADRES!!!



Posted by Al Borland

Of course steroids don't improve hand-eye coordination or natural talent, but the extra power turns what would be a fly ball into a home run. The new steriod policy is much better but it's still not enough. In the NFL a steroid user is suspended for 4 games. Thats 25% of the season. It's a great shame that all of these records are being broken by guys like Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and Mark McGuire. In my opinion none of them should even be put on a Hall of Fame ballot.




Posted by The Nomad

Excuse me, but do you know anything of Barry Bond's past? He is not just an awsome hitter, but above all he used to be a GREAT fielder and roids does nothing to help that aspect of the game.




Posted by Kamek

Giambi had a press conference yesterday. It's pretty ironic that they brought Tino back to back him up. I was heartbroken when they let Tino go for Giambi. I never got used to him and now that he's off the juice he has a lot to prove. Tino was so clutch and had so much heart. I remember in the '98 World Series against the Padres ;)(I know there are a lot of Padres fans out there coughcoughFreddygcoughcough). I was jumping up and down when he hit that grand slam. In the '01 WS, (one of the most memorable) I remember his clutch homerun in the ninth to send it into extra innings in the "Mr. November" game. Tino was what the old Yanks were about. Giambi is what these new Yanks are about, and even as a die hard Yanks fan- I don't like it.




Posted by NorthEastGamer

I hope the yanks never win a world series ever again.




Posted by Kamek

*Points to NorthEastGamer's avatar*




Posted by Al Borland

Most Yankee fans I've talked to love Tino and were ecstatic about his return. I have absolutely no respect for Giambi, and I honestly couldn't care less that he apologized to the public. I hope Tino has a great year at first for the Yanks, and I hope Giambi has fun sitting on the bench watching.




Posted by The Nomad

I too share your feelings of Giambi. It angers me because I remember when I was younger and I saw him hit a bunch of homeruns in the homerun durby and I thought the world of him. Now I find out that he has so little respect for the game that he would roid up just to beet true players. That does not deserve respect and I too hope he enjoys warming up the bench.