MLB Thread

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Clearly have never played high caliber sports.

Eliteism need not apply. They don't pay Sale for his opinion. They pay him to pitch. Williams runs the show. Facts are facts. Not to mention, there have been numerous reports that several players went over Ventura and "teh clubhouse" and straight to Williams to voice discontent with Laroche and his kid. Apparently "high level sports" is no different when it comes to talking to your boss.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Not to mention, if Sale is so keen on "keeping things in teh clubhouse" why is he publicly voicing his discontent with Williams and the Laroche issue? Why not abide by his own dumb line of thought and go to Ventura to voice discontent and keep it in house instead of sounding off via the media. This in the clubhouse malarkey doesn't make any sense nor is it followed by the guy complaining about it.

[Nicky Fives]

it's definitely created an awkward situation that will impact the team weeks before opening day.... it's right up there with the ridiculous "no facial hair" rules out there.....

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Why would you not allow a sweet Don Mattingly style stache?

[weather vane]

The locker room is a different place. Sports and your regular job are not the same thing. You are stretching big time.

Kenny Williams is a liar and made this the big deal that it is.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

I'm not saying they're one in the same. I am saying the chain of command still exists and using a lousy argument based on elitism doesn't serve your cause.

I like how Williams is a liar, made this a bigger deal than needed, and needs to stay out of the clubhous and leave things to Ventura, when Sale is clearly going outside of the clubhouse via the media to voice discontent, putting up Laroche's jerseys for the media to see, and quite blatantly going against everything he bitched about. It is quite humorous.

I also like how several players went to Williams to voice discontent about the Laroche kid in the first place, which is what lead to to said kid being banned, this causing Laroche to take his ball and go home and then go OUTSIDE OF THE CLUBHOUSE to voice his discontent. It's all very stupid. And Sale just makes himself look like a dick bag by reacting the way he is. He tops it off by looking like a dumb dick bag for doing the exact thing he bitched about.

[Bad News Gertner]

Brad Penny retired

[Nicky Fives]

Brad Penny retired

:love:

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Can't wait til June when the games start to matter a little bit.

[road doggy dogg]

You mean April?

[weather vane]

I'm not saying they're one in the same. I am saying the chain of command still exists and using a lousy argument based on elitism doesn't serve your cause.

I like how Williams is a liar, made this a bigger deal than needed, and needs to stay out of the clubhous and leave things to Ventura, when Sale is clearly going outside of the clubhouse via the media to voice discontent, putting up Laroche's jerseys for the media to see, and quite blatantly going against everything he bitched about. It is quite humorous.

I also like how several players went to Williams to voice discontent about the Laroche kid in the first place, which is what lead to to said kid being banned, this causing Laroche to take his ball and go home and then go OUTSIDE OF THE CLUBHOUSE to voice his discontent. It's all very stupid. And Sale just makes himself look like a dick bag by reacting the way he is. He tops it off by looking like a dumb dick bag for doing the exact thing he bitched about.

You are the guys in the White Sox room that tattled to Williams instead of talking to your teammates.

[Nicky Fives]

If I'm a teammate that has a problem with the kid being there, my thought process would be to ask around my fellow teammates to see if I'm the only one, and if we accumulate a gang that thinks it's a problem, then we go to Laroche individually and talk to him. If he does nothing about it, then manager. Then GM, although I cannot imagine a 14-year old being that much of a nuisance to me that I'd ever have to "rat out" a teammate because of it.....

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Think he's talking in terms of the playoff picture carving itself out. Although the AL is gonna be a clusterfuck of competitiveness.

[weather vane]

Btw let me be clear about this.

Adam Laroche and his kid are weird. Go to fucking school. Who wants to hang out with their Dad everyday? Yeah it would be cool but EVERYDAY?! Get some friends one time for me.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

The workplace is no place for a child. Every once in a while? Sure. But no kid should be there every single day.

[Evil Vito]

I just feel like the whole White Sox thing is embarrassing for everybody involved. Chris Sale hanging up the kid's jersey in the locker room as if he had died or something. And Adam Eaton saying the kid was a leader in the clubhouse. Like...really?

[Evil Vito]

I gotta say, as much as I can't wait to get real games underway I do love the randomness of spring and how the veterans, understandably, don't give a fuck. Colon gave up 5 runs on just 15 pitches yesterday as he was just hucking balls right down the middle of the plate. He clearly could not have been less interested in being in that game.

And then today Harvey pitched in some 10 AM game against a bunch of Cardinals minor leaguers and he gave up like 6 runs, said afterwards he was just treating it like an extended BP and the only goal was to get over 70 pitches as he ramps up for the opener. Yet for those minor leaguers just the chance to step in the box against a guy like Harvey was probably a thrill.

But yeah, real games soon please.

[Evil Vito]

Oh and not sure if it's only like this in every market or if it's exclusive to the big ones grasping at straws for stories but it's hilarious to me when people freak out over spring stats as if they mean anything. A guy called into WFAN today complaining that Antonio Bastardo has looked terrible and how he's not going to be a viable late inning option.

Funny because Familia got lit up like a Christmas tree pretty much every game last spring and then turned out to be one of the best closers in baseball from April right up until he made the unfortunate decision of trying to quick pitch Alex Gordon in the World Series.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

You mean April?

I find there are teams that play well early and fall apart when the heat is on. Aka many blue jays teams.

I'm sorry if this doesn't fit in with your rules. People not agreeing with you seems to make you very angry. Some may call your approach "insufferable"

[weather vane]

April is when they matter a little bit though. *monkey with hands over mouth emoticon*

[road doggy dogg]

I find there are teams that play well early and fall apart when the heat is on. Aka many blue jays teams.

I'm sorry if this doesn't fit in with your rules. People not agreeing with you seems to make you very angry. Some may call your approach "insufferable"

what

[Evil Vito]

:lol: Marlins name Wei-Yin Chen their Opening Day starter under the phony excuse that pitching Jose Fernandez in the second game will help limit his innings, even though the rotation order rarely stays set in stone all year. Pretty clear that the real reason is that Opening Day is a sellout for basically every team. And since the Marlins can't draw for shit the rest of the year they'd rather save their marquee pitcher Fernandez for the next game.

Hope teams don't start making a trend of that. Your best pitcher is supposed to go on Opening Day. It's not that complicated.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

It's just another game really.

[road doggy dogg]

:lol: Marlins name Wei-Yin Chen their Opening Day starter under the phony excuse that pitching Jose Fernandez in the second game will help limit his innings, even though the rotation order rarely stays set in stone all year. Pretty clear that the real reason is that Opening Day is a sellout for basically every team. And since the Marlins can't draw for shit the rest of the year they'd rather save their marquee pitcher Fernandez for the next game.

Hope teams don't start making a trend of that. Your best pitcher is supposed to go on Opening Day. It's not that complicated.

lol that is incredible and simultaneously unsurprising in the least for that organization

[Evil Vito]

It's just another game really.

It might mean dick all in terms of the overall standings but it's still a day that the diehards have been waiting for since October/November. Plus it's just a nice tradition. Unless your best starter is hurt or unavailable for some other reason the ace should always head out there on day one.

Also because of that tradition there are never more great pitching matchups than there are on Opening Day.

[road doggy dogg]

"If you look hot, wear it"

- Joe Maddon

[ClockShot]

Chone Figgins calls it a career. He'll sign a 1-day deal with and retire as an Angel.

[Evil Vito]

deGrom, Harvey, and Familia are on the cover of SI's 2016 Baseball Preview Edition. Fuck.

[Evil Vito]

Bet it was someone from Chicago who bribed them to jinx the Mets so the Cubs can get back to the World Series unimpeded

I blame Frank Drebin, that slippery detective http://www.tpwwforums.com/images/icons/icon8.gif

[Evil Vito]

Turns out they did regional covers this year. Cubs, Astros, and Giants all got their own covers.

WE'RE BACK! 1986 BABY!!!

