Quebecois Posted March 29, 2007 Share Posted March 29, 2007 Ill start off with my playoff predictions: Al East: New York Yankees (might get off to a slow start, but when Wang comes back they have the best top 3 starters in the division and probably the best lineup top to bottom.) AL Central: Chicago White Sox (I think their rotation can be better than last year and their 3-4-5 are deadly, Pod and Erstad need to get on base though and both of them had terrible OBPs last year so the Indians, Tigers or even Twins could surprise) AL West: Anaheim Angels (I don't see how this race is close, although the As are counted out every year and have a habit of proving people wrong) AL Wildcard: Toronto Blue Jays (maybe a homer pick, but the Jays have an incredible lineup 1-6, and as long as Rios comes back after a season derailed by injury and Thomas stays healthy, they will have a decent shot at putting up the most runs in the AL. Many point to a weak rotation, but i think they have a lot of depth and that if one of their 3-5 guys struggles they have a bunch of pitchers capable of stepping in (Janssen and Towers have had particularly good springs.) The key will be the health of both Halladay and Burnett as the 1-2. NL East: New York Mets (really no question here, great all-around lineup will offset a weak rotation) NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals (the Cubs are a tempting pick, but ill save them for later) NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers (winners by default, although i do think Zito will dominate the NL as they aren't used to his curve, still not enough to get the Giants in though) NL Wildcard: Chicago Cubs (lots of power, rotation isnt bad by NL standards) I got my Jays Season Pass ready to go, 81 games for 100 bucks (price went up this year!). Gotta be the best deal in pro sports though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre the Great Posted March 29, 2007 Share Posted March 29, 2007 I like the Blue Jays a lot. They're going to surprise a lot of NYY, BOS people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAK Posted March 29, 2007 Share Posted March 29, 2007 I'm more of a red sox fan...it's going to be them or the yanks on the playoffs think the mets and cards will also do good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsniper Posted March 29, 2007 Share Posted March 29, 2007 I'll take Matsuzaka, Schilling and Beckett over the Yanks rotation thank you very much. A little sad to see Papelbon as closer again, he should be in the starting rotation. Question for simonus since I know he gets a lot more Sox info then I do: Whats up with Jon Lester? Is he gonna be back this season at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dark_faerie87 Posted March 29, 2007 Share Posted March 29, 2007 All I care about is that the Yanks don't win the World Series. Oh, and add whatever team Bonds plays for to that list too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quebecois Posted March 29, 2007 Author Share Posted March 29, 2007 I'll take Matsuzaka, Schilling and Beckett over the Yanks rotation thank you very much. A little sad to see Papelbon as closer again, he should be in the starting rotation. A guy with 0 career MLB starts, an aging pitcher who came to camp 30 pounds overweight, and a guy with a 5.00 ERA last season... Hell If Chacin pitches even in between what he did in 05 and what he did in 06 then we have a better top 3... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsniper Posted March 29, 2007 Share Posted March 29, 2007 Matsuzaka dominated MLB batters in the WBC, Schilling is Schilling and Beckett's only problem is consistency. But when he's on, he is ON. And they've all had great ST's. Hell If Chacin pitches even in between what he did in 05 and what he did in 06 then we have a better top 3... Well now it's just an obvious bias against the Red Sox. Halladay is better then anyone we have but not anyone else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quebecois Posted March 29, 2007 Author Share Posted March 29, 2007 Matsuzaka dominated MLB batters in the WBC, Schilling is Schilling and Beckett's only problem is consistency. But when he's on, he is ON. And they've all had great ST's. Well now it's just an obvious bias against the Red Sox. Halladay is better then anyone we have but not anyone else. I like the Sox a lot better than the Yankees. I'm just not seeing it. Yeah he dominated batters in the WBC, but Canada beat the States, that was Spring Training. How does Burnett not compare favourably to Beckett? AJ had an ERA just below 4 while Beckett was just above 5. Granted AJs health is a concern but if he's healthy... I was there when Wells and Glaus each teed of on Beckett, im hard pressed to find a more overatted pitcher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre the Great Posted March 29, 2007 Share Posted March 29, 2007 Sox will most likely win the division Blue Jays wild card Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsniper Posted March 29, 2007 Share Posted March 29, 2007 I know it's only ST right now but look at Beckett, 3rd in SO's and tied for the lead in Wins in the AL. Albeit, his ERA still is a little high but like I've said, he just has consistency issues. If he gets that figured out (and I think that will happen this season), the East needs to look out. And what I've seen of Matsuzaka (which admittedly isn't much) so far has been great, I don't see how he doesn't get the edge over Chacin, games played in the MLB or not. Halladay>Schilling Burnett=Beckett (I've never been impressed by Burnett though, I give a slight edge to Beckett) Matsuzaka>Chacin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortcat1 Posted March 29, 2007 Share Posted March 29, 2007 Ill start off with my playoff predictions: Al