Non-Pirates Baseball Thread

[MWB]

Since there's already a thread on just the Pirates, thought I'd start a different thread for the rest of baseball. Some early season questions:

Are the Nats for real?

Are the Red Sox done?

Will Ubaldo Jimenez win the Cy Young?

Will Andre Ethier be the MVP?

[Troy Loney]

No, Yes, No, No.

[MWB]

C'mon, you don't believe in Livan Hernandez and Tyler Clppard leading the Nats to victory?

[Troy Loney]

Are the Padres for real?

Do the Rays have the makings of one of the best rotations in recent memory?

How good can the Twins be this season? (i think that they are going to get better pitching going forward).

Will the Brewers trade Fielder?

Comments:

There's no other person i'd rather see fail than Josh Beckett.

[Troy Loney]

C'mon, you don't believe in Livan Hernandez and Tyler Clppard leading the Nats to victory?

Who the hell is tyler clippard?

Strasburg comes up in June so the pitching will automatically get better then.

I guess you could say they are for real, but they wont be able to make the playoffs out of that division this year.

[MWB]

Padres could win that division because it's pretty weak, but they are pretty suspect on hitting and pitching.

Rays are stacked, no doubt. Depends on how Davis and Hellickson develop. If they continue on their current track they will have a dominant rotation for several years.

Biggest question right now for the Twins is pitching of Slowey and Baker. They were supposed to be solid, but have struggled. If they rebound the Twins will win that division by 15 games.

Brewers will trade Fielder. They can't afford to pay him Howard-type money.

I agree with you on Beckett. Unfortunately, I think he'll be fine this year and that the Sox are far from done.

[MWB]

C'mon, you don't believe in Livan Hernandez and Tyler Clppard leading the Nats to victory?

Who the hell is tyler clippard?

Strasburg comes up in June so the pitching will automatically get better then.

I guess you could say they are for real, but they wont be able to make the playoffs out of that division this year.

Clippard leads the league in wins. I was lucky enough to pick him up a couple weeks ago in one fantasy league and he now leads my team in wins, and my pitching staff includes Greinke, Nolasco, and Hanson. I hate the wins category.

[Troy Loney]

C'mon, you don't believe in Livan Hernandez and Tyler Clppard leading the Nats to victory?

Who the hell is tyler clippard?

Strasburg comes up in June so the pitching will automatically get better then.

I guess you could say they are for real, but they wont be able to make the playoffs out of that division this year.

Clippard leads the league in wins. I was lucky enough to pick him up a couple weeks ago in one fantasy league and he now leads my team in wins, and my pitching staff includes Greinke, Nolasco, and Hanson. I hate the wins category.

that's quite a turnaround for the nationals....see what happens when your willing to spend a little money.

cough...cough...nutting you ***hole.

[LeopardLetang]

May 11 @ NYM L 6-8 L,BS 0.1 4 3 3 0 0 1 6 1 0 5 7 24.0 1.88
May 9 FLA W 3-2 W,BS 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 1 6 0 0 4 7 23.2 0.76
May 8 FLA W 5-4 W,BS 1.1 1 1 1 1 0 3 5 0 0 3 7 22.2 0.79
May 6 ATL W 3-2 W,BS 1.2 2 0 0 0 2 0 4 0 0 2 7 21.1 0.42



Mr. Tyler Clippard

[LeopardLetang]

i have 4 padres starters on my team, so that question intrigued me. looking at their rotation, it could really go anywhere for them. you can't count on chris young at all, but he could come back and anchor a potentially deep rotation. or he could come back and give them less than nothing. correia looks like he's successfully made the switch from the pen to the rotation, but will he be able to focus after losing his brother in a freak accident the other day? latos is on the verge of stardom perhaps, but he's still inexperienced and unpredictable. leBlanc has cruised through the minors and is right on track to have a successful season, but again, as latos, has no track record in the majors. clayton richard is walking a fine line with his 3.20 era, but 1.50 whip, and has not yet put it together despite dominating AA and AAA in 08. and then there's garland who certainly will come back to earth, but how far he falls is the question. he's posting a .203 BAA so far but it's .274 for his career. petco doesn't help quite that much. and he's not helping himself with 21bbs to just 25ks.

regardless of the padres hitting, they will be good if their young pitchers succeed, and they have a chance for all the pieces to fall into place. they also have a very solid bullpen.

