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Official MLB 2013 Regular Season Thread

 

03-24-13 02:03 AM
bobq is Offline
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The MLB regular season is just a week away. On March 31st, the season kicks off with the Texas Rangers facing off against the now American League team the Houston Astros. What will happen this year is yet to be seen, but many people are very intrigued about how the off season story lines will unfold this year.

Will the Toronto Blue Jays be as good as everyone thinks? Will Oakland and Baltimore repeat their surprise playoff appearances from last year? Will Anaheim's starting pitching be good enough to compliment their dangerous line up? Will the L.A Dodgers be able to top the Giants as division champions this year? Can the Reds or Nationals make it to the World Series? How much better will the Detroit Tigers be with Victor Martinez healthy? How competitive will Kansas City be?

Those are just some of the many questions that will be answered through the course of the season.

Talk about everything MLB here. Enjoy the season.
The MLB regular season is just a week away. On March 31st, the season kicks off with the Texas Rangers facing off against the now American League team the Houston Astros. What will happen this year is yet to be seen, but many people are very intrigued about how the off season story lines will unfold this year.

Will the Toronto Blue Jays be as good as everyone thinks? Will Oakland and Baltimore repeat their surprise playoff appearances from last year? Will Anaheim's starting pitching be good enough to compliment their dangerous line up? Will the L.A Dodgers be able to top the Giants as division champions this year? Can the Reds or Nationals make it to the World Series? How much better will the Detroit Tigers be with Victor Martinez healthy? How competitive will Kansas City be?

Those are just some of the many questions that will be answered through the course of the season.

Talk about everything MLB here. Enjoy the season.
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03-29-13 09:15 PM
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I am so waiting for the Braves first game. I hope they win, they sure have what it takes.
I am so waiting for the Braves first game. I hope they win, they sure have what it takes.
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03-29-13 10:54 PM
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EDIT: Couldn't make a new post so here we go. Well, Justin Verlander just signed a 5 year extention. So this means he will get somewhere around $200 million dollars. This will make him the highest paid pitcher in the league. Glad we were able to lock him up.





I think it's going to be a great season. And if anybody cares, here are my predictions for the division winners:





AL East: Toronto




Even though I think they are overrated, I still think they will compete with the Sox and Yankees most likely on a downward track. But Baltimore will be close.





AL West: Angels



I think Trout will have a slump like most second year players, but they still have a good team around him.





AL Central: Tigers



Well, I think that we basically NEED to win it all, or else there's a riot worse than in Vancouver. With V-mart coming back, we should do great.





NL East: Washington





With Strawsberg (can't spell it ) and a bunch of others around, I think they will win the division for the second year in a row.



NL West:
 Dodgers

Don't watch the west teams much, but I think that the Dodgers will get it done.  They will beat out SF just barely.

NL Central: Reds

Again, don't know too much about the NL Central, but I see them as a good team to win the division. St. Louis should be close too.


And I'm probably going to be wrong, but whatever.
EDIT: Couldn't make a new post so here we go. Well, Justin Verlander just signed a 5 year extention. So this means he will get somewhere around $200 million dollars. This will make him the highest paid pitcher in the league. Glad we were able to lock him up.





I think it's going to be a great season. And if anybody cares, here are my predictions for the division winners:





AL East: Toronto




Even though I think they are overrated, I still think they will compete with the Sox and Yankees most likely on a downward track. But Baltimore will be close.





AL West: Angels



I think Trout will have a slump like most second year players, but they still have a good team around him.





AL Central: Tigers



Well, I think that we basically NEED to win it all, or else there's a riot worse than in Vancouver. With V-mart coming back, we should do great.





NL East: Washington





With Strawsberg (can't spell it ) and a bunch of others around, I think they will win the division for the second year in a row.



NL West:
 Dodgers

Don't watch the west teams much, but I think that the Dodgers will get it done.  They will beat out SF just barely.

NL Central: Reds

Again, don't know too much about the NL Central, but I see them as a good team to win the division. St. Louis should be close too.


And I'm probably going to be wrong, but whatever.
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(edited by patar4097 on 03-29-13 11:39 PM)     Post Rating: 1   Liked By: Mr. Nerd,

03-30-13 12:21 AM
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Mark Burhle had filthy stuff today. Im excited that he is ready for the season. He out dueled Cliff Lee who was also pretty filthy. 1-0 jays final on an Arencibia home run. He has no problems calling Buhrle, and doesn't seem to have issues with Josh Johnson either. I'm not worried.
Mark Burhle had filthy stuff today. Im excited that he is ready for the season. He out dueled Cliff Lee who was also pretty filthy. 1-0 jays final on an Arencibia home run. He has no problems calling Buhrle, and doesn't seem to have issues with Josh Johnson either. I'm not worried.
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(edited by bobq on 03-30-13 12:28 AM)     Post Rating: 1   Liked By: Mr. Nerd,

04-14-13 05:56 PM
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I'm going to post my early opinions on the season so far, look at each team's start, and give each team a player to watch, and in general just try my best to look at what we've seen so far this season.

(All standings and stats as of 4-14-2013 12:00 Noon)

AL EAST
1st - Boston Red Sox (6-4)
I know this team better than I know any other, obviously, as a fan of the Red Sox... as such I can say without a doubt that this is NOT the 2012 Boston Red Sox. They actually all want to be there, and they love each other similar to how past playoff teams in Boston have. The fact we have a very good manager in Farrell backing us up, and making great decisions (like yesterday, John Farrell pulled the "closer" Joel Hanrahan after allowing two walks... brought in Koji Uehara, and had a shut down inning. The team may be 6-4, but this team could EASILY be 8-2 if not for some horrible calls, mostly in the Orioles series. The strength of this team, believe it or not, is for once, its pitching. Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, and Ryan Dempster have been very above average to start the year. Dempster's numbers may not agree, but the one thing to look at is his K/9 ratio. When he comes in, he will miss bats. He has yet to go 6 innings, but that leads me to the next strength of this team... the bullpen, which may be the best in the Majors. Tazawa, Uehara, Bailey, and Miller have some of the filthiest stuff the AL East has seen in a long time. And that's ignoring "closer" Joel Hanrahan, who has great stuff, but can't miss the bats yet. We'll see how he transitions, but I don't have much hope.

Offensively, the team is very fluid, for the most part. If I had to choose a key cog, it would be Shane Victorino, who has been rather fantastic beating out infield singles, and driving in runs when required. He's also stolen a few bases, along with Ellsbury, and has really made this team something it hasn't been in a really long time. A team that can, and will win, via the small ball. They can go yard, but they don't need to. Will Middlebrooks 3 HR game against Toronto non-withstanding... the Red Sox are being led by Daniel Nava. The same Daniel Nava who was bought from the Independent League for a SINGLE DOLLAR.

Player to Watch - Jon Lester. He's had horrible April's in year's past. This year, he has been dominant against the Yankees, the Blue Jays, AND the Rays. Three teams he needs to dominate to be the ace he keeps being touted as in some circles. If the April is any indication, the AL East should be very afraid of the Red Sox.

2nd - Baltimore Orioles (6-5)

The Orioles were fantastic in one run games last year... so far, they have been 1-3, and that 1 win was a tad questionable at best. Not as bad as the Rangers call... but nonetheless effective. The entire reason they've had any offense, and thus, any chance to win, is essentially Chris Davis. The same streaky Chris Davis who is either the best player on the field or the worst, take your pick. Adam Jones has also been instrumental in scoring runs, and is often driven in because of Davis. Manny Machado has struggled early, which is a concern for many Orioles fans, who want to believe they are last year's team. They are not.

So far their pitching hasn't been as good as they'd like, with only Miguel Gonzalez really putting up numbers that merit talking about. It appears as if the Orioles luck has caught up to them, as they've been allowing a lot of hits that didn't fall last year. It's only 2 weeks in, so it's still got the possibility of just being a slump, from my eyes, it appears as if their playoff run is already over.

Player to Watch - Adam Jones. Chris Davis has been the best player so far. Yes. However, Adam Jones needs to prove himself as a year in year out MVP candidate this year, in my opinion. Last year, he wasn't "in the discussion" though I think he should have been. Obviously he wasn't beating Trout OR Cabrera, but based off what "I" call MVP, he should have been. No player means as much to the Orioles as Adam Jones.

3rd - New York Yankees (5-5)
Color me surprised, I didn't have them starting 5-5, after being beaten by the Sox to open the season. Of course, I also didn't see the Sox leading the division, so that shows what I know. The AARP Yankees are seemingly held together with Duct Tape and super glue. This has to be the case when a team is doing well in the AL East despite being led by aging nuisances Travis Hafner and Vernon Wells. Robinson Cano is also notable, obviously, but the Yankees are still getting production despite injuries to key guys like Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson.

Then we find their weakness. Pitching. You wouldn't know it from Opening Day, but CC Sabathia has been very good for the Yankees as expected, the panic for the Evil Empire only lasted one start, as the Red Sox have always hit him well. Also of note is soft tossing lefty Andy Pettitte, who has always been better known as the guy Jacoby Ellsbury stole home on at one point. Talking seriously though, Mariano Rivera has shown he isn't the same Mo of old. He may have two saves, but they weren't pretty, and he's come close to messing up big time. It's time for the Yankees to choose a successor, and even though he may not be the best fit... they may have no choice but to go with David Robertson, who has always been a lights-out 8th guy, but has never been much of a 9th inning pitcher, last year being replaced by Rafael Soriano, during Mo's injury.

Player to Watch - Vernon Wells. I know I joshed about him above, but I do think he's in for a big season. People forget, there was a reason he got that horrible contract from the Blue Jays all those years ago, and there was a reason the Angels were interested in acquiring him. The Yankees may have gotten a steal, as he's shown early season he CAN still play. Curtis Granderson may actually have to fight for playing time if this keeps up, upon his return.

4th - Toronto Blue Jays (5-6)
The Offseason champs are in the cellar already. Proof that a team of superstars doesn't always click right away, and they could end up proving that the Miami Marlins weren't having a flukey bad season... seeing as they acquired everyone in Miami except Giancarlo Stanton. Well not literally, but you get my point. They also acquired knuckleballer R.A. Dickey... who has so far been less than fantastic. But looking at the rest of the pitching, it's not like they've had much to cheer about. No one else is really going deep into games yet, and Josh Johnson recently got shelled in the shortest start of his career. Then you look at Buehrle who has traditionally been shelled by the AL East throughout his career, and you seem to forget the other two guys in the rotation... for the record, they are J.A Happ, and Brandon Morrow (who while underrated, lacks the stamina to go deep enough in a game to ever get above being a #3 starter for most teams). It looks like they'll need to rely on their bullpen a lot, which isn't neccesarily a good thing, considering that they have maybe the 3rd or 4th best bullpen in the AL East (depends on how you view the Orioles bullpen).

I was high on the offense going into the year, and I wasn't disappointed. Until Jose Reyes got injured for 3 months. I hate to say it, but that could be the death blow to the season already if the pitching doesn't get better. A lot of my offseason predictions regarding the Blue Jays involved Reyes FINALLY being healthy. Unfortunately, that will not be the case, as they lack the clear best offensive player on the team (yes, better than Joey Bats) and are still missing Brett Lawrie. If their offense is going to be successful, it will require Edwin Encarnacion to get back to 2012 form, and for everybody else up and down the lineup to share the burden.

Player to Watch - R.A. Dickey. I know, predictable, but he NEEDS to be the ace they traded for, or they are in huge trouble, since the rest of the team is pretty set into who they are. Is Dickey the guy we saw last year? Or is he the guy we saw before with the Rangers (before his Mets career). He needs to rise to the occasion.

5th - Tampa Bay Rays (4-6)
The beauty of early season baseball is how if a team you hate gets off to a bad start, they will most definitely be in last, or a game above it. That is the case with the Rays, who I actually dislike more than the Yankees. Offensively, they lack character, as the only real players worth noting are the obvious suspects. Evan Longoria, Desmond Jennings, and Ben Zobrist, who may be the most underrated player ever. Zobrist is responsible for a large portion of their run support this year, and is the clear offensive leader two weeks in.

I'm frankly more interested in the pitching. And everyone else should follow suit. Despite the offseason trade that sent Shields and Davis to Kansas City, they still have a stacked rotation of David Price, Jeremy Hellickson, Matt Moore, Alex Cobb, and the former Fausto Carmona. So far though, only Matt Moore has really been on, although yesterday afternoon, David Price pitched a beauty of a game that the Rays still lost, due to the other team ALSO pitching a gem. Those are games you will win more often than not, and the Rays could easily be 5-5 if they had played a different team. Matt Moore has been scary good to start the year, but I can't help but think that it won't last long. His control issues are well documented and it is only a matter of time before batters start letting him throw ball after ball, drawing walk after walk... and as Daisuke Matsuzaka showed... you can only have a great season like that once every few years, and only if you have extraordinary luck on your side.

Player to Watch - Desmond Jennings. With the departure of BJ Upton, Jennings needs to step up in a big way. There's no ifs ands or buts about it. With Upton gone, they lack a certain athleticism. Jennings could be the one to give it back.

-----

AL CENTRAL
1st - Kansas City Royals (6-5)
The Royals are in first place? Crazy. Maybe not so much. The team actually managed to improve, despite a questionable trade, and the offense has been very timely for them. None more so than Billy Butler, who is hitting .444 with runners in scoring position. When you score runs, you give guys like James Shields a chance to keep your team in the W column. Alex Gordon has also been much better than he has been in year's past to start the year, which has been huge for a Royals team that thinks it can grab one of the 2 wild card spots.

James Shields has been an absolute revelation. He isn't getting as much run support as he deserves... his team has scored 11 runs in the three games he's started. And 9 of those were in one game, the only of the three he won. It's particularly sad when the Royals lose 2-3 against the Blue Jays in a game where James Shields went the whole 9 innings in a losing effort. Though it's not just him, Ervin Santana and Jeremy Guthrie are the other two guys at the top of the rotation, and so far they have been spot on. Only time will tell if they stick, both have had control issues in the past, but looking at tape, it appears as if both have at least improved on their past issues, so as to not interfere greatly in the grand scheme of things.

Player to Watch - Eric Hosmer. I think this is the year Hosmer has that true breakout season. Or at least, this is the season he has to. His 2011 Rookie Year was one to behold, as that's the type of player I think he really is. He struggled last season with making contact, and paid dearly for it. This year, I feel like he'll finally cross into the level of a top 10 1B, with top 5 potential in his near future. Don't sleep on him, just nap.

1st - Detroit Tigers (6-5)
Tigers fans have a lot to be cheerful about, despite being only tied with KC for the Central lead to start the year. They could easily be 8-3, that's how great the offense has been. The pitching (the BULLPEN!!!) just hasn't fallen in line yet. A large portion of this offense is being brought to the table by an early season favorite for MVP, Prince Fielder(.436/.520/.846). Those numbers are real. They are video game numbers, but they are real. Not counting him, they still have Miguel Cabrera, and one of the best signings of the past year, Torii Hunter.

When you look at the Tigers rotation, you can only think one thing. Ouch. Justin Verlander, Max Schrezer, Doug Fister, and Anibal Sanchez. Who is the #4 of those guys? Because whoever it is is probably the best #4 (or one of the best, at least) in baseball. The rotation is scary good. So I won't go into detail. The problem is... the bullpen. It's so bad they signed Jose Valverde back just so it would suck as much. When you can say Valverde is an upgrade over what you have, you have problems. He's not quite ready yet, but he'll be back in Detroit in time, and while he won't be lights out probably... but he'll be better than what they have by a sizable margin. Again. Not saying much.

Player to Watch - Jose Valverde. I hate to repeat crap, but he's vital to this team, especially if they want a prolonged post season run again. They've proven they have lights out offense. They've proven they have a lights out rotation. No good post season team has ever succeeded WITHOUT a bullpen.

3rd - Cleveland Indians (5-5)
There is no team in the AL Central that observed as much a changeover as the Indians did this offseason. First impression is that this team is sort of like the Red Sox in a few regards... and that's not entirely wrong, seeing as they have former Sox manager Terry Francona leading the helm for the newly recharged Cleveland Indians. But if you look past Tito, you can see plenty of things for the Indians and their fans to be excited about. Like Carlos Santana and Nick Swisher, who are two consumate pros, and terrific hitters. Santana has really come into his own as one of the top 3 catchers in the game (and in my opinion, the one with the most potential of the three). Mark Reynolds has also supplied a lot of timely hits, leading the team in home runs and RBI.

