Official 2008 MLB thread

[Bunker]

Congrats to the Rays. I'm glad it's them and not the Red Sox. Rays fans deserve this for going through all those losing seasons.

Carl Crawford deserves it more than anyone.

 

[Erzengel]

perhaps that the case, but Phillies or Braves vs. Yankees? I'm sorry but every self-respecting Met fan I know (and I am related to a bout a dozen of them) would never root for the Yankees no matter who they were playing. Mets fans hatred for the Yankees runs far deeper than the Phillies who have never really been a true rival to the Mets until 2007 because the teams were never usually good at the same time.

I never cared for inter city rivalries. If the Yankees, Giants, or Rangers didn't make the playoffs, I'd root for the Mets, Jets or Islanders if they did.

 

[The Incredible Hulk]

nice job Rays. The scary thing is this Tampa team can be this good for a long time with the contracts most of those guys are under. Should be one hell of a World Series, like 2 fantasy teams going at one another.

 

[The Incredible Hulk]

I never cared for inter city rivalries. If the Yankees, Giants, or Rangers didn't make the playoffs, I'd root for the Mets, Jets or Islanders if they did.

you're the rare exception then. I grew up an Islander fan after moving to the area and wouldnt root for the Rangers if you had a gun to my mother's head. Although Yankees/Mets and Jets/Giants isnt as heated since they dont play as much.

 

[FaT_tONle]

WS will be a wash IMO... Tampa will sweep or win in five.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

Mets/Yankees is heated because interleague started when the Yankees dynasty did.



Matt Garza the ALCS MVP? Did no one see what BJ Upton did?

 

[The Incredible Hulk]

WS will be a wash IMO... Tampa will sweep or win in five.

I dont know about that. Phillies are a damn good team, as much as it pains me to admit it. Although I do have tickets to Game 4 here and it would be cool to see a clincher...

 

[Bunker]

Mets/Yankees is heated because interleague started when the Yankees dynasty did.



Matt Garza the ALCS MVP? Did no one see what BJ Upton did?

Seriously.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

After Hamels, the Phillies' rotation is a crap shoot. Myers can be downright awful. If players are patient with Moyer, he can be hit hard. Blanton is nothing special.

 

[The Incredible Hulk]

Mets/Yankees is heated because interleague started when the Yankees dynasty did.

Mets/Yankees is heated because the fanbases have basically detested one another since the Mets inception in the early 60's. Interleague just finally settled all the arguments. Remember the old Mayor's Cup preseason series they used to play back in the day before interleague started? I never sw more fights at a game in my life LOL

Matt Garza the ALCS MVP? Did no one see what BJ Upton did?

thats absurd, I know Garza pitched two great games, but Upton was unconscious for 6 out of the 7, especially the 3 in Boston.

 

[NewYorkSpider]

Carl Crawford deserves it more than anyone.

The fans went through 10 losing seasons. Crawford went through 6 of them. The fans deserve it more. As a player, Crawford definitely deserves it.

WS will be a wash IMO... Tampa will sweep or win in five.

I think the series could go to 6 or 7 games. But Tampa has the momentum right now and could take Philly by surprise.

Matt Garza the ALCS MVP? Did no one see what BJ Upton did?

I was a bit surprised that Upton didn't win it.

 

[Bunker]

The fans went through 10 losing seasons. Crawford went through 6 of them. The fans deserve it more. As a player, Crawford definitely deserves it.

They didn't have any fans until this year.

 

[Dr. Evil]

Tampa only needs 4 more wins to perform a miracle.

 

[The Incredible Hulk]

They didn't have any fans until this year.

the sad part is you're probably not too far off. The team gear in the crowd was a dead giveaway because your hardly saw any of the old green and black "devil rays" stuff from last year on anyone. Although there was the one old guy sitting above the 3rd base dugout with the old black D-Rays cap with the rainbow "TB" on it from the Wade Boggs/Greg Vaughn days. That guy was a true Rays fan. The rest, not so much.

I'd love to see the stats from MLB on just how much Rays gear was sold over the past month, I'd bet it eclipses what was sold the rest of the season easy.

 

[Erzengel]

Well Tampa Bay is essentially a hockey town. I kinda hope this win gets more people interested in their team.

 

[NewYorkSpider]

They didn't have any fans until this year.

They had fans. Most of them just didn't give a **** untill they started winning. But for the people who stay dedicated, they deserve whatever the Rays accomplish.

 

[Dr. Evil]

Well Tampa Bay is essentially a hockey town. I kinda hope this win gets more people interested in their team.

I thought they were a football town?

 

[Cmill216]

It's a football town.

 

[Erzengel]

See a lot of Lightning stuff when you are there. I mean it's been a while since I was there. But of course you've had recent wins for both teams in the past 6 years.

 

[Cmill216]

Hockey didn't become a big deal until the Lightning got competitive, which was just four years ago. This has always been the Bucs town first and foremost. And now USF football is becoming a powerhouse, and high school football continues to be a main attraction.

It'll be interesting to see how wide this baseball love will spread with the Rays success.

 

[Go Web Go!]

Well Tampa Bay is essentially a hockey town. I kinda hope this win gets more people interested in their team.

There's no such thing as a hockey town in FL.

Glad to see the Rays stick it to the Sox. Here's hoping they do the same to the filthy Phils.

 

[Kingfish]

Whew. Happy for the Rays. Even happier the Sox got beat. Hopefully it'll be a good World Series.

 

[cyborg ninja 14]

Congrats to the Rays, now beat the Phillies and finish the storybook season.

 

[FaT_tONle]

No one in Florida will ever care about baseball... the teams can't afford their players once the contracts are up... Rays will have a tear down in 2010 just like the Marlins had a tear down in 2005 and they'll go back to their usual selves... they'd be better off relocating to Carolina before staying in Florida...

 

[The Incredible Hulk]

No one in Florida will ever care about baseball...

Then why do they produce the second most MLB players of any state in the U.S.?

the teams can't afford their players once the contracts are up... Rays will have a tear down in 2010 just like the Marlins had a tear down in 2005 and they'll go back to their usual selves... they'd be better off relocating to Carolina before staying in Florida...

I disagree with this. The Marlins, both times they won the WS, had veteran laden teams nearing the end of their contracts, and the team was looking at escalating salaries they couldn't afford when contracts on some of their star players were going to expire.

The Rays are built completely differently. They're by and large a young team, with a median age of like 24 or something close to it. Pretty much all of their main cogs: Crawford, Longoria, Upton, Kazmir, Shields, Price, etc. are locked in to long term, cost-efficient contracts. (Team payroll is only $44 million this season, 2nd lowest in all of MLB). They also have 3 more insane pitching prospects who are nearing call up in Neimann, Davis, and McGee. And on top of all that they still have Tim Beckham, the #1 overall draft pick this year, waiting in the wings at SS. Provided they stay healthy and a few more of these prospects pan out, this team is setup to be good for a VERY long time.