Official 2009 MLB Thread

[Kingfish]

The Yankees certainly have a ton of issues. They're obviously gonna be competitive, but they clearly look like the third best team in that division.

 

[Captain Planet!]

Brett Gardner is the white Juan Pierre. Hell, he'd be lucky to be as good (well, bad) as Juan Pierre.

The Yankees and their fans are kidding themselves if they think they're better without A-Rod. For all of A-Rod's issues, there's no way you'd rather Cody Ransom at bat in a big spot over A-Rod. They better hope Mark Teixeira (our pariah) breaks his career trend of having slow starts.

I think CC is a concern (how much is debatable). His IP the past 2 years are huge spikes over his career numbers. Add to it his overuse at the end of last year and weight.

Brett Gardner isn't as fly as Jaun Pierre.

 

[BlackLantern]

Brett Gardner isn't as fly as Jaun Pierre.

few men are

 

[Captain Planet!]

few men are

True.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

Angels seem to want to get Aaron Harang.

 

[BlackLantern]

I can sleep well at night knowing that Jerry Manuel will ****ing cut someone if they step out of line

 

[Spidey-Bat]

Jerry Manuel needs to make a cameo on The Boondocks.

 

[Kingfish]

They're not so much interested specifically in Harang (or Arroyo for that matter) as they are desperate to unload Matthews on anyone that will listen.

Sure got angry around here lately...

 

[Captain Planet!]

Jerry Manuel needs to make a cameo on The Boondocks.

Do new episodes of The Boondocks even come on anymore?

 

[Spidey-Bat]

Do new episodes of The Boondocks even come on anymore?

There is a new season coming out. Might be this fall.

 

[FaT_tONle]

Yeah... I'm sure no good Outfielders (With Matsui DHing, Damon will have to play in the field most of the time... Hahahaha!), an injured Burnett, An exhausted Sabathia, A melted down Joba and a Wang coming off of an injury will surely get the Yanks to the WS.

The Rays will win the Wild Card.

And Baltimore will win the East... . Yanks just have to stay healthy... I mean I sound like a Yankee fan right now, but we all know they are loaded. Haters have to admit... the injuries have derailed them the past couple of years. Cashman has brought in injury prone guys no doubt, so I won't give them excuses, but they haven't gotten any breaks as of late. If they are healthy they'll make the playoffs. It's not out of the realm to think they can win a playoff series either. WS might be a stretch depending on the matchup in the ALCS but if they are healthy they'll have a chance against anyone.

 

[Captain Planet!]

And Baltimore will win the East... . Yanks just have to stay healthy... I mean I sound like a Yankee fan right now, but we all know they are loaded. Haters have to admit... the injuries have derailed them these past couple of years. Cashman has brought in injury prone guys no doubt... but they haven't gotten any breaks as of late. If they are healthy they'll make the playoffs. It's not out of the realm to think they can win a playoff series either. WS might be a stretch depending on the matchup in the ALCS but if they are healthy they'll have a chance against anyone.

I know Baltimore won't win this year, Or next year, But that's completely off the subject. I was taking a realistic look at The Yankees that everyone is ****ing over.

 

[Kingfish]

And Baltimore will win the East... . Yanks just have to stay healthy... I mean I sound like a Yankee fan right now, but we all know they are loaded. Haters have to admit... the injuries have derailed them the past couple of years. Cashman has brought in injury prone guys no doubt, so I won't give them excuses, but they haven't gotten any breaks as of late. If they are healthy they'll make the playoffs. It's not out of the realm to think they can win a playoff series either. WS might be a stretch depending on the matchup in the ALCS but if they are healthy they'll have a chance against anyone.

I'll disagree with you on the basis that the Yankee lineup is nowhere near as intimidating as it was even just a couple of years ago. After Texeira, it actually gets a little ugly. Should whatever patchwork combination of Posada, Matsui, Cano, Gardner, Ransom, Swisher, or Molina they trot out there actually worry anybody? Plus, Jeter and Damon are hardly getting any younger or better at the top.

As for the pitching, yeah their rotation is loaded, but having Joba there makes the bullpen a mess. None of their setup men should be counted on by stretch.

 

[FaT_tONle]

You guys are fooling yourself if you think the young guys in the Yankee farm are never going to pan out. Eventually SOMEBODY is going to step up... it can't possibly be worse than it was last year with both Hughes and Kennedy bombing. But I hear a lot of praise from their young arms... heck of a lot more so than the Mets at least. Someone will step up in that bullpen eventually. Just a matter of time.

As far as the lineup... yeah it's **** compared to their lineups in the past... yeah the pitching will not live up to the hype the first month and a half of the season. Yeah they'll start off 15-25 and A-Rod will slump when he comes back. But they always make that run in May/June... then they level off in July... only to get hot again in August and September. That's been their pattern. They just could not overcome the injuries last year. If they are healthy they will AT LEAST win the wild card.

