2007 MLB Discussion Thread
 

Well, it's been a while since the Cardinals won the World Series, so I figured it was about time to make the next season's thread. So. What do you think is going to happen this season? Any surprise contenders? We all know the Pirates won't be in contention, but there's still hope for others.

So yeah. Discuss.

Um.

Half the teams are going to go after pitching - Yankees and Red Sox being on top of that.

I'm proud my Tigers got to where they did last year. I'd love to see just how much better all the youngsters on the team get with the experience of the playoffs behind them. But with the division they're in, it could be hard to make the playoffs again even if they remain really good, as the White Sox showed last season.

Boy, you couldn't even wait for the start of free agent signings Capo? You're a fucking Pirates fan, the last thing you should want is the baseball season to come any sooner so you can wallow in pity about your pathetic Buckos. Why don't you just stick with hockey and wait for the Penguins' other shoe to drop (which we both know it will) before you can bring out the frowny face.

Playing along, I'm not very excited for the Red Sox right now. There's a lot of work to be done.

I mean, the other thread died. May as well start up the next one to get a bit of discussion going.

Fear the Orioles...We are the Detroit Tigers of 2007. We just need some pitchers...And two good hitters...And find a way to restore team/fan moral...And we're good to go!

The Boston Red Sox reportedly have the highest bid sent to the Seibu Lions in order to negotiate with Daisuke Matsuzaka.

Now I'm excited. But the Sox are reportedly bidding $35-40M to just win the rights to negotiate a contract with him. They would still have to sign him after that.

If the Red Sox get him, what's their lineup going to look like?

Matsuzaka, Beckett, Shilling, Wakefield and possibly Papelbon, right?

I mean, we have the pitchers, we just need Leo Mazzone to make them good. Bedard, Cabrera, Loewen, and Penn are all very talented young pitchers and with the right tutelage the Orioles could have a dominating rotation. The Oriole's biggest problems last year were their complete lack of any bullpen (we're fine as long as our starters can get us all the way to Chris Ray) and inability to hit it out of the ballpark. As usual the Orioles are full of potential that they will not come close to living up to in the regular season.

Assuming Schilling doesn't retire and Beckett isn't shipped back to the National League for prospects and ca$h, that's probably an accurate rotation. I'm sure Matt Clement misses being in the rotation.

I keep having this discussion with my dad all the time...What our guys need is a Kenny Rogers that can come in and stabilize things. I think Benson is keeping the spot warm for Penn at the moment, but he had a solid year. Adding a true vetern ace/#2 to the staff would make everyone better.

I do like our line-up: We won't do any better than Roberts, Mora, Tejada and Hernandez at their positions. Markakis will be in right field as long as he wants to be. Patterson probably has a year to show what he can do, but he's a five-tool player who lacks discipline. That also leaves Gibbons for 1B, DH or one of the corner outfield spots. That gives us two spots to add great hitters at power positions.

I think if the Orioles overspend for an ace and the two hitters ($45 million, give or take), we'll add enough to finish above .500, if not contend. Honestly, the Yankees and Boston are both due for a fall. As is, I like Toronto to take the division next year...

But we'll see...The off-season is still young. Crazier shit has happened in the past.

Also: Fuck JD Drew. That guy pisses me off...He's a good player, but that's twice he's screwed teams over about his bloody contract. Now he'll have batteries thrown at him in both Philadelphia AND LA. I understand free agents are basically just hired goons, but that description fits him far better than most. I hope he's one of the players the Orioles don't acquire.

And $30 million just to discuss signing the Japanese guy...I certainly hope we have the next Hideki Irabu on our hands. Stories about how the Red Sox or Yankees blew $45 million to get a guy who can't cut it in the big leagues are something I can read all year and not get tired of.

Matsuzaka was MVP of the World Baseball Classic, which is probably where all his hype stems from. 3-0 with a 1.38 ERA is pretty good.


Anyways, Gary Sheffield was trade to Detroit for three pitching prospects. Most people figured this would happen after the Yanks trade for Abreu.

Article here.

Bad trade for the Tigers. They don't need Sheffield in their clubhouse.

Hmm... Tigers gave up some good pitching prospects, but they're completely overloaded with those as it is. It was a given some good young arms would be traded away this offseason. And the Tigers got another good bat in their lineup. It seems to be a good trade for both teams, at least for now. I don't know how injury-prone Sheffield is, or what is attitude is, though. But Leyland and Dombrowski both seem to like him, so I guess he's okay in that regard.

Nee: Sheffield is a douchebag. Enjoy that albatross!

I was going to post this also.

Bad move, Detroit.

Yankees are in the mood to give this offseason, trading Jaret Wright to the Orioles for Chris Britton. The Yankees pitching consists of Chien-Ming Wang, a Randy Johnson coming from back surgery, and a Carl Pavano who had so many injuries it's way past ridiculous.

Mike Mussina is probably going to come back as they need him, but the Yankees are definitely looking for pitching throughout the off-season.

Article Here.

Cardinals are looking to be weaker than this year unless they get their balls to go for pitching. Zito is pretty much gone and Schmidt is almost out of the picture.

Otherwise we're banking on young talent. :\

Peter Gammons (back in action, as he should be) told his pals at ESPN that the Boston Red Sox have indeed put in the high bid for Daisuke Mastuzaka with a $42M bid.

That's a lot of coin for one man. He had better be good.

Aw man, I don't want a jackass on the Tigers. I don't like rooting for guys who are jerks.

$51.1M is crazy just to negotiate with a guy. He better win 30 games and pitch 300 Ks each year or he won't be worth it. Yes I'm serious. This is the kind of move that kills a team's economy, and the Red Sox don't have enough seats to sell their expensive-ass tickets for so they'll have to jack the damn prices up even more.

In other news, the new Diamondbacks attire looks good.

Ten to one odds he gets injured before the All Star break.

Considering he's rumored to have pitched in more strenuous situations, I'd only take that bet as an irony bet.

Well, it certainly would be some kind of poetic justice after these ridiculous bargaining prices.

Baseball really needs a salary cap. It's just disgusting.

I'll play devil's advocate and give you two words: European football.