# 2010 MLB Thread!!!



## mistermet (Jan 26, 2008)

Soooo I started last year's MLB thread, so I figured I'd keep up the tradition.  Everybody ready for the season to start? My Mets are...well...:mum:flush:doh . i think that about sums it up. between Beltran and Reyes' "injuries" (come on Jose...hyperthyroid! after everything that happened last year!), it is looking like another lost year. unfortunately, nothing will change until A) the ownership changes or B) Minaya and Manuel are run out of town and ownership actually hires a smart/experienced GM and manager (and lets said GM do the job on their own...keep Jeff Wilpon out of the front office please).

anyway, lets go Mets! it's spring training and everyone can be excited about their team (yes, even Pirates fans!). can't wait for Opening Day! :clap


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## Groundskeeper (Feb 6, 2010)

I can't wait for the regular season. My Padres should be an interesting team this year. It's a young team with some interesting players and speed, speed, speed. Should be fun to watch defensively and on the bases. Lots of young pitchers too, but I think they pitching should be able to hold it's own. I hope they don't trade Adrian Gonzalez though. He's the best player on the team hands down. If this team is going to remain competitive, they need him!


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

I'm looking forward to a Red Sox defense that should be greatly improved. The lineup won't be quite as intimidating as it's been in recent years, but should be solid enough given the quality of the pitching, especially in the starting rotation. Should be a competitive race in the AL East as always.


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## BetaBoy90 (Jan 5, 2010)

Blue Jays bandwagon jumper here, I'm thinking I won't be watching much of my team this year. I will be watching the Phillies though. Hopefully watch Roy Halladay win the NL Cy, then go onto win the WS!!!!!

BTW I'm liking a Phillies vs. Yankees rematch, who does everyone else have going to the series?


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

BetaBoy90 said:


> BTW I'm liking a Phillies vs. Yankees rematch, who does everyone else have going to the series?


Yeah, I would have to predict a Phillies-Yankees World Series as well. If not the Yankees, probably another AL East team, though Seattle might be a good dark-horse candidate to make a run. The Phillies seem clearly to be the class of the NL. Maybe the Cardinals get in the mix, since they seem to be in it every year, but it's hard to pick against Philly.


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## mistermet (Jan 26, 2008)

totally hate to say it, but yeah, the phillies are the class of the NL. its too bad because i hate them with such a passion, but you have to give credit where it's due. the difference between Halladay and Lee isn't huge, but don't forget that the Phils got Lee in July. They'll have a full year of Halladay compared to what they had early last season (the Chan Ho Parks of the world). if not the phillies in the NL, i could see the Cardinals, the Rockies or even the Braves (if they win the WC) as NL WS contenders.

in the AL, certainly the Yankees. if not them, i am not all that impressed with the Red Sox...i think Bay to Cameron is a huge step down and if Papi continues to struggle, then the offense is a big question mark. the SP should be better, but Lackey has had injury issues before and Dice-K is almost non existent. plus in the pen, Papelbon is on thin ice with the Fenway faithful. i could see the Rays having a shot, the Twins or certainly the Mariners (they've really improved big time--Jack Zduriencik has done a monster job there in 2 years). also the angels are always in there so i wouldn't count them out.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

mistermet said:


> i am not all that impressed with the Red Sox...i think Bay to Cameron is a huge step down and if Papi continues to struggle, then the offense is a big question mark. the SP should be better, but Lackey has had injury issues before and Dice-K is almost non existent. plus in the pen, Papelbon is on thin ice with the Fenway faithful.


Bay to Cameron is not a huge step down when you consider the overall impact. It's a step down offensively, but the defensive gains are enormous. Not only does it replace a poor defensive outfielder with a great one, it moves Ellsbury out of center, where he was a total disaster. The defensive improvements on the infield are substantial and don't come at the expense of offense (Beltre is as good an offensive player as Lowell, and light years better defensively; Scutaro had a breakout year with the bat last season). It's true that Papi has declined offensively, though he had a good second half last year after the terrible start. Also, the Sox will have a full year of Victor Martinez, who obviously proved to be a huge upgrade over what Varitek had become. Overall, yeah, it's not as intimidating a lineup as the Sox have had in the past, but there are no glaring holes in it, either, and again, I really think the defensive upgrades will make up for that. The terrible team defense last year was a major, major issue. The front office knew what had to be done and I think they made the right moves.

As for the pitching, Beckett and Lester will be great as usual at the top of the rotation. I'm not expecting anything great from Lackey, but he should be solid. Dice-K is obviously a question mark, and if he has a good year I'll consider it a bonus. Clay Buchholz will be a full-time member of the rotation for the first time, and has the potential to be very very good. As for the bullpen, I guess I'm not as worried about Papelbon as some people are. Yeah, he had a weird spike in walks last year, but even with that he was still one of the best closers in baseball. He's not on "thin ice" as far as I'm concerned.

Overall, I think the Yankees will take the division, but the Red Sox should be the favorite for the wild card.

Anyway, I can't wait for the season to start! It will be fun to see how things play out.


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## BetaBoy90 (Jan 5, 2010)

It will be interesting to see how the Red Sox play out this year. Obviously their pitching is top notch, best in AL for me, but the hitting all though decent 1-9, no one is scary in that lineup(if its big papi of last year). Now if they add a big bat at the deadline, I may revise my choice and pick Boston, but that's just looking way too far ahead.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

Joe Mauer will be staying with the Twins! I'm very happy about that.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5016230


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## tavery1 (Feb 17, 2010)

mistermet said:


> Reyes' "injuries"


There was a rumor going around that Jose was coming back off the "white stuff" If you remember he got caught with it in 06-07 when he was just coming up, I remember the other rumor his wife got banned from the clubhouse cause she would bring it to him.

Also, if anyone else wants to form a lynch mob to get rid of Manual and Omar "I'll only sign hispanic players" Minaya.


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## mistermet (Jan 26, 2008)

tavery1 said:


> There was a rumor going around that Jose was coming back off the "white stuff" If you remember he got caught with it in 06-07 when he was just coming up, I remember the other rumor his wife got banned from the clubhouse cause she would bring it to him.
> 
> Also, if anyone else wants to form a lynch mob to get rid of Manual and Omar "I'll only sign hispanic players" Minaya.


I don't remember hearing that he actually got caught, but I remember the rumors. i remember it coincided with Luis Castillo being brought in, after Valentin had been out for the season in 07. anyway, by "injuries", i meant this frustrating Thyroid issue that he has now. hope it gets cleared up soon...i want to see Jose back at the top of that lineup (please Jerry, don't bat him third).

i'm in if you want to go get Minaya and Manuel, btw. :yes :bat :high5


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## mistermet (Jan 26, 2008)

anonymid said:


> Bay to Cameron is not a huge step down when you consider the overall impact. It's a step down offensively, but the defensive gains are enormous. Not only does it replace a poor defensive outfielder with a great one, it moves Ellsbury out of center, where he was a total disaster. The defensive improvements on the infield are substantial and don't come at the expense of offense (Beltre is as good an offensive player as Lowell, and light years better defensively; Scutaro had a breakout year with the bat last season). It's true that Papi has declined offensively, though he had a good second half last year after the terrible start. Also, the Sox will have a full year of Victor Martinez, who obviously proved to be a huge upgrade over what Varitek had become. Overall, yeah, it's not as intimidating a lineup as the Sox have had in the past, but there are no glaring holes in it, either, and again, I really think the defensive upgrades will make up for that. The terrible team defense last year was a major, major issue. The front office knew what had to be done and I think they made the right moves.
> 
> As for the pitching, Beckett and Lester will be great as usual at the top of the rotation. I'm not expecting anything great from Lackey, but he should be solid. Dice-K is obviously a question mark, and if he has a good year I'll consider it a bonus. Clay Buchholz will be a full-time member of the rotation for the first time, and has the potential to be very very good. As for the bullpen, I guess I'm not as worried about Papelbon as some people are. Yeah, he had a weird spike in walks last year, but even with that he was still one of the best closers in baseball. He's not on "thin ice" as far as I'm concerned.
> 
> ...


i understand what you mean with the Bay-Cameron swap. i just know from watching Cameron when he was with the Mets that he can be a frustrating player to watch. He'll go on a tear for 2 weeks where he looks like a stud and then his swing will get all long and he'll be cold for a month and rack up all the strikeouts. plus, i felt that his defense, though good, was overrated. he's solid but i certainly wouldn't consider him to be one of the best (although he's probably a huge step up from Ellsbury). i'll put it this way...he's not in the Carlos Beltran/Grady Sizemore/Franklin Gutierrez category defensively.

that being said, i think the Sox should definitely have a good shot at the WC. the pitching is solid and deep and if they can get some offense, they should be able to hang in there. they could really use a rejuvenated Big Papi, though. that'd certainly make the lineup a lot scarier.