[ClockShot]

Rays took on the Cuban National Team today. Won 4-1.

Both teams used a shitload of players, I guess they wanted everyone to play or something.

Rays only used 4 pitchers, Cubans used up 10.:eek:

[DaveWadding]

Bet it was someone from Chicago who bribed them to jinx the Mets so the Cubs can get back to the World Series unimpeded

I blame Frank Drebin, that slippery detective http://www.tpwwforums.com/images/icons/icon8.gif

Frank Drebin, Slippery Dick.

[Evil Vito]

Doesn't sound like the YES/Comcast dispute is anywhere close to being resolved and that it will definitely carry into the regular season.

Sucks for the Yankee fans stuck with Comcast. But from what I've read most aren't fretting because Comcast's prices are a rip-off anyway and besides there are a shitload of games that will be on WPIX, FOX, and ESPN anyway. Plus you can always find streams.

[poopfromweiner dude]

Willing to stake my reputation as a "pretty smart guy" that the YES/Comcast situation is resolved before any games are missed,,,

[ClockShot]

Guy at my local Comcast office says no new talks. Gave me a list of the Yankee games not on YES.

[poopfromweiner dude]

Guy at the local comcast office is just some dope,,,it'll be resolved over a 5 minute call whenever ________ happens. I assume YES will get pretty much what they want because "the public" would never side with Comcast,,,even though "the public" is just being used as a negotiating tool by both sides

I'm one of those creeps who can only get Comcast where I live,,not worried about missing any games, not yet at least

[poopfromweiner dude]

A Rod :roll:

[ClockShot]

Ugh. Couldn't retire after this season.

Hated that contract he signed. And I'm dreading the one we're gonna offer that headache Bryce Harper.

[Evil Vito]

A-Rod hit 33 home runs last year. It's no guarantee he can do it but if he stays on the field and has a couple more 30 home run campaigns (let's say he gets 60 total over the next two years) he'd only be 15 away from the record. I definitely think he'd come back under those circumstances.

[Nicky Fives]

There's a lot worse players you could "field" at DH than A-Rod.... 2 more seasons at 30 HR's is not out of the realm of possibility if the majority of his time is at DH, limiting his chances at getting hurt....

[road doggy dogg]

A rod was good last year, not the worst thing ever for him to keep playing lol

[Evil Vito]

If the NL has a DH in 2018 I could totally see the Marlins bringing A-Rod in to market the shit out of his HR record chase. Would fit the bill of something they'd do.

[Emperor Smeat]

Never liked A-Rod but sort of want him to get really close to Ruth on the HR list just to see how bad the media shitstorm becomes.

If A-Rod ends up not breaking the record, Pujols is next closest for active guys but he's about 200 HRs away from the record. Could probably get close within the next 5-7 years if he stays healthy or goes full time as a DH.

[Ruien]

A Rod would be like 10 times better than whoever they are putting at DH for my White Sox.

[Ruien]

I mean hell, our .200 batting average DH retired.

[Droford]

Lol the diamondbacks want a new stadium. Chase Field is only 18 years old. Come the fuck on lol

[Evil Vito]

This is only going to be Turner Field's 20th season and that isn't stopping the Braves from moving.

[Droford]

Orioles have scored 27 runs in 2 games vs Yankees and Red Sox but allowed 18.

Going to be crazy

[DaveWadding]

Droford are you signing up for fantasy this year? totally forgot to ask you.

[Droford]

Eh..not feeling it this year

[Emperor Smeat]

Yankees recently publicly ranted about the revenue sharing system mainly in regards to luxury tax penalties.

Were upset the most about still having to pay high taxes although for some odd reason decided to target the Mets and not known cheapass teams with their rants. Somehow felt since the Mets were also in New York, either the Mets should be paying more or the Yankees paying less to make things fair for the New York market.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/15072082/randy-levine-says-unfair-new-york-yankees-pay-more-new-york-mets-revenue-sharing

[road doggy dogg]

Brewers' closer tore his LCL.... tying his shoe

never change, baseball

[Nicky Fives]

that's right up there with pinching your ballbag in a cup and missing a few games.....

[Droford]

Orioles wise I remember Marty Cordova falling asleep in a tanning bed and burning his face up.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Orioles are rumored to have discussed releasing their recent Korean import lol. The best offseason of year continues to get better.

[Droford]

Joey Rickard has been playing better. Rule 5 guy..has been hitting..has speed and good defense.

Ultimately if Kim would take a minors assignment I could see him panning out but otherwise he's like the Korean pitcher they signed a few years ago that flopped hard in spring training.

[Evil Vito]

Mariners place Jesus Montero on waivers. One of the biggest prospect busts in recent memory.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Joey Rickard? You mean the guy that was soooooo good the Rays, a team always looking for cheap talent, left him off their 40 man roster and allowed to be given away? Yeah. Spring training stats mean jack shit. They could give Rickard every chance to stick and the likelihood is he's probably a bench player at best.

[Evil Vito]

Finally working on my trademark Vito Cruz MLB Predictions. MLB The Show comes out this week. This time next week I will be watching actual baseball instead of fake Spring Training baseball.

So glad it's here.

[Droford]

Joey Rickard? You mean the guy that was soooooo good the Rays, a team always looking for cheap talent, left him off their 40 man roster and allowed to be given away? Yeah. Spring training stats mean jack shit. They could give Rickard every chance to stick and the likelihood is he's probably a bench player at best.

He's played in just about every ST game and he's 21/53 hitting a lot in the leadoff spot with speed and playing good defense in LF. If Kim goes away he's at least in a platoon with Reimold but because he can lead off and has speed I think he'll stick. They don't have anyone else who is a typical leadoff guy

In 4 minor league seasons he hit .288/.390 with 72 sb

Last year in about 90 AA and AAA games he was a .320/.420 guy

[Droford]

I personally think the Rays fucked up. He doesn't have power but how many 25 year olds are there that can hit for a .300+ avg .400+ obp? Even if it drops to .280/.360 thsts still better than everyone but Machado and they can't have him leading off after he hit 35 homers last year like they have previously

They probably didn't like his 19% k rate and 9% bb rate..and his high babip .457 in AAA but that fits in with the Os

[Bad News Gertner]

Jesus Montero had a .355 average last year in AAA

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

I am feeling positive about Sanchez as a starter. I think he's the type of guy that'll get better with the more innings he'll pitch.

[Evil Vito]

Can't wait to see how many talking heads who had picked the Mets to win the NL East after they got Cespedes back end up changing their picks now that the Nats have the best record in the Grapefruit League while the Mets have lost like 11 straight. Because obviously spring training performance is so important.

[Evil Vito]

Jesus Montero has .355 last year in AAA

Well lucky for you the Jays have apparently already claimed him.

[Bad News Gertner]

Hutchison to AAA. Thank God.

[Evil Vito]

Best scouting report ever on Evan Gattis: "Gattis swings the bat like he's in some weird Jason Statham movie where if he doesn't give it every ounce of energy he has, he'll die."

[ClockShot]

Braves release Nick Swisher.

Wouldn't mind seeing him back in pinstripes for 1 more season as a bench player. Hell of a guy in the clubhouse and off the field.

[road doggy dogg]

Best scouting report ever on Evan Gattis: "Gattis swings the bat like he's in some weird Jason Statham movie where if he doesn't give it every ounce of energy he has, he'll die."

sounds like the Astros in a nutshell last year tbh

which is why they were one of the most fun teams to watch

[ClockShot]

But which Jason Statham movie?

I think Crank was awesome.

[YOUR Hero]

I am feeling positive about Sanchez as a starter. I think he's the type of guy that'll get better with the more innings he'll pitch.

needs more pitches

[Bad News Gertner]

....it can't be

[road doggy dogg]

Cubs released Kawasaki :wavesad:

[Nicky Fives]

Cubs released Kawasaki :wavesad:

then immediately resigned him to a minor league deal, no Jays return for Muni :(

[Bad News Gertner]

Lol Joe Madden said that Mune is going to be one of the most popular Cubs when he gets called up. Sad to see Mune in a different jersey.

