2008 MLB season discussion
 

WOOOOOOOOOOOO

OK, I think the excitement of another Red Sox championship has dissipated enough to start looking at next year. Of course, the beginning of the free-agent period is always when you start looking at what's to come.

Alex Rodriguez, for one, isn't going anywhere.

Barry Bonds may not be either.

10 year, 275 million? Jesus Fuck. Who does he think he is, Ronaldinho?

I genuinely like A-Rod before this week, I really did. Now, he just seems like a dick. A scummy, horrible dick.

I appreciate how the SF Giant organization is no longer interested in Bonds, even after breaking the record. "I can't get no respect!"

This will lead to the Kansas City Royals picking him up to boost ticket sales. Yep.

I think Barry Bonds' career is done, one way or another. This is kinda what I was referring to.

Fixed.

I sincerely believe that any records he has should remain in place, as long as he didn't use performance-enhancing drugs when they were against the rules in MLB. If he's convicted of a crime, that's one thing. But using steroids in baseball wasn't a crime up until a few years ago.

But I don't think anyone should vote him into the Hall of Fame.

Spring training is upon us! While I'm disappointed the Sox didn't land Johan Santana, I think they'll be better off without him in the long run.

There is no team that is better off without Santana. That's ridiculous.

I mean, they'll do just fine without him, but if you honestly think they'll be better you're kidding yourself.

Personally, I am not too excited about the Braves having to see him 4 or more times a year for the next seven.

Depends on what you have to give up to get him. There is a strong case to be made that the Red Sox prospects are quite valuable and when you consider the necessary extension, it might not be worth it.

Yeah, you're really going to have to watch out for the Mets this year with Santana, not to mention that Pedro's been looking pretty sharp so far this spring.

With lesser players, this would probably be true, but with a starting pitcher as dominant as Santana coming to an offense like Boston's, I don't think there could be a downside.

The KC Royals got Nomo. The pennant is as good as theirs!

knkwzrd, I think you should remember that the Red Sox just won the World Series and had virtually no roster changes all across the board. Am I saying they're going to win again this year? Yes. Losing Schilling for however long he's gone will be made up by Beckett continuing to dominate, Matsuzaka making a sophomore bump, and the n00bs (Lester, Buchholz, et. al.) pitching some innings. I'm truly not concerned at all that the Red Sox didn't get Santana; the Mets can have him since they need him more than we do.

I'm also anticipating that Coco Crisp will be out of Boston, if not by the beginning of spring training then before the All-Star break.

As for the Mets and Santana, like I said, they can have him. But I don't think they'll have a better record than the Tigers.

I didn't say the Sox needed him, but you have to admit that as good as they are, they'd be even better with Santana in the lineup.

Of course they would be. However, I'm happier knowing that we have at least some prospects to fall back on once this team starts getting too old.

For example, today I came to fully comprehend that Manny Ramirez will be 36 this season and has a team option for next season. And the prospective free-agent class isn't pretty.

Is GFF Fantasy Baseball going down?

I'm not bothering this year, or probably ever again. Takes too much commitment.

Man, what happened to the sports fans on GFF? Baseball season is starting (has started, as of this morning, with the Sox winning 6-5 in 10 against the EEEEEEEEEEEH'S), hockey's postseason is coming up and it feels like there's an invisible flashing bold size 7 ::NOONECARES:: somewhere around here.

Anyway, I woke up at 9 and it was the 9th inning of the Sox-A's game, and it was odd to think that it was an Oakland home game at a neutral site but the fans were rooting for the Sox.

I woke up at 6 to watch the game. :)

I watched the ninth inning before I left for work this morning. I was disappointed to see Street blow the save, as he is on all three of my fantasy teams this year. I am all for the globalization of the sport, and many of the players I enjoy watching the most are of latin or oriental decent, but I can't really say that I care for the first game of the season being played at 6:00 AM EST. I wish that they would limit the Japan/China/other games that start in the wee hours of the morning to exhibition games so that I don't have to actually care about the outcomes.

