PlayBall - 05 Season & Sox vs Yanks

[jjwr]

Yup its that time again! It hardly seems like it was 5 months ago that we were watching JedieB meltdown in that Chatroom as Damon chopped down the mighty Yankee's in Game 7.

Good game so far in the 2nd Inning, Wells looks a little Shaky and the Sox are getting to Johnson early.

A player for the Devil Rays was caught by the Steroids Program! First player, he is denying it though and saying it was a over the counter item he bought. As the first player caught and the first challenge to the system it should be interesting to see how it plays out.

[CMJ]

I was gonna start a general MLB thread as well. Honestly I don't expect either the Yanks/or Red Sox to win this year, but this is still the best rivalry in baseball. :)

[Jedi Master Carr]

I am hoping for the Cubs so they can get the monkey off their back now.

[Figrin D'an]

oh joy... just what I always wanted... another 7 months of "Yanks vs. Sawks"

:rolleyes







go Cubbies

[CMJ]

Originally posted by Figrin D'an
oh joy... just what I always wanted... another 7 months of "Yanks vs. Sawks"

:rolleyes


Okay Wilbon. ;)

[jjwr]

I'm not banking on either the Sox or Yanks this year either, while both look great and should make the playoffs both teams have aging or questable rotations that have to be counted on for a long time which I don't think they can.

Johnson looked good tonight, course he alwasy looks good when he plays, the question is at his age can he last the whole season?

[JMK]

Well looking back to last night's game - the Yankees made big plays, the Sox didn't.

I was thinking it was going to be great to finally talk about baseball, but then - a positive steroid test! The first catch of the year, let's see who else they catch. Sanchez' excuse was so pathetic, I guess we're going to get denials from everyone this year.

[jjwr]

Of course there are going to be denials, him being the first one caught is going to be a huge black mark against him.

I ended up missing most of the game last night due to flooding in my basement...yay!

From what I heard the Sox played awefull defense and the Yanks were able to hit off Wells.

In the grane scheme of things this game means little to nothing. Yankee's are too good to lose the Division with the weak schedule and the Sox are too good not to get the Wild Card against same weak schedule.

Speaking of the Schedule...I don't get it, why hasn't MLB gone with a more balanced schedule and pitted the top teams against tougher competition rather than the Yanks/Sox feasting on the Devil Rays for so many games each year?

[JMK]

I'd say Sanchez is done in MLB. I'm sure the D-Rays will chop him soon after he's off the suspension list and no one will want him after that.
How predictable was it that a fringe player would be the first guy nabbed? It's not a star, barely any noise will be made over the suspension of this guy, and MLB gets to show the world that their policy works.

[Anuis Ma'artra]

To hell with the Cubs. I've got a bet with some of my Chicago friends that it will be 100 yrs before the Cubbies pull that monkey off their back and I don't feel like wearing Cub boxers for an entire year if they pull it off before then.

[JMK]

38 minor leaguers were caught yesterday, one guy for the third time. How stupid are these people?

[jjwr]

Oddly enough the Minor Leagues has a much tougher policy than the ML ever had.

[JMK]

Rivera blows another save!

Captain Varitek ties it up in the top of the 9th with a solo shot!

Captain Jeter wins is with a homer in the bottom of the 9th! Great stuff!

[Jedieb]

Revenge, one game at a time. :evil

Man, I've been so busy with work and ROTS merchandise that I haven't been keeping track of these first few games (although I did watch the Sunday night game.) It was great to see Tino back in uniform. He got one of the biggest ovations of the night and the crowd went nuts when he made that great grab at first. Good stuff.

[CMJ]

Year two thousand.....

;)

[Jedieb]

But I doubt I'll have to listen to that chant until 2086. ;)

[jjwr]

The great thing is you never know!

The division is already the Yankee's. With the team George bought barring a incredible rash of injuries or massive collapse its highly unlikely the Sox would take the division. Besides we all know how well they can do in the Wild Card Spot!

[CMJ]

Originally posted by Jedieb
But I doubt I'll have to listen to that chant until 2086. ;)

Even if that's true you're gonna get sick of it this year, I guarantee. ;)

But I don't think the Yanks or Sox will win this year in all honesty. I have the Angels as my AL Champ.