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## tavery1 (Feb 17, 2010)

mistermet said:


> I don't remember hearing that he actually got caught, but I remember the rumors. i remember it coincided with Luis Castillo being brought in, after Valentin had been out for the season in 07. anyway, by "injuries", i meant this frustrating Thyroid issue that he has now. hope it gets cleared up soon...i want to see Jose back at the top of that lineup (please Jerry, don't bat him third).
> 
> i'm in if you want to go get Minaya and Manuel, btw. :yes :bat :high5


Yea that whole situation is just messy, I don't so much hate Jerry as I do Minaya, noone would turn down a coaching job and is doing what he can(still a crap manager) Minaya though RUINED the farm system.

I remember when I was really young I'd go watch the double-A Binghamton Mets play since I live like 10 min away from the stadium and they used to contend every year, I saw Jose, David, Aaron Hielman(when he was good) and have their autographs on a glove somewheres, now you couldn't get me to go for free, apparently Omar thinks that you don't need prospects.

Anyways, I'd dump Luis big money for a singles hitter that can't field for beans, move Murph to second since hes got crazy range and has decent power and have Ike Davis play first, good power, decent fielder, and gets on base fairly regularly(at least in the spring) OBP .536 Slugging .960 BA .480

If this team stays healthy we could contend for a wild card lets not forget the seasons we had 2 and 3 years ago, but I'm not holding my breath.


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## tavery1 (Feb 17, 2010)

Well lets scratch that Ike Davis starting, who in the hell thought it was a good idea to move him to the minors, hes batting like .450 or so. I like Murph hes got a ton of potential but hes been playing like garbage this spring.


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## mistermet (Jan 26, 2008)

tavery1 said:


> Well lets scratch that Ike Davis starting, who in the hell thought it was a good idea to move him to the minors, hes batting like .450 or so. I like Murph hes got a ton of potential but hes been playing like garbage this spring.


I'm actually okay with Davis starting at AAA. I think that in the long run, it'll help him. He was unconscious this spring, but if you look at his minor league numbers, he has a huge platoon split. he's been below average against lefties through his minor league career. that's a big factor towards whether he'll be a stud or just a guy. i'm alright with him working on that in the minor leagues, as his spring, though great, is too small a sample size to tell.

unfortunately, the Mets are going to buy into Jenrry Mejia's small sample size instead of doing the right thing and sending him back to AA to work on his secondary pitches. i guess that's what happens when the manager and GM are trying to save their jobs. :mum


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## tavery1 (Feb 17, 2010)

mistermet said:


> unfortunately, the Mets are going to buy into Jenrry Mejia's small sample size instead of doing the right thing and sending him back to AA to work on his secondary pitches. i guess that's what happens when the manager and GM are trying to save their jobs. :mum


Hes way to good to be in AA I could see triple, I saw him pitch once or twice last year in AA and just blew people away, was a little erratic at times but good enough for AAA. I just don't wanna see him turn into a Joba where he gets brought up to quick and starts to suck.


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## mistermet (Jan 26, 2008)

tavery1 said:


> Hes way to good to be in AA I could see triple, I saw him pitch once or twice last year in AA and just blew people away, was a little erratic at times but good enough for AAA. I just don't wanna see him turn into a Joba where he gets brought up to quick and starts to suck.


okay...i haven't seen him pitch, other than spring training on TV, so I'm just going by numbers and other people's scouting reports. i'd definitely be alright with him going to AAA. personally, i like to see a player dominate the level before they are promoted. statistically, he was average at AA last year (he had a lot of k's but also too many walks). i'm guessing that's partially due to the finger injury he had. i'd still like to see him begin at AA just to give him a month there. if he dominates after 3-4 starts, he's promoted to AAA by the end of April.

and i agree on the Joba thing...that's my worst nightmare. :afr


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## Groundskeeper (Feb 6, 2010)

anonymid said:


> Joe Mauer will be staying with the Twins! I'm very happy about that.
> 
> http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5016230


8 years, $184 million?! That's a good chunk of change. :lol


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## mistermet (Jan 26, 2008)

Groundskeeper said:


> 8 years, $184 million?! That's a good chunk of change. :lol


I'm really glad that the Twins were able to lock him up. I mean, I would've loved him to be a Met, but 1) we all know that wasn't going to happen anyway and 2) it is good to see small market clubs locking up their studs for a change. it is certainly healthy for the game.


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## matty (Nov 2, 2009)

Being an aussie I dont really get much mlb on tv. But I love it when they show it. Pity it is normally when I am at work. 

When does the season start? I love MLB. I am looking forward to moving to canada and being in the same sorta time zone. Be able to watch my sports.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

matty said:


> When does the season start?


April 4th. Can't get here soon enough!


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## matty (Nov 2, 2009)

haha, I bet it cant. I use to follow the Detroit 2 yrs ago. Last year was St louis. And I watch a bit of the red sox. Which team should I watch this year? Who wants to adopt me?


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## Paul (Sep 26, 2005)

Prospective Canadians should be Blue Jays fans. I'm one because I'm a wannabe Canadian who never will be.

Call me crazy, but I'm optimistic the Jays will be better this year. Despite being so far under .500 last year, they scored more runs than they allowed -- they were just extremely unlucky in how the runs were distributed. Halladay's gone, but Marcum is back and he was pitching like an ace in '08. Plus McGowan and Litsch should be back at some point in the year, Travis Snider is ready to take off, and there are finally some good prospects (Drabek, Wallace) on the verge of the majors. They can be .500 this year and compete next year.


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## matty (Nov 2, 2009)

actually that is a good idea. I will follow the jays. Thanks hoth. But i doubt they will be on tv here very often. but there is always the internet.


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## Zephyr (Nov 8, 2003)

BetaBoy90 said:


> Blue Jays bandwagon jumper here, I'm thinking I won't be watching much of my team this year. I will be watching the Phillies though. Hopefully watch Roy Halladay win the NL Cy, then go onto win the WS!!!!!


Jays fan as well, but I'll be an honorary Phillies fan this year for sure. Doc certainly deserves pitching on a contender after all those years slaving for a so-so Toronto team, and it'll be fun to watch. If he pitches at anywhere near the level he did over 2008 and 2009, he's gonna tear up that league. Consider that he made no fewer than *32 *starts against the Yankees, Red Sox, and Tampa over that stretch, three of the best teams in all mlb, and still put up dominating numbers. Over his entire career, thanks to the unbalanced schedule over 25% of his starts (73 of 287) have come against either Boston or New York.

Now he's going to be pitching agains the Marlins, Nats, Braves etc. It'll be like a vacation :lol. Philadelphia is one of the few that is built like an AL East club, and of course it's the one team he won't have to face.



