The MLB 2007 Thread

[Spidey-Bat]

I wish April would get here already

 

[Future Prez]

Dice-K will be lucky to get to 15 wins. That's a tough number for a no. 3 pitcher to get, especially since he'll probably only get 35 starts or so.

Yeah, but if Beckett can still manage to get sixteen wins in a season in which he posted a 5.01 ERA, anything is possible.

dodger
Has anyone seen this gyro-ball that d-mat has?

Yeah, I've seen footage. Supposedly, it breaks down and in on righties. That should help him get a lot of Ks over here.

This is a normal guy throwing one.
Here's Daisuke.

BTW, can anyone photoshop a pic of Daisuke and put him in a Sox uni?

 

[Spidey-Bat]

The gyroball isn't real. Matsuzaka even said it isn't real. If anything, it is just a nasty slider.

 

[Superman79]

^^Really, in all honesty, who cares what it is as long at it gets people out

 

[Dodger]

Yeah, but if Beckett can still manage to get sixteen wins in a season in which he posted a 5.01 ERA, anything is possible.



Yeah, I've seen footage. Supposedly, it breaks down and in on righties. That should help him get a lot of Ks over here.

This is a normal guy throwing one.
Here's Daisuke.

BTW, can anyone photoshop a pic of Daisuke and put him in a Sox uni?

Dam, that sick. I really hope the miles on his arm don't break him down.

 

[Dodger]

It's been:
Cards - kinda underdog (they had momentum after the Mets and the Tigers were off a week)
White Sox - favored
Red Sox - favored
Marlins - underdog
Angels - even
D-Backs - underdog




Betting on baseball teams is mad difficult. The favored teams never live up and those that aren't favored do tremendously well. How many people expected the Braves' dynasty to end?



It's been a rather quiet rivalry but I hope to see it get revived again. Especially since there are so many ex-Dodgers on our team.

BTW, thanks for Piazza and Lo Duca. Want to continue the trend with Martin?

We didn't give you lo duca or piazza....the Marlins did =D. So if we ever (pray to god that it never happens ) trade R. Martin to the marlins, then yes, youre getting him.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

Thanks for trading them so we could get them.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

J.D. Drew needs a 2nd opinion on his shoulder before passing a physical and officially join the team.

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/...ontent_id=1763164&vkey=hotstove2006&fext=.jsp

 

[Future Prez]

J.D. Drew needs a 2nd opinion on his shoulder before passing a physical and officially join the team.

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061217&content_id=1763164&vkey=hotstove2006&fext=.jsp

I hope this tears the deal apart, though I doubt it. The most we can expect is less years or less guranteed cash. For some reason, Theo thinks Drew=Jesus.

 

[Superman79]

I dunno if you guys read Bill Simmons, but the man is a great and hilarious sports writer...here's a couple of his Mailbag answers from this week (SG is his handle as he is reffered to as the "Sports Guy":

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/061215

Thoughts on Matsazuka:
Q: For some reason I've started calling Daisuke "Mr. Zero." I have no reason but it sounds fairly sinister and like an anime bad guy. I think it came from this woman my brother was dating. We were dropping her off at her car and when she pointed it out she said, "There it is, the silver bullet." After she got out of the car my brother's friend Daryl said, "Do you think she knows her car's black?" From then on every nickname I've given someone/thing makes no sense. It's almost like her statement completely scrambled my brain waves. Maybe if Mr. Zero has an affinity for shutouts he'll prove me as prophetic. But odds are I'm now as crazy as that woman my brother was dating, which is a bit disconcerting.
--Sean, Washington

SG: Maybe you better stop talking for a while, Champ. But you're right -- Mr. Zero makes for a great nickname for someone. I just don't think Daisuke needs one when we can call him "Dice." As long as we don't call him D-Mat, I'm happy -- especially since that greasy used car salesman, Scott Boras, was the one pushing that nickname. Let's settle on "Dice" and call it a day.

And speaking of Dice, I'm excited to have the Japanese Pedro on my team but have two concerns going in. First, I'm disappointed that he doesn't look a little more villainous than he does. I like my mysterious Japanese pitchers with unpronounceable names to have cold eyes, a blank stare, a 20-hair fu manchu and the same icy look that Sato's nephew had while he was trying to destroy Daniel-San at the end of "Karate Kid II." Those are the guys who would be terrifying in the ninth inning of a 1-0 game. Dice looks much more happy-go-lucky and friendlier than I expected, like one of those giddy exchange students in college who tries to join a frat and ends up having his stomach pumped on the second night. I'm not sure this is a good thing. And second, it's always a little scary when the Red Sox spend $103 million on a pitcher who owns the same winter jacket as my wife. No, really. Check out the picture to the right. How do you say, "I will now light myself on fire" in Japanese?