[JMK]

It's hard to count out the Yanks and Sox, but the way they're built I can't see them winning it all this year. They're too old, and IMO the Sox just aren't good enough this year.

I like the Angels to win the AL, but their starting 5 worries me a little. I think the Twins are going to have a great year and could be there with Anaheim in the end.

[CMJ]

Man....Sox go into the 9th down 1 and we push four across on Rivera AGAIN. Are we in his head? This is the sandman for crying out loud.

[JMK]

It looks like the Sox have definetly figured out Rivera. Too many good hitters to not get to him eventually. Plus Father Time may be giving The Sandman to kibosh as well. That's 2 blown saves in 2 days. I've been listening to the 9th inning here at work, Rivera never even had a chance, they got to him immediately.

[CMJ]

The Rodriguez error hurt him too. We get another run across on a passball.

[Jedieb]

That was a double play ball Rivera got the Sox to hit. I couldn't believe A-Rod not only booted it, but then blew the play at home. Jesus, I felt like puking my guts out. 16 more of these showdowns before we even get to the playoffs. I don't know if I can take it.

[jjwr]

He put his team in serious jeopardy before the A-Rod ball even came into question. The Sox have definetly gotten to him to the point where if the game is tied going into the 9th they aren't exactly sweating bullets like teams used to against Rivera.

Mussina as a whole didn't look great, the sox hitters were constantly getting on but kept killing themselves once they got there, this could easily have been a blow-out in the 11-1 range. 2 of the Yanks runs were on hanging breakers that he just left up there.

Yup the season is way too long! Even at a game a day its a 5 month season :(

[JMK]

The Sox IMO played better than the Yankees in games 2 and 3 and probably deserved to win both of those games, but they had no shot at game 1.

[jjwr]

Agreed. Yanks had the big play in Game 2 and deserved the win, game 3 should have been a blow-out for the sox but a 9th inning win is still good!

[JMK]

Yep. A win is a win whether it's 1-0 or 22-2.

The latest news today is that Yankees fans have started booing Mariano Rivera.

Werent' we just talking about this last year, except it was Derek Jeter instead of Rivera?

If there were 2 present day Yankees that NEVER deserve to be booed, it's Jeter and Rivera. Those 2 guys were HUGE parts of all of their world series wins. New York fans have outdone themselves again, showing us all how spoiled and childish they are. What a bunch of fairweathers. You walk on water there one day, and the next day you need armed protection.

[CMJ]

They're spoiled, but at least they aren't classless....like Philly fans. It takes something extraordinary for me to root for a Philadelphia squad in anything.

[JMK]

:lol

Poor Philly fans. They can't get any love can they?

[CMJ]

When you boo Santa you deserve to be kicked. ;)

(Granted I would root for the Phillies over the Yankees, but good God...what a terrible WS that would be)

[JMK]

Hey, if the Phillies get to the WS, consider it a minor miracle!

[jjwr]

I don't recall hearing the fans booing when he was coming off the field, it sounded like cheering to me and a lot of people were standing up doing what appeared to be clapping.

Maybe some were booing him but I can't believe it was the whole stadium.

[JMK]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=250406110


After walking Doug Mirabelli, Rivera was lifted -- a rare sight. He walked off the mound to a healthy dose of boos, but he thought those must have come from Red Sox fans.

"I think it's inexcusable if the boos were from Yankee fans because they wouldn't be crawling all over themselves to get into this ballpark if it weren't for him," New York manager Joe Torre said.

Pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre had a similar reaction.

"I was very surprised by that. Everything he's done here and in this ballpark, I was shocked. But that's New York," Stottlemyre said.

I was listening to the game on the radio here at work and I could clearly hear the boos as he left the mound. :huh

[Jedi Master Carr]

LOL yeah philly fans are the worst. I am not shocked at the boos considering they have booed other great players in the past like Jeter.

[Jedieb]

I've seen Aikman and Marino get booed. It happens everywhere. People are just spoiled. Yeah, you get furious that Mo blows the save, but only spoiled brats would boo him. I just buried my hands in my head, let out a few choice expletives and turned off the TV.

