Summer The Baseball Thread

[xi0]

Wow, I must be perpetually cynical about the team or something. I wouldn't be surprised if we took a step backward and missed the playoffs to be honest. Losing Mark Reynolds is going to hurt. Especially when not replacing him with another right handed bat. Finally getting Brian Roberts back will be interesting. Does he go back to batting leadoff, or do they put McClouth there? I find it doubtful that both the Yankees and Red Sox will miss the playoffs as well, but I'll admit they're not at the same level they were some years ago. It'll be a strange year for sure.

 

[Kaiten]

Mark Reynolds was terrible. He was an effective first baseman, but an offensive liability. He could hit for power, but was otherwise an easy out. The fact is that he is not expected to be a starter this year. It looks like he will back up Nick Swisher at first base for the Indians. He was below replacement level last year, with -.1 WAR. Chris Davis is a huge upgrade.

You're just jaded. The Orioles roster actually looks formidable. Adam Jones and Matt Weiters are all-stars. Manny Machado should emerge as a star this year. Nick Markakis is back. The rest of the line-up is solid, without many real easy outs. Brian Roberts will be something of a wild card. If he is healthy his return could give the Orioles a huge lift. If he's damaged goods, I'm hearing that Jonathon Schoop (Orioles top infield prospect) is ready to come up. The Orioles did not win so many close games last year by luck, they're relievers are just that good. It's a talented team, in a mediocre division. They are going to compete.

The Yankees were mediocre to begin with, now all of their middling talent is injured. I can't imagine them making the playoffs. The Red Sox are a mess. They have almost no talent. The pitching has actually looked good this spring, but they do not look like a playoff team. The AL East will come down to the Orioles, Blue Jays, and Rays. I don't love the players the Jays got from the Marlins. I don't believe the hype. Still a solid team.

 

[xi0]

We weren't necessarily enamored with him either, but his HR output looked a lot better on a decent team than it did before that. Once Machado came up, he was moved to 1B full-time and became much better defensively. I like Chris Davis, and he is better off playing 1B more than the outfield but our team doesn't really have a pure DH that was benched in favor of someone like Davis. Betemit was that early on last season, but no one is thrilled with that prospect. It's always nice to have a surplus of hitters and we don't have that as much this year. I'd feel differently if we signed another right handed power bat, but we didn't. It doesn't cripple our team, but it would have been a nice luxury to have.

 

[Kaiten]

The fact that Reynolds can't even make the Indian's starting lineup should say everything that needs to be said. Betemit's power numbers look adequate (.422 SLG, 40 RBI) for a DH. I admit though, I'm not sure how to properly assess designated hitter. One of the benefits (along with not having to give a fuck about the Yankees) of being a National League fan. His K/BB ratio is laughable, but nothing horrible, assuming he's eighth or ninth in the order. Another power bat would have been good, that might have been enough to throw the Orioles over the top. Such is the life of a small market team, I suppose. I actually think their starting pitching is most suspect. Good, not great. Hammel, Chen, and Gonzalez are good pitchers but not necessarily an intimidating 1, 2, and 3. I have no idea what to think about Tillman, too small a sample size. He looked solid though. Jair Jurrjens is horrible. He has no business being on a major league roster. He's so bad I have to wonder if Dylan Bundy will be part of the rotation by the all star break.

 

[xi0]

Tillman seemed dead and gone prior to last season. He sees to have found something. I like everything about him, except that as a consequence of him throwing more strikes, the HR ball is still high.

The DH is for guys who can't field, but are at least good hitters. That and a spot in the lineup for your catcher if they can hit. Wieters can obviously. Betemit seems to have been a utility infielder for quite some time and isn't known for his hitting. He was better than expected last year when he played, but so were a lot of the question marks in the lineup. But there's no doubt they could of upgraded.

And the small-market thing doesn't really matter with the MASN money. We weren't going after Pujols or anything.

 

[Kaiten]

Opening day

Surprised to see the Astros win big last night. Not expecting a lot of that. Jose Altuve is the truth though. Bryce hitting home runs in his first two at bats of the season made my day. 45,000+ for opening day (largest regular season crowd in Nats history) was also great to see. Best part was that they still played Take on Me in the 7th, even though Michael Morse is gone. I'll be going to Nationals - Braves on April 12, which will air nationally on MLB Network.

 

[FrostyMouse]

Did you see the Yankees pathetic loss to the Red Sox? Yankee Stadium was empty, barring a few hundred fans who stayed to catch balls, by the end of the game.

I like the new getup, Kaiten.

 

[Kaiten]

Most of the Yankees are on DL, and Sabathia apparently has dead arm. Lester looked solid, not the train wreck from last year. I still think Yankees and Red Sox are fighting for last place. The Orioles - Rays game today was epic. Were it not for a few spectacular plays by Evan Longoria, the O's would not have needed to make a comeback in the 7th.

---------- Post added April 11, 2013 at 01:11 PM ---------- Previous post was April 02, 2013 at 06:57 PM ----------

Tomorrow night should be fun. I have tickets to the first meaningful Nationals game of the season, game one of our first series against Atlanta. The Braves currently are in first place, with a 6 game winning streak, but that has come against three miserably bad teams. Philadelphia, Chicago Cubs, and Miami are a combined 8 - 18. All should be out of contention by the end of May. The Nationals are 1.5 games back, at 6 - 2. We have so far played Miami, Cincinnati, and Chicago White Sox. Cincinnati is a legitimate contender, a 97 win team last year. The Sox are a solid, if unspectacular team. The top of their order can really hit, the rest are mediocre. We've so far demolished their pitching. We won't have to see Chris Sale though, their best pitcher.

