MLB 2008

[Dan Gould]

  zen archer said:

Manny is going to have a MONSTER of a year , he is in the best shape of his career. He worked

hard in the off season

Just wish he would RUN after he hits the ball .......He stood there for what seemed like 5 minutes

why didn't he just take out a camera and snap a picture???

It was a pretty good game , i got up at 5 to 6 .....tired .....do it again tomorrow,

Wasn't it sweet to see them walk Papi and have Manny make them pay? That strategy worked over and over again last year but I thought it was the wrong move all along. Papi isn't hitting and looks out of sorts. Now was the time to go ahead and pitch to him, they probably could have gotten him out. But Manny - Oh Man(ny) - I am with you, he should have a huge year since he's playing for a contract and wants to play six more years overall (he's selling himself short if he just wants to reach 600 home runs, if he averages 30 he'll be at 670 in six years). And yes, he needs to run out of the box.

I'll take the win but there were some annoying/scary things happening. Dice throwing all those pitches at the start; Drew a late scratch - thank heaven Brandon Moss had his best day as a major leaguer; Lugo came out of the game for some reason though I guess it could have been defensive since he had that back issue; and Papelbon probably had his worst non-losing performance of his career. He had me wondering if he was suffering from a migraine, since that was what was happening when he had that horrifying blown save against the Yanks last year.

Now, if DirecTV will manage to keep the ESPN2 feed, I can actually see what happened on the re-broadcast at 2 pm.

Edited March 25, 2008 by Dan Gould

[Soulstation1]

this season marks the 25 year anniversary of the pine tar game

i'm getting freaking old

[Van Basten II]

  Dan Gould said:

  Van Basten II said:

Did not want to start a thread about so i'll ask you in this one.

I have a bunch of old baseball encyclopedias (from 1990s and early 2000s) that i want to get rid. Total Baseball, a few Old Major League ones, the Big Stats books, is there a market for these things ?

I know i could just put them on Ebay but before i go to the trouble of the shipping and packaging that comes with it, these things are huge are heavy, is it really worth it ?

I would doubt it because they become out of date over time. Certainly not a market to be "vintage" I don't think. I'd check on Ebay and Amazon Marketplace to see what the typical selling or offering prices are.

Thanks for answering.

[zen archer]

  Dan Gould said:

  zen archer said:

Manny is going to have a MONSTER of a year , he is in the best shape of his career. He worked

hard in the off season

Just wish he would RUN after he hits the ball .......He stood there for what seemed like 5 minutes

why didn't he just take out a camera and snap a picture???

It was a pretty good game , i got up at 5 to 6 .....tired .....do it again tomorrow,

Wasn't it sweet to see them walk Papi and have Manny make them pay? That strategy worked over and over again last year but I thought it was the wrong move all along. Papi isn't hitting and looks out of sorts. Now was the time to go ahead and pitch to him, they probably could have gotten him out. But Manny - Oh Man(ny) - I am with you, he should have a huge year since he's playing for a contract and wants to play six more years overall (he's selling himself short if he just wants to reach 600 home runs, if he averages 30 he'll be at 670 in six years). And yes, he needs to run out of the box.

I'll take the win but there were some annoying/scary things happening. Dice throwing all those pitches at the start; Drew a late scratch - thank heaven Brandon Moss had his best day as a major leaguer; Lugo came out of the game for some reason though I guess it could have been defensive since he had that back issue; and Papelbon probably had his worst non-losing performance of his career. He had me wondering if he was suffering from a migraine, since that was what was happening when he had that horrifying blown save against the Yanks last year.

Now, if DirecTV will manage to keep the ESPN2 feed, I can actually see what happened on the re-broadcast at 2 pm.

Dan ,on the news at noon on WBZ they had a story about Direct TV....i guess it was widespread.

I have a friend in NH who couldn't get the game . In fact they even said Comcast had problems in SE mass. ??

I hope its on for everyone tomorrow !

[Dan Gould]

"Widespread" as in nation-wide, yes. Comcast's problem was separate but for some reason, regular ESPN2 was off for many hours while ESPN2 in HD wasn't effected. They've been back on about 2+ hours so I expect the problem is fixed. Guess I'll be getting up early again tomorrow.

[Adam]

  Quincy said:

  Dan Gould said:

(in fact I heard that they are playing a game or two at the LA Colliseum which I guess is not designed for baseball - LF will be something like 200 feet from home plate or something(?) ... and they've sold 100,000 tickets for both games.

The Dodgers played there for a few years when they moved from Brooklyn. "Moon shots" meant something else there - named for Wally Moon's short "blasts" over the LF fence.

An old computer game (Earl Weaver baseball) included the park (or maybe I "built" it) and it was always a nutty experience. A couple of pictures here and some details, though surely better can be found through more digging.

Yeah, my brother and I wanted to go to one of those games, but they sold out before we noticed that the tickets had gone on sale. Maybe we should get scalped seat.