Hoth said:


> Prospective Canadians should be Blue Jays fans. I'm one because I'm a wannabe Canadian who never will be.
> 
> Call me crazy, but I'm optimistic the Jays will be better this year. Despite being so far under .500 last year, they scored more runs than they allowed -- they were just extremely unlucky in how the runs were distributed. Halladay's gone, but Marcum is back and he was pitching like an ace in '08. Plus McGowan and Litsch should be back at some point in the year, Travis Snider is ready to take off, and there are finally some good prospects (Drabek, Wallace) on the verge of the majors. They can be .500 this year and compete next year.


No, you're not exactly crazy. Somehow it's become a habit with this team, though, to finish well under its Pythagorean record. It's gotten to the point where I just expect the Jays to have a record four or five games worse than it "should" be, if not seven or eight worse like last year. Really, go back to about 2002 and tote up the Jays real record against their Pythag. You'll be shocked. This team has been either seriously unlucky or cursed with some awful karma.

Of course, with the young rotation and everything things could fall off the tracks and the Jays could lose 95 games or something, but if all hangs together well they could be within hailing distance of .500.

As usual, the biggest challenge facing this team is playing in a stacked division. We know about the big three, Baltimore seems to finally be coming out of the woods and be rapidly improving, and if the Jays' rebuild goes well (and their filthy rich ownership actually treats them like the large market team they used to be and should be), in a couple years the AL East could be just stupid ridiculous...even more than it is already.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

Haven't seen you around in a while, Zephyr. Welcome back. 

And you're right about Baltimore; they do seem to be putting something together. Jones, Wieters, and Matusz are all potential superstars, and would form quite a core if they live up to their promise. If all three make big strides this year, the Orioles could even finish out of the basement (which I'm afraid would leave that spot for you guys, Blue Jays fans).


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## mistermet (Jan 26, 2008)

anonymid said:


> And you're right about Baltimore; they do seem to be putting something together. Jones, Wieters, and Matusz are all potential superstars, and would form quite a core if they live up to their promise. If all three make big strides this year, the Orioles could even finish out of the basement (which I'm afraid would leave that spot for you guys, Blue Jays fans).


Yeah, you guys are totally right about Baltimore. I don't see them reaching .500 this season and they probably aren't better than the Jays at the moment, but they finally have some serious talent coming up with Wieters, Jones, Matusz, Tillman, Reimold and even Markakis, since he is still young. Andy McPhail has done a great job there in 3+ years, especially considering the terrible ownership of Peter Angelos (i remember when he put up a hissy fit over trading Miguel Tejada and Brian Roberts...did he not realize how sucky the team had been for 10+ years?). It's been way too long since the O's were a contender.

back in 2006, i predicted that the Rays would be a contender within a year or two...i feel the same thing with the O's. 2012 or 2013.


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## perrin34 (Mar 26, 2010)

I'm pulling for my Angels! Although the loss of Figgins & Lackey really stinks!


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## Squid24 (Nov 23, 2009)

tavery1 said:


> Also, if anyone else wants to form a lynch mob to get rid of Manual and Omar "I'll only sign hispanic players" Minaya.


Back when he was running the Expos, I thought Minaya was simply destroying the team on behalf of MLB, but watching him run the Mets makes me wonder if he wasn't just incompetent enough to think that he was making good moves.

I think my A's will have another bad season, but if the rotation stays healthy (How could a group led by Justin Duchscherer and Ben Sheets not be?) and Barton figures a way to hit in a month other than september and a couple young guys have good years they could contend!

I think the Angels are still the team to beat in the west and that Mariners were lucky to win as many games as they did last year, just winning 85 games and not allowing more runs than they score would be an improvement.


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## BetaBoy90 (Jan 5, 2010)

> think my A's will have another bad season, but if the rotation stays healthy (How could a group led by Justin Duchscherer and Ben Sheets not be?) and Barton figures a way to hit in a month other than september and a couple young guys have good years they could contend!


How's Sheets looking for this year? I just remember hearing about his stinker in spring training?"


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## Squid24 (Nov 23, 2009)

BetaBoy90 said:


> How's Sheets looking for this year? I just remember hearing about his stinker in spring training?"


He's been better since that game, but doing better than 9 R, 0 IP is hardly an achievement. So far this spring he hasn't looked too good, but the velocity is here and apparently it's not unusual for him to struggle in spring training. Since these are his first games in over a year, I suppose it may take a while into the season for him to be fully back.


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## mistermet (Jan 26, 2008)

good luck with Sheets this year. i was kind of hoping the Mets would bring him in, but the A's offered him a ton of money for a guy who was injured all year. if it works, though, it'll be a steal because when Sheets is healthy and at his best, he is one of the top pitchers in the game.


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## Paul (Sep 26, 2005)

I wonder which of Adam Lind's family members the Jays abducted to get him to sign that contract extension. Average of $5.5 mil per year over 7 years, and even club options to reduce that risk... I know he's not a great outfielder, but .305/35/114 with a silver slugger award has to be worth more than that.

(Actually, I read his girlfriend is from Toronto. Maybe the front office hired her to go woo and influence him. Creative strategy.)


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## mistermet (Jan 26, 2008)

Hoth said:


> I wonder which of Adam Lind's family members the Jays abducted to get him to sign that contract extension. Average of $5.5 mil per year over 7 years, and even club options to reduce that risk... I know he's not a great outfielder, but .305/35/114 with a silver slugger award has to be worth more than that.
> 
> (Actually, I read his girlfriend is from Toronto. Maybe the front office hired her to go woo and influence him. Creative strategy.)


yeah, that is pretty cheap for a guy who put up those numbers last year. i read that it is 4 guaranteed years at 18 million total, but there are 3 club options at the end, so if he continues producing, i'd imagine those get picked up (though maybe they end up tearing those option years up and renegotiate in the future so that they don't piss him off). also, don't forget that he is a DH too.



CrashMedicate said:


> Do it big Santana! Let's fry us some Fish!


Good game for the Metsies today! Well played all around (on the Mets side anyway) and it was nice to see David Wright crank one out in his first AB. all in all, a well played opener!

here's an odd fact: the mets actually have the best record on Opening Day in the majors at 32-17! too bad everyday wasn't opening day! :mum almost as strange as Kaz Matsui hitting a home run in his first at bat on opening day all three years he was with the Mets (2004, 2005 and an inside the parker in 2006).


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## TurningPoint (Jan 27, 2010)

Alas, the Jays start floundering when the plays the AL East teams. Good to see them win against the A's. I still think that the offense is going to suck this year minus Lind, and I think Wells has it in him to hit 25 HRs this year. I do like the Jays pitching though. If one of the young starters can emerge as an ace (most likely Romero, McGowan? or Drabek), then the Jays will have a nice rotation for years.


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## BetaBoy90 (Jan 5, 2010)

I hope a couple years down the road management will throw some money into getting "real" major league hitters. Like you say, our pitching is emerging as one of the better young squads in the league, we just need some power and speed at the top of the lineup and we'll be in contention within 2-3 years.


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## TurningPoint (Jan 27, 2010)

BetaBoy90 said:


> I hope a couple years down the road management will throw some money into getting "real" major league hitters. Like you say, our pitching is emerging as one of the better young squads in the league, we just need some power and speed at the top of the lineup and we'll be in contention within 2-3 years.


A strategy I've heard for baseball management is to pay for hitting and to get pitching from the farm system. I believe in this strategy because pitchers are easily injured in comparison to hitters, along with the fact that pitchers don't play every day and cornerstone power hitters are harder to find and are more important than top of the rotation aces.

