2025 Major League Baseball Thread

[Hatter]

Originally Posted by Lacit170

what team doesnt the phillys have a mile wide gap on? theyre pitchers are going to outpitch every other team in the league... so i feel at least comfortable knowing we have a strong offense...

every team has a BIG uphill battle against the phillys unfortunately

The Giants. Too bad they couldn't muster a lick of offense this year.

[Wingman1977]

Originally Posted by Hatter

The Giants. Too bad they couldn't muster a lick of offense this year.

So the Phillies have a wide gap on them too.

[The Theory]

Originally Posted by cajmoyper

Oh, that's obviously the Yankees huh?

Well--first off, I am an NL guy, so I have no idea how the Rangers compare to the Yankees on a practical level. Just going by simple win-loss record, the two teams are very close, but the Yankees do have the better record (albeit slightly)--and they have that record in what most people consider to be the best league in the majors.

What little I know of the Rangers (which is basically limited to what I hear here and there), I'd actually be more afraid of them in the WS.

So if anybody else wins, that team who will be crowned the AL champs won't be the best?

I'm not willing to go quite that far--Texas is practically neck-to-neck with NYY. But, let's take Tampa Bay. If TB wins the ALCS, would you say that they were the best team in the AL? Was San Francisco the best team in the NL when they won the NLCS last year? I would argue with both of those, no. No they weren't (or wouldn't be).

Anyway, this is all academic since I concede that if Texas wins the ALCS, I would consider them the best in the AL. So you're right that my initial statement was slightly off.

[Navster]

Originally Posted by The Theory

Was San Francisco the best team in the NL when they won the NLCS last year? I would argue with both of those, no. No they weren't (or wouldn't be).

Somebody still a little bitter about last year, our pitching absolutely dominated the Phils last year, and every other team that came in our way.. Give credit where credit is due

[SDon1969]

Originally Posted by Lacit170

Not sure if youre poker man.... but would you rather play in a tournament for 4 days straight only to be on the bubble (last person to finish without making money) or would you rather go out on the first hand?

id rather be a crap team with zero expectations than a team with possible WS Championship expectations not even make the playoffs....

Well, this season was a huge letdown for sure but I really think that's going just a bit too far. The question was towards the fans, but either way, I'm pretty sure fans and players alike would prefer to be a part of good teams and not bad ones, high expectations be damned...

I get your point, though. I know other fans will like rubbing it in, all that superteam and best team on paper stuff, but all that jibberish came from the sports media.

[Hatter]

Originally Posted by Wingman1977

So the Phillies have a wide gap on them too.

No they don't. In a short series, pitching can make up for offensive ineptitude just like a goalie in the nhl playoffs.

[Lacit170]

Originally Posted by SDon1969

Well, this season was a huge letdown for sure but I really think that's going just a bit too far. The question was towards the fans, but either way, I'm pretty sure fans and players alike would prefer to be a part of good teams and not bad ones, high expectations be damned...

I get your point, though. I know other fans will like rubbing it in, all that superteam and best team on paper stuff, but all that jibberish came from the sports media.

yea thats true....its exciting to have a good team and enjoy the season rather than KNOW you have a team thats not making the playoffs...

but yanks/boston are almost a different beast... theyre both EXPECTED to make the playoffs every year

[TylerDurden]

Originally Posted by hatter

no they don't. In a short series, pitching can make up for offensive ineptitude just like a goalie in the nhl playoffs.

+1

[ChadFL]

Originally Posted by NavsterKing

Somebody still a little bitter about last year, our pitching absolutely dominated the Phils last year, and every other team that came in our way.. Give credit where credit is due

I think the point was that San Francisco wasn't the more talented team. MLB is right there with NHL on the scale of unpredictable leagues. How often does the team with the best record actually win the World Series, maybe twice every decade? In the NBA you almost never see a truely surprising championship team. In MLB there are several every decade - Florida (2003), Arizona (2001), San Francisco (2010), St. Louis (2006), etc... Hell, the Marlins have two championships even though they have zero division titles. The best team in MLB just doesn't win the championship very often. And MLB is the only sport with no salary cap. It's just the dynamics of the game.

[Wingman1977]

Originally Posted by SDon1969

Well, this season was a huge letdown for sure but I really think that's going just a bit too far. The question was towards the fans, but either way, I'm pretty sure fans and players alike would prefer to be a part of good teams and not bad ones, high expectations be damned...

I get your point, though. I know other fans will like rubbing it in, all that superteam and best team on paper stuff, but all that jibberish came from the sports media.

That is true. I'm not going to rub it in because it's bush league. I did say so much for the superteam because they were already putting the BoSox/Phillies in the WS like it was written in stone, but I won't go further than that because we could easily be out by next week (in the playoffs, the margin of error is zero). Not that I don't have confidence in my team, but anything can happen in a playoff series. Also, if the Yankees were in the Sox position, this thread would have been flooded with "Yankees suck" posts. It just comes with the territory of being a Yankees fan.

[ChadFL]

Originally Posted by SDon1969

Well, this season was a huge letdown for sure but I really think that's going just a bit too far. The question was towards the fans, but either way, I'm pretty sure fans and players alike would prefer to be a part of good teams and not bad ones, high expectations be damned...

I get your point, though. I know other fans will like rubbing it in, all that superteam and best team on paper stuff, but all that jibberish came from the sports media.