As far as the lack of baseball talk around here, I would say that I am one of the biggest baseball fans on the board. However, I tend not to talk baseball a whole lot on the forums because it seems like the majority of other people willing to talk about it are Red Sox fans, and that gets very tedious. I also find that I analyze baseball differently than most people, and have a difficult time articulating my thoughts on the subject in ways that are easily understood by others.

How about those KC Royals? Detroit didn't stand a chance! Looks like they are going to sweep the Yanks too!

Seventeen years of futility.

Thank god, the Tigers finally won a game.

What a screwy start to this season. Tigers keep losing, Royals and Orioles keep winning. I doubt this will all continue in the long run, but it provided quite the surprise to make the early bit of the season interesting.

It's not like the first month and a half of the season really tells you anything, anyway. I mean, the Orioles were almost perfect going in to May last year, and look how they ended up.

I can't imagine how good the Tigers are going to be once they start clicking. The Royals really need to start the season off strong to get off on the right foot. It probably won't matter in the long haul, but it's a start!

If you exchange last year with the last three years it's just as true and just as depressing. Maybe this will be the year the O's don't implode. Obviously they won't end up with a .800 winning percentage, but with this young of a team, I'd settle with not being one of the 5 worst teams in the majors. That being said, if our bullpen continues to be lights out, we have a chance at a little more than that.

Hey guys, just a bump, no good reason for it oh wait yes there is WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/sp/getty/73/fu...31752jr015.jpg

From cancer to no-hitter. Amazing.

I hope they skip his next start or find some other way of giving him some extra rest, because 130 pitches is a lot for a guy like Lester.

Saw that game. I think Lester the Unlikely owes Ellsbury a nice, thick, steak.

I was loving that, as i have Lester on my fantasy team. (btw - some of you have multiple fantasy teams?? I have enough trouble making time for one!)
Anyway, the no-no by Lester was a shining moment on an otherwise shitty start to 2008 for the guy. He's been a drain on my team until lately, where he's been finally learning that a pitcher's K/BB ratio needs to be > 1 :P.

And yeah, he definitely definitely owes Ellsbury a succulent steak - as do I for all his stolen bases lately. I picked him for fantasy this year and was worried about his playing time vs. Coco Crisp's. So far he's been looking just fine though - apparently his performance during WS 2007 wasn't just a fluke..he really is a damn fine player.

All this talk about the Red Sox is starting to make me queasy though, and i worry that people will mistake me for a fan. I'm not anti-sox by any means, mind you - Manny is baseball's clown while still managing to be a (almost) total asset to his team. That double play where he high-fived the fans behind the left field wall was fucking great! As long as the guys playing for Beantown stay down to earth, they'll never become the new Wankees for me.

Anyways, i'm a Jays fan born+raised. I grew up watching them win the series twice in a row in '92/'93, and have been waiting 15 years for them to play significant games in Sept. ever since. This year could be the year - i'd have to be crazy to expect them to take the AL East, but they played a hell of a month of May (20-10 i believe) and if they can keep it up they definitely have a shot at the wild card. How about their pitching staff?

Finally, two things - What the fuck is up with:

a) the Tampa Bay Devil Rays?

b) those bums from Detroit?

Bye Manny. I hope you enjoy playing for money for the rest of your career.

You know, it's possible that he's pretty okay with that.

Gee, you think?

I don't mind at all that Manny left.

Jason Fucking Bay. A guy who puts up very good offensive numbers and is a muuuuch more reliable fielder than ManRam. Nothing but love for Manny, but I think this improves our championship chances, not weakens them.

You obviously haven't watched much Bucco baseball if you think Bay's a reliable fielder.

Maybe he'll actually put forth some effort now that he's got a shot at a championship, though. Who knows with those craaaazy Canadians.

I said -more- reliable. As in -more reliable than Manny-. This is a long list. Here, let me give you the list. It's a good list, you'll like this list.

The List:

Who's better than Manny in the field?



Also, Griffey in Chicago. Go White Sox.

I'm not happy the Tigers got rid of Pudge. And it's to the god damn Yankees. Do I ever hate that team.

We've still got a shot at taking the division, but now that the Tigers traded away a good catcher, and the White Sox picked up Griffey, that chance is looking a lot smaller.

Tell me you wouldn't have believed all that if it were true.