The A's are notorious for focusing on pitching for their farm system with the Hudson, Mulder, Zito combo in the early 2000s, and the new generation on their team in Anderson, Cahill and Duchscherer. Marlins are doing the same thing.

Unless the Jays have some super prospect coming up (they don't), to be a contender, they'll likely have to trade for someone like Detroit did for Miguel Cabrera.


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## fern (Nov 16, 2008)

...


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## david86 (Feb 24, 2009)

Let's Go Dodgers!


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## TurningPoint (Jan 27, 2010)

The Rays.. definitely should be considered for the best team in baseball. They have everything you could want in a baseball team except maybe some problems with relief.

To me, it's either the Yankees, Rays or Cardinals.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

I agree about the Rays being the best team. They have the best pitching and the best defense in the American League, a combination that has them allowing the fewest runs per game by quite a wide margin (3.06--the Twins are second best at 3.62).

Offensively, their numbers are pretty interesting. They've only been a league-average team OPS-wise (seventh best), and have hit the fifth-fewest home runs (30), but are in the top two in runs per game (virtually tied with the Yankees for first, and ahead of third-place Boston by a decent margin):

BA/OBP/SLG:
AL avg: .255/.329/.402
Rays: .253/.332/.404

R/G:
AL avg: 4.44
Rays: 5.56

http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/2010-standard-batting.shtml


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## Whitney (Oct 2, 2008)

Go Braves! haha, I don't really watch much baseball but I love me some Braves...


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

silenced said:


> What's wrong with the Mariners this season? I predicted them winning the AL West and a lot of people had high expectations for them. This is sad...


Their offense has been terrible, which everyone knew would be their weakness going into the season. Their pitching and defense have been among the best in the league, as expected. But the offense is last in runs scored, last in home runs, last in on-base percentage, last in slugging percentage, and next to last in batting average. Gutierrez is having a great year, and Ichiro is hitting his usual .350, but the rest of the lineup has been absolutely awful. Griffey is done (sadly), and Milton Bradley clearly brought some sort of curse with him. Figgins has underachieved.

It's still early, though, and that AL West is not a strong division, so there's plenty of time for the Mariners to make up ground. I predicted them to win the division, too. I think they can still do it, though they're going to have to improve their lineup.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

Heartbreaking loss by the Red Sox. They trailed the Yankees 5-0 after the first inning, but gradually came back and took a 9-7 lead into the 9th--only to have Papelbon give up a pair of two-run homers. Things aren't looking good. I'm not going to panic yet, but they've got a lot of ground to make up in an extremely difficult division. I think Toronto will eventually come back to earth, but the Yankees and Rays are really, really good--probably the two best teams in baseball. It's going to take a lot of work to finish ahead of one of those two. The Sox can't afford to lose many games like this.


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## mistermet (Jan 26, 2008)

TurningPoint said:


> Alas, the Jays start floundering when the plays the AL East teams. Good to see them win against the A's. I still think that the offense is going to suck this year minus Lind, and I think Wells has it in him to hit 25 HRs this year. I do like the Jays pitching though. If one of the young starters can emerge as an ace (most likely Romero, McGowan? or Drabek), then the Jays will have a nice rotation for years.


The Jays really do have a nice young rotation with Marcum and Romero. Unfortunately the injury bug has bitten but if guys like McGowan and Litsch get back soon and Morrow and Drabek develop into solid starters, that could be a dominant rotation.


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## mistermet (Jan 26, 2008)

TurningPoint said:


> The Rays.. definitely should be considered for the best team in baseball. They have everything you could want in a baseball team except maybe some problems with relief.
> 
> To me, it's either the Yankees, Rays or Cardinals.


The Rays are SCARY good. The offense has been average as just about everybody except Longoria, Crawford and Zobrist has been bad thus far, and they are still totally dominant because of that pitching. They already had two young top of the rotation guys in Shields and Garza, who have really improved a lot this season but with Niemann further establishing himself in his second year and Price finally throwing like a #1 starter, they are just incredible. Wade Davis is also going to be very good and has been decent thus far and they even have guys that are on the outside looking in that could be good starters (Sonnanstine is one example). You know you're a good team when you can deal young starters like Kazmir, Jason Hammel and Edwin Jackson and still have a boatload of young talent to draw from.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

Perfect game by Roy Halladay! Only twenty perfect games have ever been pitched, and two of them have come in the past month (three within the past year when you include Buehrle's). Incredible!


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## coldsorehighlighter (Jun 2, 2010)

I feel so bad for that umpire! What a lonely feeling. But I think what transpired after was almost worth it. The way Galaragga handled it was amazing and an example of what everyone should act like in situations like that, in sports and in life. 
He probably felt robbed of his place in baseball history, and nobody would have blamed him if he went crazy and starting yelling and berating the umpire...and all he did was smile, walk away, and go get the next batter out. His team mates and managers and the 10's of thousands of fans in the building were on the umpire, booing him, yelling at him...imagine how terrible he felt when he eventually saw the replay...in super slow motion...like the rest of us.
The way the pitcher and umpire handled it kinda just restored my faith in humanity...it's always good when people in authority can admit mistakes, and the offended person can accept and forgive...


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## Lifetimer (May 16, 2004)

the cheat said:


> imagine how terrible he felt when he eventually saw the replay...in super slow motion...like the rest of us.


Yes, that is the key phrase -- _*in super slow motion.*_

I am SO tired of hearing people - as well as the media such as ESPN, etc - talk about how "obvious" it was that the runner was out, and I'm so tired of hearing what a "terrible, terrible" call it was by the umpire. Was it obvious the runner was out? Yes, but only AFTER watching it in slow motion replay!! When I first saw the replay in normal time (not slo-mo) I thought it was a tie of the ball and the runner reaching first at the same time. It wasn't until I was able to see the slow motion replay that I was able to absolutely conclude the runner should have been called out. It took super slow motion replay to see he was out by about a foot... or maybe a foot and a half at the most.

My question is: Why are SO many people (and the media too) saying things like ... "it was obvious he was out" ... "he was out by a mile" ... "he was out by at least a full stride" ... "the umpire made a terrible call because it wasn't even close!" ... and on and on. I've heard ALL these comments and many other similar comments. Why is it people have to exaggerate and lie? In regular time, it was VERY close. It regular time, it was NOT automatically obvious he was out. Maybe if you watched the real time replay several times then you maybe can slightly tell he was out. As I said, I thought it was a tie when I first saw it. The umpire did not have the advantage of a slow motion replay to help him make the call. With the naked eye - and only one chance to make the call - it could've gone either way. It took slow motion to make it absolutely obvious he was out. If people were being truthful, I don't see how anyone can say the play was a easy slam dunk call.

Ok, I got that off my chest and I feel better.

Lifetimer


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## coldsorehighlighter (Jun 2, 2010)

In defense of them, us seeing it on TV is not as close as if we were physically standing less than 6 feet from the base. We'd have a million times better view then. 
But yeah, anyone who is bad-mouthing the umpire has never umpired. You get one chance to make the call. One thing he could have done was confer with the other umpires, but I don't think that has EVER happened on a bang-bang call at 1st base. It's happened for many other things but not that...the 1st base umpire makes that call himself 100% of the time, based on what he saw. Thats the human element of the game, and it isn't his fault that he didn't have the option to have another super slow motion replay view.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

^^ Agree with both of you 100%

The irony of Galarraga supposedly being robbed of his place in history is that this unofficial perfect game is going to be much better remembered than most of the official perfect games. Galarraga's game will be talked about for much, much longer than Halladay's and Braden's games will be. It's going to become part of baseball lore. Whenever the topic of perfect games comes up, people are going to invoke The Perfect Game That Should Have Been, even if it's not on the official list. So I don't think anyone needs to worry about Galarraga's game being forgotten or insufficiently acknowledged.