[jjwr]

Fans typically have short memories. Its sad but its typical.

Looks like neither the Sox or Yanks had a great weekend, on the bright side one of them has to win this series!

[JMK]

The Sox look a little bit like they're suffering from a World Series hangover. Granted it's early and they haven't played a home game yet but they do not look sharp thus far.

[jjwr]

Agreed, the offense isn't quite there. For the most part the pitching isn't giving up a ton of runs but this does not look like the offense that lead the Majors in runs last year.

[CMJ]

One of the reasons I respect the Yankees of the late 90's so much is they were able to deal with the hangover that follows a WS triumph. The Sox really look flat so far.

Meh, I don't care too much....I'll be content for about 10 years. ;)

[JMK]

The Yankees of 96-00 were....special. That's the only way to put it. They were a group of stars and grizzled veterans who knew how to play their best when it mattered most. Love em or hate em, they were great. Until they lost to Arizona and King George decided that the only way to succeed was to buy everyone.

[CMJ]

Terrific ceremony. Loved seeing all the old timers there like Yaz.

Looks like we'll win comfortably this afternoon.

[JMK]

I'm happiest for Johnny Pesky. Even though he hasn't played in over 50 years and most of the people at Fenway today had never even seen him play a game, I'm sure this was the thrill of his life.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Yeah it must have been a great thrill for him. About the Sox play well they got off to a rough start last year for the first couple of weeks. It is too early to tell anything. Does anybody honestly think Toronto and Baltimore will be fighting it out for first place :p Seriously Toronto will be in last they are darn awful considering who they have playing on their team.

[CMJ]

I don't think the Jays are awful, but no I don't think they'll win the East.

[JMK]

The Jays won't win the east, but they aren't going to be a pushover. They've got some good young pitching and if their offense is rolling they are going to be a thorn in the side of a lot of divisional rivals.

[Morgan Evanar]

The Marlins look dangerous again. Josh Beckett has pitched 2 shutouts.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Well the Jays have no offense in losing Delgado and a couple of other guys. I think they will finish fourth at best or perhaps last. The Devil Rays to me are a better team than the Jays.

[JMK]

I gotta disagree with that. The Jays have a lot of underrated players. They may have lost Delgado but he didn't help them last year anyway. He was awful last season. Their every day lineup with guys like Hinske, Coskie, Hillenbrand, Vernon Wells and a few others...they have some potential. I think if The Orioles falter which is entirely possible given their horrendous pitching staff, then 3rd place can be had by the Jays. The Devil Rays are just terrible, they have no shot at anything.

[JMK]

We didn't mention it yesterday, but another player was caught on the juice! Woo-hoo! The system is working. Uhh...not really.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2034778

Is anyone else starting to think that MLB and the player's association has gotten together and decided that they would jointly protect any real player so to not bring any more negative publicity to the game? That they would essentially cheat their own system?

[jjwr]

I wouldn't be suprised if it was the case. They really need to catch someone big on the juice. Course on the flip side any experienced Major Leaguer who has been doing it for a while knows when to take it and when to stop, if they only take it in the off-season and stop in time they will be clean by the time the season rolls around.

Did you guys see the ovation Mariano Rivera got by the Boston Fans? Great stuff!

[JMK]

The Yankees were extremely classy yesterday in being present for the ceremony, and with Rivera taking the cheering the way he did was great to see. It's good to know that at the end of the day the players still know that they're playing a game for a living.

[CMJ]

The Yankees were very classy yesterday.

As far as the drug testing - I actually think that the stars have such awesome trainers that they know how to mask their use. The lesser known fringe guys don't - which is why they're getting caught.

I really don't think it's a union thing.

[CMJ]

Incident between Sheffield and a fan mars what was a compelling three game set. Still Sox take 2 of 3 in Fenway.

Both teams trail Toronto at this early stage. It's really too early to go around the horn and make any kind of statment about divisions or anything. I'll wait at least another week till I do that. :)

[Jedi Master Carr]

I think Toronto will fall they haven't really played enough games to think they will keep that lead. About the Shettfield incident well thank god it didn't turn into another Pacer-Piston brawl. Luckily security is better in Boston than Detroit.