[Evil Vito]

Reading that the Royals are considering retaliating against the Mets because they are still mad that Thor threw over Escobar's head in game 3. Come on. First off the ball didn't come even close to hitting him by design, but besides that wasn't winning the series and celebrating on the Citi Field grass not revenge enough for them?

I'm guessing nothing will happen. But if they blatantly hit a Met batter on Opening Night when no Royal got hit I bet Harvey will follow suit and we'll wind up with a basebrawl on the first day of the season.

[road doggy dogg]

As if the Royals needed more reason to hate them

[Evil Vito]

It's unfortunate because I actually want to like the Royals. I was pulling hard for them in 2014 because they had come out of nowhere and I thought it would be a great story not to mention it would have saved us from the Even Year Giants ©

If you had told me going into last season that the Mets would make it to the WS but lose to the Royals I'd have been like "okay, well at least a team I don't mind is winning it and they're fun to watch" but christ have they ever become annoying. Glad it's only a 2 game series with them to start the year.

[Droford]

Home run contest the Os site in on..You pay $50 and pick 8 players who home run total from last year is 162 or less with 7 active and 1 bench replacement. High total each month wins thev$50 and there's also payout for high total at ASB and end if season.

My team
Mike Trout 41
Anthony Rizzo 31
Giancarlo Stanton 27
Joc Pederson 26
Miguel Sano 18
Miguel Cabrera 18
Devin Mesoraco 0
Bench Byung ho Park 0
Total 161

I wasn't aware about the Dodgers not feeling Pederson this spring..so kinda regretting him already. Mesoraco is 20+ homers as long as bed healthy. Park is projected for 30+. Sano is also projected 30+..

[Droford]

Tigers need to back off with The all orange hats

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

As if the Royals needed more reason to hate them

They are the Seth Rollins of MLB

[road doggy dogg]

I think that's kind of apt. He does the whiney heel role well.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

They've denied this. I think the real issue is why are they having the interleague play this early. Time to rein in this gimmick or just end it all together.

[road doggy dogg]

Interleague is dumB.. Tigers open the season @MIA and end it @ATL... soooOoo dumB

[road doggy dogg]

but lol @ the Sox, Travis Shaw won the starting job over Pablo... the right move, but goddamn @ that contract still

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Yep. Throwing money at people that weren't really that sought after. I don't think we'll find a moron like the Dodgers to dump most of it this time.

[Evil Vito]

They've denied this. I think the real issue is why are they having the interleague play this early. Time to rein in this gimmick or just end it all together.

Yeah because if they were gonna throw at somebody on purpose or they totally would admit to it beforehand.

Hopefully cooler heads prevail since this shit all happened 6 months ago. Time to move on.

[Bad News Gertner]

I'll actually be disappointed if the Royals don't bean him. Not because he deserves it. I just want to see Bartolo Colon give Ventura a 747 splash.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

but lol @ the Sox, Travis Shaw won the starting job over Pablo... the right move, but goddamn @ that contract still

I don't feel sorry for anybody or anything about this other than the bench. Don't think she'll hold up.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Yeah because if they were gonna throw at somebody on purpose or they totally would admit to it beforehand.

Hopefully cooler heads prevail since this shit all happened 6 months ago. Time to move on.

They also won the whole thing. Seems preposterous they'd still be this mad.

For inter-league play if you throw at somebody intentionally in an American League stadium they should do something like you lose your DH spot for the next game.

[Emperor Smeat]

Red Sox management has been hinting during Spring Training if they have another terrible start, Farrell likely is out as the manager shortly afterwards.

[Evil Vito]

That seems crazy to me since they were world champions in 2013. It wasn't that long ago.

But whatever. I feel like winning a title should buy you like 5 years of job security no matter what. For that matter if you win a title the fans probably have no right to bitch about the state of the team for 5 years either but I know that's unrealistic for most.

[Emperor Smeat]

Guess its more of they way they've been horrendous the past few years and 2013 being seen more as a fluke than proving Farrell as great choice for manager. Pitching should have been a lot better considering that's Farrell's biggest strength but instead its been their huge weakness.

Not all his fault though but since they've already cleaned house with management, he's the last big leftover before Dave Dombrowski has complete control over the team.

[Evil Vito]

Can't wait to see how many talking heads who had picked the Mets to win the NL East after they got Cespedes back end up changing their picks now that the Nats have the best record in the Grapefruit League while the Mets have lost like 11 straight. Because obviously spring training performance is so important.

About to be 14 straight winless game with one spring game left to play. Wonder if they're on the verge of setting a record.

[Droford]

Remember when the Orioles lost like 10 in a row..11-5 with a bunch of times since.

[ClockShot]

Taylor Teagarden got hit with an 80 game suspension from MLB. No word on if he failed a drug test or anything. But, he was involved in that Al Jazzera expose' involving various players using PEDs. He's a free agent at the moment.

[Evil Vito]

With the first pitch of the 2016 season tomorrow night, it’s time to go ahead and post my annual predictions. Last season I had four of the five NL playoff teams correct (albeit I had my Mets as a wild card, not winning the division) but Toronto were the only AL playoff team I guessed correctly. My Freeway World Series prediction of course did not come to fruition with the Angels narrowly missing out on a Wild Card berth, and the eventual world champion Royals I had finishing in fourth place. Let’s see how I fare this year:


Regular Season Standings

American League East
1. New York Yankees
2. Toronto Blue Jays (Wild Card 1)
3. Boston Red Sox
4. Tampa Bay Rays
5. Baltimore Orioles

The AL East is habitually one of the hardest divisions to pick. But in the end I’m going to go with the old guard in the Yankees, quite literally in this case as they have the oldest roster in the entire league. They are far from a perfect team; their aging position players seemed to fade in the dog days of summer last year and their rotation is questionable especially with the ever-looming concern about Tanaka’s elbow. But that back-end of the bullpen is absurd and they should be able to win just about any game that they’re winning after six innings, maybe even earlier. They could just be following the Royals model in terms of allowing your incredible bullpen to offset a less than stellar group of starting position players. The Yankees stave off a late charge from Toronto to win their first division title in four years.

I’m not willing to write Toronto out of the postseason entirely, they should still be able to tear the cover off of the ball although Tulowitzki is always an injury risk and who knows if Bautista and Encarnacion’s contract situations become a distraction. Stroman is really good but the real X factor for them will be if Aaron Sanchez can solidify himself as a legitimate #2 starter. Boston will be improved over a year ago and Price is a Cy Young frontrunner but I still think they’re going to need to swing a trade for another starter and I have no idea if Hanley will rebound to be a force in the lineup. Tampa Bay seems solid overall and have a good front three but I can’t really find any reason to put them into October this year. The Orioles just seem to be all over the place. Machado is one of the best players in baseball but I still think they overpaid spectacularly for Davis and that rotation leaves a lot to be desired.


American League Central
1. Kansas City Royals
2. Cleveland Indians (Wild Card 2)
3. Detroit Tigers
4. Minnesota Twins
5. Chicago White Sox

As mentioned I left the Royals out of the playoffs altogether last year, I’m not about to make that mistake again. While they did lose Ben Zobrist they still kept their lineup mostly intact, and they are capable of just grinding out one quality at-bat after another along with playing nearly flawless defense. Their bread and butter is still the bullpen, with Greg Holland this year being replaced by Joakim Soria. As in year’s past this group of hard-throwing relievers should help take some of the burden off of what looks to be a less than stellar starting rotation. However just like last year, the opportunity is very much in play for them to try to swing a deadline deal for a starting pitcher. Either way I still feel this is a very well-rounded ball club and I have no hesitation with picking them to repeat as division champions.