The Indians pitching is likely going to be the downfall of the Indians, as the only MLB pitcher of much note right now is Justin Masterson, (another former Sox!) though once Trevor Bauer gets his minor league seasoning, you can add him to this list. The good news is, that they have a fantastic bullpen... the Bullpen Mafia even. Joe Smith, Vinnie Pestano, and Chris Perez are still around, and Nick Hagadone could add his name to the list of great Indians relievers by season's end.

Player to Watch - Carlos Santana. This was really tough to choose just one, there are lots of players of note to watch on the Indians, but Santana is the guy you are going to want to treasure long term. Good catchers are hard to come by, let alone top 3 catchers. And this year, he could leapfrog Buster Posey and take that top spot, believe it or not.

4th - Chicago White Sox (4-7)
Really, the difference between this year's team and last year's, is that last year, they had a lot of luck on the offensive side of the ball, and a couple lucky bounces on defense. So far, they haven't gotten the same luck thus far. Most of the players returned, and some have even gotten better... so why 4th? First of all pitching. A quick look at some of the scores will show... they haven't been good. A 5 game losing streak has showcased two things. How good the Nationals are, and how bad the White Sox are. Chris Sale has been very good, minus his last start, which can be chalked up to a hot Indians team, but aside from that... they've only had sub-standard work at best. Addison Reed is fun to watch out of the pen, but in general, he's got a lot more work to do.

The offense is Alex Rios. There I said it. That is legitimately the best way I can describe the offense, as he's by far, the only one really accomplishing anything with the baseball so far. Dayan Viciedo and Adam Dunn are getting some solid contact, but the balls aren't falling like they have in years past. Not much to say here. It's been bad. Very bad.

Player to Watch - Dayan Viciedo. He's got a lot of power. With the benefit of making more contact than Adam Dunn. I won't say All star level production, but I will say he's going to be a solid piece for the White Sox (or wherever he goes) for years to come. This year is going to be a nice one for him. One way or another...

4th - Minnesota Twins (4-7)
There really isn't much notable about the Twinkies this year. The Joe Mauer contract has hamstringed the organization, and until he is gone, the team is going no where. If you look at the offense around him, there isn't exactly anybody except Josh Willingham to share his burden. Justin Morneau has been generally ineffective for the Twins so far, and they need him to be that big third bat if they are going to have any chance of being above last place in the weak AL Central.

Because the pitching is doing them no favors. The team ERA is already 4.64 early on. You can give up that many runs and win... if your offense is good. The biggest offender of this is Vance Worley, who has done absolutely nothing but suck so far in Twinkie Town. Which is a shame, because not long ago, he was part of a beastly rotation in Philly, and was on the verge of becoming a dominant pitcher. He has looked completely lost on the mound, and the stats agree.

Player to Watch - Aaron Hicks. Because frankly, no one else on this team is altogether interesting. Who else BUT Hicks is there to even watch? Surely not Morneau or Willingham.

-----

AL WEST

1st - Oakland Athletics (9-3)
Who would have thought the A's would be the best team in the American League to start the year? Certainly not I. But lo and behold. Take good hitting, and add it to decent pitching, and then mix in a pinch of luck, and you have the Oakland A's. Billy Beane has proven why he's one of the best in the business. Brandon Moss, Jed Lowrie, Josh Reddick, and Chris Young. All of these players were not drafted by the A's. They did not cost a lot of money or prospects compared to blue chip guys. But all four of them are producing big, and have, the past two years. The A's have the deepest outfield I've ever seen. So deep that injuries to Yoenis Cespedes and Coco Crisp doesn't slow this outfield down. Seth Smith, Chris Young, and Josh Reddick still inhabit the outfield.

The rotation has taken a step back from last season, but it's not the veritable death blow it is for most other teams, since their pitching down the stretch last year was flat out fantastic. The bullpen has been a large part of their success early on... (getting the theme yet?) and has kept them in the game long after the starter departs.

Player to Watch - Brandon Moss. His power is for real. And so is everything else about his game. All that remains to be found out is if he can be consistent about it.

2nd - Texas Rangers (8-4)
Who needs Josh Hamilton? Clearly not the Rangers. The offense is seemingly just as good as it was last season... and with how Hamilton is playing in LA... it might actually be better. Ian Kinsler has started out strong, as is custom with him, and he's showing himself off as the top offensive piece on a hungry team. Lance Berkman is shaking off the rust, and trying to be healthy again, returning to the state of Texas. So far, while lacking real power, he's been a threat in every facet of the word. The lineup is very solid and continuous. Could be a great year offensively at least.

The pitching has also been solid. Just not as solid as the A's. Aside from Yu Darvish's ALMOST perfect game, he's more or less led the charge against the opposition, showing great poise, attitude, and control on the mound. Although, not to be ignored, Alexi Ogando and Derek Holland have been JUST as good, if not better in the long run.

Player to Watch - Derek Holland. I really like Yu and Alexi, but Derek Holland is by and large the most underrated pitcher in the American League, because he plays half his games at home in a hitter's park. I think this is the year Holland breaks out as one of those top tier arms every team wants to have.

3rd - Seattle Mariners (5-8)
The Mariners also retooled a tad, although not to the degree other teams did. Michael Morse is by and large one of the best offseason acquisitions, acquiring him from the Nationals (who had no use for Morse, with LaRoche back, and the outfield full) for practically nothing. He's responded in a big way with 6 home runs already, early in the season. Franklin Gutierez has also been a surprise, showing way more power than he has in any year before.

And it's a good thing they've had offense, because Felix hasn't brought his A-game yet. In fact, he's not even the best pitcher on the Mariners this season (yet). That honor belongs to Hisashi Iwakuma, who is building off a strong first year, with a hopefully even stronger second. Also of note is Oliver Perez, who has pitched 6 games already, and has shown considerable improvement since his change to being a reliever.

Player to Watch - Jesus Montero. How he plays this season is vital. If he's not good again, they may choose to abandon the project and move him for something they can use, because catching prospect Mike Zunino is drawing ever closer to the Majors.

4th - Houston Astros (4-7)
It's hard to believe, but despite being shutout, struckout, and devastated over the past two weeks, they aren't in last in the division. A large part of this is because the offensive boom of one of my players to watch, Chris Carter. Jose Altuve has added his usual brand of awesome, but for the most part, it's Chris Carter vs. the opposing team.

But how good has Bud Norris been? He's clearly the top pitcher on this team, and it's all the more surprising considering where he was acquired. In the draft. The Astros actually draft good players! The rest of the staff has been largely irrelevent.

Player to Watch - Chris Carter. In part because no one else is really interesting, and in part because he's got 30 home run potential.

5th - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (3-8)
Albert Pujols started sluggishly last year. Almost famously sluggishly. This year, Hamilton is struggling in his place, and Pujols is being Pujols. They've gotten pretty mediocre production outside of him though. Mike Trout is really struggling... and if this keeps up, he might be another victim of the famed sophomore slump. I think he'll be fine, but he's had really ugly swings thus far.

The Angels rotation is the definition of mediocre. And it's only getting worse by the minute. Jered Weaver is out for a little over a month with a fractured elbow (non pitching) and their best pitcher in the interim is either Tommy Hanson or Garrett Richards. Tough times being an Angels fan, especially since the Hamilton signing was supposed to usher in a period of playoff appearances.

Player to Watch - Josh Hamilton. He's an anomaly. He's either going to be really good or really disappointing. That's not to say he'll be bad. There are just too many expectations. If he's not a top 10 player this year, expect the Angels fans you know to be intolerable.

-----

NL EAST
1st - Atlanta Braves (10-1)
Yeah, the Braves are currently the best team in baseball, largely in part to Justin Upton, who has as I'm writing this, hit his 7th HR of the year. He's showcased absolutely insane power in the first 2 weeks of the year, and he's a darkhorse for MVP. But they might have more than that, as they have Rookie of the Year candidate Evan Gattis ALSO putting up big numbers. What's even more shocking is that virtually everyone else on that lineup has been largely inept. They are 10-1 off of nothing but Justin Upton's offense basically. Well, and Evan Gattis'.

They can get away with that because of fantastic pitching. Paul Maholm has been an absolute surprise, and Mike Minor and Kris Medlen have put up numbers that would be ace worthy on other teams. I shouldn't be surprised, but then I look and see they have Craig Kimbrel closing games for them, same as ever. It really ISNT a surprise the Braves are doing so well. If the offense ever wakes up, this is a scary team.

Player to Watch - Justin Upton. I said this as soon as they acquired him, "Justin Upton has the potential to be an MVP contender, year in, year out." And thus far, he's proven that as a fact. I can't wait to see what else this man can do with a bat. He overshadows his brother so much, I forgot BJ existed.

2nd - Washington Nationals (7-4)
It's official, Bryce Harper is my favorite non-Red Sox player, and here's a snippet as to why I would say that. .372/.413/.744. Mike Trout may have had a better rookie year. Bryce Harper doesn't care. He could have a better age 20 season than Trout did. It's hard not to like a guy who is a threat to home run every at bat. He may be the youngest player to ever be intentionally walked. And he's fast, not Trout fast, but he has the ability to steal a base, and sometimes, home, as shown last year after getting HIT BY A PITCH. But enough of that... besides Harper, this team has a lot of offensive talent. Such as Ian Desmond, who is one of the most underrated short stops in the league. Not to mention Ryan Zimmerman, Denard Span, Jayson Werth, or Adam LaRoche.

And then you have the pitching, which has actually underperformed to start the year. Stephen Strasburg is notable here. Because a 2.95 ERA making somebody sad is really strange. Especially since he can be nigh unhittable on some nights. Noted, he did have a higher ERA last year, but he also had an innings limit, and was coming off surgery. I think he's in for a superb year. Then you have Jordan Zimmermann and Gio Gonzalez. It's a scary rotation. And a scary bullpen. Especially now that Rafael Soriano is closing out games.

Player to Watch - Bryce Harper. I wanted to give Strasburg mention, so I will... but Bryce Harper is potentially in for a huge season. If the opening weeks are any indication that is. Last year, he got better as the year went on, maturing from an immature 19 year old who swung TOO wildly, into a 20 year old savvy veteran level player. He looks like he belongs at the MLB level, which is hard for anyone under 23 to do... let alone someone who was under 20 for the entire regular season last year.

3rd - New York Mets (7-5)
This year's Mets are probably the least interesting Mets in recent years. Though that isn't the fault of the pitching... or more specifically Matt Harvey, who has looked like a player capable of throwing a no hitter every single day. And I think he might throw one or two this year, he has stuff that good.

The only issue with the Mets is a lack of depth beyond that, and a lack of a bullpen. And the lack of an offense. John Buck (the throw-in) and David Wright are about the only two players doing anything to the ball. Very bland.

Player to Watch - Matt Harvey. Simply because no other player on the Mets is really worth watching. A pathetically boring team.

4th - Philadelphia Phillies (5-6)
I like to say the Phillies are the Yankees of the NL East, because they have a lot in common. Aging sluggers. Age defying pitchers. A huge payroll. Subpar performance to begin the year. Really, the Phillies ARE the Yankees. The difference is that this year, the Phillies are healthy to start out with, whereas the Yankees are the ones who probably have contract remorse. Chase Utley is a large part of that, who when healthy, is a top 5 second baseman. Michael Young is getting on base at a decent clip, and Jummy Rollins isn't being slowed terribly in his old age.

But the most interesting thing about the Phillies is the pitching. Namely Cliff Lee and Halladay. Last year, Cliff Lee was great, but never had the run support. This year, he has the run support, and he's still dealing, despite his age. Roy Halladay last year was starting to show age, and was only barely holding on. This year, he seems to have lost it, though a start against the hapless Marlins may be just what he needs.

Player to Watch - Domonic Brown. Could this finally be the year the player matches the potential? For all his promise, he's never become the guy he was promised to be.

5th - Miami Marlins (2-9)
I really don't want to write about them. Aside from Giancarlo Stanton, this team is pretty void of talent at present. Really, the minor leagues are way more interesting for this team. Not only that, but Stanton is struggling to start the season. I don't really even remember half the starters.

Or the pitchers. For the sake of Leggy, if it wasn't for rookie Jose Fernandez, this team would be awfully dreadful. Too bad he will never get enough run support to win.

Player to Watch - Jose Fernandez. If you can't cheer for your team, you may as well cheer for one guy. I would hate to be a Marlins fan.

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NL CENTRAL
1st - St. Louis Cardinals (7-4)
The Cardinals are a pretty... interesting team for lack of a better term. They are leading the divsion, but don't play like it. A lot of that could have to do with their opponents, but their offense is pretty much duct tape. No one player sticks out. They all do about the same. Which isn't a problem, so much as it is a worry. If one of the players drops off, the idea is that the others will pick him up. But if more than one goes down, then you can end up in a run deficiency problem. They also need Matt Holliday to stay healthy... although more importantly, they need Yadier to as well. If Yadier goes down, the season could be in jeopardy.

The reason they are in first is their pitching. Shelby Miller, Adam Wainwright, and Jake Westbrook have been extremely productive out of their slots. It's unknown how long they can keep this up (their recent scoreless streak) but it has to be a good time to be a Cardinals fan.

Player to Watch - Shelby Miller. The guy has real stuff. I'm shocked some people don't actually know who he is. Yes. Those people exist. He's as good as Matt Harvey on some nights, and sometimes he's better.

2nd - Pittsburgh Pirates (5-6)
Put simply, I'm rooting for them. They haven't enjoyed success in so long, and now that Andrew McCutchen has come out as a top 5 MVP talent, they really need to surround him with success and bring the winning culture back to Pittsburgh for the first time in decades. The offense has been off to a slow start, but guys like Neil Walker, and Russell Martin won't stay cold long, and once they get hot, the summer could be very good to them.

For that to happen though, their pitching will have to stick together. And so far it's been about average. Wandy Rodriguez, AJ Burnett, and James McDonald all have the ability to go well into games. And their bullpen is headlined by Mark Melancon, who can't be stopped some nights (former Red Sox player... hard to see him succeed when we traded him for a guy almost no one wanted in Boston :/)

Player to Watch - Starling Marte. .341/.383/.432 - .327/.400/.553. The first line is Marte's. The second is McCutchen's last year (during his MVP level season). I know it's a small sample size, but it makes me think "Andrew McCutchen, with less power". That isn't a bad thing to have, and I'll be keeping my eyes on him.

3rd - Cincinnati Reds (5-6)
The Reds are very much like the Cardinals. In that they score around the same number of runs, and they allow around the same. The Cardinals have the edge in the early season, but the Reds performance I feel is more encouraging. Shin-Soo Choo and Brandon Phillips are making it known this is their team. Add Jay Bruce and Zack Cozart to the list, and you have about 1/2 of a lethal lineup that can score runs with the same aptitude of said Cardinals. Very scary streaky offense, not to speak of Joey Votto.

The issue is their pitching (unlike the Cardinals) hasn't really emerged yet. It's there, and that's a fact, but it's been a slow start for the Reds top arms. Except for Johnny Cueto (I'm waiting on today's Latos start to make judgement) and Aroldis Chapman that is. To speak of Chapman... whenever a reliever is in your top 3 in strikeouts... either something has gone horribly wrong, or horribly right. In this case, consider it right.

Player to Watch - Shin-Soo Choo. He's never been on a team with such fluid offensive production. Now he is. I look forward to seeing his power reflect in his numbers.

4th - Chicago Cubs (4-7)
Anthony Rizzo is the Chicago Cubs only offensive threat... for now. And even then, he's not too good in terms of hitting the ball. He's actually batting as such so far. (.158/.289/.421) These numbers can tell you two things. One, he doesn't hit the ball very often, or get on base a ton. Two, when he does hit the ball, he clobbers it. This is what he does. You can add in Starlin Castro too, who has been absolutely incredible for a short stop.

Oddly, the Cubs might have had the best pitching the past two weeks. Especially from Jeff Samardzija, Travis Wood, and Carlos Villanueva. The one issue is the bullpen, which has surrendered 17 runs in 28.1 innings of work, which leads to a 5.41 staff ERA out of the pen, as opposed to the 22 runs in 66 innings, which equals out to a 3.00 staff ERA. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to hammer it home that the bullpen has been bad, and that the rotation has been good.

Player to Watch - Jeff Samardzija. The guy has the filthiest stuff I've seen out of a Cubs starter since when Kerry Wood was a starter, and Mark Prior wasn't injured. Good thing too, the Cubs won't be winning anything this year, and need all the excitement they can get.

5th - Milwaukee Brewers (2-10)
I think it's fitting the Brewers are in last, especially since they happily house a steroids user in Ryan Braun (I'm not arguing it. He obviously juices, it was apparent BEFORE the tests were done.) who is quite possibly the most overrated superstar in the game today. Not to say he's not a good player, he is. But he's not the LOLMVP that so many make him out to be. At any rate, it's hard to bring in runs, when none of your players get on base. So this is short.