I do hope, though, that this gets baseball closer to implementing a more comprehensive replay system.


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## Fitzer (Feb 13, 2010)

Bud Selig owed it to Galarraga, Jim Joyce, and all baseball fans to overturn that call. Why do we not have more instant replay in baseball when we have it in every other sport and it works fine?


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## Lifetimer (May 16, 2004)

Psychedelic Breakfast said:


> Sure, everyone is human and makes mistakes, but to say that it was a close call is being a wee bit too generous; Donald was at least half a second late and it seemed pretty obvious (yes, _obvious_), from a regular speed replay.


I guess we just see things differently. Sure, if a person watches the regular speed replay more than once, then it becomes more obvious that the runner was out (as opposed to watching it *just* *once - *when the play originally happened in real time). As I've mentioned before, the first time I saw the regular speed replay I thought it was a tie of the batter stepping on the base and the ball reaching the first baseman's glove at the same instant. Realize the first base umpire only gets _one _look at the play as it happens in live time. I think he saw the same as I did when I first saw the play. I have watched the replay (in regular speed) many times since then and, yes, I can very slightly see that he the throw beat the runner. BUT, it took me a few (about 3 or 4) times of the regular speed replay before I said to myself, "yes, I can see the throw barely beat the runner."

Too bad the first base umpire wasn't able to consult with the video replay to come to the same conclusion.

Lifetimer


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

Stephen Strasburg looked more like a mortal today than in his first start, but he was still very good. I really hope he stays healthy and doesn't flame out early. I love great pitching, and he has all the makings of an all-time great.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

There are All-Star snubs every year, and it's not something that's usually a big deal to me, but how Joey Votto doesn't get selected is just unfathomable to me. Obviously there are some great first basemen in the NL, and there's no arguing Pujols and Gonzalez being there. But Ryan Howard?

At least Votto is on the final-man ballot, so he still has a chance to make it. I'll be casting as many votes as I can for him. There are some other startling omissions (no Alex Rios--not even on the final-man ballot!), but it will be a complete joke if Votto doesn't end up on the NL All-Star roster. He's not just having a good season. He's a legitimate MVP candidate. He might be the most underrated player in baseball.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

Oh, and here's an article from about a year ago detailing Votto's struggles with depression and anxiety. He really seems like a great guy and worth rooting for:

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090623&content_id=5484002&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp


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## stooge (Jul 9, 2010)

Votto got voted into the All-Star game, finally. He should have been the starting 1st baseman. He's played better than Pujols this season. Most underrated player in baseball, for sure.

In other news, Cliff Lee has been traded again, this time to the Rangers. Sad to say that the Angels might miss the postseason this year.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

I was really hoping the Twins would land Lee, but at least the Yankees didn't get him (for now, anyway; free agency will be a different story, I'm afraid).


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

The Twins trade their best prospect (catcher Wilson Ramos) for a good-but-not-great relief pitcher (Matt Capps)? Ugh. Haren or Lee would have been worth it. But Matt Capps? That's a terrible trade.


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## rdrr (Dec 31, 2008)

Phillies are the Yankees in the NL. Oswalt and Halladay.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

rdrr said:


> Phillies are the Yankees in the NL. Oswalt and Halladay.


Just imagine, though, it easily could've been Lee and Halladay . . .

Anyway, if Oswalt-Halladay is good enough to take down the Yankees in the World Series (like the D-Backs with Schilling and Johnson in '01), then it'll be worth it!


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## rdrr (Dec 31, 2008)

anonymid said:


> Just imagine, though, it easily could've been Lee and Halladay . . .
> 
> Anyway, if Oswalt-Halladay is good enough to take down the Yankees in the World Series (like the D-Backs with Schilling and Johnson in '01), then it'll be worth it!


I forgot Hamels also. The Yanks are winning the World Series though.


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## mbp86 (May 11, 2010)

Don't count out the Rays.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

With Youkilis now out for the season, the Red Sox are done, I'm afraid to say.


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## mbp86 (May 11, 2010)

Rays lost 2 in a row, aw nuts.


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## MindOverMood (Dec 12, 2009)

People still watch baseball?




Mind = blown


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## BetaBoy90 (Jan 5, 2010)

If only the Giants had better hitting they'd be a WS lock for sure. BTW, Aubrey Huff has never been to an AS game, that's a travesty to me he's quite solid.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

Huff is a legit MVP candidate. He had some decent years with Tampa Bay earlier in his career, but it's remarkable what he's doing for the Giants this year. And yeah, it's a shame they don't have a better offense to go along with that pitching staff. At least the Buster Posey era is underway; that's got to be a reason for Giants fans to hope. It's a huge step forward from when Bengie Molina was their cleanup hitter.


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## Joegoog23 (Aug 17, 2010)

Hi all,

Just joined the forum today and stumbled on this thread. The main thing that gets my mind off all the anxiety and issues in my life is sports.

My fantasy baseball team just made the playoffs which start next week and i saw that there was a Rays and Giants fan on here. I grabbed Madison Bumgarner just before he was called up and he's done great, I also grabbed Jeremy Hellickson and he has been AMAZING. 

For the Rays fan, are you still hearing that Hellickson is going to the bullpen after his start at Oakland this week???

I'm from Rhode Island and a Sox fan for life, but like rooting for the Rays????

Joe


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

Hey Joe, welcome to SAS. 

I'm a Red Sox fan, too (from Connecticut), but I agree that the Rays are fun to root for. There's a book about the Rays coming out next year that I'm looking forward to reading:

http://www.amazon.com/Extra-2%25-Street-Strategies-Baseball/dp/0345517652/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1282074711&sr=1-3

I love that the AL East is as competitive as it is. Having three great teams competing for two postseason spots every year makes for an exciting regular season.

Oh, and good luck to your fantasy team! I've been playing fantasy baseball for the first time this year, and it's a lot of fun. I think I'm going to be addicted to it for life now.


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## Joegoog23 (Aug 17, 2010)

Thanks for the welcome & the link!!

Fantasy Baseball is hard to get into cause the season is soooo long, but once you start following it religiously, it's as fun as Fantasy Football.

You a Pats fan too???

Joe


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## Joegoog23 (Aug 17, 2010)

You must have caught Royalitis living in Kansas (I know Kansas City is in Missouri).

If you are a Royals fan, they have an INCREDIBLE Minor League system including one of the best young pitchers in the country - Mike Montgomery, an AMAZING closer in Louis Coleman, Mike Moustakas, Pitcher Danny Duffy & this years #1 Pick Christian Colon.

They should contend in 2012.

Joe


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## Joegoog23 (Aug 17, 2010)

So who do you root for???


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

Two teams blew 10-1 leads yesterday (though one of them ended up winning anyway):



















Crazy stuff.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

Beltre and Francona get ejected over _this_:

http://fullcount.weei.com/sports/bo...ly-wager-leads-to-ejection-for-adrian-beltre/

Un-freaking-believable.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

It's official: Manny will be playing for Ozzie. opcorn


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

Jason Heyward just scored from first on a single! That kid is awesome.

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=11544555


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## shynesshellasucks (May 10, 2008)

Hopefully my Rays take it all. This years' ALDS will actually be an early ALCS. AL East just owns. If the Rays don't win it all I wouldn't mind it if the Yanks do; I want to see people hate on them like always.:yes


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## mbp86 (May 11, 2010)

Come on NYY lose so the Rays can have the best record.


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## Im really on here (Sep 5, 2010)

Back to back world series titles are a Yankee thing! Go Yankees! 

P.S. For all the Mets fans on here: I'm sorry. But look on the bright side. There is always next year ; )


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## Ironpain (Aug 8, 2010)

San Francisco Giants and New York Yankees Fan right here. 