I wouldn't have, because I don't think Manny knows enough hockey to make that reference.

Can't say i have, but he's only made 3 errors this year (granted, Manny's only made 1 somehow). Not that errors say everything - defensive metrics generally suck. What've you seen wrong with his fielding, then?

He started with a hell of a bang though. Decent sliding catch, and scoring the winning run after hitting an american-league, though Fenway, triple.

With Bay, it was always more the intangibles. He would rarely go all out to make a run at a deep fly, let it hop once when he could have had an attempt at a catch and an out... things like that. Like I said, though, maybe a change of pace (and winning is a Hell of a change of pace coming from the Buccos) was all he needed.

I wish him all the best with the Red Sox. Glad to see he's off to a good start.

I feel Capo's pain here. I don't share a lot of Red Sox Nation's loathing of Manny as he parts. I loved Manny. I loved his bad defense, I loved his lack of hustle, I loved all the things that made him a detriment. There is something intangible about the Ramirez experience. His childlike love of the game is infectious and let's be fair, the guy is the best highlight in the game. Who else is gonna high five a fan after making a catch in the outfield BEFORE throwing the ball into first for a double play? Nobody.

Yes, he's a one-aspect player. And yes, he's exceedingly good at it, but I wish Manny nothing but the best in his new home. I hope the fans there appreciated him, because Boston certainly did. I loved seeing him play live. It was entertaining, and let's be fair. In the game of baseball, players you can say that about are few and far between. I love Jason Bay and I welcome him with open arms, and I'm sure he'll do very well in Bean Town, but Manny is not someone to be slagged. He's upfront with what he is, and everyone knows it. I bet a lot of people in that lockerroom miss the guy.

I'm not even a BoSox fan, and i love Manny and everything he's brought to the game. It says something when a guy hits so consistently well that an MLB team is willing to play him regularly in left field with his skills. In PRO baseball.
The guy must REALLY know how to swing the bat to pull that off. And he does, given his placement in oh-so-many all time hitting records. Besides, the characters in baseball get remembered along with the legends, and Manny has a good chunk of both. Kind of like Bill "Spaceman" Lee, only on the field instead of off. I think his best days will be remembered by most as a Red Sock (?), but who knows what he'll do out in LA.

BTW, he's wearing #99 now, the same number as Mitch Williams, Wild Thing of the early 90's Phillies. I don't know who else has ever worn #99 - anyone got any others?

I looked on Google and all I could find was some guy named Wayne. No one of real importance, then, I guess.

There's also some So Taguchi guy on the Phillies with the number i guess. I'm horrible with the NL, so i dunno how he ranks, but he doesn't look like much of a factor.

Manny is a favourite of many..one my personal favs too. To anyone, who is in your top 3-5 favourite players to watch? Be it for talent, stats, entertainment value, make up your own criteria, etc..


Though it might come off rather wapish, Ichiro is a quick pick for me. This guy's perfect at everything except power, and he gets his fair share of extra bases anyway. His 2004 season is too hard to ignore - even being in the vicinity of .400 for the season (.372) is ridiculous enough in today's game. Plus many of his his quotes are understandable yet funny altogether, and i only wish i could hear a transcript of any of his all-star game speeches.

Close seconds:

- Dustin Pedroia - both in the field and especially at the plate for a 2B. Good for him if he maintains his numbers through the years, in fact, WOW if he does. He's always on base, and should've taken over Ellsbury at lead-off long ago. For any tough infield play, don't count on him choking at all, he's consistent as hell at 2B. No Robbie Alomar, but nobody is.

- Josh Hamilton - I know they're selling his "story" big time, but he hits like no other this year. A +.300 avg with +20 doubles and dingers coming from where he did is noteworthy. Exclude his home run derby excellence when you read this - he's awesome otherwise. Decent in the OF too.

- John McDonald - OK, this is a pretty biased pick, i'll admit. But he's an incredible defensive SS for the Blue Jays. His 2007 season was a highlight reel unto itself, though i'm willing to risk that many don't even know who he is, ya?