[JMK]

Some people are just animals who don't deserve to be set free in public.

The Nationals had their home opener last night, so the book finally closes for me and my old team. Frank Robinson managed to arouse my ire again, stating that it was nice to have 'real baseball fans' in the stands. Now, I know Frank is old, but if he checks his history he will learn that baseball has failed in Washington TWICE now. And besides, if he's right about Montreal baseball fans (and I happen to know that he's not), if he wanted to see real fans, we wanted to see a real manager. And he'd better hope the fans in Washington aren't smart because he will be out of a job lickety split once they see how lousy a manager he is.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Are you refering to the fan? Really he didn't do anything that I would call like an animal. He was either going for the ball or trying to distract Shetfield and hit him accidently. Shetfield though overreacted if it wasn't for the security guard we could had a fight on our hands.

[JMK]

Well Sheffield claims the fan popped him, besides, the ball was in play. Drunken fans need to get away when the play is still happening. Personally I think Sheffield was overreacting but if fans want to get in the way accidentally/intentionally then they need to be shown the way out.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Yeah I don't agree with going after the ball, although it happens a lot. Either the fan wants a keepsake from a game or trying to help his/her team out. Probably need to have a policy if you try to do that you get kicked out and never allowed back into another game.

[JMK]

Yeah, something needs to be done about that. A fan knows that if he baits a player into hitting him that he stands a reasonable chance of getting rich, and that the worst thing that can happen is they get booted from a game. If they fight back they may be arrested and spend a short time in jail but most will rationalize it as worthy because they could score big time. Fans need to know that if they interfere that they're going to be penalized harshly.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Wells got his first win for the Sox over Tampa winning 10-0. The Yankees lost again this time to Baltimore 8-1. New York is off to their worst start since 91. Still it is early so I won't use that to mean anything.

[CMJ]

Team I'm most impressed with so far? Arizona. They won like...50 games last year and have started out this year looking like they'll actually compete(maybe not for the playoffs...but who knows). WITHOUT Randy Johnson. I wonder if he's gonna regret leaving.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I guess it will depend on what happens in New York. If they don't win the WS he might regret it.

[JMK]

I really think things will go back to the way they're supposed to be before long. The Reds last year looked like they were going to take the NL Central before running out of steam. The D-Backs, Blue Jays and Nationals have to be considered pleasant surprises so far.

[Jedi Master Carr]

The Royals did the same thing a few years ago, so I don't see any of them winning their divisions.

[CMJ]

The Royals were in the hunt till early September if I remember right though.

[Jedi Master Carr]

You sure? I thought they faded right after the all star break that year, and Minnesota ran away with it.

[CMJ]

I'm not 100% sure, but I thought they were in the hunt till late August/early September. This was....like '02 I think? Maybe '03.

[JMK]

I think the Royals went into the second half as well before remembering that they were the Royals. ;)

[Jedi Master Carr]

I am not sure I just no they played terrible the last two months and the Twins won the division by more than 5 games. Wish there was a way we can find out, it is bugging me to find the truth heh.
Edit
Most I can find out is KC finished third that year and 7 games back. I think they slid pretty bad in August. Not sure when the Twins took the lead for good though.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Yankees got swept by the Orioles. Now are they for real? They have a great lineup just poor starting pitching. I still think they could be dangerous in that keeps Boston or New York from winning the division or even out of the playoffs. NY who knows though Steinbrenner is about to pop a blood vessel. I loved that statement of his lol. I would love to see them keep losing to see what other things he would have to say :p

[CMJ]

With the Lakers in the tank...I think the city is gonna get full bore behind the Dodgers. They're really off to a great start. I watched some of their game today. I'm not even a fan - but I might catch a game this season(preferably when Lowe is on the hill). ;)

[JMK]

The Orioles are looking like the Reds of last year so far. I don't expect them to keep winning like this, nor do I expect the Yankees to keep losing like this. They're too talented to have a 4-8 record. Didn't they have a poor record through 20 and 30 games last year before waking up?