 

[Superman79]

THOUGHTS ON JD DREW::

Q: You have NO idea how much you will hate J.D. Drew.
--Dave Geeting, St. Louis

SG: Uh-oh, looks like we're entering the "If you're a Red Sox fan, you're about to be in a terrible mood reading all these J.D. Drew e-mails" portion of the mailbag. You knew it was coming. Just humor me.

Q: I just wanted to congratulate you on your team becoming the new Mets. You know, the team that overspends on guys who sound good on paper, but who will totally flop under the pressure of their ridiculous contracts and the city's overbearing media. I'm sure Drew and Lugo will be very happy on their new teams in a year or two when the Sox have to dump their stupid contracts for 30 cents on the dollar.
--Ben Teaford. Rocky Hill, Conn.

SG: (Punching myself in the face.)

Q: As a Dodgers fan, I was upset when I heard Drew opted out. Then I remembered how much money he was giving up and thought he was crazy -- after all, no one would pay $11 million a year for a corner outfielder who hits .280 with 20 HRs and looks like he doesn't care. Not once in his Dodger tenure do I remember going, "Wow. J.D. Drew really came up big for us last night." Good riddance.
--Josh, Santa Barbara, Calif.

SG: (Slamming my hand in a door.)

Q: The day Drew opted out of his Dodger contract was like the feeling I had on Christmas morning when I was 7 and got my first pair of skates … an utterly joyous occasion. This man has no passion or love for the game of baseball and plays the game accordingly. It is fitting that he will be playing for Boston fans who will hate this guy with a passion by the second spring training game. As a fan of the game, I am sad that any other fans have to watch this guy -- except maybe Yankee fans; I was hoping Steinbrenner would overpay him. Good luck, this is your worst nightmare!
--Tom Rowe, Long Beach, Calif.

SG: (Repeatedly ramming my body into my Christmas tree.)

Q: Just a stellar quote from Epstein about the J.D. Drew signing: "Virtually every player is a collection of strengths and weaknesses." Equivalent to when your buddy has a new girlfriend, and you know she's nuts, and he knows she's nuts, and she does something crazy like ask him for his e-mail password "just to prove that he trusts her," and the buddy tries to laugh it off by saying "but all women are a little crazy, you know, right?" It's never a good sign when the fans of the team that a player left are happier than the fans of the team that that player signed with.
--Sam, Los Angeles

SG: (Ramming a candy cane into my eye.)

Q: I am a lifelong Dodgers fan and having one of the greatest laughs of my life watching the Red Sox sign J.D. Drew. I couldn't believe the Dodgers gave that bum $11 million a year to play sucky, injury-plagued, emotionless baseball. I was even more stunned when he OPTED OUT of that goldmine contract, although very happy because he was a joke. So, you can only imagine once I heard that he was getting $14 million a year from another team, I laughed my a$$ off! What was your thought process during this whole scenario?
--David S., Toledo, Ohio

SG: Thanks for asking. I haven't been this horrified by a big move from a Boston team since the Celtics traded for Vin Baker four summers ago. The Sox just signed someone who, by all accounts, plays without any semblance of passion or intensity. He's the exact type of player that Boston fans have always hated. We have a century-long track record of proving this point. That's the part I don't get. It's not like Theo is from France -- he's from freaking Brookline. He should have known. Arrrrrrrrrgh. One last e-mail about Drew …

Q: What did Bono say to the Yankees fan after hearing about the J.D. Drew and Julio Lugo signings?

"Well, tonight thank God it's them instead of you!!!!!"
--Michael Rupp, Fairfield, Conn.

SG: Now that's comedy. Well done. t:

 

[Spidey-Bat]

Is he really comparing Dice-K to Pedro? ................Wow

And I think that one guy confused the Mets with the Yankees since our guys over 30 did very well in the post season.


Also, this isn't real news but I found these articles on The Onion about Soriano to be pretty funny:

Alfonso Soriano Regrets Joining 40-40 Club After Meeting Other Members
Alfonso Soriano: 'I Am Excited To Play For $136 Million'

 

[Future Prez]

www.si.com

The Red Sox will sign Roger Clemens. The contract will pay Clemens $12 million to join a six-man rotation anchored by Daisuke Matsuzaka, and he'll sign it on June 1, just before a home game against the Yankees. Boston will also agree to retire the Rocket's number 21 at the end of the season. Clemens will then announce (again) that he's retiring.

Frank Thomas, Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez will hit their 500th home runs. That will make nine players to join the 500 Home Run Club in nine years. Before 1998 only 15 players had reached 500.

Tom Glavine will win his 300th game in late August. That will prompt the media to ask whether Glavine is the last of the 300-game winners, just as they did when Clemens won his 300th in 2003 and when Greg Maddux won his 300th in '04, and as they will again in '08 when Randy Johnson wins his 300th (with the Diamondbacks).