Though the pitching isn't much better. Ironically, the only pitcher worth a damn so far is Kyle Lohse, who is a former enemy/Cardinal. Funny how that stuff works out.

Player to Watch - Norichika Aoki. He's legitimately one of the few things the Brewers have going for them. It's a shame he is so old. Could have had a great career in MLB.

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NL WEST
1st - San Francisco Giants (8-4)
I'm torn. Are the Giants this year's Orioles? Not to say either team is good or bad, but the Orioles won with a run differential that was... bad. The Giants only have a run differential of 4. That's not conducive to winning most of your ball games. A large part of it is that their offense has scored as much in 12 games, as the Red Sox had in 10. You can thank the Pablo Sandoval for the offense they have had, as he's been a fantastic player despite weight concerns. Hunter Pence is also proving to be worthy of the trade that brought him there.

Trivia time. Which of these three pitchers is doing the best? Matt Cain, Barry Zito, Madison Bumgarner. Now, which is doing the worst? I don't blame you if you thought Bumgarner, Cain, literally everyone else, Zito. But as it turns out, Zito is leading the charge and has yet to allow an earned run, which is fascinating. For the record, Cain is doing the worst of the three.

Player to Watch - Tim Lincecum. I for one am curious which Lincecum he actually is.

2nd - Arizona Diamonbacks (7-4)
Somebody forgot to give the D'Backs the memo. They aren't supposed to be good. They are supposed to be the 4th best team in the NL West, barely beating out the Padres! Well, someone give it to them please, unless you want to see what could end up being a huge upset. The offense has been so hot since the Upton trade... that you wonder what they could do WITH Upton. Paul Goldschmidt is fantastic, and Aaron Hill has been great the past couple years for them. Cinderella offense. Let's see if they turn into pumpkins.

The D'backs have one really notable pitcher I'll feel bad if I don't mention. His name is Wade Miley. I was wrong. He is legit. Ian Kennedy is legit too... but his stats are letting him down.

Player to Watch - Ian Kennedy. Guy is sublime when he's on. Terrifying when he's not.

(Can you tell I'm tired yet?)

2nd - Colorado Rockies (7-4)
I never thought I'd see the day the Rockies were outslugging the Dodgers. Dexter Fowler... Wilin Rosario... and Troy Tulowitzki. They must be enjoying that thin Colorado air right about now, right? RIGHT? The numbers will be a little inflated by Coors Field being their home park, but the good news is, they have sizable pop to begin with, so fans shouldn't notice much change.

But that flips back on the pitchers too, pitching at Coors Field. Aside from Jhoulys Chacin, the rotation lacks depth. The bullpen is great though, and should hold most leads.

Player to Watch - Dexter Fowler. If 6 home runs in two weeks tells you anything, it's that a guy has power. I don't care how far he hits them. It takes great precense of mind to launch balls at the MLB level.

2nd - Los Angeles Dodgers (7-4)
The three way tie for second in the NL West ends here. The Dodgers for all their spending aren't scoring very many runs at all yet. This is despite the following: Carl Crawford is batting .410. Clayton Kershaw has a homerun. Adrian Gonzalez refound his power stroke. It's not like they are missing any big bats. Only Hanley Ramirez. Hard to explain.

The Dodgers HAVE had excellent pitching. Well, until asshat Carlos Quentin injured Zack Greinke. Hyun-Jin Ryu, Greinke and Clayton Kershaw have been all aces so far, and it's gotta be encouraging knowing Josh Beckett and Chad Billingsly are just "there". Great 4-5 combo.

Player to Watch - Carl Crawford. Guy hasn't been healthy in years. I forgot what he could do.

5th - San Diego Padres 2-9
I have nothing positive to say. So far, the team has been bad on all levels. They can't buy a run, and they can't buy a pitcher. They couldn't buy something if it was given to them. If you gave them a penny, and told them to spend it on something that costs exactly a penny, they wouldn't be able to buy it. Have I hammered that in enough?

They can't score, they can't prevent the other team from scoring. And their team is duller than dirt. End story.

Player to Watch - Yonder Alonso I guess. Who else?
I'm going to post my early opinions on the season so far, look at each team's start, and give each team a player to watch, and in general just try my best to look at what we've seen so far this season.

(All standings and stats as of 4-14-2013 12:00 Noon)

AL EAST
1st - Boston Red Sox (6-4)
I know this team better than I know any other, obviously, as a fan of the Red Sox... as such I can say without a doubt that this is NOT the 2012 Boston Red Sox. They actually all want to be there, and they love each other similar to how past playoff teams in Boston have. The fact we have a very good manager in Farrell backing us up, and making great decisions (like yesterday, John Farrell pulled the "closer" Joel Hanrahan after allowing two walks... brought in Koji Uehara, and had a shut down inning. The team may be 6-4, but this team could EASILY be 8-2 if not for some horrible calls, mostly in the Orioles series. The strength of this team, believe it or not, is for once, its pitching. Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, and Ryan Dempster have been very above average to start the year. Dempster's numbers may not agree, but the one thing to look at is his K/9 ratio. When he comes in, he will miss bats. He has yet to go 6 innings, but that leads me to the next strength of this team... the bullpen, which may be the best in the Majors. Tazawa, Uehara, Bailey, and Miller have some of the filthiest stuff the AL East has seen in a long time. And that's ignoring "closer" Joel Hanrahan, who has great stuff, but can't miss the bats yet. We'll see how he transitions, but I don't have much hope.

Offensively, the team is very fluid, for the most part. If I had to choose a key cog, it would be Shane Victorino, who has been rather fantastic beating out infield singles, and driving in runs when required. He's also stolen a few bases, along with Ellsbury, and has really made this team something it hasn't been in a really long time. A team that can, and will win, via the small ball. They can go yard, but they don't need to. Will Middlebrooks 3 HR game against Toronto non-withstanding... the Red Sox are being led by Daniel Nava. The same Daniel Nava who was bought from the Independent League for a SINGLE DOLLAR.

Player to Watch - Jon Lester. He's had horrible April's in year's past. This year, he has been dominant against the Yankees, the Blue Jays, AND the Rays. Three teams he needs to dominate to be the ace he keeps being touted as in some circles. If the April is any indication, the AL East should be very afraid of the Red Sox.

2nd - Baltimore Orioles (6-5)

The Orioles were fantastic in one run games last year... so far, they have been 1-3, and that 1 win was a tad questionable at best. Not as bad as the Rangers call... but nonetheless effective. The entire reason they've had any offense, and thus, any chance to win, is essentially Chris Davis. The same streaky Chris Davis who is either the best player on the field or the worst, take your pick. Adam Jones has also been instrumental in scoring runs, and is often driven in because of Davis. Manny Machado has struggled early, which is a concern for many Orioles fans, who want to believe they are last year's team. They are not.

So far their pitching hasn't been as good as they'd like, with only Miguel Gonzalez really putting up numbers that merit talking about. It appears as if the Orioles luck has caught up to them, as they've been allowing a lot of hits that didn't fall last year. It's only 2 weeks in, so it's still got the possibility of just being a slump, from my eyes, it appears as if their playoff run is already over.

Player to Watch - Adam Jones. Chris Davis has been the best player so far. Yes. However, Adam Jones needs to prove himself as a year in year out MVP candidate this year, in my opinion. Last year, he wasn't "in the discussion" though I think he should have been. Obviously he wasn't beating Trout OR Cabrera, but based off what "I" call MVP, he should have been. No player means as much to the Orioles as Adam Jones.

3rd - New York Yankees (5-5)
Color me surprised, I didn't have them starting 5-5, after being beaten by the Sox to open the season. Of course, I also didn't see the Sox leading the division, so that shows what I know. The AARP Yankees are seemingly held together with Duct Tape and super glue. This has to be the case when a team is doing well in the AL East despite being led by aging nuisances Travis Hafner and Vernon Wells. Robinson Cano is also notable, obviously, but the Yankees are still getting production despite injuries to key guys like Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson.

Then we find their weakness. Pitching. You wouldn't know it from Opening Day, but CC Sabathia has been very good for the Yankees as expected, the panic for the Evil Empire only lasted one start, as the Red Sox have always hit him well. Also of note is soft tossing lefty Andy Pettitte, who has always been better known as the guy Jacoby Ellsbury stole home on at one point. Talking seriously though, Mariano Rivera has shown he isn't the same Mo of old. He may have two saves, but they weren't pretty, and he's come close to messing up big time. It's time for the Yankees to choose a successor, and even though he may not be the best fit... they may have no choice but to go with David Robertson, who has always been a lights-out 8th guy, but has never been much of a 9th inning pitcher, last year being replaced by Rafael Soriano, during Mo's injury.

Player to Watch - Vernon Wells. I know I joshed about him above, but I do think he's in for a big season. People forget, there was a reason he got that horrible contract from the Blue Jays all those years ago, and there was a reason the Angels were interested in acquiring him. The Yankees may have gotten a steal, as he's shown early season he CAN still play. Curtis Granderson may actually have to fight for playing time if this keeps up, upon his return.

4th - Toronto Blue Jays (5-6)
The Offseason champs are in the cellar already. Proof that a team of superstars doesn't always click right away, and they could end up proving that the Miami Marlins weren't having a flukey bad season... seeing as they acquired everyone in Miami except Giancarlo Stanton. Well not literally, but you get my point. They also acquired knuckleballer R.A. Dickey... who has so far been less than fantastic. But looking at the rest of the pitching, it's not like they've had much to cheer about. No one else is really going deep into games yet, and Josh Johnson recently got shelled in the shortest start of his career. Then you look at Buehrle who has traditionally been shelled by the AL East throughout his career, and you seem to forget the other two guys in the rotation... for the record, they are J.A Happ, and Brandon Morrow (who while underrated, lacks the stamina to go deep enough in a game to ever get above being a #3 starter for most teams). It looks like they'll need to rely on their bullpen a lot, which isn't neccesarily a good thing, considering that they have maybe the 3rd or 4th best bullpen in the AL East (depends on how you view the Orioles bullpen).

I was high on the offense going into the year, and I wasn't disappointed. Until Jose Reyes got injured for 3 months. I hate to say it, but that could be the death blow to the season already if the pitching doesn't get better. A lot of my offseason predictions regarding the Blue Jays involved Reyes FINALLY being healthy. Unfortunately, that will not be the case, as they lack the clear best offensive player on the team (yes, better than Joey Bats) and are still missing Brett Lawrie. If their offense is going to be successful, it will require Edwin Encarnacion to get back to 2012 form, and for everybody else up and down the lineup to share the burden.

Player to Watch - R.A. Dickey. I know, predictable, but he NEEDS to be the ace they traded for, or they are in huge trouble, since the rest of the team is pretty set into who they are. Is Dickey the guy we saw last year? Or is he the guy we saw before with the Rangers (before his Mets career). He needs to rise to the occasion.

5th - Tampa Bay Rays (4-6)
The beauty of early season baseball is how if a team you hate gets off to a bad start, they will most definitely be in last, or a game above it. That is the case with the Rays, who I actually dislike more than the Yankees. Offensively, they lack character, as the only real players worth noting are the obvious suspects. Evan Longoria, Desmond Jennings, and Ben Zobrist, who may be the most underrated player ever. Zobrist is responsible for a large portion of their run support this year, and is the clear offensive leader two weeks in.

I'm frankly more interested in the pitching. And everyone else should follow suit. Despite the offseason trade that sent Shields and Davis to Kansas City, they still have a stacked rotation of David Price, Jeremy Hellickson, Matt Moore, Alex Cobb, and the former Fausto Carmona. So far though, only Matt Moore has really been on, although yesterday afternoon, David Price pitched a beauty of a game that the Rays still lost, due to the other team ALSO pitching a gem. Those are games you will win more often than not, and the Rays could easily be 5-5 if they had played a different team. Matt Moore has been scary good to start the year, but I can't help but think that it won't last long. His control issues are well documented and it is only a matter of time before batters start letting him throw ball after ball, drawing walk after walk... and as Daisuke Matsuzaka showed... you can only have a great season like that once every few years, and only if you have extraordinary luck on your side.

Player to Watch - Desmond Jennings. With the departure of BJ Upton, Jennings needs to step up in a big way. There's no ifs ands or buts about it. With Upton gone, they lack a certain athleticism. Jennings could be the one to give it back.

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AL CENTRAL
1st - Kansas City Royals (6-5)
The Royals are in first place? Crazy. Maybe not so much. The team actually managed to improve, despite a questionable trade, and the offense has been very timely for them. None more so than Billy Butler, who is hitting .444 with runners in scoring position. When you score runs, you give guys like James Shields a chance to keep your team in the W column. Alex Gordon has also been much better than he has been in year's past to start the year, which has been huge for a Royals team that thinks it can grab one of the 2 wild card spots.

James Shields has been an absolute revelation. He isn't getting as much run support as he deserves... his team has scored 11 runs in the three games he's started. And 9 of those were in one game, the only of the three he won. It's particularly sad when the Royals lose 2-3 against the Blue Jays in a game where James Shields went the whole 9 innings in a losing effort. Though it's not just him, Ervin Santana and Jeremy Guthrie are the other two guys at the top of the rotation, and so far they have been spot on. Only time will tell if they stick, both have had control issues in the past, but looking at tape, it appears as if both have at least improved on their past issues, so as to not interfere greatly in the grand scheme of things.

Player to Watch - Eric Hosmer. I think this is the year Hosmer has that true breakout season. Or at least, this is the season he has to. His 2011 Rookie Year was one to behold, as that's the type of player I think he really is. He struggled last season with making contact, and paid dearly for it. This year, I feel like he'll finally cross into the level of a top 10 1B, with top 5 potential in his near future. Don't sleep on him, just nap.

1st - Detroit Tigers (6-5)
Tigers fans have a lot to be cheerful about, despite being only tied with KC for the Central lead to start the year. They could easily be 8-3, that's how great the offense has been. The pitching (the BULLPEN!!!) just hasn't fallen in line yet. A large portion of this offense is being brought to the table by an early season favorite for MVP, Prince Fielder(.436/.520/.846). Those numbers are real. They are video game numbers, but they are real. Not counting him, they still have Miguel Cabrera, and one of the best signings of the past year, Torii Hunter.

When you look at the Tigers rotation, you can only think one thing. Ouch. Justin Verlander, Max Schrezer, Doug Fister, and Anibal Sanchez. Who is the #4 of those guys? Because whoever it is is probably the best #4 (or one of the best, at least) in baseball. The rotation is scary good. So I won't go into detail. The problem is... the bullpen. It's so bad they signed Jose Valverde back just so it would suck as much. When you can say Valverde is an upgrade over what you have, you have problems. He's not quite ready yet, but he'll be back in Detroit in time, and while he won't be lights out probably... but he'll be better than what they have by a sizable margin. Again. Not saying much.

Player to Watch - Jose Valverde. I hate to repeat crap, but he's vital to this team, especially if they want a prolonged post season run again. They've proven they have lights out offense. They've proven they have a lights out rotation. No good post season team has ever succeeded WITHOUT a bullpen.

3rd - Cleveland Indians (5-5)
There is no team in the AL Central that observed as much a changeover as the Indians did this offseason. First impression is that this team is sort of like the Red Sox in a few regards... and that's not entirely wrong, seeing as they have former Sox manager Terry Francona leading the helm for the newly recharged Cleveland Indians. But if you look past Tito, you can see plenty of things for the Indians and their fans to be excited about. Like Carlos Santana and Nick Swisher, who are two consumate pros, and terrific hitters. Santana has really come into his own as one of the top 3 catchers in the game (and in my opinion, the one with the most potential of the three). Mark Reynolds has also supplied a lot of timely hits, leading the team in home runs and RBI.

The Indians pitching is likely going to be the downfall of the Indians, as the only MLB pitcher of much note right now is Justin Masterson, (another former Sox!) though once Trevor Bauer gets his minor league seasoning, you can add him to this list. The good news is, that they have a fantastic bullpen... the Bullpen Mafia even. Joe Smith, Vinnie Pestano, and Chris Perez are still around, and Nick Hagadone could add his name to the list of great Indians relievers by season's end.

Player to Watch - Carlos Santana. This was really tough to choose just one, there are lots of players of note to watch on the Indians, but Santana is the guy you are going to want to treasure long term. Good catchers are hard to come by, let alone top 3 catchers. And this year, he could leapfrog Buster Posey and take that top spot, believe it or not.

