MLB 2008 Season
 

This thread is for the few baseball fans that we have here to talk some baseball. Post your thoughts, predictions, fears, teams to watch etc. for the upcoming season. The season starts early this year with the Red Sox and A's playing in Japan on March 25th.

I'm just hoping that the O's don't lose 100 games this year.


More bullshit later when I have the time!!

Markakis is a stud.... Adam Jones should be good, but maybe not this year... O's have a good future... just endure krasty...in a couple years, Wieters will be behind the plate and batting behind Markakis

Let's go Owioleszsz
100+ wins!

God damn it.




Allright, here are my predictions, so just humor me.


Al East - Red Sox
AL Central - Tigers
AL West - Angels
AL Wild Card - Mariners

NL East - Mets
NL Central - Cubs
NL West - Diamondbacks
NL Wild Card - Phillies

AL MVP - Miguel Cabrera DET
NL MVP - Ryan Howard PHI

AL Cy Young - Erik Bedard SEA:(
NL Cy Young - Johan Santana NYM

AL Rookie of the Year - Jacoby Ellsbury BOS
NL Rookie of the Year - Jay Bruce CIN


World Series - Red Sox and Mets
-Red Sox win in 6

I could not be less concerned.

Yeah, Nick is a beast. Hopefully they don't insult him with an underwhelming contract when the time comes.....I trust McPhail though. Adam Jones is going to be a great 5 tool player for us. I honestly think he has a shot at rookie of the year, but Ellsbury is AWESOME and is going to score about a million runs, show surprising pop, and play a beast center field. Tomorrow is the first televised O's exhibition game for us and I'm really excited to see him play....he better be in the lineup. Weiters is already turning heads in spring training....a late August call up is prob. in the works. It cracks me up that the Pirates passed up on him in the draft when he was rated as the best hitter in the draft. Hopefully we can get Mark Teixeria to come home and play for Baltimore. With Tejada's contract gone and the money coming in from MASN, I think we have a legitimate chance of making him our big time super star player. We've needed a first basemen for years!!


It also looks like Brian Roberts will be traded to the Cubs before the season starts in a package that also includes Jay Payton. We will reportedly get starting pitchers Sean Marshall and Sean Gallagher along with Ronny Cedeno and Matt Murton. Although the player that I would want in return for Brian would be Carlos Marmol, it is still a really good trade....especially to get something for Payton. The O's are really loading up on young arms. It's a shame that the centerpiece of the Tejada trade, Troy Patton, will prob. have surgery and be shut down for the season. Many Astros fans were pissed that they traded him to us even with a bum shoulder. I'm excited to check out Dennis Sarfate that we also got in the Tejada....his numbers were sick last year when he was brought up by Houston.

Many people think that we got even more for Bedard than the Twins got for Santana!!

I'm shocked!!

I'm sorry. :(

sports will be the end of humanity.

oh? Tell me more then. I'm interested.

its one of those middle step missing sums.

but it will happen/.

I don't have the heart to hijack this thread. I've already rickrolled it and that was just plain evil.

It's all good man, I left you a present in the Sonic Jukebox thread.

Al East - Yankees
AL Central - Tigers
AL West - Angels
AL Wild Card - Indians

NL East - Mets
NL Central - Brewers
NL West - Diamondbacks
NL Wild Card - Phillies

AL MVP - A Rod NYY
NL MVP - Prince Fielder Mil

AL Cy Young - CC Sabathia CLe
NL Cy Young - Brandon Webb Ari

AL Rookie of the Year - Gio Gonzalez Oak
NL Rookie of the Year - Kosuke Fukudome Chi {best name ever...even you ignorant SYG twats can appreciate this name...i think ill be getting his jersey}


World Series - Tigers and Brewers
-Tigers win in 6

I wouldnt count on Tex.... I think the Braves want him long-term... and their situation bodes better for wins... also dont forget he went to GA Tech, so its not like its an unfamiliar place to him...he's got found college memories Im sure...

Very very true, but I think the O's can go all out and offer him more money. They let Andruw go because they don't like to pay the huge money.

*crosses fingers

I have the Yankees just missing the playoffs because of a lack of starting pitching. Even if Hughes and Kennedy pitch well, I still am not sold. Can Pettite hold up?? I think Joba will be mainly in the bullpen, but who knows?!

I wont rule it out, but I think the plan was always for them to sign Tex through his prime years... thats why they gave up Salty and Elvis...of course, JS is gone now, so maybe plans change...

Andruw is a different story though...they let him go because he's a fat ass and he batted, what? .210 last year?