It's not that I didn't appreciate Manny while he was in Boston; he was a dominating force in the lineup, if only a lackadaisical and downright silly one. But the times when he was frustrating (including right up to the end, when his agent said he wouldn't be an issue if the Sox dropped their options on him) overpowered his slugging percentage. Maybe I'm an old-timey kind of guy, but it always frustrates me when players are so much more adamant about making more money and less about being on a team that wins or has the highest probability of winning. You gots to get paid, I know. But money only lasts as long as you live; respect, glory, and honor last forever.

Hey look a baseball thread.

Well, so much for that Red Sox-Dodgers World Series. The Phillies just finished off the Dodgers, and the Red Sox' epitath has been chiseled, the grave dug, and the casket put in the hole. This will be one hell of an interesting World Series for probably the smallest percentage of fans in World Series history.

A Rays-Phillies World Series would be a hell of a lot more interesting than a Dodgers-Red Averages WS. Especially when Tampa beats the Phillies. {I hate the Phillies worse than any other team in the sport} Tampa's worst-to-first story is a lot more interesting than Manchild Ramirez vs Big Bad Boston.

Sure, it's a good story for Bud Selig to hang his hat on, but I wouldn't be able to get over a series featuring the two main teams involved in the biggest trade of the season, Joe Torre getting stuck playing the Red Sox in the playoffs again, and Manny and Nomar and Derek Lowe all getting chances to stick to their old team.

Rafael Furcal might want to take up soccer instead of baseball.

NOT OVER YET BITCHES

Well, TBS' broadcast finally flickered to life here with 1 out in the bottom of the first. Before that happened, B.J. Upton hit a solo home run and I was frantically looking for free live audio to no avail. I appreciate MLB having a contingency plan in this sort of situation; what if they hadn't come back for the entire game?

Additional Spam:
STILL NOT OVER YET

Game 7, Tampa. Welcome to Red Sox Nation.

Welcome to postseason baseball, St. Petersburg.

OVER NOW.

I am so happy for Tampa Bay. Worst to World Series appearance.

Maybe now they will start drawing more than ten thousand fans per regular season game.

ok yeah now it's over

Shouldn't have pitched Lester in the 7th.

Maybe next year they won't need cowbells and cheerleaders to get their fans excited.

So bitter. What do you expect from a town that's never been home to a winning team?

Tell me when the Pirates or Royals or Orioles or Nationals start doing it.

As if fans of the Pirates, Royals, Orioles, or Nationals have had anything to get excited about in the past 10 years.

Fixed.

Bolts, Bucs, Storm all have had successful years here. Bolts suck now since our new owner decided to trade our best defensemen and just sign every free agent to loaded contracts and put everything on our goalies each night, expecting 40+ saves most of the time. The Buccaneers are at least a stable franchise, and semi-consistant over the last decade or so.

I have to agree with Capo. This is the first year the Rays have actually posted a winning record. In my experience, if you string together two or three winning seasons in this area, the bandwagon fans who come at first typically stay on.

Who expected them to draw a credible, consistant fan base night in and night out when it's an expansion team that has never even tasted winning? I remember a few years back with Lou here when we were sniffing .500 around the All-Star break. That actually got people to the games during that brief period.

I don't know what attendance numbers were like for the other 3 expansion teams in the 90s were like but I'm sure the D-Backs were pulling in a good amount regularly at their ugly-ass ballpark.

Not the Marlins, though.

The Diamondbacks also happened to be a competitive team.

Don't mind Dope. He seems to get off on perennially being wrong.

I guess anyone is competitive when compared to the (Devil) Rays.

Your acrimony is an elephant housed behind a chain-link fence.

I suggest upgrading to brick. And raising it a dozen odd feet.

Hey, I was over the Sox losing after a couple of hours. And I certainly no animosity towards the Rays team.

As for the Rays' "fans"...well, people give me shit for being a "bitter" Sox fan so fair is fair. If that's the way I'm to be portrayed then I'll live up to it on here to keep up appearances.

That's usually the best way to deal with that sort of thing, anyway.

Go Rays!

The only team I would have been okay with knocking off the Sox is the rays. I think Iwamura is one of the most underrated players in baseball. :mad:don is the coach of the year. They're young and fun to watch.