Cleveland had high hopes for the Indians last year but a bad start really put them behind the 8-ball right out of the gate. I am bullish on their collection of young, hard-throwing starters though and feel their lineup is even better than it was a year ago. It’s a mostly young team that now has had some extra seasoning, and in a competitive AL I think enough of them to give them the other Wild Card spot. I really liked the moves the Tigers made this offseason and think they should be in Wild Card contention for much of the year, my main concern is whether or not Cabrera or V-Mart can stay on the field all year. The Twins caught everybody by surprise last year and feature two players who should be exciting to watch for years to come in Buxton and Sano, by next year they could be a division threat. I feel that the off-field LaRoche drama set a bad tone for the White Sox, although I’m expecting a typically stellar year from Chris Sale.

American League West
1. Houston Astros
2. Seattle Mariners
3. Texas Rangers
4. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
5. Oakland Athletics

Years of tanking appeared to finally pay dividends for the Astros last season, and I expect them to take another step further this year. For starters you have three dynamic young players anchoring the lineup in Correa, Altuve, and Springer. Then on the mound you’ve got a trio of young guys who sound like they’d make for a good law firm: Keuchel, McHugh, and McCullers. And then they pounced on what appeared to be their biggest deficiency last season in the bullpen and helped to shore that up by bringing in a hard-throwing stopper in Ken Giles along with re-signing one of their good returning pitchers in Tony Sipp. I just love the look of this team altogether, and perhaps there is no division winner I’m more confident in picking that the Astros winning their first AL West title.

The Mariners had high expectations last year and they under-achieved big time. But I’m thinking bigger years for Cano and Felix (who had “down years” in 2015 despite still being pretty good) and the nice bullpen additions of Cishek and Benoit could lead to meaningful games in September. The Rangers should theoretically be good but without knowing how Yu Darvish is going to fare when he makes his eventual return or knowing whether or not Josh Hamilton can turn back the clocks to 2012 it’s tough for me to pick them over the Astros. Mike Trout is still the best overall player in baseball in my opinion but I just see too many question marks surrounding the Angels this year. The A’s have one of the best pitchers in the league in Sonny Gray but they still are filled with defensive butchers and it’s tough to win in a ballpark that big when Moneyball has decided that defense is unimportant.


National League East
1. New York Mets
2. Washington Nationals (Wild Card 2)
3. Miami Marlins
4. Philadelphia Phillies
5. Atlanta Braves

First off any discussion about the Mets’ chances has to begin with the Four Horsemen in the rotation, with Zack Wheeler hopeful to join them in July. As long as they can stay healthy it’s scary to imagine them being even better this year. The lineup is very similar in depth to the one they had down the stretch last year except with Walker/Cabrera replacing Murphy/Flores in the middle infield, which looks like a lateral at worst and slight upgrade at best. Wilmer “Tears of Joy” Flores is still there to anchor a pretty deep looking bench that appears poised to be able to withstand injuries that might come up. I do still have some concerns about the bullpen and some of the defensive woes the team suffered last year could still be there (particularly Cespedes in center) but at the end of the day I still really like the look of this team. Yes, they are my favorite team. Yes, this is the first time I’ve ever picked the Mets to win the division since I started doing real predictions. Yes, I’m slightly terrified that if things go off the rails somehow it will be all my fault for jinxing them. But this appears to be the deepest team the Mets have assembled heading into an opener since at least 2006. If you’re a Mets fan and can’t shake your paranoia long enough to pick the Mets to win the division this year, you’ll never pick them.

I shamelessly wrote more about the Mets than any other team because they’re my favorites, but it’s still no given that they win the division. The Nationals had a ton of pressure on them last year, and this year the target is off their backs. They suffered a ton of bad luck last year with injuries to key players such as Rendon and Werth, I can only assume that kind of bad luck is unsustainable. They still have the reigning MVP in Harper, Scherzer to head up their rotation, and they added a ton of bullpen help. I could easily see the division not being decided until the final weekend of the season. The Marlins are a team I could see being around .500 but that comes with the big caveat that Stanton and Fernandez stay on the field. The team will go as far as those two take them. I really don’t know what to say about the Phillies and Braves, I gave a Wild Card spot to the NL East in part because they get to play these two doormats so many times. Neither of those clubs seems interested in contending in 2016.


National League Central
1. Chicago Cubs
2. St. Louis Cardinals (Wild Card 1)
3. Pittsburgh Pirates
4. Cincinnati Reds
5. Milwaukee Brewers

Even though the NL Central has three bona fide contenders in it, the Cubs seem to be a near-unanimous pick to win it. As much as I would like to find a reason to be a contrarian, I can’t. They haven’t lost any key players from their stellar 2015 team, added a versatile guy in Zobrist who Maddon will be able to utilize to the best of his abilities, and took Heyward and Lackey from their archrival in the division. They still have the reigning Cy Young Winner in Arrieta, a really good #2 in Lester who most thought would be the ace of the staff, and a small army of young power hitters who should send balls flying over the ivy with regularity in Rizzo, Bryant, and Schwarber. Add all of that up and what you have is a team that seems more than poised to make this a really fun year on the North Side.

I’ve often said that the Cardinals need to be picked to make the playoffs every year until they don’t actually make it. In fairness though, they should still be excellent. Look for Grichuk and Piscotty to start to really establish themselves as big league starting outfielders, and of course they’ve still got Molina behind the plate to guide the pitching staff. Truthfully it doesn’t seem to matter much who gets injured for them during the year, they always find a way. I feel bad leaving the Pirates out as I think they are really good and think the world of McCutchen, they should be in the race right to the bitter end and at the end of the day the difference is going to come down to who can manhandle the division jesters the most. The Reds and Brewers don’t appear to be Phillies and Braves bad, but they’re still quite dreadful.


National League West

1. San Francisco Giants
2. Los Angeles Dodgers
3. Arizona Diamondbacks
4. San Diego Padres
5. Colorado Rockies

The Dodgers have been labeled as the prohibitive favorites in most of the betting lines but I’m giving the West to the Giants this year. First off I thought Cueto and Samardzija were really good additions for them and adding them to Bumgarner, Peavy, and Cain gives them a stable of experienced, quality starters. The bullpen is filled with veteran arms who have been through the rigors of a pennant chase before. Aside from Posey there may not be another player in the lineup that totally blows you away but they have guys who look like they could put up All Star quality campaigns pretty much all around the diamond, and I think getting Hunter Pence back will be huge for them as he was sorely missed for a large chunk of last season. Overall they just look like a really well-rounded team.

I’m definitely going against the grain by picking the Dodgers to not even make the playoffs at all, even Baseball Prospectus gave them a 75% chance of making it – higher than any other team. I’m not sure I understand the hype. Kershaw is obviously amazing but there is no way of knowing if the rest of the rotation will stay healthy or how Maeda will do in his first foray into the big leagues. Puig should be a perennial MVP candidate but I question if he’s ever going to get his head straight, he seems like a loose cannon. So yeah, I’m leaving them out of the playoffs which of course means they’ll go on to win the World Series a year after I actually picked them to do so. Arizona should be competitive and very much in the Wild Card fight but I must admit this late spring injury to Pollock could be devastating. The Padres were possibly baseball’s biggest disappointment last year and may continue to even further strip down their roster after last offseason’s spending spree. Colorado looks like it will have a typical Rockies year – amazing offensive numbers from a few guys (especially Arenado) but just not enough pitching to make a serious run to October yet.


Awards

American League
MVP: Carlos Correa, Houston Astros
Cy Young: Chris Sale, Chicago White Sox
Rookie of the Year: Byung-Ho Park, Minnesota Twins
Comeback Player of the Year: Jacoby Ellsbury, New York Yankees
Manager of the Year: A.J. Hinch, Houston Astros

While I still think Mike Trout is the best player in baseball, he’d need to absolutely blow away the competition to win MVP on a fourth place team. Therefore I’m giving the nod to Correa who can not only put up big numbers but do so at a premium position. MVP numbers from Correa would go a long way towards getting Hinch an award too. I was thinking of going with Buxton for Rookie of the Year but then shifted course to the Korean import Park, who could put up big power numbers for Minnesota. I’ll go with Sale winning an award in an otherwise bleak year on the South Side. It’s always tough to guess the Comeback award – it’s either a guy coming back from a prolonged injury and playing well or a guy strongly rebounding from a crappy season. I’ll go with the latter and say Ellsbury redeems himself after winding up on the pine down the stretch for the Yankees last year.