4th - Chicago White Sox (4-7)
Really, the difference between this year's team and last year's, is that last year, they had a lot of luck on the offensive side of the ball, and a couple lucky bounces on defense. So far, they haven't gotten the same luck thus far. Most of the players returned, and some have even gotten better... so why 4th? First of all pitching. A quick look at some of the scores will show... they haven't been good. A 5 game losing streak has showcased two things. How good the Nationals are, and how bad the White Sox are. Chris Sale has been very good, minus his last start, which can be chalked up to a hot Indians team, but aside from that... they've only had sub-standard work at best. Addison Reed is fun to watch out of the pen, but in general, he's got a lot more work to do.

The offense is Alex Rios. There I said it. That is legitimately the best way I can describe the offense, as he's by far, the only one really accomplishing anything with the baseball so far. Dayan Viciedo and Adam Dunn are getting some solid contact, but the balls aren't falling like they have in years past. Not much to say here. It's been bad. Very bad.

Player to Watch - Dayan Viciedo. He's got a lot of power. With the benefit of making more contact than Adam Dunn. I won't say All star level production, but I will say he's going to be a solid piece for the White Sox (or wherever he goes) for years to come. This year is going to be a nice one for him. One way or another...

4th - Minnesota Twins (4-7)
There really isn't much notable about the Twinkies this year. The Joe Mauer contract has hamstringed the organization, and until he is gone, the team is going no where. If you look at the offense around him, there isn't exactly anybody except Josh Willingham to share his burden. Justin Morneau has been generally ineffective for the Twins so far, and they need him to be that big third bat if they are going to have any chance of being above last place in the weak AL Central.

Because the pitching is doing them no favors. The team ERA is already 4.64 early on. You can give up that many runs and win... if your offense is good. The biggest offender of this is Vance Worley, who has done absolutely nothing but suck so far in Twinkie Town. Which is a shame, because not long ago, he was part of a beastly rotation in Philly, and was on the verge of becoming a dominant pitcher. He has looked completely lost on the mound, and the stats agree.

Player to Watch - Aaron Hicks. Because frankly, no one else on this team is altogether interesting. Who else BUT Hicks is there to even watch? Surely not Morneau or Willingham.

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AL WEST

1st - Oakland Athletics (9-3)
Who would have thought the A's would be the best team in the American League to start the year? Certainly not I. But lo and behold. Take good hitting, and add it to decent pitching, and then mix in a pinch of luck, and you have the Oakland A's. Billy Beane has proven why he's one of the best in the business. Brandon Moss, Jed Lowrie, Josh Reddick, and Chris Young. All of these players were not drafted by the A's. They did not cost a lot of money or prospects compared to blue chip guys. But all four of them are producing big, and have, the past two years. The A's have the deepest outfield I've ever seen. So deep that injuries to Yoenis Cespedes and Coco Crisp doesn't slow this outfield down. Seth Smith, Chris Young, and Josh Reddick still inhabit the outfield.

The rotation has taken a step back from last season, but it's not the veritable death blow it is for most other teams, since their pitching down the stretch last year was flat out fantastic. The bullpen has been a large part of their success early on... (getting the theme yet?) and has kept them in the game long after the starter departs.

Player to Watch - Brandon Moss. His power is for real. And so is everything else about his game. All that remains to be found out is if he can be consistent about it.

2nd - Texas Rangers (8-4)
Who needs Josh Hamilton? Clearly not the Rangers. The offense is seemingly just as good as it was last season... and with how Hamilton is playing in LA... it might actually be better. Ian Kinsler has started out strong, as is custom with him, and he's showing himself off as the top offensive piece on a hungry team. Lance Berkman is shaking off the rust, and trying to be healthy again, returning to the state of Texas. So far, while lacking real power, he's been a threat in every facet of the word. The lineup is very solid and continuous. Could be a great year offensively at least.

The pitching has also been solid. Just not as solid as the A's. Aside from Yu Darvish's ALMOST perfect game, he's more or less led the charge against the opposition, showing great poise, attitude, and control on the mound. Although, not to be ignored, Alexi Ogando and Derek Holland have been JUST as good, if not better in the long run.

Player to Watch - Derek Holland. I really like Yu and Alexi, but Derek Holland is by and large the most underrated pitcher in the American League, because he plays half his games at home in a hitter's park. I think this is the year Holland breaks out as one of those top tier arms every team wants to have.

3rd - Seattle Mariners (5-8)
The Mariners also retooled a tad, although not to the degree other teams did. Michael Morse is by and large one of the best offseason acquisitions, acquiring him from the Nationals (who had no use for Morse, with LaRoche back, and the outfield full) for practically nothing. He's responded in a big way with 6 home runs already, early in the season. Franklin Gutierez has also been a surprise, showing way more power than he has in any year before.

And it's a good thing they've had offense, because Felix hasn't brought his A-game yet. In fact, he's not even the best pitcher on the Mariners this season (yet). That honor belongs to Hisashi Iwakuma, who is building off a strong first year, with a hopefully even stronger second. Also of note is Oliver Perez, who has pitched 6 games already, and has shown considerable improvement since his change to being a reliever.

Player to Watch - Jesus Montero. How he plays this season is vital. If he's not good again, they may choose to abandon the project and move him for something they can use, because catching prospect Mike Zunino is drawing ever closer to the Majors.

4th - Houston Astros (4-7)
It's hard to believe, but despite being shutout, struckout, and devastated over the past two weeks, they aren't in last in the division. A large part of this is because the offensive boom of one of my players to watch, Chris Carter. Jose Altuve has added his usual brand of awesome, but for the most part, it's Chris Carter vs. the opposing team.

But how good has Bud Norris been? He's clearly the top pitcher on this team, and it's all the more surprising considering where he was acquired. In the draft. The Astros actually draft good players! The rest of the staff has been largely irrelevent.

Player to Watch - Chris Carter. In part because no one else is really interesting, and in part because he's got 30 home run potential.

5th - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (3-8)
Albert Pujols started sluggishly last year. Almost famously sluggishly. This year, Hamilton is struggling in his place, and Pujols is being Pujols. They've gotten pretty mediocre production outside of him though. Mike Trout is really struggling... and if this keeps up, he might be another victim of the famed sophomore slump. I think he'll be fine, but he's had really ugly swings thus far.

The Angels rotation is the definition of mediocre. And it's only getting worse by the minute. Jered Weaver is out for a little over a month with a fractured elbow (non pitching) and their best pitcher in the interim is either Tommy Hanson or Garrett Richards. Tough times being an Angels fan, especially since the Hamilton signing was supposed to usher in a period of playoff appearances.

Player to Watch - Josh Hamilton. He's an anomaly. He's either going to be really good or really disappointing. That's not to say he'll be bad. There are just too many expectations. If he's not a top 10 player this year, expect the Angels fans you know to be intolerable.

-----

NL EAST
1st - Atlanta Braves (10-1)
Yeah, the Braves are currently the best team in baseball, largely in part to Justin Upton, who has as I'm writing this, hit his 7th HR of the year. He's showcased absolutely insane power in the first 2 weeks of the year, and he's a darkhorse for MVP. But they might have more than that, as they have Rookie of the Year candidate Evan Gattis ALSO putting up big numbers. What's even more shocking is that virtually everyone else on that lineup has been largely inept. They are 10-1 off of nothing but Justin Upton's offense basically. Well, and Evan Gattis'.

They can get away with that because of fantastic pitching. Paul Maholm has been an absolute surprise, and Mike Minor and Kris Medlen have put up numbers that would be ace worthy on other teams. I shouldn't be surprised, but then I look and see they have Craig Kimbrel closing games for them, same as ever. It really ISNT a surprise the Braves are doing so well. If the offense ever wakes up, this is a scary team.

Player to Watch - Justin Upton. I said this as soon as they acquired him, "Justin Upton has the potential to be an MVP contender, year in, year out." And thus far, he's proven that as a fact. I can't wait to see what else this man can do with a bat. He overshadows his brother so much, I forgot BJ existed.

2nd - Washington Nationals (7-4)
It's official, Bryce Harper is my favorite non-Red Sox player, and here's a snippet as to why I would say that. .372/.413/.744. Mike Trout may have had a better rookie year. Bryce Harper doesn't care. He could have a better age 20 season than Trout did. It's hard not to like a guy who is a threat to home run every at bat. He may be the youngest player to ever be intentionally walked. And he's fast, not Trout fast, but he has the ability to steal a base, and sometimes, home, as shown last year after getting HIT BY A PITCH. But enough of that... besides Harper, this team has a lot of offensive talent. Such as Ian Desmond, who is one of the most underrated short stops in the league. Not to mention Ryan Zimmerman, Denard Span, Jayson Werth, or Adam LaRoche.

And then you have the pitching, which has actually underperformed to start the year. Stephen Strasburg is notable here. Because a 2.95 ERA making somebody sad is really strange. Especially since he can be nigh unhittable on some nights. Noted, he did have a higher ERA last year, but he also had an innings limit, and was coming off surgery. I think he's in for a superb year. Then you have Jordan Zimmermann and Gio Gonzalez. It's a scary rotation. And a scary bullpen. Especially now that Rafael Soriano is closing out games.

Player to Watch - Bryce Harper. I wanted to give Strasburg mention, so I will... but Bryce Harper is potentially in for a huge season. If the opening weeks are any indication that is. Last year, he got better as the year went on, maturing from an immature 19 year old who swung TOO wildly, into a 20 year old savvy veteran level player. He looks like he belongs at the MLB level, which is hard for anyone under 23 to do... let alone someone who was under 20 for the entire regular season last year.

3rd - New York Mets (7-5)
This year's Mets are probably the least interesting Mets in recent years. Though that isn't the fault of the pitching... or more specifically Matt Harvey, who has looked like a player capable of throwing a no hitter every single day. And I think he might throw one or two this year, he has stuff that good.

The only issue with the Mets is a lack of depth beyond that, and a lack of a bullpen. And the lack of an offense. John Buck (the throw-in) and David Wright are about the only two players doing anything to the ball. Very bland.

Player to Watch - Matt Harvey. Simply because no other player on the Mets is really worth watching. A pathetically boring team.

4th - Philadelphia Phillies (5-6)
I like to say the Phillies are the Yankees of the NL East, because they have a lot in common. Aging sluggers. Age defying pitchers. A huge payroll. Subpar performance to begin the year. Really, the Phillies ARE the Yankees. The difference is that this year, the Phillies are healthy to start out with, whereas the Yankees are the ones who probably have contract remorse. Chase Utley is a large part of that, who when healthy, is a top 5 second baseman. Michael Young is getting on base at a decent clip, and Jummy Rollins isn't being slowed terribly in his old age.

But the most interesting thing about the Phillies is the pitching. Namely Cliff Lee and Halladay. Last year, Cliff Lee was great, but never had the run support. This year, he has the run support, and he's still dealing, despite his age. Roy Halladay last year was starting to show age, and was only barely holding on. This year, he seems to have lost it, though a start against the hapless Marlins may be just what he needs.

Player to Watch - Domonic Brown. Could this finally be the year the player matches the potential? For all his promise, he's never become the guy he was promised to be.

5th - Miami Marlins (2-9)
I really don't want to write about them. Aside from Giancarlo Stanton, this team is pretty void of talent at present. Really, the minor leagues are way more interesting for this team. Not only that, but Stanton is struggling to start the season. I don't really even remember half the starters.

Or the pitchers. For the sake of Leggy, if it wasn't for rookie Jose Fernandez, this team would be awfully dreadful. Too bad he will never get enough run support to win.

Player to Watch - Jose Fernandez. If you can't cheer for your team, you may as well cheer for one guy. I would hate to be a Marlins fan.

-----

NL CENTRAL
1st - St. Louis Cardinals (7-4)
The Cardinals are a pretty... interesting team for lack of a better term. They are leading the divsion, but don't play like it. A lot of that could have to do with their opponents, but their offense is pretty much duct tape. No one player sticks out. They all do about the same. Which isn't a problem, so much as it is a worry. If one of the players drops off, the idea is that the others will pick him up. But if more than one goes down, then you can end up in a run deficiency problem. They also need Matt Holliday to stay healthy... although more importantly, they need Yadier to as well. If Yadier goes down, the season could be in jeopardy.

The reason they are in first is their pitching. Shelby Miller, Adam Wainwright, and Jake Westbrook have been extremely productive out of their slots. It's unknown how long they can keep this up (their recent scoreless streak) but it has to be a good time to be a Cardinals fan.

Player to Watch - Shelby Miller. The guy has real stuff. I'm shocked some people don't actually know who he is. Yes. Those people exist. He's as good as Matt Harvey on some nights, and sometimes he's better.

2nd - Pittsburgh Pirates (5-6)
Put simply, I'm rooting for them. They haven't enjoyed success in so long, and now that Andrew McCutchen has come out as a top 5 MVP talent, they really need to surround him with success and bring the winning culture back to Pittsburgh for the first time in decades. The offense has been off to a slow start, but guys like Neil Walker, and Russell Martin won't stay cold long, and once they get hot, the summer could be very good to them.

For that to happen though, their pitching will have to stick together. And so far it's been about average. Wandy Rodriguez, AJ Burnett, and James McDonald all have the ability to go well into games. And their bullpen is headlined by Mark Melancon, who can't be stopped some nights (former Red Sox player... hard to see him succeed when we traded him for a guy almost no one wanted in Boston :/)

Player to Watch - Starling Marte. .341/.383/.432 - .327/.400/.553. The first line is Marte's. The second is McCutchen's last year (during his MVP level season). I know it's a small sample size, but it makes me think "Andrew McCutchen, with less power". That isn't a bad thing to have, and I'll be keeping my eyes on him.

3rd - Cincinnati Reds (5-6)
The Reds are very much like the Cardinals. In that they score around the same number of runs, and they allow around the same. The Cardinals have the edge in the early season, but the Reds performance I feel is more encouraging. Shin-Soo Choo and Brandon Phillips are making it known this is their team. Add Jay Bruce and Zack Cozart to the list, and you have about 1/2 of a lethal lineup that can score runs with the same aptitude of said Cardinals. Very scary streaky offense, not to speak of Joey Votto.

The issue is their pitching (unlike the Cardinals) hasn't really emerged yet. It's there, and that's a fact, but it's been a slow start for the Reds top arms. Except for Johnny Cueto (I'm waiting on today's Latos start to make judgement) and Aroldis Chapman that is. To speak of Chapman... whenever a reliever is in your top 3 in strikeouts... either something has gone horribly wrong, or horribly right. In this case, consider it right.

Player to Watch - Shin-Soo Choo. He's never been on a team with such fluid offensive production. Now he is. I look forward to seeing his power reflect in his numbers.

4th - Chicago Cubs (4-7)
Anthony Rizzo is the Chicago Cubs only offensive threat... for now. And even then, he's not too good in terms of hitting the ball. He's actually batting as such so far. (.158/.289/.421) These numbers can tell you two things. One, he doesn't hit the ball very often, or get on base a ton. Two, when he does hit the ball, he clobbers it. This is what he does. You can add in Starlin Castro too, who has been absolutely incredible for a short stop.

Oddly, the Cubs might have had the best pitching the past two weeks. Especially from Jeff Samardzija, Travis Wood, and Carlos Villanueva. The one issue is the bullpen, which has surrendered 17 runs in 28.1 innings of work, which leads to a 5.41 staff ERA out of the pen, as opposed to the 22 runs in 66 innings, which equals out to a 3.00 staff ERA. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to hammer it home that the bullpen has been bad, and that the rotation has been good.

Player to Watch - Jeff Samardzija. The guy has the filthiest stuff I've seen out of a Cubs starter since when Kerry Wood was a starter, and Mark Prior wasn't injured. Good thing too, the Cubs won't be winning anything this year, and need all the excitement they can get.

5th - Milwaukee Brewers (2-10)
I think it's fitting the Brewers are in last, especially since they happily house a steroids user in Ryan Braun (I'm not arguing it. He obviously juices, it was apparent BEFORE the tests were done.) who is quite possibly the most overrated superstar in the game today. Not to say he's not a good player, he is. But he's not the LOLMVP that so many make him out to be. At any rate, it's hard to bring in runs, when none of your players get on base. So this is short.

Though the pitching isn't much better. Ironically, the only pitcher worth a damn so far is Kyle Lohse, who is a former enemy/Cardinal. Funny how that stuff works out.

Player to Watch - Norichika Aoki. He's legitimately one of the few things the Brewers have going for them. It's a shame he is so old. Could have had a great career in MLB.

-----

NL WEST
1st - San Francisco Giants (8-4)
I'm torn. Are the Giants this year's Orioles? Not to say either team is good or bad, but the Orioles won with a run differential that was... bad. The Giants only have a run differential of 4. That's not conducive to winning most of your ball games. A large part of it is that their offense has scored as much in 12 games, as the Red Sox had in 10. You can thank the Pablo Sandoval for the offense they have had, as he's been a fantastic player despite weight concerns. Hunter Pence is also proving to be worthy of the trade that brought him there.