[CMJ]

I think the Pinstripes started off 5-6 before they started winning in usual fashion.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Although this is their worst start since like 91 (they had some really bad teams back then though) we will have to see what happens in the next month to tell what happens. If they are still like this a month from now, then I will declare them dead. As for the Orioles I don't think they have the starting pitching to be more than a third place team honestly.

[JMK]

King George is complaining that they're not playing like 'True Yankees'. What a joker this guy is!

Memo to King George: They aren't playing like 'True Yankees' because they aren't true Yankees! You've stopped developing talent like Rivera, Jeter and Williams! You've decided to acquire as many superstars as you can and that doesn't always work out. Get used to it.

On the flip side, I love seeing this sort of thing because his freak outs are soooooo entertaining.

[JMK]

Originally posted by CMJ
I think the Pinstripes started off 5-6 before they started winning in usual fashion.

They started 8-11 before turning it around. :)

[CMJ]

They musta been 5-6 at one point though ;)

The Yankees will never win while A-Rod is in NY. It's a curse. I hope he's a Yankee till the day he retires.

[JMK]

The Yankees won't win while they keep the 'buy your ring' mentality. Every team has a number of intangibles that you find with character players...of which the Yankees have none.

[jjwr]

The AL East is going to be stronger than last year, both the Orioles & Jays will hang around for a while. Neither will win the division but could take enough games from the Yanks/Sox that the Wild Card may not come from the division.

[Jedieb]

Nothing takes care of a wretched start better than a rant from King George and a visit by the lowly Devil Rays. Yankees pitching has been simply horrendous. Kevin Brown needs to be taken out behind a woodshed and beaten senseless. I can't believe he's back. Ughh.

As for the Shefield incident, I don't think he over-reacted one bit. He showed a great deal of restraint. He bent over for a grounder and out of nowhere got popped in the face. Think about that, you're bending over to field a routine grounder, something you've done a thousand times in your life, and you get hit in the face. I don't think the fan was doing much more than trying to be a jerk, but he got closer than he intended and hit Shef in the face. Shef's initial reaction was to shove the guy. Most of us probably would have done something similiar. After he threw the ball in he turned and faced the guy. 10 years ago Shef probably would've swung at the guy, but he's older and wiser now. Plus, he had thoughts of Ron Artest running through his head. Shef showed some restraint. These guys are use to taking the most extreme forms of verbal abuse, but getting hit in the face while trying to do something as routine as fielding a ground ball is something completely different.

Today, the Sox took away the season tickets of the fan in question. Good riddance. Jerk. That's the perfect punishment. I don't care what ballpark you're in or who your team is, when a ball is in play you keep your damn hands out of the field. If you interfere you should be tossed.

[JMK]

Couldn't agree more. The boozed up loser who took a swipe at Shef is out of a season ticket and the guy who tries to make it look like an accident that he spills his beer on him is banned for a year from Fenway. I don't know why fans have such a hard time understanding that they need to stay away from the game. People are now somehow of the belief that being a paying customer gives the right to get involved with the play. Chumps.

Any thoughts of the Orioles doing anything in the AL East should be put to rest tonight. Their pitching is ridiculously bad. The Tigers are just all over them right now.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Well really if it wasn't for the security guard I think we would have seen a brawl with the way they were screaming at each other. He is the real hero. I agree about the Orioles pitching they showed how bad it is today.

[JMK]

Originally posted by Jedieb
Nothing takes care of a wretched start better than a rant from King George and a visit by the lowly Devil Rays.

Good Lord are the Rays a pathetic organization. Just when the rest us hoped that the Yankees would finally slide down the slippery slope to oblivion, they get a boost of confidence from the D-Rays. Not that anyone should read too much into it though, the Yankees pitching wasn't exactly stellar last night against a minor league club.

[jjwr]

Yanks are gonna score runs but yet again they gave up another big run total in feeding the Rays 8.

Those Fans got what they deserved. I'm still quite suprised that outfield wall is so low that the fans can interact that easily with the game. Maybe its time for some plexiglas or something?

[JMK]

Yep, I think it's definetly time for each MLB park to install a short plexi glass barrier to prevent idiots from interfering. Even something 8 inches tall would be enough to keep those losers from reaching over and interfering. Either put that or some razor wire fencing. ;)

[jjwr]

Snipers with pellet guns! If you see a arm going over the wall you plunk it with a pellet!