National League
MVP: Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals
Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
Rookie of the Year: Corey Seager, Los Angeles Dodgers
Comeback Player of the Year: Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals
Manager of the Year: Dusty Baker, Washington Nationals

Well, I’ve gone to Chalk City with these picks. Harper coming anywhere close to his 2015 numbers should trump anything else if Washington does indeed make the playoffs. I also considered Rizzo and Bryant but they might cancel each other out to a degree. Kershaw is amazing enough that you can practically guarantee he’ll be a finalist at bare minimum, so him winning the award is a safe bet. Seager is the runaway favorite for Rookie of the Year. I make no shortage of jokes about Baker but the old school voters love him and besides it’d be tougher for a guy like Maddon to win the award when everybody already has huge expectations for the Cubs. Wainwright missed basically all of last season to injury but even though he got back in time for the playoffs I’d have to think that him staying on the mound and delivering anything close to a typical Wainwright year would make him a strong contender for the Comeback award.


Playoffs

Wild Card Games
Indians over Blue Jays
Cardinals over Nationals

I’ll probably whiff on half of my playoff teams, so trying to pick two individual games is lunacy. Literally anything can happen in a single game. Anyway, let’s just say the Toronto offense picks a bad time to have an off-day as Kluber keeps them off balance. Meanwhile the battle-tested Cardinals pull out a win over the Nationals following some really questionable decisions from Dusty Baker (see? I told you there would be no shortage of jokes).


Division Series
Royals over Indians
Astros over Yankees
Cubs over Cardinals
Giants over Mets

A best-of-three series really isn’t all that much less random than a one game series. It’s all about who gets hot at the right time. Let’s say the Cubs handle the Cardinals in the NLDS again, while the Royals also dispose of their divisional foes. The Astros and Yankees also meet in a rematch from last year’s playoffs and the Astros prevail once again. I obviously love the Mets rotation but I also said some very nice things about the Giants’ as well. Putting my personal preferences aside, history says that the safer bet the Even Year Giants ©.


Championship Series
Astros over Royals
Giants over Cubs

I have to imagine that the Astros still have some open wounds from last year’s ALDS. They came so close to knocking off the Royals only to pretty much choke it away and then have to watch the Royals go on to win the whole thing. But I think they’re good enough to head into a series of like this and try to eradicate the demons from the year before. Astros go on to knock off the division champs in a fun series. The Giants’ rotation is good but they don’t have the kind of power arms that typically give the Cubs trouble. Unfortunately though baseball is a weird game and the playoffs, as mentioned, are about who gets hot at the right time, and no team eems to get hotter than the Even Year Giants ©.


World Series
Giants over Astros

This is Houston’s fourth year in the AL and I’m still not used to it. Just imagining them representing the Junior Circuit in the World Series feels weird to me. But anyway, this series would almost resemble the 2014 one a bit. You’d have a team with no shortage of recent success going up against a team that nobody could have imagined would be a World Series team just two years earlier. By this point I’d have to assume that Houston would be the sentimental favorites and that just about everybody outside of San Francisco would want them to win. But sentiments only get you so far in baseball, and that means the 2016 World Series will be won by, let’s say it one more time: the Even Year Giants ©. As for a MVP pick, it seldom seems to be the clear-cut best bat in the lineup and it’s tough to imagine Bumgarner replicating his ridiculous 2014 showing, so let’s go ahead and take a flyer on a guy who could contend for Comeback Player of the Year: Hunter Pence.

[Evil Vito]

IT'S OPENING DAY!!!!! :love:

[road doggy dogg]

shit yeah

[ClockShot]

STILL...................NO.........................YES NETWORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


:fu: to everybody who can watch their teams play.

[Bad News Gertner]

TULO WINDOWWWWWW TULO WALL!

[Evil Vito]

Well, it sucks to lose on Opening Day but that the Mets went from getting shut down by Volquez only to actually making a game of it against the Royals' bullpen can only be an encouraging sign.

So glad there's only one more game against the Royals though. The early part of this game definitely resembled the World Series. You make any mistakes defensively against them and they will cash in 100% of the time.

Happy that baseball is back in my life. Please never leave again.

[road doggy dogg]

"true" Opening Day today, feels cool... Tigers don't play until tomorrow though, strange, esp since they're opening @MIA and they're already in Florida due to s/t. At least the game is 7:00 so I won't be at work 'ell yeah

[Droford]

Joey Rickard can throw a baseball and a football at the same time #talent

[road doggy dogg]

lol been watching the Nats/Braves game a bit

any time you can 4-pitch walk in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the 8th, you gotta do it! #JustShawnKelleyThings

[Bad News Gertner]

Josh Thole with a home run?

Tholey Moley!

[Evil Vito]

lol of fucking course Murph would be the hero for the Nats in his debut. Awful fielder but usually always a clutch hitter.

Was time to move on from him, just saddens me that he had to go to the Mets' top rival instead of some obscure team.

[YOUR Hero]

Go Jays Go

[Evil Vito]

Because the stupid ass owners will probably add a DH to the NL as soon as next year, I'm creating a new stat called the Superwin, which occurs when the winning pitcher drives in more runs than he allows.

Francisco Liriano picked one up in the first game of the season, driving in the Pirates' first run. Greinke attempted to follow suit today but sadly could not hold the 1-0 lead.

OFFICIAL SUPERWIN LIST
4/3: Francisco Liriano

[road doggy dogg]

Greinke should focus more on his pitching than hitting if today is a sign of things to come this season

[Evil Vito]

The D-Backs paid over $1 million for that start.

[Emperor Smeat]

:y: Red Sox off to a good start this season.

[road doggy dogg]

Have Price on my fantasy team and was following his line most of the afternoon. Looks like a good Sox debut for him

[ClockShot]

Yikes. Yankees lose the opener due to a stinker by Betances.

Fantasy owners probably flipping out right now.

[road doggy dogg]

This DET/MIA game is taking FOREEEEVERRRRR to start

[Shisen Kopf]

Tigers bullpen sucks again. Gonna be aongoing season.

[Evil Vito]

Yeah K-Rod was fucking brutal.

I actually had a bad feeling when I saw the Tigers had scored more runs because I saw K-Rod pull that shit with the Mets all the time. 1 run lead, he clamps down and gets a 1-2-3 inning. Any sort of cushion and he seems to lose his urgency.

[Droford]

orioles in first place

Haha..

[road doggy dogg]

This season is going to kill me

[Evil Vito]

3 days into the season and we've already got some controversy on the new slide rule.

http://m.rays.mlb.com/tb/video/topic/17522196/v574646983/tortb-rays-awarded-dp-after-slide-rule-violation

[Lock Jaw]

Seems "shite", and I'm not just saying that because "my team" lost....

[Lock Jaw]

Nah, I lied. It is totally because "my team" lost.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Yeah that was just silly. Typical MLB nonsense. Oh well, onward and upward I guess.

[Evil Vito]

I think the rule came from good intentions but I bet by midseason or so they'll realize it's not at all being enforced in the way intended and they'll change it.

[Nicky Fives]

I think the rule came from good intentions but I bet by midseason or so they'll realize it's not at all being enforced in the way intended and they'll change it.

Exactly, baseball is not a contact sport, but when a guy is standing in front of a base that another guy is trying to "touch," contact is inevitable, no matter how many rules you put in place....only way to ever get rid of it is to add the softball double bases to every base, defense hits the orange and offense the white....

[Ruien]

White Sox in rest place and undefeated. Going to be a great season. Hopefully those silly Cubs can stay with the big boys on the south side.