 

[FrostyMouse]

I sadly don't want to have to hear about Bryce Harper. I turned on Baseball Tonight last night and all they wanted to talk about was Harper's 4 HRs in the first 8 games. I don't dislike Harper, it's just that ESPN hasn't shut up about him for like three years now. Mike Trout literally made baseball bearable last year.

Good luck with tomorrow's game though, Kaiten.

 

[xi0]

I sadly don't want to have to hear about Bryce Harper. I turned on Baseball Tonight last night and all they wanted to talk about was Harper's 4 HRs in the first 8 games. I don't dislike Harper, it's just that ESPN hasn't shut up about him for like three years now. Mike Trout literally made baseball bearable last year.

Good luck with tomorrow's game though, Kaiten.

Chris Davis

 

[FrostyMouse]

Chris Davis

I don't really expect him to last. Most years, there's a guy who starts out really hot, but then fades away. I think Chris or Shelley Duncan had like 7 HRs in the first 10 or 12 games one season and then ended up with like 14 or 16 by the end.

---------- Post added April 13, 2013 at 01:48 AM ---------- Previous post was April 12, 2013 at 01:24 AM ----------

The Jose Reyes injury saga continues, with him picking up an ankle injury that will keep him sidelined for 1-3 months.

---------- Post added at 01:48 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:48 AM ----------

Oh, and Kaiten, bad luck there in the 10th.

 

[xi0]

Just a goofy excerpt from Sunday Night Baseball -

The Yankees were pessimistic in Spring Training about getting an extension done with Cano, up until the point he fired Scott Boras and hired Jay-Z

Just one of those things you'd never think you'd hear

 

[FrostyMouse]

Just a goofy excerpt from Sunday Night Baseball -





Just one of those things you'd never think you'd hear

Strange. Not something I would ever imagine would happen.

I guess that if that guy LeBron met when he was in high school can work as LeBron's agent, it can work for anyone. There was a story a bunch of issues ago in ESPN The Magazine about how LeBron met a guy who was selling authentic (not the knockoff stuff you can buy for cheap) NBA jerseys and fast forward years later and that guy's LeBron's agent. You definitely save on paying ridiculous agent fees.

 

[Kaiten]

Just a goofy excerpt from Sunday Night Baseball -





Just one of those things you'd never think you'd hear

I think the gist is that Boras is ruthless, and would advice Cano not to sign an extension no matter what. No matter how much the Yankees offer he'd rather let Cano hit the open market, and let teams like the Rangers drive up the price. Jay-Z's guy might cave and take a big extension, rather than test the market next winter. The thinking might be that a new agency would be more risk averse than a seasoned agent. The Yankees have been pretty clear that they want to stay under the luxury tax threshold. The Yankees don't have the same cash advantage they used to, plenty of teams could outbid them if he becomes a free agent.

 

[xi0]

Yeah, I know. Boras always prefer his clients not sign extensions. I just meant that it's a pretty bizarre sentence

 

[Kaiten]

Nothing tops Ricky Williams signing Master P as his agent.

---------- Post added at 01:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:36 PM ----------

Despite losing Friday, seeing the Nats in person is always a treat. First time I got to see Bryce hit a home run in person; a laser beam, opposite field, line drive homer. I also got to see him get his first steal of the season. Detwiler was dealing too, he pitched a magnificent game. It is a shame the bullpen blew the lead. Giving up four runs in two innings is unacceptable. Right now the bullpen, and Ryan Zimmerman's arm, are my only real worry. The Braves are hot, there was almost no way to win. When even Chris Johnson goes 8/14 for the series, all you can do is get out of the way. Last year at this time Miami was leading the NL East. The Braves are a good team, they should get to 90 wins, but I do expect them to cool off soon. They are not the best team in the league.

 

[FrostyMouse]

Where do you see your Nats in comparison to the Braves? By the end of the season, you're still picking your Nats to win the division, I'm assuming, or do you think it'll be a tossup by the end?

---------- Post added at 02:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:00 PM ----------

We should've done a fantasy baseball league with the MH members. There have to be people who like baseball other than you, Gary, and I, Kaiten.

 

[xi0]

I played fantasy baseball once or twice before. It was alright, but having to worry about your line up on a daily basis is pretty annoying.

 

[FrostyMouse]

I played fantasy baseball once or twice before. It was alright, but having to worry about your line up on a daily basis is pretty annoying.

I played once. You don't actually have to worry about your line up on a daily basis. You can adjust your batters for later dates when your starters don't play or switch people around to get an extra hitter in or something.

The pitchers, you can set them up ahead of time as well, so you really only need to check back every so often. However, considering that we're all on the internet every day anyway, it only takes a couple of minutes to adjust your lineup if there's something you want to change.

 

[xi0]

I played once. You don't actually have to worry about your line up on a daily basis. You can adjust your batters for later dates when your starters don't play or switch people around to get an extra hitter in or something.

The pitchers, you can set them up ahead of time as well, so you really only need to check back every so often. However, considering that we're all on the internet every day anyway, it only takes a couple of minutes to adjust your lineup if there's something you want to change.

Yeah but you don't know when your starters aren't going to play unless they're on then DL. It doesn't account for lineup changes really unless you're really on it, as lineups come out so late.

I'm not saying it isn't funny, but I prefer Fantasy Football for obvious reasons. I'd be up to play, but I doubt we'd have enough players.