2007 MLB Thread

[SuckaInA3Piece]

It's about that time. Please keep all MLB related topics in this thread, and good luck to all of your ballclubs. I'm not sold on our bullpen, or our starting rotation to be honest. But I'm hoping this will be our year to play some ball in October. Let's go Phils!

[Eddymon]

I really like Boston's pitching, starting and bullpen!
The bats (for the most part) are still the same and a healthy JD Drew will put up better numbers than Trot Nixon.

Varitek= should have another solid season
Youkilis= Should improve, I wish he had more power though for a first baseman.
Pedroia/Cora= should be a decent platoon at second
Lugo= solid defense, and a better bat once again shortstop
Lowell= excellent defense, should hit atleast 20 homers.
Ramirez= typical Manny year, 40+ homers, 120+ Rbi.
Crisp= will be better than last year as long as he stays healthy this season unlike last.
Drew= Comes with a huge price tag, and must deliver 25+ homeruns and 100 rbi
Oritz= Much like Ramirez, Big Papi should have another 40+ homer with 125+ rbi season.

I really like them to win the AL East this year, I am more confident than ever about this being the year they dethrown the Yankees. In fact I think NY will finish behind Toronto in the division.

[ZORBA5150]

The Mets are winning it all!

[Eddymon]

The Mets are winning it all!

You better hope that Pedro can come back in August for that to happen.

[Guitar Shark]

I really like Boston's pitching, starting and bullpen!

I would have never guessed you'd say that!!

Hey Sucka, the Phillies are going to do pretty well this year I think.

The Ms, on the other hand, will suck like never before. The good news is that another bad season will probably mean an end to the horrible Bavasi/Hargrove era.

[jimmy812]

Varitek= should have another solid season

Crisp= will be better than last year as long as he stays healthy this season unlike last.

I really like them to win the AL East this year, I am more confident than ever about this being the year they dethrown the Yankees. In fact I think NY will finish behind Toronto in the division.

Varitek sucked last year. He was way below his offensive ability. So if you call that a solid season, then, as a Yankee fan, I hope you're right.

I agree that Crisp will be better than last year. Kinda hard not to be better than last year.

Your analysis of the rest of the team seems accurate. I think putting Papelbon back in the CL role was the best thing for the bullpen (and a bad thing for opposing teams).

Aren't Red Sox fans always confident when the season starts? What makes you more confident now than, say in '04?

[SuckaInA3Piece]

I would have never guessed you'd say that!!

Hey Sucka, the Phillies are going to do pretty well this year I think.

The Ms, on the other hand, will suck like never before. The good news is that another bad season will probably mean an end to the horrible Bavasi/Hargrove era.

I dunno, bro. I think we have a pretty good lineup, but I can't help but worry about the bullpen. Our rotation SHOULD be pretty good with Myers, Eaton, Moyer and Garcia. Although it looks like Lieber will be filling in for Garcia until he's healthy. We still might bolster the pen by moving Lieber, it's got to be for more than just one arm. Shit, we only have one lefty in the pen.

But I have faith in them for the first time in years, so hopefully the team can come together this year and produce.

[ZeoBandit]

Typical Cubs season:
No Wood
No Prior
No chance in hell.

This season:
No Wood
No Prior
No problem!

[OLO]

The Ms, on the other hand, will suck like never before. The good news is that another bad season will probably mean an end to the horrible Bavasi/Hargrove era.

I dont have as much of a problem with Hargrove as I do Bavasi.

[Guitar Shark]

I dont have as much of a problem with Hargrove as I do Bavasi.

Bavasi is worse, I agree. But Grover is a terrible, terrible manager IMO. His teams have consistently underperformed under his watch, and his strategic decisions aren’t just poor, in many cases, they are indefensible. Like refusing to allow JJ Putz -- our best reliever -- to pitch except in a save situation. Or allowing Willie Bloomquist -- one of the worst hitters in baseball -- to get the number of ABs that he does. Pushing to hire Carl Everett. And now, pushing to get Rey Ordonez (!!!) on the roster. It's incredibly bad stuff.

[jimmy812]

Typical Cubs season:
No Wood
No Prior
No chance in hell.

This season:
No Wood
No Prior
No problem!

Cubbies should be good this year.

[OnTheInside1985]

Varitek sucked last year. He was way below his offensive ability. So if you call that a solid season, then, as a Yankee fan, I hope you're right.

I agree that Crisp will be better than last year. Kinda hard not to be better than last year.

Your analysis of the rest of the team seems accurate. I think putting Papelbon back in the CL role was the best thing for the bullpen (and a bad thing for opposing teams).

Aren't Red Sox fans always confident when the season starts? What makes you more confident now than, say in '04?

Yeah I don't understand why he would say that he's more confident than ever. But keep in mind that in 2004 we were mediocre for half the season until the Nomar trade jump started the team and we went on a hot streak that lasted through the world series. I'm a Sox fan....but it's kinda like how for years earlier in the decade everyone would pick the Yankees to win the world series EVERY YEAR. and eventually you're like....ok stop picking them because it's not going to happen. And I still feel that way, but I think everyone else is catching on. I'm not intimidated by the Yankees anymore....because second to seeing my team win is seeing the Yankees not win (after one or both of those happen in any given season I cease to care what else happens). and I'm confident we'll see that again this year (as far as the Yankees go). If you saw the recent poll on espn.com that asked how the Yankees would fare this season over 50% said they would lose in the playoffs (out of 4 choices). Well as a Sox fan that's how I feel about the AL east for the Red Sox. and while I'm optimistic about the team....Until they actually do it I won't expect them to. But as long as they make the playoffs I'm perfectly fine with whatever happens.

[darthadv]

I'm not sold on the Mets chances this year... the starting pitching is suspect: #1 & #2 are both 40-somethings, and #2 is bound to break down by mid-season (el Duque), if not sooner... the bullpen has been replenished to replace the guys that left, but who knows if they perform at the level of last year's bullpen... and that bullpen will be picking up the slack from starters in the #3-5 slots that have mostly 2-3 years experience at best...

The hitting should be fine, but I'm not all that excited by the Alou acquisition... he's another 40-something guy who's not going to play every day, who is expected to only provide production for 110-120 games.

Mets should've gone after Zito a little harder... is Zito overpaid? Yes, but there's not much available out there as far as frontline starters.

I think the Mets are still a playoff team, but they didn't answer any of their starting pitching issues in the offseason, no matter how they spin it. They're hoping for miracles out of virtual rookies in 3 out of the 5 spots.

[billy007]

I see lots of exciting races in the National League this year. Only a couple of teams will probably be out of it by the break. I hope Howard and Pujols both continue their stellar careers (except for when facing my team in fantasy!). American League's going to come down to Boston-New York (yawn) in the east - maybe the Blue Jays are ready to get in there and challenge, but I'll believe it when it happens. Central should be a good race - the West it's hard to tell. LaRussa's gotta find a way to get both Pujols and Howard in the lineup at the same time in the All-Star game and teach those AL'ers a lesson. It's enough to drive someone to drink...

And of course, here's hoping the young Marlins continue their development, Cabrera and Willis step up as leaders on and off the field and are able to go about their business without trade rumours. Hopefully the Devil Rays have something to show people this year as well, but we've been waiting for that for a long time! Anyway, a little over 48 hours from now - Play ball!

[ZeoBandit]

Cubbies should be good this year.

They should be, as long as they are not decimated by injuries again. Last year was brutal.