[road doggy dogg]

Just watched the Bautista slide. I get why they made the call, he clearly is going out of his way to disrupt the throw. I don't agree with it, but I can see why it was called

[Stickman]

I have no disagreements in regards to the Bautista slide. He clearly went out of his way to disrupt the throw, what I don't like is they used replay to make the decision. If the ump missed it move on.

[Droford]

Trevor Story is on fire

[Droford]

Oh and lol blue Jays can't hold on to a lead with their bullpen

[McLegend]

The Phillies bullpen is a dumpster fire.

[Evil Vito]

Kenta Maeda hits a solo HR in his Major League debut and doesn't allow a run in his win, giving him the second Superwin of the season!

OFFICIAL SUPERWIN LIST
4/3: Francisco Liriano
4/6: Kenta Maeda

[Evil Vito]

Through three games this season, the Padres are on pace to surrender 1,350 runs while scoring zero. :o

[Damian Rey 2.0]

I've officialy checked out of Padres baseball.

[ClockShot]

There we go. There's the Yankees. Send that starting pitcher running before the inning is over.

[Innovator]

Just gonna pencil Castro in for the Hall of Fame and Monument Park

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Just watched the Bautista slide. I get why they made the call, he clearly is going out of his way to disrupt the throw. I don't agree with it, but I can see why it was called

I'd agree with that. Still irritating as fuck though.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Oh and lol blue Jays can't hold on to a lead with their bullpen

Very astute statement for 4 games into the season.

Cecil gave up the bomb to Forsythe I believe, and he was shit hot last year out of the pen. He's a bit of a slow starter.

Concerns about their pen is warranted, but with Storen, Chavez, Cecil and Osuna there's no reason to believe they can't find form at some point.

[Emperor Smeat]

MLB recently discovered a set of documents that showed the sport is actually a few years older than previously believed and someone else is the real founder of it.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/15155678/laws-base-ball-papers-sale-establish-new-father-modern-baseball

[Bad News Gertner]

Heading to the Jays home opener tomorrow. Catching the entire three game series against Boston

[road doggy dogg]

Oh yeah? I'm going to the game Sat, where're your seats?

[Droford]

Joey Rickard just hit his first MLB Homer..

ROY

I'm going to the game tomorrow vs TB sitting in the front row out in LF

[road doggy dogg]

cool, wear something "noticeable" so I can look out for you........... jk will be watching Tigers' home opener

[Droford]

Manny hit a Homer in the front row tonight exactly where I'm sitting..

Also Os and Tigers are only 2 AL teams undefeated.

[road doggy dogg]

not for lack of trying though... K-Rod looks brtl so far

[Droford]

http://frsports-bucket-0001.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/03/27180410/357160228756_Orioles_Photo_Day.jpg

New favorite player

[Frank Drebin]

Is that a young Jake Arrietta?

[Frank Drebin]

Kyle Schwarber carted off the field with left ankle injury after collision with Dexter Fowler.

So there's that.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

I think that guy's name is "sent back to Tampa" or "4th outfielder".

[Droford]

Is that a young Jake Arrietta?

I think that guy's name is "sent back to Tampa" or "4th outfielder".

It's Joey Rickard

He's not going back to TB and he's not a 4th of

He's endeared himself well with the fans to the point I think he could be more popular than everyone but Manny and Adam right now. The Joey! Chants have been great.

[road doggy dogg]

hold on Droford, the fun police can't have you enjoying something about baseball in here

prepare for 19 dreadful posts about how you suck as a person etc

[Evil Vito]

Cubs announce that Schwarber has torn ligaments in his knee, and he is out for the season.

[road doggy dogg]

fucking brutal

[Frank Drebin]

This is what happens to Baseball teams that go out of their way to fire their own fans. My curse is still alive. This is only the beginning.

[Frank Drebin]

The Baseball Gods are real, and they do not forget.

[ClockShot]

Ouch. Yankees got 3-hit and shutout against the Tigers today.

Didn't see that coming after that rebound with Houston.

[harmsway]

Jz looked dope. Tigers look good so far innings 1 through 8

[Droford]

Orioles lit up Archer for 4 homers. Mannys went over my head

[Damian Rey 2.0]

It's Joey Rickard

He's not going back to TB and he's not a 4th of

He's endeared himself well with the fans to the point I think he could be more popular than everyone but Manny and Adam right now. The Joey! Chants have been great.

After 4 games? Lolololol. Remember how big am upgrade the Korean guy was supposed to be?

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Joe Kelly somehow gets an ND. Jesus Christ. Another implosion by a sox starter. Grand Slam by Brrrrrrrrrrrock Holt saved the Sox.

He doesn't even made a million and he's still overpaid.

Porcello tomorrow....

[ClockShot]

Dodgers' Ross Stripling had a no-no going through 7.1 innings and got pulled after the 100th pitch. Their bullpen blew the game and the Hatfields (Giants) won.

Obviously sucks you can't get the job done. But I read he had Tommy John surgery 2 years ago. So I guess Dave Roberts had his best interests in mind.

[ClockShot]

Brandon Belt and the Giants agree to a 5-year extension.

[Evil Vito]

Braves release Nick Swisher.

Wouldn't mind seeing him back in pinstripes for 1 more season as a bench player. Hell of a guy in the clubhouse and off the field.

Ask and you shall receive. He's signed back with the Yankees on a minor league deal. Seems like a formality that he'll be with the big league team at some point.

[YOUR Hero]

Jays loose 3 in aa row. All 3, they had the lead. Grr

[Evil Vito]

https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xft1/t31.0-8/12970837_1079750788766224_6882257764894019276_o.jpg

Got chills watching that last banner go up yesterday, even if it hurts a bit knowing they were an ill-advised Familia quick pitch and two fielding errors away from it saying "World Champions".

That 1999 one though...ugh. That's probably up there on the list of dumb sports banners. I loved the 1999 Mets and it was the first time in my life that I saw the Mets make the playoffs. But the "& Division Series Winners" bit is just stupid on the level of the Colts AFC Finalists banner. It also makes the 2006 Mets who were way better than the 1999 Mets look worse because their NLDS win went unmentioned.

If they must have a banner for every playoff team it should just say "1999 NL Wild Card Winners", but even then you're still celebrating finishing in second place without technically being a champion of anything. There's not a whole lot more room on the ledge where these things are so maybe a few more division titles will force them to jettison it altogether.

I'm still waiting for the day a team who made it to the Wild Card game and lost puts up a banner just for having technically made the playoffs.

[ClockShot]

Ask and you shall receive. He's signed back with the Yankees on a minor league deal. Seems like a formality that he'll be with the big league team at some point.

Sweet.

Got a June 15th opt-out if he isn't on the big league roster by then.

I'll take it.

[Emperor Smeat]

https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xft1/t31.0-8/12970837_1079750788766224_6882257764894019276_o.jpg

That 1999 one though...ugh. That's probably up there on the list of dumb sports banners. I loved the 1999 Mets and it was the first time in my life that I saw the Mets make the playoffs. But the "& Division Series Winners" bit is just stupid on the level of the Colts AFC Finalists banner. It also makes the 2006 Mets who were way better than the 1999 Mets look worse because their NLDS win went unmentioned.

If they must have a banner for every playoff team it should just say "1999 NL Wild Card Winners", but even then you're still celebrating finishing in second place without technically being a champion of anything. There's not a whole lot more room on the ledge where these things are so maybe a few more division titles will force them to jettison it altogether.

I'm still waiting for the day a team who made it to the Wild Card game and lost puts up a banner just for having technically made the playoffs.

At least its not Tampa Bay type dumb where they raised 2 banners at the same time for 2008 because their excuse was lack of banners on the wall and never doing it before.

https://annalisaweller.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/rays-banners-at-tropicana.jpg

[Bad News Gertner]

God fucking damn it. I was at the Jays game today. Some guy yelled out 'Dickey, that's why you got molested".