Trivia time. Which of these three pitchers is doing the best? Matt Cain, Barry Zito, Madison Bumgarner. Now, which is doing the worst? I don't blame you if you thought Bumgarner, Cain, literally everyone else, Zito. But as it turns out, Zito is leading the charge and has yet to allow an earned run, which is fascinating. For the record, Cain is doing the worst of the three.

Player to Watch - Tim Lincecum. I for one am curious which Lincecum he actually is.

2nd - Arizona Diamonbacks (7-4)
Somebody forgot to give the D'Backs the memo. They aren't supposed to be good. They are supposed to be the 4th best team in the NL West, barely beating out the Padres! Well, someone give it to them please, unless you want to see what could end up being a huge upset. The offense has been so hot since the Upton trade... that you wonder what they could do WITH Upton. Paul Goldschmidt is fantastic, and Aaron Hill has been great the past couple years for them. Cinderella offense. Let's see if they turn into pumpkins.

The D'backs have one really notable pitcher I'll feel bad if I don't mention. His name is Wade Miley. I was wrong. He is legit. Ian Kennedy is legit too... but his stats are letting him down.

Player to Watch - Ian Kennedy. Guy is sublime when he's on. Terrifying when he's not.

(Can you tell I'm tired yet?)

2nd - Colorado Rockies (7-4)
I never thought I'd see the day the Rockies were outslugging the Dodgers. Dexter Fowler... Wilin Rosario... and Troy Tulowitzki. They must be enjoying that thin Colorado air right about now, right? RIGHT? The numbers will be a little inflated by Coors Field being their home park, but the good news is, they have sizable pop to begin with, so fans shouldn't notice much change.

But that flips back on the pitchers too, pitching at Coors Field. Aside from Jhoulys Chacin, the rotation lacks depth. The bullpen is great though, and should hold most leads.

Player to Watch - Dexter Fowler. If 6 home runs in two weeks tells you anything, it's that a guy has power. I don't care how far he hits them. It takes great precense of mind to launch balls at the MLB level.

2nd - Los Angeles Dodgers (7-4)
The three way tie for second in the NL West ends here. The Dodgers for all their spending aren't scoring very many runs at all yet. This is despite the following: Carl Crawford is batting .410. Clayton Kershaw has a homerun. Adrian Gonzalez refound his power stroke. It's not like they are missing any big bats. Only Hanley Ramirez. Hard to explain.

The Dodgers HAVE had excellent pitching. Well, until asshat Carlos Quentin injured Zack Greinke. Hyun-Jin Ryu, Greinke and Clayton Kershaw have been all aces so far, and it's gotta be encouraging knowing Josh Beckett and Chad Billingsly are just "there". Great 4-5 combo.

Player to Watch - Carl Crawford. Guy hasn't been healthy in years. I forgot what he could do.

5th - San Diego Padres 2-9
I have nothing positive to say. So far, the team has been bad on all levels. They can't buy a run, and they can't buy a pitcher. They couldn't buy something if it was given to them. If you gave them a penny, and told them to spend it on something that costs exactly a penny, they wouldn't be able to buy it. Have I hammered that in enough?

They can't score, they can't prevent the other team from scoring. And their team is duller than dirt. End story.

Player to Watch - Yonder Alonso I guess. Who else?
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legacyme3 : I'm not sure where exactly you got your information about the way the White Sox last year but there's a few things I have contention with.

The Sox rotation is AT LEAST as good as the Tigers. Peavey is 2nd in MLB in strikeouts right now. and the Tigers and Sox have similar ERA's. The Sox ERA was a lot lower but had a rough go this last time around the rotation especially Sale. Their issue is can everyone stay healthy.

Also "Luck" didn't really have anything to do with the Sox season last year. It's hard to say luck was on their side when they lose the division lead late in the season... They lost the division lead towards the end of the season because of injuries. Before that their power hitting carried the team as I believe they were in the top 2 last season in Home Runs. (They hit like 50 more HR's that Detroit's "Scary Lineup" lol) They were 6th in all of baseball in RBI....
Dunn and Konerko were on fire, the problem was that injuries stacked up on them and come September they didn't have enough left in the tank.

It's pretty common for the Sox to start slow in April especially if it's even colder than normal which is the case this year. The Sox play in a hitters ballpark and when the weather starts warming up, so shall they.

Rios has been the only consistent hitter to start the season, sure, but Paulie had a great spring and his a few homers the past two days. Him and Dunn will anchor that lineup just as they did last year (and like Paulie has done his whole career)

Whether that equates to anything is still to be seen. The central is always a scrappy division and the Tigers are spending money like it's going out of style. Thankfully their bullpen is complete garbage... Cleveland improved their lineup a great deal by adding Born, so they might be tough. Who knows.

It's pretty much the same equation it's been for 10+ years for the sox. Get some power hitting and strong starting pitching.

The players to watch for the Sox to me are:

Jose Quintana - Starter: A prospect from Columbia that came up to the big leagues last year and had some nasty stuff for the Sox. If he can consistently command his pitches, he should be a great player for them.

Addison Reed: Another young prospect for the Sox. Had a solid year last year and I'm hoping that he can build upon that. Has some nasty breaking stuff to go with his fastball which is what you need from your closer. If he continues to pitch strikes the Sox will be in good shape.

Tyler Flowers: He was great in the minors. Had a bunch of RBI's and HR's. The Sox parted ways with Pierzynski (who signed with the Rangers) Flowers showed flashes last year but got little playing time behind AJ. Now that the job is his full time, we need to see if he brought his power bat from the Minors. If he does, that only makes the Sox lineup that much more dangerous.

legacyme3 : I'm not sure where exactly you got your information about the way the White Sox last year but there's a few things I have contention with.

The Sox rotation is AT LEAST as good as the Tigers. Peavey is 2nd in MLB in strikeouts right now. and the Tigers and Sox have similar ERA's. The Sox ERA was a lot lower but had a rough go this last time around the rotation especially Sale. Their issue is can everyone stay healthy.

Also "Luck" didn't really have anything to do with the Sox season last year. It's hard to say luck was on their side when they lose the division lead late in the season... They lost the division lead towards the end of the season because of injuries. Before that their power hitting carried the team as I believe they were in the top 2 last season in Home Runs. (They hit like 50 more HR's that Detroit's "Scary Lineup" lol) They were 6th in all of baseball in RBI....
Dunn and Konerko were on fire, the problem was that injuries stacked up on them and come September they didn't have enough left in the tank.

It's pretty common for the Sox to start slow in April especially if it's even colder than normal which is the case this year. The Sox play in a hitters ballpark and when the weather starts warming up, so shall they.

Rios has been the only consistent hitter to start the season, sure, but Paulie had a great spring and his a few homers the past two days. Him and Dunn will anchor that lineup just as they did last year (and like Paulie has done his whole career)

Whether that equates to anything is still to be seen. The central is always a scrappy division and the Tigers are spending money like it's going out of style. Thankfully their bullpen is complete garbage... Cleveland improved their lineup a great deal by adding Born, so they might be tough. Who knows.

It's pretty much the same equation it's been for 10+ years for the sox. Get some power hitting and strong starting pitching.

The players to watch for the Sox to me are:

Jose Quintana - Starter: A prospect from Columbia that came up to the big leagues last year and had some nasty stuff for the Sox. If he can consistently command his pitches, he should be a great player for them.

Addison Reed: Another young prospect for the Sox. Had a solid year last year and I'm hoping that he can build upon that. Has some nasty breaking stuff to go with his fastball which is what you need from your closer. If he continues to pitch strikes the Sox will be in good shape.

Tyler Flowers: He was great in the minors. Had a bunch of RBI's and HR's. The Sox parted ways with Pierzynski (who signed with the Rangers) Flowers showed flashes last year but got little playing time behind AJ. Now that the job is his full time, we need to see if he brought his power bat from the Minors. If he does, that only makes the Sox lineup that much more dangerous.

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04-15-13 02:03 PM
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Jordanv78 :

Fair point, but I'll counter with this.

White Sox


Tigers


Both images courtesy of Fangraphs and their wonderful team.

I tried to limit it to the pitchers who threw significant amounts of innings. After Omogrosso, only one pitcher on the White Sox really had enough innings to qualify for significant. Phillip Humber, and he was 23rd as ranked by WAR (Wins above Replacement). I chose WAR for no significant reason, it's just a measure that made the most sense for tracking general player value.

Point is, Humber was so bad, he didn't even deserve to be on the list, as he pulled in a negative WAR of -.3 which would imply he cost the team more games than he won.

I got almost all of the Tigers however, as they shared the workload pretty evenly throughout the season last year.

When I wrote the analysis I wrote, I had the following factors in mind.

-2012 success
-Career success
-Early season breakoutage (Justin Upton being a prime example)

The White Sox had success last year, yes, but their pitching is not really in the same class as the Tigers, at least at present time.

But to continue the actual argument...

"Peavey is 2nd in MLB in strikeouts right now. and the Tigers and Sox have similar ERA's. The Sox ERA was a lot lower but had a rough go this last time around the rotation especially Sale."

And Justin Masterson is leading the league in ERA aside from Matt Moore. Point? Early season success is only really to be highly valued if the player hasn't done what they've done before, or are facing difficult teams. Peavy has faced Cleveland, Washington, and Kansas City.

Cleveland isn't really clear what type of team they are yet. So much changeover, it's hard to tell if his "success" is to be put on the pitcher or the failure of the bats. I don't have the logs for that game in front of me, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear Mark Reynolds was responsible for 4 of the 11 Ks that Peavy threw. On top of that, they are missing some key guys right now in Michael Bourn and Carlos Santana. Add in Raburn, Chisenhall, and Gomes, and you have a ton of high strikeout batters, or inexperienced ones in Chisenhall's case, and you have an opportunity for literally anyone to strike them out.

It just so happens that the Indians-Yankees games were rained out, and the White Sox were the only team to face these weakened Indians to this point. I'd say that's pretty fortunate, wouldn't you?

Regardless, there are two other teams he faced. The Nationals absolutely crushed him, so I won't drudge that up.

He also faced the Kansas City Royals, who have scored 52 runs to date. That's good for 14th in MLB. Not exactly a top level team. And a lot of those runs (like one on Peavy) are unearned. As a result, Peavy's ERA and thus the conception of his talent level go up.

Last year he had 7.97 ks per 9 innings, which is pretty grand, I will admit. But let's look at Tigers pitchers who had more. Justin Verlander (9.03), Max Schrezer (11.08), Octavio Dotel (9.62), Bryan Villareal (10.87), Al Alberqurque (12.15) ... etc

They had a total of 10 guys with a better K rate than Peavy, not to mention the guys above who ALSO had a better one than Chris Sale, the premier arm on that team.

Now let's look at White Sox pitchers who did the same, IE higher K rate than Peavy.

Chris Sale (9), Jesse Crain (11.25), Francisco Liriano (9.21... and no longer a White Sox), Donie Veal (13.15).

In total, last year the White Sox had 7 guys who threw significant innings and had a higher K rate than Peavy. The White Sox also only had 4 who did better than Sale, and only 3 are still with the team.

So the Tigers seem to win with K rate.

You say the White Sox weren't lucky, because they held the division lead for most of the season.

So did the Orioles in the AL East, and they were the luckiest sons of b****es I've ever seen in my life. Just because you win, doesn't mean you aren't lucky. In fact, you are more likely to win because you were lucky in a one run game than you would in a 2 or 3 run game.

I don't like using BABIP (Batting Average on Balls in Play. It works because it removes strikeouts and homeruns, as they are not in play), because on it's own it's a useless stat, and people confuse it with luck. But if you combine it with GO/FO/LO ratio, you can get an idea of what types of hits a pitcher is giving up.

Let's look at Peavy first, snce he's the first guy you named.

.272 BABIP against.
45% Fly Ball Rate (est)
42% Ground out Rate (est)
13% Line Out Rate (est)

Oddly enough, based on the above, he had his BEST season of his career, which you can never expect to carry over. When a player has a career year, they seldom repeat.



The above is a graph of Jake Peavy's BABIP against by year. He had a 3.37 ERA which is good for his best year since 2008, where he had a lower BABIP against than league average. Hey, speaking of BABIP against, look at 2012 on that graph.

It looks a lot like 2008, don't it?



The above is Jake Peavy's LOB%. As you can see, he leaves more runners on than league average. None of these things by themself SCREAM luck, but if you look at all of these numbers together, it becomes pretty clear that one of the three is true.

1. Jake Peavy is the best damn pitcher ever (Nope)
2. Jake Peavy is a cardiac starter (unlikely)
3. Jake Peavy had a lucky 2012, and is starting 2013 strong against weak teams (I'm going with this one.)

Moving off Peavy though, since I'm beating him like a dead horse...

Let's look at Chris Sale. High K Rate, manageable BB Rate, Relatively low HR Rate... and a .294 BABIP against?

If you paid attention to the Peavy example above, you'd know that Peavy was above league average BABIP... and Sale is higher than Peavy, what does that tell you about Sale? Let's ignore that for a moment... He left 80% of his men stranded, which is Daisuke Matsuzaka level of leaving guys on base. Not something you generally want. He also had 45% ground ball ratio, 32% Fly Ball ratio, and a 23% line drive ratio. He's giving up well more line drives than Peavy is. Line drives, as you know, are the best things to hit, since they have the highest probability of landing.

Based off that, and looking at further stats... Chris Sale was actually even luckier than Peavy, considering Sale's eventual ERA of 3.05, which was lower than Peavy.

If you adjust for league average BABIP and put MLB level defense everywhere... you could see Peavy and Sale gaining half a run, and losing an extra game or two...

But, before we jump to conclusions, let's look at another metric, FIP.

Fielding Independent Pitching.

I'll quote this page here

"Fielding Independent Pitching converts a pitcher's three true outcomes into an earned run average-like number. The formula is (13*HR+3*BB-2*K)/IP, plus a constant (usually around 3.2) to put it on the same scale as earned run average.

FIP is a component ERA inspired by the work of Voros McCracken on defense-indepdendent pitching statistics, but has become more widely used because of the ease of computation - it requires only four easily-found box score stats, uses only basic arithmetic operations and has four easily-memorized constants. It was conceived of by both Tom Tango and Clay Dreslough, the latter of who called it Defense-Independent Component ERA.

At Prospectus, we are including hit batters in the walks term. The constant we use is both league and season specific - in other words, a pitcher in the American League will have a different FIP constant than a pitcher in the National League. This differs from the presentation of FIP on sites such as Fangraphs, which use one constant for both leagues in each season.

Here is an example of the Fielding Independent Pitching spectrum based on the 2011 season:

Excellent - Roy Halladay 2.17
Great - David Price 3.36
Average - Tim Stauffer 4.00
Poor - Carlos Zambrano 4.56
Horrendous - Bronson Arroyo 5.68"

Let's just look at the White Sox starting pitching last year, versus the Tigers, since not close to enough games have been played in 2013, to really argue in depth about the state of the pitching.

Chris Sale - 3.27
Jake Peavy - 3.73
Gavin Floyd - 4.46
Jose Quintana - 4.23
Phillip Humber - 5.77

Based off of the list above, explaining FIP... the White Sox had one great pitcher, one borderline great/average guy, a borderline average/poor guy, an average guy, and a horrendous guy. Since when does a rotation that features pitchers who are 3/5 borderline average or average qualify as a great rotation?

Justin Verlander - 2.94
Max Schrezer - 3.27
Doug Fister - 3.42
Rick Porcello - 3.91
Anibal Sanchez - 3.68

(I know Drew Smyly started more for the Tigers last year, but Sanchez is starting this year, so I thought it more relevant)

Now looking at the Tigers, they have a guy between excellent and great, a great one, someone who just misses great, a guy who is JUST above average, and another guy between great and average.

If you asked me to choose between a rotation featuring Verlander, Schrezer, Fister, etc... and Sale, Peavy, Quintana, etc... I'd choose the Tigers in a heartbeat. But even if they DIDN'T have Verlander, I'd still choose the Tigers pitching.

But I'll give the White Sox one more chance. Let's look at the "noob" statistic, WAR. (I say noob, because it's the sabremetric literally EVERYONE wants to use. It's fun, but it lacks a lot of context, and doesn't account for fielding errors of teammates as well as it should, and can be really spotty. I mean, technically, I think Jhonny Peralta had a decent WAR last year, and he's kind of mediocre.

But let's try.