True, but when was the last time the Braves spent "big money" on a player?


I've always liked the Braves and if they know what is good for them, then yes, they should sign him long term.

can't remember...when was the last time the O's spent money? Tejada? ...I think they are saving up to be able to afford Markakis and Jones... those 2 & Wieters are their young cornerstones... its a good nucleus.

ps-and im changing my NLROY to JR Towles, the Stros catcher... i just wanted to type Fukudome

Yeah, Miggy was the last time we spent "big" money on somebody.

Towles is going to be really good......I was debating on him and Upton in Arizona for ROY. I think he is having a nice spring too.

I'm not sure if anyone else has any fantasy teams, but here are my drafts for my 4 Yahoo teams......just had my last one today.

Free The Birds

1.(8)Matt HollidayOF2.(17)Brandon Phillips2B3.(32)Magglio OrdóñezOF4.(41)C.C. SabathiaSP5.(56)Dan HarenSP6.(65)Carlos Peña1B7.(80)Miguel TejadaSS8.(89)Ryan Zimmerman3B9.(104)Bobby JenksRP10.(113)Rich HillSP11.(128)Jacoby EllsburyOF12.(137)Adrián Béltre3B13.(152)Joba ChamberlainRP14.(161)Clay BuchholzSP15.(176)Jeremy HermidaOF16.(185)Kevin Youkilis1B,3B17.(200)Zack GreinkeSP,RP18.(209)George SherrillRP19.(224)Bronson ArroyoSP20.(233)Billy Butler1B,OF21.(248)Ramón HernándezC


Come On McPhail (dumbass computer froze and got Lee first pick)

1.(10)Derrek Lee1B2.(15)Carl CrawfordOF3.(34)Aramis Ramírez3B4.(39)Brandon WebbSP5.(58)Justin Morneau1B6.(63)Ian Kinsler2B7.(82)Roy HalladaySP8.(87)Miguel TejadaSS9.(106)Chris YoungOF10.(111)Brett MyersSP,RP11.(130)Nick Swisher1B,OF12.(135)Joakim SoriaRP13.(154)Phil HughesSP14.(159)Jeff FrancisSP15.(178)J.R. TowlesC16.(183)Pat BurrellOF17.(202)Clay BuchholzSP18.(207)Dustin Pedroia2B19.(226)Felipe López2B,SS20.(231)Homer BaileySP21.(250)Ty Wigginton1B,2B,3B
Dropped Bailey and picked up Randy Johnson.

Nick Mar-Kick-A$$

1.(9)Jimmy RollinsSS2.(16)Grady SizemoreOF3.(33)Brian Roberts2B4.(40)Derrek Lee1B5.(57)Nick MarkakisOF6.(64)Dan HarenSP7.(81)Ryan Zimmerman3B8.(88)Bobby JenksRP9.(105)Brett MyersSP,RP10.(112)Fausto CarmonaSP11.(129)Manny CorpasRP12.(136)James Loney1B13.(153)Pat BurrellOF14.(160)Phil HughesSP15.(177)Geovany SotoC16.(184)Edwin Encarnación3B17.(201)Justin UptonOF18.(208)George SherrillRP19.(225)Zack GreinkeSP,RP20.(232)Jon LesterSP21.(249)Michael BournOF
This is my Winner's League and prob. my favorite team.

Off The Warehouse

1.(9)Jimmy RollinsSS2.(16)Grady SizemoreOF3.(33)Magglio OrdóñezOF4.(40)Brandon WebbSP5.(57)Derrek Lee1B6.(64)Joe NathanRP7.(81)Carlos Peña1B8.(88)Adrián Béltre3B9.(105)Brett MyersSP,RP10.(112)Rich HillSP11.(129)Matt KempOF12.(136)Manny CorpasRP13.(153)Tim HudsonSP14.(160)Kelly Johnson2B15.(177)Geovany SotoC16.(184)Yunel Escobar2B,3B,SS17.(201)Plácido Polanco2B18.(208)Zack GreinkeSP,RP19.(225)Jon LesterSP20.(232)George SherrillRP21.(249)Lastings MilledgeOF
This is a Head to Head League and the others are standard Roto



EDIT - Damn, the players were all in nice columns when I pasted them in....whatev.

here was how i drafted them... a 12-team league, 5x5 rotisserie points-based... i had 2nd pick... since then, i have traded Milledge for Joba... and then dropped Homer, Morales, and Encarnacion for Raf Betancourt RP (Cle), Marcum SP (Tor), and Shealy 1B (KC) ... im going to have to trade for some saves... it sucks... unless rivera and borowski go down... then im good to go