Also some Animal Liberation people ran onto the field with a banner after Bautista's second home run. I ran into them at Tim Horton's after the game.

[ClockShot]

Solid outing by Sabathia today.

Hope he keeps it up.

[Ruien]

Really sucks Baltimore decided to peak so early in the season .

[Evil Vito]

https://i.imgflip.com/1291ho.gif

I love watching Bartolo Colon play baseball.

[Bad News Gertner]

Lol Pablo Sandoval's belt broke when he took a swing today.

[Evil Vito]

I was gonna say the world would probably implode if Colon and Sandoval ever went up against each other but apparently they met six times in 2014 and once last year.

[Evil Vito]

It'll never cease to amaze/infuriate me how Ryan Howard can get worse every year and yet he will still always hit a few HRs against the Mets every season.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

He really should have gone to the AL by now. DH would suit him.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Padres getting run drunk. They're now averaging just under 6 runs per game after clubbing Colorado two straight games, despite 60% of their games.

[screech]

It'll never cease to amaze/infuriate me how Ryan Howard can get worse every year and yet he will still always hit a few HRs against the Mets every season.

If it makes you feel better, I still don't want him here.

[road doggy dogg]

really hope weather clears up... supposed to go to Yankees/Tigers tonight. ESPN Sunday night game, JV/Tanaka, JV's first home start of the season... go away snow

[ClockShot]

They better not cancel it. That's a game on TV I can ACTUALLY WATCH!



I WANT MY YES NETWORK!

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Stephen Wright pitches better than any Red Sox not named David Price and the team can't produce anything for him yet through 7 and a 1/3rd.

[Bad News Gertner]

Woooo Estrada!

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Estrada pitched a beaut. Storens stuff still looks a bit wooden.

[Evil Vito]

I should have known that by openly saying the Mets should win like 15 of their 19 games against the Phillies this year that they'd immediately lose 2 of their first 3 against them. Because of course.

[Bad News Gertner]

Kevin Pillar is not a good lead off hitter

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Kevin Pillar is not a good lead off hitter

Not enough patience.

[screech]

Holy shit the Phillies won again. Wooooo!

[screech]

Weird to see Odubel Herrera batting 3rd, though.

[Evil Vito]

Trevor Story is the greatest player in baseball history.

[ClockShot]

Yankees/Tigers game postponed.

I'm pretty much going the route of D-Fens in Falling Down and I'm just gonna snap at any moment if I don't watch a Yankees game soon.

[Evil Vito]

There are no shortage of free streaming websites that will show just about any game. Hell I found one last year that plays the Mets' radio guys over the game (synced up beautifully) whenever the Mets plat a national TV game.

[Evil Vito]

Holy shit the Phillies won again. Wooooo!

Just realized how weird the Mets/Phillies schedule is this year. They play again next week and after that they don't meet again until the series after the All Star Break, at which point they meet 13 times in the second half.

I can only hope that by mid-July the Phillies will have reached the point of "fuck it, let's just get this season over with" and they'll be in full tank mode by then :o

[Droford]

Orioles off to best start in 40 some years and beating the Red Sox tomorrow puts them at 6-0 and best start in Franchise history.

[screech]

Just realized how weird the Mets/Phillies schedule is this year. They play again next week and after that they don't meet again until the series after the All Star Break, at which point they meet 13 times in the second half.

I can only hope that by mid-July the Phillies will have reached the point of "fuck it, let's just get this season over with" and they'll be in full tank mode by then :o

That is odd.

Last year they won like, 7 in a row around the All Star Break and gave me a bunch of false hope. Fingers crossed the wild card teams are worse!

[Evil Vito]

What kills me is the people calling into WFAN today complaining about dropping a series to the Phillies this early in the season "you can't win 100 games losing series to teams like that".

First off it's stupidly early to be making any judgments...but beyond that, they won 90 games last year with basically the stars aligning after July 31st, getting to face the Phillies, Braves, and Rockies a ton and also sweeping their top division rival twice. You can't bank on stuff like that every year. EXPECTING 100 wins from any team seems insane to me.

At the same time they also went 0-13 against the Cubs and Pirates in the regular season which I would think isn't likely to repeat itself this year. So overall with an improved everyday lineup right at the start of the year I could see maybe forecasting a modest improvement. 93, 94 wins? Sure. But 100? GTFO.

[Evil Vito]

Feel like 40-50 games is a fair "barometer" to assess the strengths and weaknesses of a team. If the Mets' offense is still languishing by then then I'll start to get concerned. But until then I'll just continue to laugh at the members of Panic City calling in to Francesa to complain that a bunch of guys aren't hitting well in 40 degree weather.

[screech]

Sometimes I wonder if those callers are "recruited" by stations to give hosts some banter.

Then I remember that a lot of people are just dumb.

[Droford]

Orioles made the Red Sox big acquisitions (Price 5 ER Kimbrel 3 run hr in 9th) look bad in a 9-7 win to go to 6-0

[Evil Vito]

Turn on game late.
See score is 7-0 Marlins in the second fucking inning.
Turn off game.

[Nicky Fives]

Kevin Pillar is not a good lead off hitter

Best option they have until Travis comes off the DL....

[Droford]

The Orioles have actually won 11 straight dating back to last season and the franchise record is 14. Crazy

[Bad News Gertner]

Best option they have until Travis comes off the DL....

I think they are better of batting Bautista first. He gets on base consistently and they have other options at clean up.

[Droford]

JJ Hardy 2 pesky pole homers
Trumbo hit a home run that bounced off the top of one of the signs on top of the monster
Orioles 7-0 / 12-0

[Emperor Smeat]

Feels like Red Sox starting pitching is going to be just as useless as it was last season and past few years.

Same problem like last year with the bullpen having to bail them out way too early in the season.

[Evil Vito]

The Mets are playing like they have their heads up their fucking asses. They coasted through spring training to make sure everybody stayed healthy, but they just flat out look unprepared and have no gameplan at all offensively besides just trying to hit the ball out of the park every AB. Which they have only done twice. Murphy has more HR so far this year than the entire Mets roster.

Syndergaard gives up 1 run over 7 goddamn innings and they still find a way to lose the game. 13 strikeouts. Granderson and Duda having the entire left side of the infield completely open and yet they never even try to hit it to opposite field or even bunt against the shift.

Like I've said, too early to make full-on judgments or worry about the standings (although the Nats could get a 7 game lead on the Mets pretty damn quick at the rate its going). But it's still frustrating to watch them look so clueless at the plate. The entire lineup is all-or-nothing hitters.

[road doggy dogg]

finally made it to the park today, first game of the year

great game.. J Upton 451 ft HR

was right behind DET bullpen, $6 tickets can't be beat

Starling Marte was eating peanuts in the outfield. new fav player

[Droford]

I'm probably going to the game Tuesday vs the blue jays

Wonder if theyll be going for 13-0

[weather vane]

Am I crazy to be panicking about the Sox starting pitching not named Price? Scary bad so far.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

No. Even though Price is a huge addition, it's only one starter.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Meanwhile, the Padres are off to a 3-5 start. As I expected, they beat up crap teams, but get murdered by actual playoff teams. I have to enjoy the games against Cincinnati, Philly, Colorado, Atlanta, Milwaukee and Miami. Maybe even Arizona as, while better than the Padres, I'm not sold on them being a legit playoff contender.

The other 7 national league teams are gonna cream the Padres.

[Evil Vito]

Hope the Mets change their approach today. Playing station-to-station baseball with a team filled with streaky strikeout hitters simply isn't going to work. More teams are trying to copy the Royals' method of just putting the ball in play and moving runners over every single AB. The Mets don't have the personnel to do that.

[Nicky Fives]

After several games I'm more convinced that the AL East is gonna break down to whichever team that has the most consistent pitching is going to win it all...Red Sox don't have the starters, Jays don't have the bullpen, can Yanks starters stay healthy, can Rays youngsters mature quick enough to be consistent, etc.