Chris Sale - 4.8
Jake Peavy - 4.5
Gavin Floyd - 2.0
Jose Quintana - 1.7
Phillip Humber - -.3

Justin Verlander - 7
Max Schrezer - 4.5
Doug Fister - 3.5
Rick Porcello - 2.9
Anibal Sanchez - 1.4 (keep in mind he was around for only 12 games, over a full season, if you extrapolate, it would get close to 4.)

So even WAR agrees. Meaning the only disagreement is personal opinion.

Now that I've gotten the stats out of the way, I can arrive to your next point. (because I answered luck already, I'll be skipping ahead to...)

"It's pretty common for the Sox to start slow in April especially if it's even colder than normal which is the case this year. The Sox play in a hitters ballpark and when the weather starts warming up, so shall they."

The Red Sox also start slow generally. We're 8-4. No excuses. And we also play in a hitters park. But this is about the Tigers, who are also a northern team, and play in cold weather, which by the way...



Hey look, DETROIT RANKS RIGHT AHEAD OF CHICAGO'S WHITE SOX. From left to right, it is Runs, Home Runs, Hits, Doubles, Triples, Walks. And it factors for both sides. So it's not just the Tigers giving up hits, or the White Sox not getting hits. The idea is, the higher the team rating on this list, the more of a HITTERS park it is.

So far, early in 2013, it looks like Detroit has more of a hitters park, even if only slightly. I ranked them via home runs, because it was simple, and you could compare the two next to each other. The only way USC is more of a hitters park so far, is based off of triples, which the Tigers don't ever hit, because they are a slow team. The White Sox are slow too mind, but the Tigers are probably one of the slowest.

So that can't be it... what's your next point...

"Tigers are spending money like it's going out of style"

The following are opening day payrolls of both teams as per Cots Baseball Contracts.

White Sox
2013 : $118,914,500
2012: $ 97,669,500

Tigers
2013 : $148,693,600
2012: $133,475,000

So actually, while the Tigers are spending more... the White Sox were the ones tossing money around this offseason. Your payroll jumped 21 million. The Tigers "only" jumped 15 million in comparison.

Now... to end that argument...

I like Jose Quintana, but I don't like him that much yet. He needs to show a lot more consistency before I can really believe in him and give him my stamp or approval. He's interesting, but in the same way that so many young guys are. He doesn't jump off the page at me by any means, but I think he can be a solid #3 if all goes well.

I will give you Addison Reed, the problem is that as a reliever, his value is dwarfed considerably. If I gave you the choice between Aroldis Chapman and Clay Buchholz... you'd take Clay Buchholz, or should without a second thought. Relievers are great, but a guy who can go 6 or 7 innings, and keep the team in it will always be more valuable than a closer who only goes 1 (albeit, 1 very good inning better than any one of Buch's 7). He's a great player, and he's fun to watch, but I don't value individual relievers terribly highly for a reason.

And as for Tyler Flowers... I was seriously debating between him and Viciedo for my own player to watch. The problem was that Dayan is a little bit more sure I felt when I started the write up (I started the player to watch thing well before I wrote the rest). Flowers is a very interesting talent, and I think he has top 10 catcher written all over him. I'm not sure about top 5 yet, especially when D'Arnaud and Zunino hit the majors.

I should make note here, that I don't hate any team in MLB except the Rays and Yankees. If I write poorly of a team, it's just my view which I try to make as unbiased as possible with regards to other teams. I don't hate the White Sox, I just don't like them as a whole, and find the stats very misleading with that team due to my view on how sabremetrics should be applied.
Jordanv78 :

Fair point, but I'll counter with this.

White Sox


Tigers


Both images courtesy of Fangraphs and their wonderful team.

I tried to limit it to the pitchers who threw significant amounts of innings. After Omogrosso, only one pitcher on the White Sox really had enough innings to qualify for significant. Phillip Humber, and he was 23rd as ranked by WAR (Wins above Replacement). I chose WAR for no significant reason, it's just a measure that made the most sense for tracking general player value.

Point is, Humber was so bad, he didn't even deserve to be on the list, as he pulled in a negative WAR of -.3 which would imply he cost the team more games than he won.

I got almost all of the Tigers however, as they shared the workload pretty evenly throughout the season last year.

When I wrote the analysis I wrote, I had the following factors in mind.

-2012 success
-Career success
-Early season breakoutage (Justin Upton being a prime example)

The White Sox had success last year, yes, but their pitching is not really in the same class as the Tigers, at least at present time.

But to continue the actual argument...

"Peavey is 2nd in MLB in strikeouts right now. and the Tigers and Sox have similar ERA's. The Sox ERA was a lot lower but had a rough go this last time around the rotation especially Sale."

And Justin Masterson is leading the league in ERA aside from Matt Moore. Point? Early season success is only really to be highly valued if the player hasn't done what they've done before, or are facing difficult teams. Peavy has faced Cleveland, Washington, and Kansas City.

Cleveland isn't really clear what type of team they are yet. So much changeover, it's hard to tell if his "success" is to be put on the pitcher or the failure of the bats. I don't have the logs for that game in front of me, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear Mark Reynolds was responsible for 4 of the 11 Ks that Peavy threw. On top of that, they are missing some key guys right now in Michael Bourn and Carlos Santana. Add in Raburn, Chisenhall, and Gomes, and you have a ton of high strikeout batters, or inexperienced ones in Chisenhall's case, and you have an opportunity for literally anyone to strike them out.

It just so happens that the Indians-Yankees games were rained out, and the White Sox were the only team to face these weakened Indians to this point. I'd say that's pretty fortunate, wouldn't you?

Regardless, there are two other teams he faced. The Nationals absolutely crushed him, so I won't drudge that up.

He also faced the Kansas City Royals, who have scored 52 runs to date. That's good for 14th in MLB. Not exactly a top level team. And a lot of those runs (like one on Peavy) are unearned. As a result, Peavy's ERA and thus the conception of his talent level go up.

Last year he had 7.97 ks per 9 innings, which is pretty grand, I will admit. But let's look at Tigers pitchers who had more. Justin Verlander (9.03), Max Schrezer (11.08), Octavio Dotel (9.62), Bryan Villareal (10.87), Al Alberqurque (12.15) ... etc

They had a total of 10 guys with a better K rate than Peavy, not to mention the guys above who ALSO had a better one than Chris Sale, the premier arm on that team.

Now let's look at White Sox pitchers who did the same, IE higher K rate than Peavy.

Chris Sale (9), Jesse Crain (11.25), Francisco Liriano (9.21... and no longer a White Sox), Donie Veal (13.15).

In total, last year the White Sox had 7 guys who threw significant innings and had a higher K rate than Peavy. The White Sox also only had 4 who did better than Sale, and only 3 are still with the team.

So the Tigers seem to win with K rate.

You say the White Sox weren't lucky, because they held the division lead for most of the season.

So did the Orioles in the AL East, and they were the luckiest sons of b****es I've ever seen in my life. Just because you win, doesn't mean you aren't lucky. In fact, you are more likely to win because you were lucky in a one run game than you would in a 2 or 3 run game.

I don't like using BABIP (Batting Average on Balls in Play. It works because it removes strikeouts and homeruns, as they are not in play), because on it's own it's a useless stat, and people confuse it with luck. But if you combine it with GO/FO/LO ratio, you can get an idea of what types of hits a pitcher is giving up.

Let's look at Peavy first, snce he's the first guy you named.

.272 BABIP against.
45% Fly Ball Rate (est)
42% Ground out Rate (est)
13% Line Out Rate (est)

Oddly enough, based on the above, he had his BEST season of his career, which you can never expect to carry over. When a player has a career year, they seldom repeat.



The above is a graph of Jake Peavy's BABIP against by year. He had a 3.37 ERA which is good for his best year since 2008, where he had a lower BABIP against than league average. Hey, speaking of BABIP against, look at 2012 on that graph.

It looks a lot like 2008, don't it?



The above is Jake Peavy's LOB%. As you can see, he leaves more runners on than league average. None of these things by themself SCREAM luck, but if you look at all of these numbers together, it becomes pretty clear that one of the three is true.

1. Jake Peavy is the best damn pitcher ever (Nope)
2. Jake Peavy is a cardiac starter (unlikely)
3. Jake Peavy had a lucky 2012, and is starting 2013 strong against weak teams (I'm going with this one.)

Moving off Peavy though, since I'm beating him like a dead horse...

Let's look at Chris Sale. High K Rate, manageable BB Rate, Relatively low HR Rate... and a .294 BABIP against?

If you paid attention to the Peavy example above, you'd know that Peavy was above league average BABIP... and Sale is higher than Peavy, what does that tell you about Sale? Let's ignore that for a moment... He left 80% of his men stranded, which is Daisuke Matsuzaka level of leaving guys on base. Not something you generally want. He also had 45% ground ball ratio, 32% Fly Ball ratio, and a 23% line drive ratio. He's giving up well more line drives than Peavy is. Line drives, as you know, are the best things to hit, since they have the highest probability of landing.

Based off that, and looking at further stats... Chris Sale was actually even luckier than Peavy, considering Sale's eventual ERA of 3.05, which was lower than Peavy.

If you adjust for league average BABIP and put MLB level defense everywhere... you could see Peavy and Sale gaining half a run, and losing an extra game or two...

But, before we jump to conclusions, let's look at another metric, FIP.

Fielding Independent Pitching.

I'll quote this page here

"Fielding Independent Pitching converts a pitcher's three true outcomes into an earned run average-like number. The formula is (13*HR+3*BB-2*K)/IP, plus a constant (usually around 3.2) to put it on the same scale as earned run average.

FIP is a component ERA inspired by the work of Voros McCracken on defense-indepdendent pitching statistics, but has become more widely used because of the ease of computation - it requires only four easily-found box score stats, uses only basic arithmetic operations and has four easily-memorized constants. It was conceived of by both Tom Tango and Clay Dreslough, the latter of who called it Defense-Independent Component ERA.

At Prospectus, we are including hit batters in the walks term. The constant we use is both league and season specific - in other words, a pitcher in the American League will have a different FIP constant than a pitcher in the National League. This differs from the presentation of FIP on sites such as Fangraphs, which use one constant for both leagues in each season.

Here is an example of the Fielding Independent Pitching spectrum based on the 2011 season:

Excellent - Roy Halladay 2.17
Great - David Price 3.36
Average - Tim Stauffer 4.00
Poor - Carlos Zambrano 4.56
Horrendous - Bronson Arroyo 5.68"

Let's just look at the White Sox starting pitching last year, versus the Tigers, since not close to enough games have been played in 2013, to really argue in depth about the state of the pitching.

Chris Sale - 3.27
Jake Peavy - 3.73
Gavin Floyd - 4.46
Jose Quintana - 4.23
Phillip Humber - 5.77

Based off of the list above, explaining FIP... the White Sox had one great pitcher, one borderline great/average guy, a borderline average/poor guy, an average guy, and a horrendous guy. Since when does a rotation that features pitchers who are 3/5 borderline average or average qualify as a great rotation?

Justin Verlander - 2.94
Max Schrezer - 3.27
Doug Fister - 3.42
Rick Porcello - 3.91
Anibal Sanchez - 3.68

(I know Drew Smyly started more for the Tigers last year, but Sanchez is starting this year, so I thought it more relevant)

Now looking at the Tigers, they have a guy between excellent and great, a great one, someone who just misses great, a guy who is JUST above average, and another guy between great and average.

If you asked me to choose between a rotation featuring Verlander, Schrezer, Fister, etc... and Sale, Peavy, Quintana, etc... I'd choose the Tigers in a heartbeat. But even if they DIDN'T have Verlander, I'd still choose the Tigers pitching.

But I'll give the White Sox one more chance. Let's look at the "noob" statistic, WAR. (I say noob, because it's the sabremetric literally EVERYONE wants to use. It's fun, but it lacks a lot of context, and doesn't account for fielding errors of teammates as well as it should, and can be really spotty. I mean, technically, I think Jhonny Peralta had a decent WAR last year, and he's kind of mediocre.

But let's try.

Chris Sale - 4.8
Jake Peavy - 4.5
Gavin Floyd - 2.0
Jose Quintana - 1.7
Phillip Humber - -.3

Justin Verlander - 7
Max Schrezer - 4.5
Doug Fister - 3.5
Rick Porcello - 2.9
Anibal Sanchez - 1.4 (keep in mind he was around for only 12 games, over a full season, if you extrapolate, it would get close to 4.)

So even WAR agrees. Meaning the only disagreement is personal opinion.

Now that I've gotten the stats out of the way, I can arrive to your next point. (because I answered luck already, I'll be skipping ahead to...)

"It's pretty common for the Sox to start slow in April especially if it's even colder than normal which is the case this year. The Sox play in a hitters ballpark and when the weather starts warming up, so shall they."

The Red Sox also start slow generally. We're 8-4. No excuses. And we also play in a hitters park. But this is about the Tigers, who are also a northern team, and play in cold weather, which by the way...



Hey look, DETROIT RANKS RIGHT AHEAD OF CHICAGO'S WHITE SOX. From left to right, it is Runs, Home Runs, Hits, Doubles, Triples, Walks. And it factors for both sides. So it's not just the Tigers giving up hits, or the White Sox not getting hits. The idea is, the higher the team rating on this list, the more of a HITTERS park it is.

So far, early in 2013, it looks like Detroit has more of a hitters park, even if only slightly. I ranked them via home runs, because it was simple, and you could compare the two next to each other. The only way USC is more of a hitters park so far, is based off of triples, which the Tigers don't ever hit, because they are a slow team. The White Sox are slow too mind, but the Tigers are probably one of the slowest.

So that can't be it... what's your next point...

"Tigers are spending money like it's going out of style"

The following are opening day payrolls of both teams as per Cots Baseball Contracts.

White Sox
2013 : $118,914,500
2012: $ 97,669,500

Tigers
2013 : $148,693,600
2012: $133,475,000

So actually, while the Tigers are spending more... the White Sox were the ones tossing money around this offseason. Your payroll jumped 21 million. The Tigers "only" jumped 15 million in comparison.

Now... to end that argument...

I like Jose Quintana, but I don't like him that much yet. He needs to show a lot more consistency before I can really believe in him and give him my stamp or approval. He's interesting, but in the same way that so many young guys are. He doesn't jump off the page at me by any means, but I think he can be a solid #3 if all goes well.

I will give you Addison Reed, the problem is that as a reliever, his value is dwarfed considerably. If I gave you the choice between Aroldis Chapman and Clay Buchholz... you'd take Clay Buchholz, or should without a second thought. Relievers are great, but a guy who can go 6 or 7 innings, and keep the team in it will always be more valuable than a closer who only goes 1 (albeit, 1 very good inning better than any one of Buch's 7). He's a great player, and he's fun to watch, but I don't value individual relievers terribly highly for a reason.

And as for Tyler Flowers... I was seriously debating between him and Viciedo for my own player to watch. The problem was that Dayan is a little bit more sure I felt when I started the write up (I started the player to watch thing well before I wrote the rest). Flowers is a very interesting talent, and I think he has top 10 catcher written all over him. I'm not sure about top 5 yet, especially when D'Arnaud and Zunino hit the majors.

I should make note here, that I don't hate any team in MLB except the Rays and Yankees. If I write poorly of a team, it's just my view which I try to make as unbiased as possible with regards to other teams. I don't hate the White Sox, I just don't like them as a whole, and find the stats very misleading with that team due to my view on how sabremetrics should be applied.
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04-15-13 02:49 PM
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legacyme3 : I appreciate your counter argument but I'm still saying it's false for you to say that the Sox were lucky last year because of defense and you left it at that. It just wasn't true. Their success was all based on their great power hitting and to a lesser extent solid pitching when they needed it. Although admittedly there were times when pitching inconsistencies in the back of the rotation and the bullpen bit them.

Regarding your statement with the Sox and their opening schedule. They played Division opponents which are always tough games in the central no-matter how good or bad the teams are and a team that's was pretty hot coming in. Besides, you can only play who's on your schedule. It's not like the Tigers have had that much of a tougher schedule. Hell, they got swept by the Twins.

I appreciate stats but somehow comparing Ocatio Dotel to Jake Peavy is just crazy no matter how you slice it. So using those stats in that regard is short sighted and actually takes away from your point. As does including people like Al Alberqurque lol. I'm not even sure what that has to do with my initial point. All I was saying was that he has been doing well to start the season, and that he had a good season last year.

Also although I like Sale, I don't think you can quite call him "The premier arm on the team" he has yet to show what exactly he will be. Peavy won a Cy Young. Sale has not. Although I will say that placing 9th in the AL right behind Peavy in K's was a huge step in the right direction.