Go Tampa.

They haven't lived solely on the long ball, they steal bases, they sacrifice, they play small ball. The offensive style is built so that just about anything is open, and has been executed successfully all season. It's an entertaining style because they play the entirety of the game, and don't just attempt to score via a homer (see : White Sox).

Go Rays.

I'm not really rooting for anyone to win, but I'd prefer the Rays over the Phillies. It'll definitely be a great story if they do win it (which I'm pretty confident they will).

Unfortunately, most of the time the team that beats the team I root for in the playoffs ends up losing (something like 80% of the time). It's been lowering lately, though. :(

Point of fact: Tampa Bay was last in the majors in sacrifices.

Huh. Thanks russ, didn't know that.:eagletear: I watched the team all season, I didn't think they sacrificed that little. Ah well, just re-affirming my point that the team uses various ways to score, and I believe it to be pretty entertaining.

Dope, I understand your stance towards the fan-base here in the bay area. Mostly bandwagon jumpers. There are some fans who have supported the team for the long-haul, and it's nice to finally get there due after almost a decade of suffering with little to hang your hat on. It was hard to support the team in the face of all the losing, going to games in and of itself is a pain in the ass. The stadium is in a bad area to begin with, not to mention hard to get to. I can't wait until the new stadium is built. It will be nice to get out of the Trop and into an outdoor field. I only get to those for spring training.

Nobody else is watching the World Series? :(

I am. It's just disappointing.

Tampa needs to get win this next one or it's all but over.

Yeah it definitely looks like it's the Phillies' series to lose at this point. As good as Tampa's defense is (supposed to be), it's the errors and poor fielding which got them into trouble against the Red Sox and it's doing the same right now.

Boy, considering what happened with Game 3 I wonder what the chances are that they'll delay this game at all. It looks like it's pouring in Philly.

(And it doesn't look like it's going to slow down or stop.)

Additional Spam:
Well, it's in a delay now. If the Rays didn't score in the top of the sixth just now, they're talking like they would've suspended the game and not finished it out, whereas now that it's tied, if they suspend the game, they will play it out. I think that rule is ridiculous, especially in the postseason and even more so in the World Series. If it wasn't tied, they should finish out the game no matter what.

I agree. The World Series should be won on the field with a packed house, not the clubhouse, after all the fans have gone home after a long rain delay.

Didn't take them long to make a decision to suspend the game. They really lucked out with the Rays tying the game, but now they have to figure out when they'll finish the game. Not that they won't find the time, but the next two games are supposed to be tomorrow and Wednesday.

Additional Spam:
They'll resume tomorrow at 8, pretty much pushing each game back 1 day (assuming they can play tomorrow). And Bud Selig said that he would not have called the game at all.

I'm surprised they suspended the game since, well, it's possibly the last game of the world series. I'd also be ultra-pissed if I was in the stands tonight and couldn't make it tomorrow and Philly wound up winning.

Also pissed off that as soon as I got a working online broadcast of the game (from WNPV-AM Philadelphia) it got called for rain delay. :mad: At least I might be able to get home from work by 5 PM tomorrow.

lol Phillies win.

I THINK WE'VE HEARD ENOUGH OF THE "roarrrrrrrrrrrYEAHROARRRRRRRRRRRR" SOUND-BYTE THANK YOU. WHAT IS THAT, 10 TIMES?

[01:00] <LZ> hey guys
[01:00] <LZ> I was in center street philly
[01:00] <LZ> I helped destroy a streetlight, took a piece of it home
[01:01] <LZ> *stoplight
[01:03] <AWACS_Eagle_Eye> ^5
[01:04] <LZ> PHILLLLIIIIESSS WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO NUMBA ONE YAH
[01:04] <LZ> well who cares about baseball RIOTTTIIIIIINNG WOOOOOOOOOOO

Disappointing end of the season. Almost anti-climatic with the end of Game 5 being a mere 3 and half innings. I was pulling for the Rays.

Most amazing weekend of my life as a sports fan in Philly last weekend. Just absolute bedlam with the parade and everything. Finally I experienced a championship and it was more amazing than I could've ever dreamed about.