All 5 teams can rake offensively for sure....

[Evil Vito]

lol in an afternoon game Terry Collins brings in Jim Henderson from the bullpen, who threw 40 pitches in a game last night. jesus christ.

[weather vane]

Haha love him

[weather vane]

Adam Laroche is a lunatic btw.

[Evil Vito]

at this point the most depressing part of losing the World Series might be that it would've given Terry a great excuse to retire on top

[Evil Vito]

5-out save from Familia in the 8th game of the season and the Mets hang on to win. phew.

[Droford]

Am I crazy to be panicking about the Sox starting pitching not named Price? Scary bad so far.

Price sucks too though..

[Emperor Smeat]

Red Sox "Brock Lesnared" the Os undefeated streak tonight.

[Evil Vito]

even though I gave him shit today while the game was going on/wish he would retire I do feel bad for how it's utterly impossible for him to ever win with the media

Terry after losing last night: "I'm not worried about a 4 game losing streak at the start of the year, there's a marathon ahead"
Tabloids: COLLINS SHOWS NO CONCERN WITH SLOW START, METS LACK URGENCY

Terry practically managing the bullpen like a World Series game in a win: "We really needed this one to end the losing skid and get momentum into the road trip"
Tabloids: COLLINS HITS PANIC BUTTON, DEEMS APRIL 13TH GAME A MUST-WIN

[Evil Vito]

lol Pablo Sandoval's "shoulder strain" injury that sent him to the DL is so obviously fake. He doesn't want the embarassment of sitting on the bench and the Red Sox would rather have a guy on the bench they can actually use.

If another team takes on that contract without forcing Boston to pay for a big chunk of it they are idiots.

[weather vane]

Price sucks too though..

Yeah he's so bad.

[Nicky Fives]

lol Pablo Sandoval's "shoulder strain" injury that sent him to the DL is so obviously fake. He doesn't want the embarassment of sitting on the bench and the Red Sox would rather have a guy on the bench they can actually use.

If another team takes on that contract without forcing Boston to pay for a big chunk of it they are idiots.

rumours have it that he will stay on the DL until he loses weight and that they have outlined a program they want him to follow.....Hate the BoSox with a passion, but no sense keeping a guy a one-dimensional hitter on the roster who's slumping and cannot contribute defensively or in a pinch-running capacity....

[Evil Vito]

MLB specialty uniforms this year an exercise in excess

http://news.sportslogos.net/2016/04/13/mlb-unveils-300-new-looks-as-2016-specialty-uniforms-released/

[Damian Rey 2.0]

I fucking love it. Not sure why the Padres are wearing a grey jersey for the all-star game, in their home park, but the various jersey are otherwise sweet and will be receiving my money. Love most of the hats.

[Evil Vito]

It's because the AL is technically the "home" team for the ASG this year. Manfred basically decided to stop having the AL and NL switch off on being the home team because there are loads of NL parks that haven't had it yet. Cincy last year, San Diego this year, Miami next year, Washington in 2018.

So now regardless of venue it's just AL as the home team on even years, NL on odd years. The home team bats in the bottom half of innings and wears their home whites. Pretty dumb IMO.

[ClockShot]

MLB specialty uniforms this year an exercise in excess

http://news.sportslogos.net/2016/04/13/mlb-unveils-300-new-looks-as-2016-specialty-uniforms-released/

I can tolerate all of 'em except 4th of July.

Red on Bronx Blue, that doesn't fly with me. Might even cause problems.

[Nicky Fives]

Most of them look alright, none are worse than the D-Backs grey monstrosities....

[Evil Vito]

The Cubs are doing everything right this year anyway, so why not get a Superwin while they're at it? Jason Hammel drove in 1 while tossing 6 shutout innings in a blowout win over Cincinnati.

OFFICIAL SUPERWIN LIST
4/3: Francisco Liriano
4/6: Kenta Maeda
4/14: Jason Hammel

[road doggy dogg]

PNC Park is a beautiful stadium. All You Can Eat tickets should be mandatory at every ballpark ever for any sport/event

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Padres have all you can eat seats in right field. They also have taco Tuesdays.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

PNC Park is a beautiful stadium. All You Can Eat tickets should be mandatory at every ballpark ever for any sport/event

Breaking News: Panda demands trade to Pittsburgh.

[Droford]

I will say one thing..the food at Camden Yards is pretty lousy. I don't know why either..

[Droford]

Orioles hit 4 homers in a 9 run 7th inning to go up 10-5. Trumbo had 2 of them.
19 homers is most in AL and on pace for 308

[Droford]

Make that 20 homers

[Emperor Smeat]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/davidortiz">@DavidOrtiz</a> showed off his wheels when he swiped his first base since 2013: <a href="https://t.co/wFL2U31j28">https://t.co/wFL2U31j28</a> <a href="https://t.co/nA9g7FZJNF">pic.twitter.com/nA9g7FZJNF</a></p>&mdash; Cut4 (@Cut4) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cut4/status/721169716463546368">April 16, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[ClockShot]

Rangers extend Adrian Beltre. 2 more years, $36 mil.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Very happy with the Jays starting pitching staff up until this early point in the season. If they stay consistent I think the rest of the pieces will fall in place. Sanchez looks like he could conceivably make a big impact as a big league starter.

[ClockShot]

Yanks avoid the sweep against Seattle.

Ugh. And they're usually a sweep-able team.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Also, the Jays approach at the plate even dating back towards the end of last year drives me nuts. Yeah, dingers are great, but FUCK always looking for the kill shot. When a ground ball to second base scores a god damned run, why in the fuck are you taking home run cuts :rant:

[Evil Vito]

Yeah, the Mets had the same issue in the first two weeks of the season. Lots of trouble with situational hitting.

[Evil Vito]

Fuckin' love Michael Conforto though and am glad that Terry has put him into the #3 spot.

Pretty remarkable really. This time last year he was in Single-A. Now he's the #3 hitter for the defending National League champions. Ridiculous.

[YOUR Hero]

I liked the Storen trade, but the Jays do need a lead off hitter. Not sure Saunders is going to be it.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

I think the idea is Devon Travis will fill those shoes, if he ever fucking plays again.

[road doggy dogg]

the 0-9 Braves sweep the Marlins
the 0-9 Twins sweep the Angels

[Boomer]

the 0-9 Braves sweep the Marlins
the 0-9 Twins sweep the Angels

And those may be the only Braves games I haven't seen any bit of this year. Goddamnit. It's going to be such a bad year to be a Braves fan.

[Bad News Gertner]

I think the idea is Devon Travis will fill those shoes, if he ever fucking plays again.

#freepompey

[road doggy dogg]

speaking of Storen

<iframe src='https://gfycat.com/ifr/HorribleLargeHypsilophodon' frameborder='0' scrolling='no' width='640' height='347.82608695652175' allowfullscreen></iframe>

filthy

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Had a rough go of it today but got the outs when he needed them. Feel like if they could give him a proper role as opposed to Gibbons putting him in whatever fucking inning he feels like, Storen would be able to find some consistency. This is the reason he struggled with the Nats. Let the guy do his thing because he's clearly a solid reliever.

Nice to see the Jays steal one from the socks and spoil the series.

Also I'm still not watching until June :shifty:

[Damian Rey 2.0]

I agree but I'd take it even further. Tell your bullpen guys what part of the lineup they got. If you think Storen is your best gun outta the pen, tell that fucker the 3-4-5 spots in the opposing lineup. Next best guy is getting the top of the order. Third best gets 6 on, etc. It'd be of better use than giving you "TEH NINTH" regardless of context.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Osuna only didn't close because of a blister under his finger nail exploding (coincidentally on the pitch he gave up a homerun on). Makes sense I guess. Was good to see Cecil's form seemingly taking shape. He had bite on his pitches.

Storen just had to deal with kind of unfortunate circumstances of having to come in during a situation he has not had to come in for quite some time. But not like Gibbons had a choice.