Btw Bourn played against the Sox and the Sox had a hard time getting him out.

I never said that the Sox were "lights out" pitching last year. I said that they were winning the Division race for most of the year with "SOLID" pitching and great power hitting. They led the Tigers for a good portion of the season until the injuries stacked up in the middle of the order for the Sox.

Also I'm not quite sure why you were comparing parks between the Sox and the Tigers and act like somehow that is what I was doing. The point I was making is that the Sox have been a big home run hitting team for the majority of the past 13 or so years. Their park is known as a hitters park when you get into the warm parts of the Summer.
I was also just pointing out that they tend to start slow especially during springs that are more cold than usual. I'm not saying that it's science, I'm saying it's a trend.

My comment that they hit like 50+ more HR's than the Tigers and had More RBI's was just a side bar to say that the Sox lineup was hitting much better than the tigers for Power and that when Dunn and Konerko went down because of injuries it really hurt them.

As far as the payrolls are concerned, the Tigers are in the top 5 in payroll. The Sox are 30 million below that which is a huge number. The Sox didn't make any big offseason acquisitions. The only one that was notable was Keppinger. The increase in salary was due to increases in contracts for players already on the roster.

I'm not sure what you are talking about with regards to closers and Reed. Closer is a hugely important position for any team trying to get to the playoffs. You know what happens to the teams that don't have one? They don't normally get to the playoffs. Which is the trouble the Tigers are going to have if they don't figure out their bullpen soon. Reed hopefully can fill in some of the inconsistencies that the Sox had at times with the back end of their bullpen.

Either way, the Tigers barely slipped past the Sox last year mainly due to injuries. So for all the money they spent for the middle of their order in the prior off season they still didn't dominate by any means. This year they are still just as flawed with no closer.
legacyme3 : I appreciate your counter argument but I'm still saying it's false for you to say that the Sox were lucky last year because of defense and you left it at that. It just wasn't true. Their success was all based on their great power hitting and to a lesser extent solid pitching when they needed it. Although admittedly there were times when pitching inconsistencies in the back of the rotation and the bullpen bit them.

Regarding your statement with the Sox and their opening schedule. They played Division opponents which are always tough games in the central no-matter how good or bad the teams are and a team that's was pretty hot coming in. Besides, you can only play who's on your schedule. It's not like the Tigers have had that much of a tougher schedule. Hell, they got swept by the Twins.

I appreciate stats but somehow comparing Ocatio Dotel to Jake Peavy is just crazy no matter how you slice it. So using those stats in that regard is short sighted and actually takes away from your point. As does including people like Al Alberqurque lol. I'm not even sure what that has to do with my initial point. All I was saying was that he has been doing well to start the season, and that he had a good season last year.

Also although I like Sale, I don't think you can quite call him "The premier arm on the team" he has yet to show what exactly he will be. Peavy won a Cy Young. Sale has not. Although I will say that placing 9th in the AL right behind Peavy in K's was a huge step in the right direction.

Btw Bourn played against the Sox and the Sox had a hard time getting him out.

I never said that the Sox were "lights out" pitching last year. I said that they were winning the Division race for most of the year with "SOLID" pitching and great power hitting. They led the Tigers for a good portion of the season until the injuries stacked up in the middle of the order for the Sox.

Also I'm not quite sure why you were comparing parks between the Sox and the Tigers and act like somehow that is what I was doing. The point I was making is that the Sox have been a big home run hitting team for the majority of the past 13 or so years. Their park is known as a hitters park when you get into the warm parts of the Summer.
I was also just pointing out that they tend to start slow especially during springs that are more cold than usual. I'm not saying that it's science, I'm saying it's a trend.

My comment that they hit like 50+ more HR's than the Tigers and had More RBI's was just a side bar to say that the Sox lineup was hitting much better than the tigers for Power and that when Dunn and Konerko went down because of injuries it really hurt them.

As far as the payrolls are concerned, the Tigers are in the top 5 in payroll. The Sox are 30 million below that which is a huge number. The Sox didn't make any big offseason acquisitions. The only one that was notable was Keppinger. The increase in salary was due to increases in contracts for players already on the roster.

I'm not sure what you are talking about with regards to closers and Reed. Closer is a hugely important position for any team trying to get to the playoffs. You know what happens to the teams that don't have one? They don't normally get to the playoffs. Which is the trouble the Tigers are going to have if they don't figure out their bullpen soon. Reed hopefully can fill in some of the inconsistencies that the Sox had at times with the back end of their bullpen.

Either way, the Tigers barely slipped past the Sox last year mainly due to injuries. So for all the money they spent for the middle of their order in the prior off season they still didn't dominate by any means. This year they are still just as flawed with no closer.
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(edited by Jordanv78 on 04-15-13 02:57 PM)    

04-15-13 03:20 PM
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Jordanv78 :

But regardless of offense, the point remains that the White Sox defense backed up the White Sox pitching better than the Tigers did.

In fact, I'm surprised you are saying luck wasn't a factor, when you could have instead argued the Tigers were "unlucky". Which they were. Ignoring simple defensive metrics leads to things like this.

I should reiterate, that based off of said defensive and pitching metrics, the White Sox were the worse team by far. Either they were lucky, they underperformed, or they were worse than you are claiming, those are pretty much the three avenues open since I've presented pretty clear cut evidence that the Tigers were better than the White Sox, and showed that luck wasn't a positive factor for the Tigers.

The White Sox were lucky, whether you want to admit it or not, just like how the Orioles and the Athletics had high amounts of luck, and how the Giants did as well last season. The difference between all those teams is that the White Sox were the only ones not to make the playoffs. And while you can argue injuries, people always seem to forget injuries go both ways.

The Red Sox missed the playoffs in 2006 due to bad luck, similar to how the White Sox did last season. Decimated by injuries, the Sox fell just short of accomplishing playoff baseball again. The pitching was decent when healthy, and so was the hitting, everyone was good when healthy.

Does that sound familiar?

The 2006 Red Sox and the 2012 White Sox were very similar teams. Both had to deal with a heavyweight that slipped by them, and both had numerous injuries. That doesn't mean the 2006 Red Sox were a better team than the 2006 Yankees, just like it doesn't mean the 2012 White Sox were better than the 2012 Tigers.

It's an argument that can only be made if you ignore ALL sabremetrical stat evidence that can be presented, in which case, there's no way to convince you (even though the evidence is pretty damning) and it's a losing argument, no matter what I do.

Division games are tough when you play a tough division. The AL West had 3 good teams out of 4. Those were tough. The AL East has anywhere from 3-5 depending on your definition of good. The AL Central lacks a lot of the competition the other divisions contain. The Twins and the Royals and Indians? They were not good teams last year. In fact, two were bad, and one didn't perform to their expectations. The NL East is tough, the NL West is tough. You can make an argument one way or the other for the NL Central... but the AL Central is by far, the weakest division in baseball, based not only my own opinions, but the consensus of several people who have a greater knowledge for the game than I do.

When you play the weakest division, the games are only significantly tougher if your team is really weak. Yes, they get to scout you more, but you get to scout them more too. It's a double edged sword. On top of that, most AL Central teams had barely any significant changeover. The Indians are better yes, and that goes a long way torwards making that division tougher. But the Twins still suck and the Royals always start hot it seems. Then they fall apart. If you think honestly, the toughest team (by far) is the Tigers.

You said the White Sox were just as good as the Tigers. The Tigers have lights out pitching. Which means you think the Sox have lights out pitching. If you don't think the White Sox have lights out pitching, then the argument is over, since you just admitted the Tigers were the better team when it comes to pitching. As such, I made the logical assumption you were making that claim, as otherwise, the argument is completely invalid.

And again, injuries are a problem, but I think even healthy, the Tigers steamroll by you in that last month. We will never know, but the Tigers were pretty good... so you can't say it wouldn't have happened. That's arrogant.

I'm comparing the parks because it's relevant. You said the White Sox have a hitters park. They do.

I was trying to make the connection that the Tigers ALSO have a hitters park, proving that you can't just say "This is a hitters park, and thus pitchers will pitch worse in it".

Both are hitters parks, effectively canceling out that argument pre-emptively.

Saying the White Sox have more power is like saying the Red Sox have a pitcher named Rubby De La Rosa in the farm system. It may be true, but it's completely irrelevent to the point "I" am trying to make. I'm not talking about the White Sox offense. I'm talking about their pitching. The one thing in your argument I have a problem with.

Money spent on players in the organization is still money spent. You can't just dismiss it and say the Tigers spent more money.

The Tigers didn't have a "huge" offseason. They signed Fielder to an extension and resigned Anibal Sanchez, who they acquired via trade. So they ALSO spent most of their money on players n the organization. The only difference is the Tigers spent more the year before, which is perfectly fine, they have money, they should use it. But saying they are throwing money around is silly, because they did that already in the past. They didn't throw any around this past offseason, and thus the team is the same as it was last year.

The closer is the most overrated position in baseball. It's sad, but it's true. A closer will pitch maybe 60 innings over the course of a full season. Unless your closer is Mariano Rivera, they will not have such a good 60 innings that you will want them over a guy who tosses 3 times the inning with good effectiveness. It's simple baseball speak. Closers get paid through the roof, (example - Papelbon) for only 1 inning of the game. Starters have more value by merit of tossing more innings for the same money.

You are confusing closers for a full bullpen.

A bullpen that has a single closer isn't worth crap.

A bullpen with 3 good relievers and a half decent closer is worth well more.

The closer can't pitch innings 1-8. A run allowed in any of those innings is JUST as valuable as a run scored in the 9th. The difference is a run in the 9th tastes sweet if you score it, since it's perceived as "clutch"

A win in April is as valuable as a win in September, and an inning at the end of the game is just as valuable as an inning at the beginning of one. By merit, you could really start games with the closer, and have the starter come in to finish it off. There really isn't that much of a difference between inning 1 and 9. Sensationalists just try to make it so for the sake of drama and excitement.

The Tigers aren't perfect.

I wasn't saying they were. Every team in baseball has flaws.

The Tigers are just a better team right now than the White Sox by merits of the starting rotation. Bullpen arms are relatively cheap to acquire. Generally. If the Tigers fix the bullpen, the White Sox have legit no chance. Just like if the White Sox improve their rotation, the Tigers will have no real chance.

It's just a matter of plugging holes, and the Tigers holes are slightly smaller, since 3 < 6.
Jordanv78 :

But regardless of offense, the point remains that the White Sox defense backed up the White Sox pitching better than the Tigers did.

In fact, I'm surprised you are saying luck wasn't a factor, when you could have instead argued the Tigers were "unlucky". Which they were. Ignoring simple defensive metrics leads to things like this.

I should reiterate, that based off of said defensive and pitching metrics, the White Sox were the worse team by far. Either they were lucky, they underperformed, or they were worse than you are claiming, those are pretty much the three avenues open since I've presented pretty clear cut evidence that the Tigers were better than the White Sox, and showed that luck wasn't a positive factor for the Tigers.

The White Sox were lucky, whether you want to admit it or not, just like how the Orioles and the Athletics had high amounts of luck, and how the Giants did as well last season. The difference between all those teams is that the White Sox were the only ones not to make the playoffs. And while you can argue injuries, people always seem to forget injuries go both ways.

The Red Sox missed the playoffs in 2006 due to bad luck, similar to how the White Sox did last season. Decimated by injuries, the Sox fell just short of accomplishing playoff baseball again. The pitching was decent when healthy, and so was the hitting, everyone was good when healthy.

Does that sound familiar?

The 2006 Red Sox and the 2012 White Sox were very similar teams. Both had to deal with a heavyweight that slipped by them, and both had numerous injuries. That doesn't mean the 2006 Red Sox were a better team than the 2006 Yankees, just like it doesn't mean the 2012 White Sox were better than the 2012 Tigers.

It's an argument that can only be made if you ignore ALL sabremetrical stat evidence that can be presented, in which case, there's no way to convince you (even though the evidence is pretty damning) and it's a losing argument, no matter what I do.

Division games are tough when you play a tough division. The AL West had 3 good teams out of 4. Those were tough. The AL East has anywhere from 3-5 depending on your definition of good. The AL Central lacks a lot of the competition the other divisions contain. The Twins and the Royals and Indians? They were not good teams last year. In fact, two were bad, and one didn't perform to their expectations. The NL East is tough, the NL West is tough. You can make an argument one way or the other for the NL Central... but the AL Central is by far, the weakest division in baseball, based not only my own opinions, but the consensus of several people who have a greater knowledge for the game than I do.

When you play the weakest division, the games are only significantly tougher if your team is really weak. Yes, they get to scout you more, but you get to scout them more too. It's a double edged sword. On top of that, most AL Central teams had barely any significant changeover. The Indians are better yes, and that goes a long way torwards making that division tougher. But the Twins still suck and the Royals always start hot it seems. Then they fall apart. If you think honestly, the toughest team (by far) is the Tigers.

You said the White Sox were just as good as the Tigers. The Tigers have lights out pitching. Which means you think the Sox have lights out pitching. If you don't think the White Sox have lights out pitching, then the argument is over, since you just admitted the Tigers were the better team when it comes to pitching. As such, I made the logical assumption you were making that claim, as otherwise, the argument is completely invalid.

And again, injuries are a problem, but I think even healthy, the Tigers steamroll by you in that last month. We will never know, but the Tigers were pretty good... so you can't say it wouldn't have happened. That's arrogant.

I'm comparing the parks because it's relevant. You said the White Sox have a hitters park. They do.

I was trying to make the connection that the Tigers ALSO have a hitters park, proving that you can't just say "This is a hitters park, and thus pitchers will pitch worse in it".

Both are hitters parks, effectively canceling out that argument pre-emptively.

Saying the White Sox have more power is like saying the Red Sox have a pitcher named Rubby De La Rosa in the farm system. It may be true, but it's completely irrelevent to the point "I" am trying to make. I'm not talking about the White Sox offense. I'm talking about their pitching. The one thing in your argument I have a problem with.

Money spent on players in the organization is still money spent. You can't just dismiss it and say the Tigers spent more money.

The Tigers didn't have a "huge" offseason. They signed Fielder to an extension and resigned Anibal Sanchez, who they acquired via trade. So they ALSO spent most of their money on players n the organization. The only difference is the Tigers spent more the year before, which is perfectly fine, they have money, they should use it. But saying they are throwing money around is silly, because they did that already in the past. They didn't throw any around this past offseason, and thus the team is the same as it was last year.

The closer is the most overrated position in baseball. It's sad, but it's true. A closer will pitch maybe 60 innings over the course of a full season. Unless your closer is Mariano Rivera, they will not have such a good 60 innings that you will want them over a guy who tosses 3 times the inning with good effectiveness. It's simple baseball speak. Closers get paid through the roof, (example - Papelbon) for only 1 inning of the game. Starters have more value by merit of tossing more innings for the same money.

You are confusing closers for a full bullpen.

A bullpen that has a single closer isn't worth crap.

A bullpen with 3 good relievers and a half decent closer is worth well more.

The closer can't pitch innings 1-8. A run allowed in any of those innings is JUST as valuable as a run scored in the 9th. The difference is a run in the 9th tastes sweet if you score it, since it's perceived as "clutch"

A win in April is as valuable as a win in September, and an inning at the end of the game is just as valuable as an inning at the beginning of one. By merit, you could really start games with the closer, and have the starter come in to finish it off. There really isn't that much of a difference between inning 1 and 9. Sensationalists just try to make it so for the sake of drama and excitement.

The Tigers aren't perfect.

I wasn't saying they were. Every team in baseball has flaws.

The Tigers are just a better team right now than the White Sox by merits of the starting rotation. Bullpen arms are relatively cheap to acquire. Generally. If the Tigers fix the bullpen, the White Sox have legit no chance. Just like if the White Sox improve their rotation, the Tigers will have no real chance.

It's just a matter of plugging holes, and the Tigers holes are slightly smaller, since 3 < 6.
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04-15-13 03:53 PM
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legacyme3 : I never meant to imply that the Sox were as good as the Tigers on paper. Nor did I say they were "Just as good" I was saying that their rotation as a whole has the potential to be as good as the Tigers, and that SO FAR they were similar staffs stats wise for the 2013 season.
I was also alluding to the fact that outside of Cabrera (Who had one of the greatest seasons by a player ever) their lineup underperformed last year compared to expectations.

With regards to backing up your pitching staff better, sure the Sox had like 20 less errors and a better fielding percentage than the Tigers. That's not really what I would call "luck" it's called being a better team with defensive fundamentals.

Obviously having a full bullpen is better than just having one good closer. Again, I never said that... but you are greatly discounting the closers role. They can be hugely important and generally teams that have a great closer that can shut down a team (Especially in the playoffs) has an advantage.

