2014 MLB Thread

[Red October1984]

The first few spring training games have been played by my Cardinals and I don't like the looks of it.

Just today they lost 8-5 to the Tigers.

How is everybody else's team doing? I think it's a bit early to be making predictions for the World Series.

Also, has anybody else signed the Petition on the White House website to make Opening Day a holiday?

[the_tyrant]

YYYYEEEAAAHHHH! Baseball is back!

Masahiro Tanaka is here! The man who crushed the NPB so hard, the man with the 24-0 regular season record, and the 1.68 ERA is coming to Yankees.


PS: Red October1984, do you collect MLB memorabilia? You wanna make some big money? I have this great idea that I am itching to implement.

So step one is to go on Ebay, and buy a bunch of Alex Rodriguez stuff. His value is artificially depressed anyways because of his drug suspension, and you should be able to get autographed A-rod jerseys for only a bit more than a blank yankees jersey.

Now we all know that our friend the commissioner Bud Selig is retiring, and he is going to all 30 stadiums. This is when you go find Bud outside of Busch Stadium, and request an autograph. I know you cardinals fans probably don't love him much, so there shouldn't be a line.

An autographed A-rod and bud selig? That is probably going to be worth more than an autographed Babe Ruth!

[AVGWarhawk]

Just hoping the Orioles have solid pitching this season. They have been losing preseason games

[Red October1984]

Originally Posted by the_tyrant

YYYYEEEAAAHHHH! Baseball is back!

Masahiro Tanaka is here! The man who crushed the NPB so hard, the man with the 24-0 regular season record, and the 1.68 ERA is coming to Yankees.

From what I've read, he's a solid guy. I'm by no means a Yankee fan (most overrated team in baseball)

PS: Red October1984, do you collect MLB memorabilia? You wanna make some big money? I have this great idea that I am itching to implement.

An autographed A-rod and bud selig? That is probably going to be worth more than an autographed Babe Ruth!

Not bad. Not bad at all...I think we can be friends.

No...I don't collect. I should though. I still have my 2006 posters and pennants up in my room. Right next to my Scott Rolen poster and Larry Walker.

Have Adam Wainwright, Chris Duncan, John Rodriguez, Tyler Johnson and I think one more's autograph on a ball I did in 2007 at the Cardinals Caravan...and I've got my 2013 Postseason hat and my Matt Holliday jersey.

On top of that, I have a Matt Holliday special edition baseball I got for being one of the first into Busch a few years back, the BP ball I got last year....eh....I think that's it.

Probably going to be worth nothing in 50 years.

----

Not really relevant to this season...but has anybody seen 42? The movie about Jackie Robinson?

Did anybody else love it?

[the_tyrant]

Originally Posted by Red October1984

Not really relevant to this season...but has anybody seen 42? The movie about Jackie Robinson?

Did anybody else love it?

42 is a good movie, but when it comes to baseball, the best movie I have ever seen is still Bull Durham. If you like baseball, and you haven't seen it yet, GO SEE IT NOW!

[Red October1984]

Originally Posted by the_tyrant

42 is a good movie, but when it comes to baseball, the best movie I have ever seen is still Bull Durham. If you like baseball, and you haven't seen it yet, GO SEE IT NOW!

I'm looking it up right now.

Still pulling for the Blue Jays this year?

[the_tyrant]

Originally Posted by Red October1984

I'm looking it up right now.

Still pulling for the Blue Jays this year?

I might become a Blue Jay this year (hopefully). The team is recruiting analyst interns from my school, if I get lucky, maybe I will get a shot.

But uh, no matter how I spin it, there is no way rooting for the Jays would be good for one's sanity. They made 0 improvements this off season, while all the guys just got a year older. Sure, last year their luck was spectacularly bad, but even if they regress a bit, I don't see the Blue Jays pulling more than 85 wins. After all, they are in the AL East, the hardest division in baseball.

These shirts are pretty nice though:



I feel like this season the National League will be a yawn. The Dodgers will dominate the west, the Cardinals will dominate the central, the Braves and nationals will contest the east. The toughest contested spot is probably going to be the second wild card.