[MWB]

On a different note, I don't like some things about ESPN, but they have some great baseball analysts. Buster Olney and Tim Kurkjian are both awesome. They have so much info and it seems like every time I hear or read them they have a new interesting story.

[Troy Loney]

On a different note, I don't like some things about ESPN, but they have some great baseball analysts. Buster Olney and Tim Kurkjian are both awesome. They have so much info and it seems like every time I hear or read them they have a new interesting story.

I enjoy the Jim Callis & Keith Law chats. even though keith law is the smuggest piece of *pizza* on the planet.

[MWB]

Yeah, I like Law as well.

Nice walkoff win by the Yanks yesterday... always nice to see Papelbon blow it, since it doesn't happen often.

I'm very intrigued by how good Strasburg will be this year.

[beerman]

Nice walkoff win by the Yanks yesterday... always nice to see Papelbon blow it, since it doesn't happen often.

I was encouraged by Papelbon early in the season, he started throwing a bunch of splitters and looked like he was going to be really dominant. Last night I counted one and he completely fooled Cano with it, other than that it was one fastball after another right down the middle. If he wasn't such an arrogant **** maybe he wouldn't try and blow it by everyone.

[MWB]

Nice walkoff win by the Yanks yesterday... always nice to see Papelbon blow it, since it doesn't happen often.

I was encouraged by Papelbon early in the season, he started throwing a bunch of splitters and looked like he was going to be really dominant. Last night I counted one and he completely fooled Cano with it, other than that it was one fastball after another right down the middle. If he wasn't such an arrogant **** maybe he wouldn't try and blow it by everyone.

He was good enough last night. I wish they called that game in the 6th.

[Idoit40fans]

Sliding into first, second time i've seen it in as many days. From major leaguers. They are morons. Unless you're avoiding a tag when the first baseman is pulled off first, there is no reason to do it, and pros should know that.

[the errey i breathe]

Angel Pagan (NYM) had an inside the park home run and started a triple play vs WSH. talk about a crazy day at the park.

[K2]

Can't wait to see the Nats' battery of Strasburg and Bryce Harper in a few years...

[npv708]

Go (Pirates) Cubs and Nats.

I know how to pick winners.

[Idoit40fans]

Sliding into first, second time i've seen it in as many days. From major leaguers. They are morons. Unless you're avoiding a tag when the first baseman is pulled off first, there is no reason to do it, and pros should know that.

Oh My God. Then on the way home, Cedeno, the second pirate of the night sliding into first, is out. They can't afford to do the little things wrong, unbelievable.

[ulf]

Can't wait to see the Nats' battery of Strasburg and Bryce Harper in a few years...

Harper probably won't stay at catcher very long..

[ulf]

Sliding into first, second time i've seen it in as many days. From major leaguers. They are morons. Unless you're avoiding a tag when the first baseman is pulled off first, there is no reason to do it, and pros should know that.

Oh My God. Then on the way home, Cedeno, the second pirate of the night sliding into first, is out. They can't afford to do the little things wrong, unbelievable.

The whole running through first is faster thing is sort of an urban myth...i say sort of because it is most definitely slower to slide feet first. But diving into first isn't slower in most cases if you do it right.

[Idoit40fans]

I keep hearing that from people here, but all indications are that its 50/50 that he'll catch. He'll almost definitely be catching through the draft, because being a catcher with that kind of athleticism and output drives up his rating and value like crazy.

[ulf]

I keep hearing that from people here, but all indications are that its 50/50 that he'll catch. He'll almost definitely be catching through the draft, because being a catcher with that kind of athleticism and output drives up his rating and value like crazy.

Yeah his value is so much greater as a catcher. But I hear a lot of people saying they will move him to save his knees/prolong his career.

[MWB]

I keep hearing that from people here, but all indications are that its 50/50 that he'll catch. He'll almost definitely be catching through the draft, because being a catcher with that kind of athleticism and output drives up his rating and value like crazy.

Yeah his value is so much greater as a catcher. But I hear a lot of people saying they will move him to save his knees/prolong his career.

That's usually something you worry about later on. If he's a good catcher, I'm guessing he'll catch for awhile, like Mauer.