East: New York Yankees (might get off to a slow start, but when Wang comes back they have the best top 3 starters in the division and probably the best lineup top to bottom.) AL Wildcard: Toronto Blue Jays (maybe a homer pick, but the Jays have an incredible lineup 1-6, and as long as Rios comes back after a season derailed by injury and Thomas stays healthy, they will have a decent shot at putting up the most runs in the AL. Many point to a weak rotation, but i think they have a lot of depth and that if one of their 3-5 guys struggles they have a bunch of pitchers capable of stepping in (Janssen and Towers have had particularly good springs.) The key will be the health of both Halladay and Burnett as the 1-2. I got my Jays Season Pass ready to go, 81 games for 100 bucks (price went up this year!). Gotta be the best deal in pro sports though... i wouldn't say the best three starters... maybe three of the best starters... 81 games for $100?... wow! that's some steal of a deal! likely nose-bleed stuff but still... GO :hlogo: GO! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAK Posted March 29, 2007 Share Posted March 29, 2007 i wouldn't say the best three starters... maybe three of the best starters... 81 games for $100?... wow! that's some steal of a deal! likely nose-bleed stuff but still... GO :hlogo: GO! if only we had this in montreal... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanpuck33 Posted March 29, 2007 Share Posted March 29, 2007 NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals (the Cubs are a tempting pick, but ill save them for later) Watch out for the Brewers. I'm not sure they have the offense to win the division, but they appear to have the best overall starting pitching in the division. The Cards have just one proven starter, the Reds have two, the Cubs have one (two if Prior returns). The Astros are my pick to win the division. Their top three pitchers are good enough for them to hang in until Roger starts pitching in June. About the only team without a shot in this very average division is the Pirates, though they might be an improved team if their young pitching starts putting things together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeLassister Posted March 29, 2007 Share Posted March 29, 2007 (edited) I think the Oakland As will be the team to beat this season. Edited March 29, 2007 by JoeLassister Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeLassister Posted March 29, 2007 Share Posted March 29, 2007 Watch out for the Brewers. I'm not sure they have the offense to win the division, but they appear to have the best overall starting pitching in the division. The Cards have just one proven starter, the Reds have two, the Cubs have one (two if Prior returns). The Astros are my pick to win the division. Their top three pitchers are good enough for them to hang in until Roger starts pitching in June. About the only team without a shot in this very average division is the Pirates, though they might be an improved team if their young pitching starts putting things together. Not the Brewers. Chicago and St-Louis are way ahead again. St-Louis probable lineup Yadier Molina – R Albert Pujols – 1B Adam Kenndy – 2B Scott Rolen – 3B David Eckstein – AC Chris Duncan – VG Jim Edmonds – VC Juan Encarnacion – VD Starting pitchers : Chris Carpenter – D Kip Wells – D Anthony Reyes – D Adam Wainwright – D Braden Looper – D Closer : Jason Isringhausen – D Relief : Ricardo Rincon – G Randy Flores - Chicago Probable lineup: Michael Barrett – R Derrek Lee – 1B Mark DeRosa – 2B Aramis Ramirez – 3B Cesar Izturis – AC Matt Murton – VG Alfonso Soriano – VC Jacque Jones – VD Starting pitchers : Carlos Zambrano – D Ted Lilly – G Jason Marquis – D Rich Hill – G Another dude who will take Prior's place Closer : Ryan Dempster – D or Wood when he will be 100% Releveurs : Kerry Wood – D Juan Mateo – D Brewers Probable lineup : Johnny Estrada – R Prince Fielder – 1B Rickie Weeks – 2B Corey Koskie – 3B J.J. Hardy – AC Geoff Jenkins – VG Bill Hall – VC Corey Hart- VD Starting pitchers : Chris Capuano – G Ben Sheets – D Jeff Suppan – D Dave Bush – D Claudio Vargas – D Closer : Francisco Cordero – D Releveurs : Matt Wise – D Derrick Turnbow – D There is too many ???? on the Milwaukee offense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonus Posted March 29, 2007 Share Posted March 29, 2007 I'll take Matsuzaka, Schilling and Beckett over the Yanks rotation thank you very much. A little sad to see Papelbon as closer again, he should be in the starting rotation. Question for simonus since I know he gets a lot more Sox info then I do: Whats up with Jon Lester? Is he gonna be back this season at all? Jets, Lester's cancer is currently in remission (sp?). He was put on the DL to start the season to get him some 'rehab starts' in either A or AA (don't remember) after which they will either bring him up to spell a struggling Tavarez (unlikely imo) or throw him into the AAA rotation in Pawntucket to get him back up to speed. He still has ml options left so he can be bumped up and down this year. At some level his progress back to the ML will be dictated by Tavarez. If Tavarez is giving up his early 2006 HR rate, I imagine they throw Snyder into the spot start role and see if he can be effective. If neither works, then the front office might be tempted to rush Lester back to Boston. Otherwise I could see Lester staying in AAA until around the All-Star break. It's weird to say, but if you are a Sox fan you almost don't want to see Lester too soon. It would likely indicate a problem with back of the order pitching. Beckett has looked very good this spring, seems to be trusting his stuff more. Only seen like 1.5 of his starts so can't say too much. Watched Schill in the Mayor's Cup game (spring training penant) and he