[JMK]

:lol

My friend used to believe that there should be a head gear attached to each seat, à la electric chair, and if you tried to move your head or avert your eyes from the game you were given a shock. Maybe MLB should consider going with that approach. ;)

[Jedieb]

It's a shame that we're even joking about this. Close seats and low walls are suppose to be part of the game's charm. Not that I could ever afford them. Ah screw those who can afford, plexiglass and barbed wire all the way!


Well really if it wasn't for the security guard I think we would have seen a brawl with the way they were screaming at each other. He is the real hero.
I can't believe how fast that guy got there. He did a great job. But I don't think they were headed for a brawl. Those guys looked like they wanted no part of Shef. Shef said none of those guys would have tried that on the street with him and he was right.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I don't know it looked worrisome and if they were drunk who knows what they would do. Have to remember the Pacer-Piston fight who would have thought that would happen.

[JMK]

Things would have gotten out of hand. If it wasn't the guys immediately around Shef then it would have been one of the yahoos a few rows up who think they're far enough out of reach and they would have tossed a full cup for beer or worse. The guy who took the first swipe at Shef looked like he wanted nothing to do with him once push came to shove. But I'm sure some drunken Sox fan would have gone and done something stupid.

[jjwr]

Beer and Sports fans has always been a bad mix. Its even worse in football but luckily those fans are nowhere near the field, you just have to deal with them in the bleachers.

I don't see why they don't shut down beer sales earlier in games, halftime at football games and say by the 5th inning in Baseball games.

And on a semi-related note the great Randy Johnson & the Mighty Yankee bats were whooped again, this time by the high powered Devil Rays offense :)

Randy is looking quite mediocre so far. He was awesome in his first start against the sox but has been bad since then and giving up lots of HRs. That 19 Run game is looking more like a aberration now after scoring only 2 in the next game.

Sadly the Sox lost too though but at least it wasn't to the Rays :)

[JMK]

Let's enjoy this Yankee mediocrity while it lasts. A team with this much talent can't lose for too long. We can hope they do, just to see Steinbrenner lose it and blame everyone else in the organization but himself.

I agree with you jjwr, they should just stop selling beer after a certain point. 2 per person, per purchase and stop them in football at the start of the 3rd quarter, and in baseball, like you said, in the 5th or 6th innings.

[Jedieb]

We lost to the D-Rays with Johnson at the mound, and in the Bronx no less. Holy Yogi, someone just push me in front of a bus and end my misery now....

We were around 8-11 last year before winning over 100 games, still no reason to panic, but there's sure as hell little to celebrate.

[JMK]

I'd say if they haven't figured it out by the end of April it would be time for concern. They could still turn it around, but if it took that long you would have to think that age is beginning to erode many of the players skills.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Biggest problem the yankees have is pitching especially the Bullpen. Outside of Riveria they have nothing there.

[jjwr]

Age & Pitching are going to be a concern for the team. They have given up the 2nd most runs behind the Rockies(or they had as of a day or two ago). Their pitching is not good enough to carry the team when the offense struggles.

Two 10+ Run games in a row sandwhiched between a 2 run game again. No consistency and the pitching is going to be a big liability especially with the big bats the Sox, Orioles and Jays can produce. Jays not as much but if their lineup gets hot watch out.

[JMK]

The Yankees have Sturtze and Gordon - they aren't bad given the right circumstances. But they're also aging along with Rivera and the rest of the team.

[jjwr]

Sportscenter did a piece on the age of the Yankee's and how its slowly rising with no real hope in sight.

You have Jeter, Bernie, Sheffield, Brown, Posada, Tino, Giambi, Johnson, Sierra, and Gordon who are all over 30. They have no real young great players who have huge upsides, all of their guys have peaked and won't improve what they have done in the past. What they need is to clean out some of the old guys and bring in 3-4 younger position players and a few younger pitchers that have upside otherwise they will continue their slow descent into crappyness.

[JMK]

The trouble is bringing in younger players may mean tolerating ups and downs (i.e. losses). Steinbrenner won't accept that, he will never accept rebuilding. He wasn't able to get Beltran, he would have been perfect for them...