Who do you think will win The Cy Young Award? 

I'm not as deep into analyzing the game as you guys are (wow you guys impress me your very intelligent when it comes to the game) I'm going to guess, I don't exactly have the knowledge to make a good decision (hence never playing Fantasy baseball lol) but I'm going to go again with Tim Lincecum and C.C. Sabathia.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

I think Halladay and King Felix, barring total meltdowns in their last few starts, should be the Cy Young winners. Josh Johnson's season-ending injury makes Halladay's road a little bit easier. As for Felix, I'm not sure to what degree the voters will look past his mediocre W-L record, but that's purely a product of Seattle's inability to score runs, and has nothing to do with Felix's ability as a pitcher. He's been the best pitcher in the AL this year. Cliff Lee looked like the front-runner for a while, but as with Johnson in the NL, his injury has probably removed him from contention.

I love Tim Lincecum, but he hasn't been quite the same pitcher that he was the last two years, and I doubt he'll appear on many Cy Young ballots. As for C.C., he's very good as well, but not quite as good as his W-L record indicates. He's such a workhorse, though; the number of innings he's pitched in the last four years is incredible. He and Halladay are real throwbacks in that regard. You don't see many guys throw that many innings anymore.


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## Ironpain (Aug 8, 2010)

Beyond Pitchers right now and the potential CY Young Winner, who do you predict will win The MVP Award? list your picks for top Catchers in the MLB

Joe Mauer-Minnesota Twins.
Yadier Molina-St Louis Cardinals
Jason Vartiek-Boston Red Sox
Jorge Posada - New York Yankees


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

If the season ended today I think I'd go with Joey Votto and Josh Hamilton for MVPs. But there are a lot of other good candidates out there. And Hamilton's been out with an injury, so someone like Cano or Longoria could overtake him--maybe Miguel Cabrera, too, though a lot of people don't like to give the MVP to a player on a non-contending team.

Best catchers? Right now it's got to be Joe Mauer and Brian McCann, at least offensively speaking. Geovany Soto is very good, too, and probably underrated (at least by Lou Piniella, who inexplicably batted him near the bottom of the Cubs' order for most of the season). Buster Posey and Carlos Santana will be in the discussion before too long; the offensive numbers they've put up as rookies are pretty remarkable (though Santana's season was cut short with an injury). Still waiting for Matt Wieters to live up to the hype . . .


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## Ironpain (Aug 8, 2010)

anonymid said:


> If the season ended today I think I'd go with Joey Votto and Josh Hamilton for MVPs. But there are a lot of other good candidates out there. And Hamilton's been out with an injury, so someone like Cano or Longoria could overtake him--maybe Miguel Cabrera, too, though a lot of people don't like to give the MVP to a player on a non-contending team.
> 
> Best catchers? Right now it's got to be Joe Mauer and Brian McCann, at least offensively speaking. Geovany Soto is very good, too, and probably underrated (at least by Lou Piniella, who inexplicably batted him near the bottom of the Cubs' order for most of the season). Buster Posey and Carlos Santana will be in the discussion before too long; the offensive numbers they've put up as rookies are pretty remarkable (though Santana's season was cut short with an injury). Still waiting for Matt Wieters to live up to the hype . . .


Some would like to see The Jays Jose Bautista take that honor, but many doubt he can make it, I have to agree about Josh Hamilton (hopefully he can make it back from his injury for the playoffs, also you have Miguel Cabrera I believe would be in contention. Robinson Cano has put up some great numbers that's a good list right there alone. Mauer can go beyond the 100 RBI Mark if he wanted too, he has a good batting average, Mauer is in a class of his own for sure.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

Bautista has been tremendous, definitely. But like Cabrera, not being on a playoff team is probably going to hurt him a bit in the voting. I don't agree with that philosophy myself--I'd rather just see the award go to the best player, regardless of how good the rest of his team is--but that's how it seems to go most of the time. As a Red Sox fan, I'd have to say that Adrian Beltre is in that same camp--tremendous season, but there's only so much one player can do when the rest of the team's stars are out with injuries.

That said, there are ten spots on an MVP ballot, so there's still room for the Bautistas and Cabreras and Beltres along with the Hamiltons and Canos. And yeah, Mauer has been great again this year, even though he started off the season a bit slowly. He should be somewhere in the MVP discussion as well, especially considering that he's had to carry the Twins while Morneau has been out.


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## Ironpain (Aug 8, 2010)

If you were a Coach which team would you chose to coach? I feel really bad for the Pirates Coach right now but truth be told they will never fire him, I don't think they have enough money to bring up anyone decent let alone a decent farm team etc; well with the worst record in the league (I mean it's been worse then what it is now) but even if I was a coach I sadly would not coach them (at least not that sorry bunch) My dream job would be Coaching The Yankees that is legendary but I'd also give my left nut to coach The Sox (but that would cause some controversy (Go to Boston get shunned by New York go to New York and get Shunned by Boston) it's a no brainer I'm going with 

Cincinati Reds. 

Who would you chose?


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

Great shot of Adrian Beltre homering on one knee a few nights ago, something he's done quite a few times this year:










I really, really hope the Red Sox re-sign Beltre. In just one year with the Sox, he's become one of my favorite players. Unfortunately he's the only position player who's been healthy and productive for the entire season (well, there's also Ortiz, who's been pretty good since his terrible April, but of course he doesn't play the field).


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

Ironpain said:


> If you were a Coach which team would you chose to coach? I feel really bad for the Pirates Coach right now but truth be told they will never fire him, I don't think they have enough money to bring up anyone decent let alone a decent farm team etc; well with the worst record in the league (I mean it's been worse then what it is now) but even if I was a coach I sadly would not coach them (at least not that sorry bunch) My dream job would be Coaching The Yankees that is legendary but I'd also give my left nut to coach The Sox (but that would cause some controversy (Go to Boston get shunned by New York go to New York and get Shunned by Boston) it's a no brainer I'm going with
> 
> Cincinati Reds.
> 
> Who would you chose?


Probably the Minnesota Twins. Enough talent to work with, but without the pressure that would come with managing in someplace like Boston, Chicago, or New York. The Red Sox are my favorite team, but I would never want to have to deal with that kind of pressure. The Twins are my second favorite team, and would be a much more comfortable fit for me.


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## Ironpain (Aug 8, 2010)

anonymid said:


> Probably the Minnesota Twins. Enough talent to work with, but without the pressure that would come with managing in someplace like Boston, Chicago, or New York. The Red Sox are my favorite team, but I would never want to have to deal with that kind of pressure. The Twins are my second favorite team, and would be a much more comfortable fit for me.


Hey want to thank you for the message you sent, my grandmother also spend the last few months with a possible cancer scare but lucky they found the lump early and found that it was not cancerous and she had an operation the other day and everything is good. I am so pissed off with Rogers (The Cable provider in our city)

I can't afford to see any of the big games on the score or TSN2 and forget about SP345 or MLB Tv I have to watch what ever games come on TSN and Rogers Sports net but now Sportsnet is going to the cable company shaw so Jays games are moving to Sportsnet one and you have to subscribe to Rogers Satellite.

(well I don't really understand the whole situation. Saturday's are good for the rest of the league because I get to catch the games (well only the first two) Rogers is really ****ting on their fans right now and yesterday with football they promote the big games Michael Vick and The Eagles, Jay Cutler and the bears and yet I never got see any of those games I don't appreciate that they promote the games talk about them on the analyst shows and then don't show them for everyone.

Yesterday afternoon I'm already for the big games, thinking I'll take in the Steelers Titans game and then maybe switch around to The Eagles-Lions game, but NO, instead they decide to put on the cheap Bills Packers game and then showed only the last 2 minutes of the Eagles game and only 0:11 seconds of the Steelers game. That is blantant crap, then they have the audacity to roll the highlights as if everyone is watching, don't high light the game for me but not show it, and they showed the big Colts-Giants game but God if the networks didn't take till damn near 9 to show it.