Really? I know quite a few Boston sports fans and all year they were talking junk about how this is the best Red Sox team they've ever fielded. You might not be one of them but on the whole Boston sports fans heads have roughly doubled in size since they won 7 championships in the four major sports since 2001.

[Tcan21]

Originally Posted by NavsterKing

I cannot believe what happened today, I actually feel bad for Red Sox & Braves fans.... WOW

don't....the Braves weren't going to make it very far in the playoffs with all the injuries to their starting pitching, sucks seeing them collapse, but I think they were going to be one and done in the playoffs anyway

[ChadFL]

Originally Posted by Tcan21

don't....the Braves weren't going to make it very far in the playoffs with all the injuries to their starting pitching, sucks seeing them collapse, but I think they were going to be one and done in the playoffs anyway

We would have played Milwaukee, right? Ya, I'd have been shocked if Atlanta won that series anyway. I'd rather be in the playoffs but this loss doesn't really hurt all that much.

[ChadFL]

So what happened to Carl Crawford this season? I can't tell if he just got lazy or couldn't take the pressure of actually playing in front of large home crowds for once. His entire career he's been consistently in the 40-60 stolen bases range. This season he had 18 steals, just 3rd on the Red Sox. His on-base% was equally as bad, going from around .350 career OBP to .289 for the season.

[Tcan21]

Originally Posted by ChadFL

We would have played Milwaukee, right? Ya, I'd have been shocked if Atlanta won that series anyway. I'd rather be in the playoffs but this loss doesn't really hurt all that much.

I like the team as constructed, but Derek Lowe needs to go, regardless of how much the Braves have to eat of his salary to get him off the team. I kinda wish Chipper would take a role as the backup 3B/1B, move Prado to 3B fulltime, find a left fielder and shortstop, get healthy and the Braves would be good to go

[Wingman1977]

Originally Posted by ChadFL

My best guess for the playoffs.


LDS:
Texas over Tampa Bay in 5 (2010 redux)
New York over Detroit in 4

Philadelphia over St. Louis in 3
Milwaukee over Arizona in 5

LCS:
Texas over New York in 6 (2010 redux #2)
Philadelphia over Milwaukee in 5

World Series:
Philadelphia over Texas in 5 (battle of the last 2 WS losers)

I hope I'm wrong but I have a feeling Philly is going to have another run like they did in 2008 where they cruise to a championship, losing no more than 1 game in any round.

I beg to differ. If we beat the Tigers, we can take the Rangers. They don't have a Cliff Lee this year.

[ChadFL]

Originally Posted by Wingman1977

I beg to differ. If we beat the Tigers, we can take the Rangers. They don't have a Cliff Lee this year.

While Texas doesn't have an ace like Lee this season they still have very solid starting pitching.

Wilson (16-7, 2.94 ERA)
Holland (16-5, 3.95 ERA)
Harrison (14-9, 3.39 ERA)
Lewis (14-10, 4.40 ERA)

And offensively they're the only playoff team that can match the Yankees. I'd call it a pretty even matchup if they play in the ALCS.

Looking at the ESPN expert picks for the 1st round:
All 8 pick Texas over Tampa Bay
In the NY-Detroit series 4 pick Detroit, 4 pick NY
All 8 pick Philly over St. Louis
In the Arizona-Milwaukee series 7 of 8 pick Milwaukee

Verlander probably has to win both his starts for Detroit to beat the Yankees. Doubt that happens.

In any case best of luck. If it's NY vs. Philly I might actually prefer to see the Yankees win for once.

[Wingman1977]

Originally Posted by ChadFL

While Texas doesn't have an ace like Lee this season they still have very solid starting pitching.

Wilson (16-7, 2.94 ERA)
Holland (16-5, 3.95 ERA)
Harrison (14-9, 3.39 ERA)
Lewis (14-10, 4.40 ERA)

And offensively they're the only playoff team that can match the Yankees. I'd call it a pretty even matchup if they play in the ALCS.

Looking at the ESPN expert picks for the 1st round:
All 8 pick Texas over Tampa Bay
In the NY-Detroit series 4 pick Detroit, 4 pick NY
All 8 pick Philly over St. Louis
In the Arizona-Milwaukee series 7 of 8 pick Milwaukee

Verlander probably has to win both his starts for Detroit to beat the Yankees. Doubt that happens.

In any case best of luck. If it's NY vs. Philly I might actually prefer to see the Yankees win for once.

I would love a rematch with the Phillies (even though we beat them in 09).

[Glassroots]

Originally Posted by Wingman1977

I would love a rematch with the Phillies (even though we beat them in 09).

I think the Tigers will give you a run for your money especially with Verlander getting 2 starts if the series goes 5 games.
The Tigers had to have been one of the hottest teams in the 2nd half.

[Batman1980]

According to FOX Sports' Ken Rosnethal, the Red Sox are expected to part ways Friday with manager Terry Francona.
From Rosenthal's description, it sounds like a mutual split. Francona won't be fired; the Red Sox simply won't exercise his options for 2012 and 2013. And he'll be free to sign with any other club as soon as the paperwork is finalized. It's a sad and tragic end to a failed Boston season. But with managerial openings in Chicago and perhaps even the nation's capital, Francona should be back to work within a couple weeks.

Source - http://rotoworld.com/player/mlb/4207/jacoby-ellsbury