A

[Tim McG]

  Soulstation1 said:

this season marks the 25 year anniversary of the pine tar game

i'm getting freaking old

Don't feel left out....I'm right there with ya.

It's a big club.

[tkeith]

  Dan Gould said:

MANNY RAMIREZ!!!!

Rumors of his decline phase may be exaggerated.

I took a fair amount of shit for drafting him in the first round (keeper league, so really the 5th round) in my draft on Saturday. I'm looking like a friggin' genius so far. Now if Saltalamacchia would just get his shit together...

[WorldB3]

Aside from another blown save by Street (which cost them a sweep) and 4 strike outs by Cust which isn't that unusual the A's might be better than I expected. Under extreme hostel conditions, terrible umpiring at home plate and the announcers not knowing or caring enough to say any of their names correctly they more than held their own. If Harden can start more than 10 games who knows.

[BERIGAN]

  WorldB3 said:

Aside from another blown save by Street (which cost them a sweep) and 4 strike outs by Cust which isn't that unusual the A's might be better than I expected. Under extreme hostel conditions, terrible umpiring at home plate and the announcers not knowing or caring enough to say any of their names correctly they more than held their own. If Harden can start more than 10 games who knows.

I see why you guys have held on to him, holy crap!!!

[WorldB3]

^ he was supposed to ease the pain of losing Mulder, Hudson and Zito. He was great two years ago but since then hasn't been making his starts.

Hudson was the one out of that group to keep.

Edited March 26, 2008 by WorldB3

[Dan Gould]

With two games in the books and Opening Night coming up Sunday, its time for people to step up with their predictions.

AL:

Red Sox

Indians

Mariners

WC: Tigers

NL:

Mets

Cubs

D-Backs

WC: Phillies

ALCS: Red Sox over Tigers

NLCS: Cubs over Mets

World Series: Cubs over Red Sox

[zen archer]

  Dan Gould said:

With two games in the books and Opening Night coming up Sunday, its time for people to step up with their predictions.

AL:

Red Sox

Indians

Mariners

WC: Tigers

NL:

Mets

Cubs

D-Backs

WC: Phillies

ALCS: Red Sox over Tigers

NLCS: Cubs over Mets

World Series: Cubs over Red Sox

Dan, wait a minute, i think if Cleveland finishes first against Detroit then the Indians will probably have the best record

which means they would play the Mariners because the west is the weaker division and the team from the west won't have the best or second best record.

So the Sox would play the wild card ........and you know that the Cubs could NEVER beat the Sox ......not with Beckett

and Hopefully a healthy Schill.

My picks

AL:

Sox

Indians

Angels

WC: Yankees

NL:

Braves

Brewers

Dodgers

WC: Diamondbacks

ALCS: Sox over Indians .....again

NLCS: Braves over Dodgers

World Series :.....Lets have a Pahwade !!!!!!

[Dan Gould]

After two in four seasons, if it happens, I will be actively rooting for the Cubs come October.

[BERIGAN]

Dan, I think the Mets pitching is going to be quite good if Pedro is healthy....but the rest of the team is quite fragile....I think the braves have better hitters in left, right, at 1st base, catcher and possibly at 2nd as well. Braves pitching is much better as well. Only 2 good starters last year, now IF Hampton can stay healthy, we have 5 solid guys in Smoltz,(Yeah, each year I think he will be done, but until it happens, still the ace) Hudson, Glavine, and Jair Jurrens(Who looks to be the real deal at 22) We even have some depth with supposed top prospect Jo-Jo Reyes(Tosses too soft for my tastes) and a guy off the scrap heap Jeff Bennett, who would make a good number 5 as well now that he is further down the road from elbow surgery.

Anyway, my picks to be laughed at down the road...

NL

Braves

Cubs,

Dodgers(Just a guess, anybody but the Giants could win it)

WC, Phillies

AL

Red Sox

Tigers

Mariners

WC-Indians

NLCS-Cubs over Braves(Glavine will play the role of Charlie Leibrandt-only not in the WS)

ALCS-Red Sox over Tigers

WS Cubbies over Red Sox!

[Dan Gould]

Conrad, I was going to post a link to the 2007 thread to let people see those old predictions but it seemed as though there were hardly any predictions made. One I'm a little embarrassed about was that Dice would win a minimum of 18 games and be a legit Cy Young candidate. Not exactly - but he did help secure a championship so who cares?

Anyway - the Braves seem to be this year's "I'm so smart I'm picking against the conventional wisdom" choice. Not to say that they don't have a legit chance but in this case I find it impossible to pick against a team with Santana stepping in for Glavine and Pedro apparently ready to pitch a full season. You may be right about the Braves lineup being less fragile and maybe in some spots better but I don't think you can make any assumptions about Glavine-Hampton-Smoltz. Smoltz will probably prove me wrong but there's no way to assume Hampton stays healthy or is effective and Glavine was on his last breaths last year. And if Glavine pitches like Steve Carlton circa 1983, the Braves are in big trouble.