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## Dreamscape (Sep 18, 2010)

I am a:










I've watched pretty much all the Rockies games this year. Really hoping they can make the playoffs.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

Wow, another good start by Felix Hernandez results in a loss. He allows just six men to reach over eight innings, but loses 1-0 to the Blue Jays (on Bautista's 50th homer, incidentally). Felix is now just 12-12 despite leading the league in ERA, strikeouts, innings pitched, and quality starts. He should be an easy pick for the Cy Young award, but it's hard to say if the voters will look past his record, especially when Sabathia's sitting there with 20 wins.


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## Jnmcda0 (Nov 28, 2003)

Reds clinched the NL Central tonight with a walk-off homerun by Jay Bruuuuuuuuuuuce. I was at the game tonight. I was also at game 6 of the 1990 NLCS when the Reds beat the Pirates to go to the World Series. The atmosphere after the game tonight was like 1990. Nobody left for 30 minutes after the game and there were still many fans there over an hour later. People were dancing in the street and cars were honking all throughout downtown. I went down near the field and outfielder Johnny Gomes came over and sprayed us with champagne. 

It's been 15 years since the Reds were in the playoffs and 20 since they won the World Series. I was 11 years old in 1990. Tonight, I felt like a little kid again. Definitely a game that I won't forget.

Now onto the playoffs!


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

Created a baseball group:

http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/groups/baseball-fans/


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## coldsorehighlighter (Jun 2, 2010)

Watching Roy Halladay throw a baseball for 2 and a half hours is a piece of art. Wow.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

I only caught the last inning (though I was following the game on MLB.com before that), but yeah, wow. The best pitcher in baseball right now, no question.

Of course, that's going to overshadow Cliff Lee, who pitched a pretty fine game himself today.


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## coldsorehighlighter (Jun 2, 2010)

I watched it all and it was the best pitching performance I've seen since Pedro in the late 90's.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

Liriano-Sabathia in just a few minutes; can't wait. Go Twins!


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## RyeCatcher86 (Sep 14, 2010)

anonymid said:


> Created a baseball group:
> 
> http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/groups/baseball-fans/


Awesome!
Also: Roy Halladay is a god. I don't see how the Phillies are going to be denied in a seven-game-series, with Halladay and Oswalt starting 4 of those games and their number three guy being no slouch either (Cole Hamels).


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

Twins just can't get over the freaking hump.

The Rangers should be fun to root for against the Yankees, though.


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## Belshazzar (Apr 12, 2010)

I'm a Yankees fan duck), but I lol'd when the Rays won the division.


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## shynesshellasucks (May 10, 2008)

Looks like it is probably over for the Rays, although the optimistic side of me thinks the Rays have a chance to win with Garza on the mound against the #3 Texas Rangers pitcher. Garbage offense has caught up with the Rays. Here's hoping the Yanks destroy the Phils in the World Series.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

I really hope the Rangers finish off the Rays in Game 4 so that they can start Cliff Lee on full rest in Game 1 against the Yankees on Friday. I think the Rangers could give the Yankees a good series; I don't see the Rays doing that right now.


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## Belshazzar (Apr 12, 2010)

anonymid said:


> I really hope the Rangers finish off the Rays in Game 4 so that they can start Cliff Lee on full rest in Game 1 against the Yankees on Friday. I think the Rangers could give the Yankees a good series; I don't see the Rays doing that right now.


I'd like to see a good ALCS. The Yanks-Twins series was utterly boring, even by the usual Yanks-Twins ALDS standards. The Twins offense was completely silent. At least put some drama into post-season baseball, guys.


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## rockguitarist89 (Sep 22, 2010)

Can't believe the Twins lost 3 straight. I thought they had a really good chance to win it all. Their problem is pitching. Morneau could have helped, but an interesting fact to note is that the Twins actually scored more runs during the time he was out. Statistics can say just about anything, so it could be a combination of other players doing better, such as Cuddyer, and getting young bats such as Danny Valencia into the lineup. They certainly wouldn't have been worse with a guy who batted .358 and would have had another 30ish home run, 100 rbi season.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

rockguitarist89 said:


> Can't believe the Twins lost 3 straight. I thought they had a really good chance to win it all. Their problem is pitching. Morneau could have helped, but an interesting fact to note is that the Twins actually scored more runs during the time he was out. Statistics can say just about anything, so it could be a combination of other players doing better, such as Cuddyer, and getting young bats such as Danny Valencia into the lineup. They certainly wouldn't have been worse with a guy who batted .358 and would have had another 30ish home run, 100 rbi season.


Yeah, a lot of guys just had big second halves--Thome, Mauer, Valencia. They certainly could've used Morneau's bat against the Yankees, no doubt. But I agree that the biggest problem was pitching. Liriano is their only great pitcher; they needed to win his start, and they didn't. Guys like Pavano, Duensing, etc. just don't strike enough batters out, and you're not going to beat the Yankees by pitching to contact.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

What a game. Absolutely heartbreaking if you were rooting for the Braves.


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## rockguitarist89 (Sep 22, 2010)

anonymid said:


> Yeah, a lot of guys just had big second halves--Thome, Mauer, Valencia. They certainly could've used Morneau's bat against the Yankees, no doubt. But I agree that the biggest problem was pitching. Liriano is their only great pitcher; they needed to win his start, and they didn't. Guys like Pavano, Duensing, etc. just don't strike enough batters out, and you're not going to beat the Yankees by pitching to contact.


Very true. Even Scott Baker, who has had his moments of being an ace, is FAR too inconsistent to be relied on. Liriano really is there only reliable pitcher, and he didn't fare well in his postseason game against the Yankees. I hade Duensing on my fantasy team, and he did very well for his time filling in as a starter. As you said though, and you are exactly tirhgt, he does not strike enough batters out and pitching to contact is NEVER good against the Yankees lineup. lol


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

I was rooting like hell for the Braves, but that was a great series regardless. Hard to complain when you get four one-run games.

Plus, this at least ensures that we'll get to see either Roy Halladay or Tim Lincecum pitch in the World Series. Hard for any baseball fan not to like that. Seeing either one play the role of Yankee-slayer would be especially sweet.

Can wait for tomorrow. Lee vs. Price in an elimination game! This has been a pretty good postseason so far, I must say.


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## rockguitarist89 (Sep 22, 2010)

anonymid said:


> I was rooting like hell for the Braves, but that was a great series regardless. Hard to complain when you get four one-run games.
> 
> Plus, this at least ensures that we'll get to see either Roy Halladay or Tim Lincecum pitch in the World Series. Hard for any baseball fan not to like that. Seeing either one play the role of Yankee-slayer would be especially sweet.
> 
> Can wait for tomorrow. Lee vs. Price in an elimination game! This has been a pretty good postseason so far, I must say.


The Halladay vs Lincecum matchup on Saturday will be awesome!

I hear a lot of people saying Lee will win tonight because he has never lost a postseason game, but how many has he played? The answer is 6. I admit, that is impressive, but he could still easily lose tonight.


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## Lifetimer (May 16, 2004)

rockguitarist89 said:


> I hear a lot of people saying Lee will win tonight because he has never lost a postseason game, but how many has he played? The answer is 6. I admit, that is impressive, but he could still easily lose tonight.


Did I hear somebody dare say Cliff Lee "could still easily lose tonight"?? HA! Cliff Lee just finished off the Rays with a complete game, 5-1 win! The guy is simply awesome!