And Rays bullpen will be ****. Everyone knows it. You could tell the way they barely got past the Red Sox last year. They will implode this year.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

You guys are fooling yourself if you think the young guys in the Yankee farm are never going to pan out. Eventually SOMEBODY is going to step up... it can't possibly be worse than it was last year with both Hughes and Kennedy bombing.

Neither Hughes nor Kennedy are guaranteed to be productive major leaguers.

Someone will step up in that bullpen eventually. Just a matter of time.

That time may not be 2009.

 

[Kingfish]

You guys are fooling yourself if you think the young guys in the Yankee farm are never going to pan out. Eventually SOMEBODY is going to step up... it can't possibly be worse than it was last year with both Hughes and Kennedy bombing. But I hear a lot of praise from their young arms... heck of a lot more so than the Mets at least. Someone will step up in that bullpen eventually. Just a matter of time.

So, should they rely on the awe-inspiring combo of Brian Bruney and Damaso Marte until this miracle man arrives?

As far as the lineup... yeah it's **** compared to their lineups in the past... yeah the pitching will not live up to the hype the first month and a half of the season. Yeah they'll start off 15-25 and A-Rod will slump even when he comes back. But they always make that run in May/June... then they level off in July... only to get hot again in August and September. That's been their pattern. They just could not overcome the injuries last year. If they are healthy they will AT LEAST win the wild card.

This is the worst their lineup has looked in a LONG time. Especially without A-Rod. And it's easy to speculate that they'll follow the same pattern. Just as it's easy to speculate when their first starter goes down with an injury.

And Rays bullpen will be ****. Everyone knows it. You could tell the way they barely got past the Red Sox last year. They will implode this year.

I was under the impression that they barely got past the Red Sox because they were playing the Red Sox. Sure, the predictions for their pen aren't exactly strong, but it looks a heck of a lot more stable then the Yankees right now.

 

[FaT_tONle]

Yankees can afford to lose two guys in that rotation as long as it doesn't happen at the same time and the recoveries occurs quickly. 15 day DL type injuries... one month out of the rotation. They can overcome that. The bullpen with Marte, Bruney, Ramirez is as good as 50 % of other team's middle relief... and there is nothing to suggest we will see a significant dropoff from Mo this year because we said the same thing last year. I am suprised that people have the Rays in the playoffs... these teams that had big years... whether it be the Marlins, Tigers... cinderellas so to speak... always collapse in the latter stages the following year. No reason to think the cycle won't continue.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

Marte? He degraded into a LOOGY last year. Bruney? Before last year his control was god awful. Edwar Ramirez? He's no guarantee.

Rivera is not lights out anymore. When he comes in, the game is not over. He's still a good closer but he can be beaten.

The "Cinderella Cycle" isn't guaranteed to repeat for the Rays. The Rays, Tigers, and Marlins have nothing in common.

 

[NewYorkSpider]

The Rays have a lot of talent. They'll battle the Red Sox/Yankees down the stretch like they did last season.

 

[Excel]

Sox

I have 0 tickets for this season, whats up with that?

 

[NewYorkSpider]

My picks for the season.

AL East - Red Sox
AL Central - Indians
AL West - Angels
AL WC - Yankees


NL East - Mets
NL Central - Cubs
NL West - Giants
NL WC - Phillies


Angels vs Yankees: Angels
Red Sox vs Indians: Red Sox

Cubs vs Phillies: Phillies
Mets vs Giants: Mets

Angels vs Red Sox: Red Sox
Phillies vs Giants: Phillies

I think it would be pointless for me to make a World Series prediction seeing as how the teams I've picked the last two season on here didn't make the playoffs. (2007 Detroit Tigers/L.A Dodgers)(2008 - Cleveland Indians/New York Mets) Then I used my head and decided to do this.....

Spoiler

2009 World Series Prediction

vs

2009 WS Champs - Boston Red Sox

 

[Captain Planet!]

The AL Central is really hard to predict. I predicted the Twins a few weeks ago, But I don't know. The Indians could certainly make a run, But I don't know much about their pitching. The Tigers... The pitching may be a problem. I don't think The White Sox will make a run, And the Royals are the Royals.


On a side note, I've never understood why Cleveland and Pittsburgh are in their Central Divisions.

 

[Immortalfire]

On a side note, I've never understood why Cleveland and Pittsburgh are in their Central Divisions.

Cleveland I can sort of get, but Pittsburgh..I dunno.

 

[Darthphere]

My Marlins will make the playoffs this season.

 

[The Incredible Hulk]

On a side note, I've never understood why Cleveland and Pittsburgh are in their Central Divisions.

Because Cleveland is in the Midwestern U.S.?