My national league picks:

West: Dodgers
Central: Cardinals
East: Braves
Wild Card 1: Nationals
Wild Card 2: Pirates/Reds/Diamondbacks


The American League should be fun though. The west should be a tough division, the A's and Rangers should be fighting for the top spot, but the Mariners and Angels shouldn't be counted out. The Mariners have Cano, and the Angels should see their players bounce back a bit. Tigers should win the central, but their horrible move of shipping Doug Fister to the Nations for effectively a prospect + a few players to be named later will probably backfire. The Royals and Indians should be able to make some gains, and challenge the Tigers dominance.

The AL east is completely unpredictable. The Yankees are the biggest reason. They have the best outfield, after all, you know your outfield is good when Ichiro is warming your bench (his bat has declined, but his base running and defense is still top notch). Sabathia is hoping to bounce back to his all star days, but that is a huge question mark. Kuroda, Texeria, and Jeter are old, like really old. Tanaka is a huge question mark, there is no denying that he is spectacular when it comes down to his skills, but who knows if he can transition to play in America effectively.

Even at catcher, the Yankees are in a bind. McCann is a great addition, probably one of the greatest offensive catchers in the game today. He can hit for power, and Yankee stadiums short porch should boost his offensive numbers. But than, by playing McCann at catcher, they can't play Francisco Cervelli, probably the best defensive catcher in the game. Their infield is still garbage though. There is almost no chance Jeter, Texeria, and Roberts can survive a whole season healthy.

http://grantland.com/features/studyi...molina-others/


The Red Sox are very solid, after all, they just won the World Series. Sure, a few departing players would dent them, but their prospects are ready to step in and contribute. The Rays are also a big threat. They finally decided to push for the playoffs, and should be able to make a serious run for the division. The Orioles aren't bad, and the Jays can crack .500 if lucky, but in this division, not bad isn't enough.

My AL picks:

AL West: Rangers
AL Central: Tigers
AL East: Red Sox

WCs: A's/Yankees/Rays/Royals/Indians

[krashkart]

I'm betting my life savings on the Cubs.

(no, not really)

[the_tyrant]

Originally Posted by krashkart

I'm betting my life savings on the Cubs.

(no, not really)

If you do, I might have to buy you one of these:


To be fair to the cubs though, their GM ended the red sox drought. They are making all the right moves (what I would like to call an Asstrocity). I can see them become legit challengers in 5 years.

Also, to cheer everyone up:

[Red October1984]

Originally Posted by the_tyrant

I might become a Blue Jay this year (hopefully). The team is recruiting analyst interns from my school, if I get lucky, maybe I will get a shot.

Not bad. The Blue Jays are like...the "Ron Paul 2012" of Major League Baseball...

Some people follow it...and it seems like it's worth following...but then you realize it's all talk and they can't follow through with anything.

But uh, no matter how I spin it, there is no way rooting for the Jays would be good for one's sanity. They made 0 improvements this off season, while all the guys just got a year older. Sure, last year their luck was spectacularly bad, but even if they regress a bit, I don't see the Blue Jays pulling more than 85 wins. After all, they are in the AL East, the hardest division in baseball.

You're right about AL East...it seems to be all about AL East whenever they show stuff on sports tv channels. If it's not East...it's a West division. The coasts dominate the game according to the media.

I feel like this season the National League will be a yawn. The Dodgers will dominate the west, the Cardinals will dominate the central, the Braves and nationals will contest the east. The toughest contested spot is probably going to be the second wild card.

Well heck yes they will! And if they don't I will be severely disappointed. We've lost pretty badly in some of these preseason games. I haven't gotten a chance to look at the box score for any of them yet...but the scores say enough.

See, for me it's the opposite way around. AL is the boring one to me. Seems to me that all the steroid players are AL guys and all the teams are these overrated coastal teams.

National League isn't overrated and there's no DH (Let's face it...it's a dumb position)

Every once in a while I'll actually catch an AL game....not a whole lot of them air here.

My national league picks:

West: Dodgers
Central: Cardinals
East: Braves
Wild Card 1: Nationals
Wild Card 2: Pirates/Reds/Diamondbacks

I would have to agree with that. Dodgers have a solid team this year.