The Rangers are a team of destiny. They are _finally_ exercising their demons of the last 39 years. Their next victims are the Yankees, beginning this Friday night in the ALCS. As the Rangers slogan this year says, "IT'S TIME!"

Lifetimer


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## coldsorehighlighter (Jun 2, 2010)

Baseball would be so much more fun with a shorter regular season and an expanded playoff system. Couldn't they share the extra playoff money with the teams that didn't make it, to make up for the lost profit from cutting 2 weeks of regular season games? 8 teams make it, but maybe 12 even have a chance. For the rest, the season is over after May, when there is still 100 games to go.

I want a Rangers/Phillies World Series.


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## foe (Oct 10, 2010)

^^^I want a Rangers/Phillies World Series as well because of Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay and Oswalt.


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## King Moonracer (Oct 12, 2010)

my parenats have made my life centered around baseball. I play colege baseball now, and am like the best freshmen on the team. I kinda keep track of the playoffs. Im a Yankee fan. i dont know


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## rockguitarist89 (Sep 22, 2010)

Lifetimer said:


> Did I hear somebody dare say Cliff Lee "could still easily lose tonight"?? HA! Cliff Lee just finished off the Rays with a complete game, 5-1 win! The guy is simply awesome!
> 
> The Rangers are a team of destiny. They are _finally_ exercising their demons of the last 39 years. Their next victims are the Yankees, beginning this Friday night in the ALCS. As the Rangers slogan this year says, "IT'S TIME!"
> 
> Lifetimer


Calm down bro. lol I'm not saying the Rangers won't win, but Hamilton needs to step it up and the pitching needs to stay strong. They don't have the best pitching staff. Lee is amazing, Wilson is good, but after that, I'm not convinced.

The Rays lost because they don't have guys that can hit. When you depend on guys like B.J. Upton and Kelly Shoppach to do well, Crawford and Longoria can't save you.

The Rays had a good season, but they may have overperformed in the regular season. That series could have gone either way, but the Rays won because of their pitching. They need to get Hellickson in the rotation at the start of next season, and make Shields a relief pitcher imo.


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## shynesshellasucks (May 10, 2008)

Cliff Lee finished off my Rays. Maddon could have made a better lineup in game 5 but still props to the Rangers; even with a better lineup it still probably wouldn't have been enough. Now I want either the Giants or the Yanks to win the World Series. I don't like Philly as a sports city, and I don't like Cliff Lee and the Rangers either.:duck


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## foe (Oct 10, 2010)

Goddamn, Cliff Lee is a beast! Texas should be up 3-0 if they didn't let Game 1 slip away.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

Bengie Molina! :yay


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## coldsorehighlighter (Jun 2, 2010)

Texas is good...


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

Lincecum-Halladay about to start. Win-or-go-home game for the Phillies. Can't wait!


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## melissa75 (Feb 16, 2010)

And the Rangers got the WIN! What an awesome game tonight.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

Yankees eliminated! :yay


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## melissa75 (Feb 16, 2010)

I love seeing those guys jumping around, tackling each other with pure joy from winning! Makes me happy just watching them! 

Can't believe the TEXAS RANGERS are playing in the WORLD SERIES!!! And, the Yankees aren't. WOW.

:clap:clap:clap:clap:clap


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

Cliff Lee vs. either Halladay or Lincecum in the World Series. Either way, that is going to be awesome. Those are probably the three best pitchers in baseball over the last three years.


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## farfegnugen (Aug 16, 2010)

I can't watch baseball anymore. I grew up as a fan of a small market team that isn't remotely competitive. It does warm my heart to see the Yanks bounced.:boogie


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## coldsorehighlighter (Jun 2, 2010)

I want the Phillies/Rangers so bad I can taste it. And I hope it goes 7 games so we can see Lee/Halladay in Games 1, 4 and 7. Wow.


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## Lifetimer (May 16, 2004)

melissa75 said:


> Can't believe the TEXAS RANGERS are playing in the WORLD SERIES!!! And, the Yankees aren't. WOW.


I can't believe it either! I've waited soooo long for this. I thought this day would never happen! And to oust the hated Yankees makes it that much sweeter!

We "clawed" our way to the World Series. And our antlers will help point the way to a world series championship!

Lifetimer


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## RyeCatcher86 (Sep 14, 2010)

As a lifelong Oakland A's fan I'll have to say this: This World Series ****ing blows!


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## No Limit (Dec 6, 2005)

Wow. I've never been quite this happy in awhile especially as a Giants fan. Go Giants. We proved most, if not all, of the experts wrong who picked the phils to win. I just might drop some $$$ to see Tim pitch versus Lee. That will be quite a match up.


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## Ironpain (Aug 8, 2010)

My heart was beating faster then it was when I was watching Last House on the Left, maybe because I anticipated the movie to be suspenseful based on the fact that I have already seen it, not that I remember it scene from scene but I was sitting there singing, Don't worry baby don't worry baby don't worry everything alright (ha ha I was thinking of Brian Wilson from the Beach boys when Brian Wilson of The Giants was closing out, come on come on I yelled again, when he got the save I fell backwards in the big recliner chair and the book I was reading flew up and hit me right on the face. 

Any Giants fans here notice how Brian Wilson talks? It's like that quite voice comes from a guy with a beard like that, I was expecting him to sound happy but Gruff. Congrats Giants.


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## shynesshellasucks (May 10, 2008)

I don't really care for the outcome of this specific World Series. Perhaps only if the Giants manage to put up good numbers against Cliff Lee then I would be pleased.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

Lee signs with the Phillies! I don't think anybody saw that one coming. All of the Big Three free agents this offseason have now signed with unexpected teams--Werth with the Nationals, Crawford with the Red Sox, and now Lee with the Phillies. What were the odds that the Yankees wouldn't end up with any of them? As a Red Sox fan, I didn't think this offseason could get any better, but it just did.


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## Lifetimer (May 16, 2004)

As a Ranger fan, I'm disappointed we didn't get Cliff Lee. However, I was a bit nervous in sinking all that money - and a 6 yr contract - into 1 player: a player that is going to be 33 yrs old next year ... that has had back problems ... that has had only ONE 20 win season in his entire career ... that pitched VERY average during the regular season during his time with the Rangers ... that was the losing pitcher in his final 2 starts in the World Series (he hadn't lost *any* playoff games in his career up to that point). His first ever playoff losses could be a signal of Lee coming back down to earth as a playoff pitcher in his future post-season games.

Whatever the case, I'm just glad the Yankees didn't get him. The Yankees think they can just buy whomever they want. Well, they couldn't do it this time. I guess you can figure out I'm a Yankee hater just like most everyone else is. ha-ha.

Lifetimer


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## coldsorehighlighter (Jun 2, 2010)

$120,000,000 for 5 years.
I know pro athletes get paid only during the season, so they don't get paid per hour like "normal" workers do.
However, let's do this for fun, anyways. If you made $24,000,000 in a year from your job, working 48 weeks a year, 40 hours a week, you'd be making $12,500/hour.
Not bad...


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## BetaBoy90 (Jan 5, 2010)

IMO Phillies should have looked for more offensive help instead of pitching. They already had an amazing 3 man rotation that was built for the playoffs, the offense let them down in the playoffs last year, and they lost Werth this offseason as well.


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## Zephyr (Nov 8, 2003)

-Yankees don't get Lee. I'm happy.

-Extra playoff spots likely coming in 2012. I'm happier still.

-I guess now everybody knows how good Roy Halladay is? 

-AL East should be renamed the Division of Death

-I like Alex Anthopoulos a lot

-I want the schedule to be balanced

-Royals want way too much for Greinke right now

-Phillies rotation might be the best ever


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## RyeCatcher86 (Sep 14, 2010)

Congratulations to the 2011 World Champions, the Philadelphia Phillies. :cry


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