[Jedi Master Carr]

Gordon is horrible I think his ERA this year is over 6 so far. He needs to retire. As for the Yankees and age, well Steinbrenner is leading the Yankees back to where they were in the mid to late 80's. They signed every overpriced old player they could find, and they paid for it. Also is the luxury tax eventually going to kill them? They are paying 40% now, if they are over it next year they pay 50% and in 6 years if they are over they will be paying 100%. I guess that will give MLB a fortuante with 200 million dollars from the Yankees every year :p

[CMJ]

We're now roughly a tenth thru the season - which doesn't mean a heckuva lot, but it's something.

My surprise team so far
Chicago White Sox

Anyways, as of right now here's how I see the divisons playing out.

AL EAST
Boston Red Sox

AL CENTRAL
Minnesota Twins

AL WEST
LA/Anaheim Angels

AL WILDCARD
Chicago White Sox


NL EAST
Atlanta Braves

NL CENTRAL
St. Louis Cardinals

NL WEST
LA Dodgers

NL WILDCARD
Florida Marlins

[JMK]

The Dodgers and White Sox are definetly the big surprises this year so far. What's even more surprising about the Dodgers is that they're off to their best start in decades without Eric Gagne and Brad Penny

[CMJ]

I expected the Dodgers to contend. But you're right, without Penny and Gagne their record so far is unreal. Since the Giants won't have Bonds till like.....July(if at all) I think LA looks like they might run away with it.

[JMK]

Yeah, the Giants are just dead without Bonds, unless a miracle happens.

I don't expect the Dodgers to keep playing at this level. These guys can't do anything wrong right now. Everything they try is working out for them. I expect them to come back to earth a little bit and for the Padres to turn up the heat.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I think they could get better when Penny and Gagne come back. They should win the NL West but who knows they could have the best record in the NL by season end.

[JMK]

Well one thing's for sure, the rest of the NL West teams don't pick it up then the Dodgers will win the National League.

[JMK]

David Wells is down with a foot injury. It's still early but with a 2-3 record and now an injury, it looks like this may not have been the best move for the Sox.

[CMJ]

I thought he was bad bad pickup. >D

[JMK]

The news gets better and better for the Sox; Wells could be out for a month, and Schilling is out for at least 2 weeks with an ankle bruise.

I guess that's what you get when you depend on old guys to carry your team's pitching staff. Then again, the Cubs depend on 2 young guys and they're always on the shelf too. :\

[CMJ]

I'm still gonna follow the Sox all summer, but I'm about to write us off this year.

[JMK]

Yep, I think the AL East is going to be a really tough division this year. I'm not prepared to write off the season yet, but this team doesn't look like it's got the same talent or fire as previous years.
It will be up to Epstein to retool the team with some good young arms sooner rather than later. In the time being though, Matt Clement and Bronson Arroyo need to be stellar.

[CMJ]

If we can keep the Yankees from making the playoffs, I'd be fine with losing the division and the WC. ;)

[JMK]

:lol

I think the Red Sox would be satisfied in missing the playoffs altogether as long as the Yankees did too.

[jjwr]

Don't forget that other guy Miller will be coming back soon so that gives the Sox another quality starter to go along with Clement and Arroyo and Wakefield. Not sure who #5 would be though?

The real problem with the team seems to be the bull-pen, I think at least 4 games were blown late including a pair in the 9th inning on walk off HR's.

The offense has pop but the pitching is missing the 3 headed Lowe - Pedro - Curt combo.

[Morgan Evanar]

FISHFISHFISH! I could easily see the Fish taking the NL East. But I am biased.

[JMK]

Death to Loria & Samson.

[jjwr]

Its really tough to figure the Yankee's out, either they score 12 Runs or they Score 1 Run. They are in the top 5 in runs scored but have also had a 19, 12 and a 10 run game which are keeping that # floating. No consistency and Brown wasn't even that bad last night.

[TheHolo.Net]

This thread is long enough now that it is getting to be a strain on the Data Base. To continue this thread please start a new one and I will make a link to the new thread in this post.

This thread is now locked.