Barry Bonds will pass Hank Aaron as the alltime home run leader with number 756 on Sept. 7 in San Francisco against the Dodgers. After hitting number 755 in Washington on Sept. 1, Bonds will sit out four consecutive road games because of what the Giants call "tightness in his hamstring," thus avoiding the embarrassment of being booed upon breaking the record. The Giants, mired in last place, will hold a 20-minute ceremony immediately after his milestone homer, but neither Aaron nor commissioner Bud Selig will appear.

The Mitchell Report will name names ... but not new ones. On Feb. 12, when Major League Baseball releases the summary of the 12-month investigation into the Steroid Era by former senator George Mitchell, it will reveal -- surprise! -- prevalent use of performance-enhancing drugs throughout the game from 1988 through 2003. The only users named will be Jose Canseco, Ken Caminiti, Rafael Palmeiro, Jason Grimsley and Barry Bonds, who won't be disciplined because his documented usage occurred before penalties were in place. No club official interviewed in the report will confirm having first-hand knowledge of steroid use. Privately, owners will be steamed at the tens of millions of dollars spent by Mitchell and his squadron of lawyers on a glorified fact-checking mission.

Ryan Howard will blast 66 home runs, with Albert Pujols right behind at 62. After a reprise of the Great Home Run Race of 1998 -- only this time it's for real (or so we like to think) -- Howard will be generally, if unofficially, treated as the new Home Run King.

The Cubs will win the National League Central. But just before the first pitch of the Division Series, 18-game winner Mark Prior burns three fingers on his pitching hand when he moves a space heater in the Chicago dugout. The Dodgers sweep the series.

Just a few predictions posted on Si.com . I think some of them are likely, such as Bonds surpassing Aaron, and slugfest involving Ryan Howard (although I don't know if Pujols will be the challenger). I highly doubt that Mark Prior will win 18 games, though; I'm not gonna contest the Cubs to win the Central, I think they have a very good chance.

Rocket+Boston=t: x infinity

 

[Spidey-Bat]

Johnson won't win 300. He's breaking down already. If Pedro stays healthy, in the NL, and has more Pedro seasons, he could come close to 300.

My predictions:
After blowing 10 leads in the 8th and 9th innings during April, the Red Sox will move Papelbon back to the bullpen and sign Roger Clemens to take his position. Papelbon will accumulate 50 saves throughout the season.

Barry Bonds will become the first player to be hit by a pitch or walked 500 times in the season. He will not get a home run in a single one of his ABs.

The Cubs will win the NL Wild Card (2nd to Cardinals). With 2 wins under their belt, they will lead 8-5 going into the 9th inning. Kerry Wood will attempt to close the series and bring the Cubs to the NLCS. After getting 2 outs, the bases will be loaded and the next batter will end the game with a walk off grand slam.

 

[Fran]

The Barry Bonds prediction... I hope you're joking.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

I wish it could be true

 

[Future Prez]

I'm certain the Red Sox will have a closer before the season starts, whether it be an outsider (Mike Gonzalez?) or someone already on the team. I think Donnely has a shot, as well as Timlin, DelCarmen and maybe even Okajima. Papelbon will take his role as a future ace of the team, probably throwing between 180 and 220 innings next season.




How many more days until April 1?

 

[Superman79]

Rocket+Boston=t: x infinity

I'd almost agree. If Clemans wasn't so much of a Benedict Arnold-preJohnny Damon, traitorous scab.

Still, he could redeem himself a little if he would come back to beantown.t:

 

[Future Prez]

t: I like the idea of Doug Mientkievicz (I don't know how to spell his name, so don't bother me about it) playing first for the Yanks. He'll hurt 'em more than Loretta, their other choice.

 

[Superman79]

^^ Meh, Doogie holds a special place in my heart by being a part of the 04 team...no matter who he might hurt now...so I'd rather not see him as a (regular) Yankee

 

[Spidey-Bat]

My prediction of Barry Zito signing with the Mets this week didn't happen.

After reading an interview with him in an SF paper, I'm pretty sure he wants to be a Met but hasn't signed because
A) Boras is making him wait and meet with all other teams.
B) The Mets haven't given him an official offer.

Hopefully they get him soon.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

Anyone think the NL will win the All-Star Game this year?

 

[Future Prez]

If the NL can continue to land good talent, and some fresh faces make the game from it, then their chances will greatly improve. Well, I shouldn't say that; they almost won last year, as it came down to the 9th. Paps make come in and shut 'em down, though.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

Unless he is pitching when the AL is losing. It's a shame the All-Star Game isn't important. It was better when it didn't determine home field advantage.

 

[Future Prez]

It'll be a good All-star game this year. Most interesting will be which first-timers make it back. Daisuke better make the cut.