[Tim McG]

OK...here ya go:

NL

Mets

Cubbies

D-Backs

WC- Pads or Rocks, but the wildcard is coming out of the NL West again this year [Giants may surprise...Dodgers will tank in August]

AL

BoSox

Tigers

Angels

WC- Tribe

[WorldB3]

hmm..

AL

Red Sox

Tigers

Halo's

wc: Yanks

NL:

Mets

Cubs

Rocks

wc: D-backs

Tigers beat the D-Backs in five to win it all

[Noj]

  WorldB3 said:

hmm..

AL

Red Sox

Tigers

Halo's

wc: Yanks

NL:

Mets

Cubs

Rocks

wc: D-backs

I like World B's picks but I'll go with the Red Sox beating the Mets in five in the WS.

[Quincy]

I'm going to gab too much, but with taxes and other parts of life interfering with spending quality time with baseball still has me undecided. I can talk myself into about 15 different teams at least getting to the playoffs. After that who the hell knows what happens.

The NL seems to have the most possibilities.

MIlwaukee has so many 24-26 year olds (Fielder, Braun, Hardy & Hart) who are already very good, so if these guys improve some more pitchers will want to wear diapers when facing them. The bench might be deep enough to allow a trade for help wherever later if needed. But with Gallardo starting on the DL with a knee injury and having to hope that Sheets can pitch great for heck, I'll settle for 27 starts if you can pitch in October...ah, it's probably not going to happen.

Cubs look interesting and this has been the decade of teams that haven't won it in a long time winning...still, they're the Cubs, so it's safer to bet they'll find a way to lose & Lou Piniella's head explodes this summer.

NL East. I like the Phillies & Braves better than the Mets. Braves return to winning the division for the next 12 years again. A good mix of young & old. So many old & banged up guys on the Mets, I just don't see it happening. Then again, they have Wright, Reyes, Santana & Pedro. Phils look pretty good too - I like their bench depth, unless I'm thinking of last year's squad and not this year.

The West, man, who the hell knows? I think if the Dodgers had stuck with the kids last year they could have won the division - once again Grady Little got the shaft. With no confidence I'll say the Dodgers win the west.

AL? I could see only one team out of the East making the playoffs, and I'm not sure which one. The Yankees are older so I'm tempted to say they'll fail. But injuries and youngsters failing to live up to expectations could do in the Red Sox too. Or not, hell they could cakewalk to another title too.

I'll still take the Indians over the Tigers in the Central. Question is will the Tigers get wild card? Am I foolish to discount the Twins? Probably, time & time again they put something together.

West - Looks pretty putrid. I'm not that impressed with the Angels moves in the OF the past 2 years. But the M's have their share of troubles too.

Now watch some team not even mentioned be a contender. (How ya feelin' Toronto? Is it 2010 yet Tampa?)

Okay, stupid predictions:

Yankees (huh?)

Indians

Angels

Red Sox (wait, what did I say above?)

Braves

Brewers

Dodgers

and...um....Phils, no, the Cubs, no the Padres, D-backs...okay, the Cubs. (It's an all blue uniform NL playoffs!)

Indians > Red Sox

Yankees > Angels (only because I hate the Angels)

Indians > Yankees

Geez, NL I'm going to have to pretend I know who has the 2nd best record? Yeah, right:

Brewers > Braves

Dodgers > Cubs

Brewers > Dodgers

The NL finally wins an All-Star game & the home field advantage makes the difference.

Brewers > Indians

Oh yeah, it's happen'!

Edited March 27, 2008 by Quincy

[Soulstation1]

The tribe won't do as well as last season

Didn't make it to a single spring training game this year

Edited March 28, 2008 by Soulstation1

[Dan Gould]

  Soulstation1 said:

The tribe won't do as well as last season

Didn't make it to a single spring training game this year

I don't want to jinx anything but there seems to be a bunch of potentially devastating injuries hitting some of the better teams in the AL:

Granderson is out for a month or more with a broken finger - not sure who plays CF for the Tigers but I am sure he doesn't bring the combo of speed and slugging that Granderson does.

Plus the Tigers are a mess when it comes to the bullpen, due to injuries plus the presence of Todd Jones - I don't know that there is a single trustworthy arm to pitch the seventh-eighth-ninth. So that bodes well for the Tribe, imo.

Then there are the Angels who are losing their top two starters for at least four weeks, with Escobar reportedly out with a torn ligament that may mean the entire season. Garland was a nice pickup from the White Sox but what exactly are you getting from him? He won't replace Lackey or Escobar as an ace, he's more of a slightly-better-than-league-average innings-eater.

And Toronto has lost Rolen for 4-6 weeks.

I wonder if there's any news on the state of Andy Pettitte's back.

[BERIGAN]

Unsung Braves built for October glory

[Chuck Nessa]

Got tickets for next Sunday's Cubs game.

[BFrank]

Bush got a nice round of..........boos........when tossing out the first pitch in DC tonight.