The American League should be fun though. The west should be a tough division, the A's and Rangers should be fighting for the top spot, but the Mariners and Angels shouldn't be counted out. The Mariners have Cano, and the Angels should see their players bounce back a bit. Tigers should win the central, but their horrible move of shipping Doug Fister to the Nations for effectively a prospect + a few players to be named later will probably backfire. The Royals and Indians should be able to make some gains, and challenge the Tigers dominance.

Another AL thing that I've noticed is that while these teams sit on their high horse and look down on the NL...they also play up the rivalries a lot more. And when you hear "baseball" and "rivalry" in the same sentence you automatically think Boston-New York.

Maybe it's just me...but I see the AL as the rich side of baseball. The Power Elite...

The AL east is completely unpredictable. The Yankees are the biggest reason.

They're either really good or really bad and they still have way too many bandwagon fans.

Jeter....he's out of his prime for sure. This team though...they pay millions and millions of dollars just to have players sit bench for them. Of course, it's nice when you're a player and you get that deal...but I don't much like that.

My AL picks:

AL West: Rangers
AL Central: Tigers
AL East: Red Sox

WCs: A's/Yankees/Rays/Royals/Indians

Like i said, I don't get to see or hear much about the AL outside of the internet. It's NL or nothing out here. But those look like good picks to me. The Rangers have had some good years....and so have the Tigers. I despise the Sox now because of last year's World Series...but you can't rule out the possibility.

I think that if the Jays are recruiting analyst interns....you'll get it.


EDIT: If this darn snow and ice would clear, my school's team could start practice. My glove has been empty for too long.

[the_tyrant]

Originally Posted by Red October1984

Well heck yes they will! And if they don't I will be severely disappointed. We've lost pretty badly in some of these preseason games. I haven't gotten a chance to look at the box score for any of them yet...but the scores say enough.

See, for me it's the opposite way around. AL is the boring one to me. Seems to me that all the steroid players are AL guys and all the teams are these overrated coastal teams.

National League isn't overrated and there's no DH (Let's face it...it's a dumb position)

You know, without getting into the DH debate, the fact that only the AL has the DH completely changed the dynamics of the MLB. The DH allows the AL to take bigger risks than the NL. They can lock up players for longer with less risk. After all, defense is a skill that declines fast, and the fact that AL teams have a "get out of defense free" card helps them attract players.

This is why under this new playoff structure, the AL has tighter playoff races (although to be fair, there has been only one season for this new 2 wild card format) The have-nots can take a risk and sign some high priced players, because they know that the risk is much lower for them (Ex, Twins and Joe Mauer).

Thus we can see that AL teams on the whole is slightly better than the NL. In interleague games, the AL as a whole has a .524 winning percentage.

However, a good thing for the Cardinals is that NL teams have a major advantage in the World Series. After all, NL teams all have a pinch hitter on the bench that can play DH, but AL pitchers just can't hit at all!


PS: Another great must see baseball movie is Mr. Baseball, great representation of how the game is played in Japan.

[Red October1984]

Originally Posted by the_tyrant

You know, without getting into the DH debate, the fact that only the AL has the DH completely changed the dynamics of the MLB. The DH allows the AL to take bigger risks than the NL. They can lock up players for longer with less risk. After all, defense is a skill that declines fast, and the fact that AL teams have a "get out of defense free" card helps them attract players.

To me personally, it's just a lazy position...but I see the reasoning behind it.

However, a good thing for the Cardinals is that NL teams have a major advantage in the World Series. After all, NL teams all have a pinch hitter on the bench that can play DH, but AL pitchers just can't hit at all!

There's some NL pitchers who can't hit....

I remember Jeff Suppan in the 2006 Playoffs....drilled a home run. That was awesome. The Home Run Pitcher....and then we traded him.

[nikimcbee]

Have the Twins lost 100 games yet? Go Twins.
Go Hops.

[nikimcbee]

Hey, I love BJs too!

oh, wait, wut?
oh..

[Red October1984]

Cardinals beat the Red Sox 8-6