definitely had his stuff going. His line was 4.2 innings on 50+ pitches with 2 hits and no walks against a pretty full twins team. His change was looking pretty good and he and tek were definitely throwing against the hitter's instincts. Matsuzaka has been an absolute pleasure to watch this spring. Have seen every start and the guy gives me goosebumps. Fantastic control, a ton of speed for a finesse pitcher (sits around 93-94mph, can dial to ~96), ridiculous breaking balls and what seems like a great attitude. He is not fooling around out there, and you gotta love in his first game where he bowed to his infielders for getting the double play ball. If you look at his spring line - prepare to be wowed. Now I know that spring results are crap, but let me tell you they tell the story pretty well of how he has looked. I too miss Paps as a starter. Unfortunately I think you are going to need to see the emergence of Hansen, MDC, or this kid Cox I've been hearing about before you see Paps make a move to the rotation. Definitely not this season, maybe 2008. That being said Paps is a fantastic closer (I think he had .94 ERA and like 38 VORP or something ridiculous like that) and I am less sure he would be a fantastic starter. I've seen most of his ML starts and he's not the most efficient pitcher I've ever seen. He always seems to compile high pitch counts and go out in the 5th or so. Also, his heat is far less dangerous out of the starting position. 93 seemed his max when starting and he, IIRC, was operating about 3mph higher as a closer. Who would you have, a top 5 closer or a good #3-4 starter? The math on that is pretty close, maybe a 1 win difference in favour of the starter. But teams with top closers tend to beat their pythagorean projections so perhaps the pendulum swings the other way. It's probably a coin flip. The yankee rotation is starting the season on the DL and I think Carl Pavano is going out for the season opener. When Matt Clement, Sr. is you ace going into the season you might hesitate before deeming yourself the top rotation in the AL East. Wang is going into the season with leg problems (see schilling 2005 to see what that can do to a guy's stuff), petitte has back spasms that have him out indefinitely and mussina is getting old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quebecois Posted March 29, 2007 Author Share Posted March 29, 2007 Jays continue to get no respect among American media outlets. I guess it shouldn't surprise me by now... SI ranked us 9th, but it was Yahoo tha really got me angry http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=As0D...o&type=lgns "Toronto hasn't done much to improve...it's a two team race again." Have they checked the standings from last season yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsniper Posted March 29, 2007 Share Posted March 29, 2007 Thanks for the update on Lester, thats good to hear he's in remission. The sooner he's back though the better because Tavarez in the 5 spot really worries me. I'd almost prefer to get Clement back in there despite all his deficiencies. I know Papelbon will be a great closer but it's the same thing, I almost think he could a better job as well but it's better to have Paps back there then Foulke, so glad he's gone. I can't wait till I actually get to see the Sox on TV, I'm really looking forward to Matsuzaka. I've heard a lot of great things about him from Sox fans who have actually seen him play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted March 29, 2007 Share Posted March 29, 2007 Go Jays. Blue Jays tickets are CHEAP. Last time I was in Toronto I paid 9$ for behind the catcher seats in the first balcony, the view was AMAZING. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsniper Posted March 29, 2007 Share Posted March 29, 2007 Holy jesus. I should go to Toronto to catch a Sox game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre the Great Posted March 29, 2007 Share Posted March 29, 2007 Holy jesus. I should go to Toronto to catch a Sox game. http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/tor/ballpa...ing_pricing.jsp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsniper Posted March 29, 2007 Share Posted March 29, 2007 Alright, so I've decided. I'm gonna try and get to Toronto in September to see the Red Sox play. I can finally get my ass over to the HHoF while I'm there too. Should see if my cousin wants to go, he was born in Toronto and bleeds Blue Jay blue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre the Great Posted March 29, 2007 Share Posted March 29, 2007 Alright, so I've decided. I'm gonna try and get to Toronto in September to see the Red Sox play. I can finally get my ass over to the HHoF while I'm there too. Should see if my cousin wants to go, he was born in Toronto and bleeds Blue Jay blue. alright. good to visit the centre of the universe every so often, or as americans say: The capital of Canada. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athlétique.Canadien Posted March 29, 2007 Share Posted March 29, 2007 No Expos = No AC ...and no, I'm not going for Washington Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre the Great Posted March 29, 2007 Share Posted March 29, 2007 No Expos = No AC ...and no, I'm not going for Washington The big mistakes MLB made with the Expos Didn't put them in the AL East with Boston and Toronto. Red Soxs fans always showed up during interleague games Not cultivating the Toronto-Montreal rivalry Then there was the strike of '94 No english broadcasts (at least from what I could remember) But all of that wouldn't of mattered if they had gotten that downtown stadium. I truly believe baseball in Montreal would have worked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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