David Wright
2. (23) B.J. Upton
3. (26) Mark Teixeira
4. (47) Adam Dunn
5. (50) Nick Markakis
6. (71) Félix Hernández
7. (74) Scott Kazmir
8. (95) Rickie Weeks
9. (98) Francisco Liriano
10. (119) Matt Cain
11. (122) James Loney
12. (143) Jeremy Hermida
13. (146) Zack Greinke
14. (167) Yunel Escobar
15. (170) Alex Gordon
16. (191) J.R. Towles
17. (194) Edwin Encarnación
18. (215) Gil Meche
19. (218) Franklin Morales
20. (239) Lastings Milledge
21. (242) Homer Bailey

yeah i like him a lot... i had him targeted, and was very glad i got him so late

Yeah, I have Towles too....he should have quite a few RBI chances in a much improved Astro lineup.

You have to admit, Harden looked pretty good against the Red Sox. Manny is going to have a hell of a year....he drove in 5 in the 2 games over in Tokyo.


First game in the states is Sunday when the Nats host the Braves at the first ever game at the new Nationals Stadium in DC. The O's play the Nats in an exhibition game at the new stadium on Saturday which I'll be watching on MASN.

I counted and I get 9 televised games on Monday. I'm going to get a case of Miler Lite 40's and get lit all day and watch baseball.....it's going to be glorious. Ha!

new york is full of sewage laden corpses of crap shit dung
tripled
so what?'
where's eugene?

time 2 go away

yeah monday should be awesome

Opening Day has always been a holiday for me and my dad.

Looking forward for the Sweet 16 tomorrow as well.

me too. i'm hoping the rays still do worse than them. i started wearing my o's hat again, but that's mostly because i gave myself the worst haircut ever.

the o's and punk rock is all that i care about right now in my life.

You're an O's fan?? That's fucking awesome!!

Are you originally from Maryland or are you just a masochist?

my family is from baltimore. i would've been but my father joined the air force and i was born in arizona. but yeah, i've been an o's fan for all my life. cal ripken is one of my idols.

the O's have shed a hell of alot of baggage in the offseason, but i don't see them being a force anytime soon

really they only thing i think that could help them in that division is a salary cap

the Nats i hope shall turn some heads, and not just for having the newest and best stadium in the league (and the only that serves Half Smokes from Ben's Chili Bowl and Giffords Ice Cream)

It will take a good 2-3 years for the O's to be competitive again. The latest rumor is that Roberts WILL NOT be traded.....it doesn't really matter either way to me. He's a good ass everyday player that can stretch a single into a double with his speed and he plays a Gold Glove caliber second base.....sign him up long term along with Nick. Playing in the most difficult division in all sports sucks ass.

I was pretty shocked the Nats gave up on Patterson....I heard he prob. will go to Houston.

If I had to put money on it, I'd say that the Rays will finish ahead of the O's this year even though the cheap bastards sent Longoria back to the minors.

Our pitching staff is going to be a trainwreck....well, Guthrie should be ok, Loewen has the ability to be good (some scouts say he has better stuff than Bedard) if he can stay healthy, Daniel is fucking insane, Traschel is Steve Traschel, and the fifth spot will prob. be occupied by 4 or 5 different starters throughout the season.

My only prayer is that we don't sign Byung Yung Kim who was just released by the freaking PIRATES......Jesus.

red sox world series again, josh beckett cy young al, carlos beltran nl mvp, arod al mvp (the guy is just super fucking human, doesnt make sense), i think (hope) the dodgers will have a great season, but the mets will meet the sox in the world series. this should be an exciting season though.

sometimes i feel bad how dominant boston sports have been lately.

side note: i love baseball for the soul reason of being a red sox fan, but baseball could be improved in a number of ways; shorter season, slaughter rule, etc... the season is just too long to pay attention to at times. also, instead of trying to rid the sport of hgh, they should embrace it. theres no way its gonna be completley fixed. instead, everyone should get on juice and then well see who the best players are for real (i know thats the dumbest thing ive ever said concerning sports taking into account the health problems associated with human growth hormone, but for some reason it seems like a plausible solution to me).

im a basketbakll fan though, and this is the first great celtics team i can remember since i was born. this is EXCITING for me.

I love that the season is 162 games, but I'm also a freak.


I'm kind of worried about Beckett and his injuries to win the Cy Young.....we'll see.

Nice win by the Celts tonight over the Suns.

orlando magic all the way

Jameer Nelson, your boy, just got hurt. It's not serious though.