I'm sure you have heard of Mariano Rivera or Dennis Eckersley? Sure I know that these guys are above most closers, I'm just saying it can be hugely important for a team to have a closer rather than a guy that can't close games. If a closer blows 10 games in a season that can be the difference of not making the playoffs and usually is.

You talk about saying that somehow I was bringing up the part of the Sox lineup, you were the one that compared offensive numbers and parks and all of that...when the truth was the Sox hit better for power, which is all I said. I think that your arguing for the sake of arguing in that respect. I never said that the Sox staff pitched worse because of their park either. YOU made that assumption. I said the Sox were slow starters when the weathers cold and that they have had a team for over a decade that depends on hitting the HR because AROUND THE LEAGUE it's known as a hitters park.

Also are you serious by saying the Tigers didn't spend a ton of money before the 2012 season?? They paid Prince Fielder 214 million. I never said that it was bad money spent either. You made that assumption. What I said was that they were spending a ton of money.

You somehow turned this into a Tigers Vs. Sox argument on your own when all I was saying was that the Sox did well and that their success didn't have anything to do with "Luck" overall. It was several factors, but mainly the aforementioned fact that the Sox outhit the Tigers in most of the major Power categories.
legacyme3 : I never meant to imply that the Sox were as good as the Tigers on paper. Nor did I say they were "Just as good" I was saying that their rotation as a whole has the potential to be as good as the Tigers, and that SO FAR they were similar staffs stats wise for the 2013 season.
I was also alluding to the fact that outside of Cabrera (Who had one of the greatest seasons by a player ever) their lineup underperformed last year compared to expectations.

With regards to backing up your pitching staff better, sure the Sox had like 20 less errors and a better fielding percentage than the Tigers. That's not really what I would call "luck" it's called being a better team with defensive fundamentals.

Obviously having a full bullpen is better than just having one good closer. Again, I never said that... but you are greatly discounting the closers role. They can be hugely important and generally teams that have a great closer that can shut down a team (Especially in the playoffs) has an advantage.

I'm sure you have heard of Mariano Rivera or Dennis Eckersley? Sure I know that these guys are above most closers, I'm just saying it can be hugely important for a team to have a closer rather than a guy that can't close games. If a closer blows 10 games in a season that can be the difference of not making the playoffs and usually is.

You talk about saying that somehow I was bringing up the part of the Sox lineup, you were the one that compared offensive numbers and parks and all of that...when the truth was the Sox hit better for power, which is all I said. I think that your arguing for the sake of arguing in that respect. I never said that the Sox staff pitched worse because of their park either. YOU made that assumption. I said the Sox were slow starters when the weathers cold and that they have had a team for over a decade that depends on hitting the HR because AROUND THE LEAGUE it's known as a hitters park.

Also are you serious by saying the Tigers didn't spend a ton of money before the 2012 season?? They paid Prince Fielder 214 million. I never said that it was bad money spent either. You made that assumption. What I said was that they were spending a ton of money.

You somehow turned this into a Tigers Vs. Sox argument on your own when all I was saying was that the Sox did well and that their success didn't have anything to do with "Luck" overall. It was several factors, but mainly the aforementioned fact that the Sox outhit the Tigers in most of the major Power categories.
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(edited by Jordanv78 on 04-15-13 09:04 PM)    

04-15-13 07:30 PM
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We are still pretty early on in the season, but I'm already having some predictions on this season.
AL East: Right now, I think that Boston has the best shot right now at getting in to the playoffs. Baltimore and the Yankees both are pretty close together, so I can't really say whether one has a better chance at getting the wild card then the other. If it turns out like past seasons, Yankees will come back to take the Number 1 spot, but I hope it won't turn out like that
AL Central: I don't follow AL Central that much, but I know a little bit about the teams. Chances are Detroit is going to get the top spot, but I don't know too much about that kind of stuff
AL West: Oakland and Texas both have a fighting chance, it all depends on what goes on later in the season. Seattle could make a nice comeback too, I can't tell for sure yet.
NL East: Atlanta has gotten a nice hold on the lead, they should be able to hold that for the rest of the season. The Mets might come back, they might not. It is a toss up right now.
NL Central: Right now, it is anyone's game (except for the Cubs XD). Milwaukee is off to a bad start, considering they lost one of their star players, but they might bounce back. St. Louis and Pittsburgh are both good teams, so they will have a nice match up for this season. Cincinnati will probably do alright, but I doubt they will get the wild card.
NL West: Right now, I think the Rockies are doing the best out of all these teams. They have a nice line-up, they play their games well, and even though they are second to the 49ers, I think they will come back from that. The 49ers are going to put up a nice fight. And the Padres will lose again!
That is my opinion on the teams and standings right now. It is pretty early on to make predictions, so they could change (except for the Padres, lol)
We are still pretty early on in the season, but I'm already having some predictions on this season.
AL East: Right now, I think that Boston has the best shot right now at getting in to the playoffs. Baltimore and the Yankees both are pretty close together, so I can't really say whether one has a better chance at getting the wild card then the other. If it turns out like past seasons, Yankees will come back to take the Number 1 spot, but I hope it won't turn out like that
AL Central: I don't follow AL Central that much, but I know a little bit about the teams. Chances are Detroit is going to get the top spot, but I don't know too much about that kind of stuff
AL West: Oakland and Texas both have a fighting chance, it all depends on what goes on later in the season. Seattle could make a nice comeback too, I can't tell for sure yet.
NL East: Atlanta has gotten a nice hold on the lead, they should be able to hold that for the rest of the season. The Mets might come back, they might not. It is a toss up right now.
NL Central: Right now, it is anyone's game (except for the Cubs XD). Milwaukee is off to a bad start, considering they lost one of their star players, but they might bounce back. St. Louis and Pittsburgh are both good teams, so they will have a nice match up for this season. Cincinnati will probably do alright, but I doubt they will get the wild card.
NL West: Right now, I think the Rockies are doing the best out of all these teams. They have a nice line-up, they play their games well, and even though they are second to the 49ers, I think they will come back from that. The 49ers are going to put up a nice fight. And the Padres will lose again!
That is my opinion on the teams and standings right now. It is pretty early on to make predictions, so they could change (except for the Padres, lol)
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04-15-13 08:33 PM
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thenoobtester :

"well, and even though they are second to the 49ers, I think they will come back from that. The 49ers are going to put up a nice fight."

...

The 49ers?

That's a football team.
thenoobtester :

"well, and even though they are second to the 49ers, I think they will come back from that. The 49ers are going to put up a nice fight."

...

The 49ers?

That's a football team.
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04-15-13 08:34 PM
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legacyme3 : crap. My mind is failing right now. I think I'm going to sleep now. And anyways, I don't pay as much attention to NL West as I do East and Central
I feel really stupid.
legacyme3 : crap. My mind is failing right now. I think I'm going to sleep now. And anyways, I don't pay as much attention to NL West as I do East and Central
I feel really stupid.
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04-15-13 09:53 PM
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what is with the black background fonts? They are killer on the eyes.

Anyways, it looks like the jays pitchers are getting their rhythm. Its too bad Reyes is gone, but Kawasaki is contributing in his spot. So in jays news, Lawrie is back, and Santos is on the disabled list. It is expected that Lawrie will bat 1st or 2nd in the lineup.
what is with the black background fonts? They are killer on the eyes.

Anyways, it looks like the jays pitchers are getting their rhythm. Its too bad Reyes is gone, but Kawasaki is contributing in his spot. So in jays news, Lawrie is back, and Santos is on the disabled list. It is expected that Lawrie will bat 1st or 2nd in the lineup.
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04-17-13 11:51 PM
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So, so far this season, not much has happened in my opinion. My Mariners are doing how they usually do, the Rangers are doing good, which ticks me off, and the Braves are doing average. That is about all I really care about.
So, so far this season, not much has happened in my opinion. My Mariners are doing how they usually do, the Rangers are doing good, which ticks me off, and the Braves are doing average. That is about all I really care about.
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04-17-13 11:58 PM
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thing1 :

I think Atlanta is doing better than average, but yes, Texas is doing well. I find their situation similar to the Cardinals of last year.
thing1 :

I think Atlanta is doing better than average, but yes, Texas is doing well. I find their situation similar to the Cardinals of last year.
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04-18-13 12:00 AM
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bobq : To be honest, the only team I really pay attention to is the Seattle Mariners... and speaking of which... I need to look up tickets. I want to see a game when I go home for a week in June.
bobq : To be honest, the only team I really pay attention to is the Seattle Mariners... and speaking of which... I need to look up tickets. I want to see a game when I go home for a week in June.
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04-18-13 12:03 AM
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Wish I had money to go to a jays game, Id love to see Brandon Morrow pitch again. I went to the game he pitched where he had a no hitter with 2 out in the 9th. unfortunately, Aaron Hill blew it on the last play, but it should have been an error.

The team was really garbage then though lol
Wish I had money to go to a jays game, Id love to see Brandon Morrow pitch again. I went to the game he pitched where he had a no hitter with 2 out in the 9th. unfortunately, Aaron Hill blew it on the last play, but it should have been an error.

The team was really garbage then though lol
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04-18-13 01:39 AM
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Well, the Tigers just beat the Mariners in the 14th inning. There were 40 strikeouts in all for the game. Exiting game overall, and exiting last play.





thing1 : Great game, huh? I'm really just glad that it's over.

Both starters went eight strong innings, and I think 12 Ks each. Feeling realy good about us right now. Prince stunk again, but we were still able to get it done.
Well, the Tigers just beat the Mariners in the 14th inning. There were 40 strikeouts in all for the game. Exiting game overall, and exiting last play.





thing1 : Great game, huh? I'm really just glad that it's over.

Both starters went eight strong innings, and I think 12 Ks each. Feeling realy good about us right now. Prince stunk again, but we were still able to get it done.
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(edited by patar4097 on 04-18-13 01:42 AM)    

04-19-13 08:30 PM
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As a Braves fan living in Atlanta, I am starting to get sick of fans saying the they will go 161 and 2. Well, I have one thing to say to them, that will not happen. The thing that makes them think this is what kind of line up that they have and how wonderful they have been doing. The first thing I want to talk about is the bullpen. I know that the Atlanta Braves bullpen is just amazing, but I do think it has some flaws. You have the wonderful starters in Tim Hudson and others, but they do have some consistency problems. In the second game they lose this season, the pen only gave up one run. Not the pin, the pitching staff. It was just that there was no showing up in the offence. But some games, the starters and pen have given up a whole lot of runs, and the offence had to be explosive. The next thing I would like to talk about is Jason Heyward, Justin Upton, and  B J Upton. The main problem that I have is B J Upton and Jason Heyward. I have watched them play this season, and have not seen what I want to see out of them. If there are and Braves fans out there than do you remember in the Miami Marlins game in the Bottom of the 2nd inning when there was an easy pop up to B J Upton and it hit right off of the tip of his glove? Well, to me that was a sign of laziness. If he had put his all into that play than he would have made it with no problem. The second thing about these two players is their hitting. Both Jason Heyward and B J Upton have not been too good at the plate in the first few games of this season. They are just not being as explosive as I want them to be. But all of this is made up by Justin Upton and Evan Gattis.  If no one has seen what both of these players can do, than watch their at bats on youtube. Both of them are doing more than what was expected out of them. I know that everyone knew that Justin Upton was going to be a great player, but no one thought that he would be THIS good. The next person is Evan Gattis. What I have to say about him is that he is doing what no one thought he could do. If you do not know, Brian Mccann is the Braves starting catcher but is right now on the DL so they had to put in a back up. So they choose Evan Gattis. Evan Gattis has just hit the ball so well, but as you know, everything has to come to an end. At the beginning of the season, Evan was just awesome at the plate, he would always find a way to get on base. But now he is starting to cool off. He is still hitting off the charts, but not as much as he was at the start of the season. I mean look at the stats for Justin Upton and Evan Glattis.  I had to make those stats from scratch so please be considerate. As you can see from the stats, Evan Gattis and Justin Upton have more than 10 RBI's while B J Upton and Jason Heyward only have 5 or less, that is not what you want from a supposed to be star player. Hits tell what about each player and you look at the other stats and they really do tell you about them. I hope the stats for both Evan Gattis and Justin Upton will stay where they are or even get better. While the stats for both Jason Heyward and B J Upton get a lot better. I want all of these star out fielders average at the plate to be at least 300. That is just what I think their potential is! 

             Team Pos GA AB
 R
 H 2B
3B
  HR
 RBI



  Upton ,  ATL   LF
15   58 15 19  4     0   
9    13



 Gattis ,
  ATl    LC    12  43 
6  12  2   0    5   
12



B J Upton ATL CF  14   54 
5   9   3   
0     2     3



Heyward ATL 
RF  15    52 
8   6   2    0    2     
5




The loss against Kansas City, a one to nothing loss is not that bad, but right now they are trailing the Pirates five to nothing. I think that the Braves have just hit a solid brick wall, need to recover and then can get back up and start this good streak of I think ten games going. The Braves are right now putting on a wonderful show for the whole MLB and for people like myself who love to follow sports then talk about them. I think that the season for the Braves will not big a big disappointment but will be amazing for this team that is still recovering from the infield fly that was called last year in their one game playoff, which I will touch n just a bit. Alright, about last years one game playoff loss to the Cards. I think that this streak that the Braves are on now is just what they need to get that bad memory of the infield fly call in last years game that got the fans super angry. What happened was that one of the Braves players hit a ball into the shallow outfield, and they called an infield fly call on the play because there was a runner at first, the ball was not to be called an infield fly and was to be left alone for the catcher to make the play with. But that is not what happened, I do not have enough time to get into great detail, but if you want to learn more or if you just want to see the play than just put in Atlanta Braves VS Cards in one game playoff, infield fly call, and you should find a whole lot of them. Just watch any of them and you will get the play, but some are better quality than others. What really made me mad was when a sports geek wanted to just come out and tell the public why the call was made. He went on this huge rant about how, as soon as the fielder could easily good under it, they called the play, it was a good choice, absolutely no one knew what he was saying. I think along with everyone else that it was a bag call that should have never been made. Overall, I think that the season last year was going so well and then put to a halt with the one game playoff. I really do think that the one game playoff should never had been made. If you have a bad day than you can always come back the next game and blow them out for the next h=few games and take home the series. 
   I just want to touch on my Cleveland Indians for a short time. First of all, I have always loved the Indians, but they have never been good so I really am not to mad or glad about there 5 and 9 start. I am however disappointed in them, they have always been at the top of the division for the first half of the season and then fall off. But I do love them and I always hope for a good season out of the Indians. 

As a Braves fan living in Atlanta, I am starting to get sick of fans saying the they will go 161 and 2. Well, I have one thing to say to them, that will not happen. The thing that makes them think this is what kind of line up that they have and how wonderful they have been doing. The first thing I want to talk about is the bullpen. I know that the Atlanta Braves bullpen is just amazing, but I do think it has some flaws. You have the wonderful starters in Tim Hudson and others, but they do have some consistency problems. In the second game they lose this season, the pen only gave up one run. Not the pin, the pitching staff. It was just that there was no showing up in the offence. But some games, the starters and pen have given up a whole lot of runs, and the offence had to be explosive. The next thing I would like to talk about is Jason Heyward, Justin Upton, and  B J Upton. The main problem that I have is B J Upton and Jason Heyward. I have watched them play this season, and have not seen what I want to see out of them. If there are and Braves fans out there than do you remember in the Miami Marlins game in the Bottom of the 2nd inning when there was an easy pop up to B J Upton and it hit right off of the tip of his glove? Well, to me that was a sign of laziness. If he had put his all into that play than he would have made it with no problem. The second thing about these two players is their hitting. Both Jason Heyward and B J Upton have not been too good at the plate in the first few games of this season. They are just not being as explosive as I want them to be. But all of this is made up by Justin Upton and Evan Gattis.  If no one has seen what both of these players can do, than watch their at bats on youtube. Both of them are doing more than what was expected out of them. I know that everyone knew that Justin Upton was going to be a great player, but no one thought that he would be THIS good. The next person is Evan Gattis. What I have to say about him is that he is doing what no one thought he could do. If you do not know, Brian Mccann is the Braves starting catcher but is right now on the DL so they had to put in a back up. So they choose Evan Gattis. Evan Gattis has just hit the ball so well, but as you know, everything has to come to an end. At the beginning of the season, Evan was just awesome at the plate, he would always find a way to get on base. But now he is starting to cool off. He is still hitting off the charts, but not as much as he was at the start of the season. I mean look at the stats for Justin Upton and Evan Glattis.  I had to make those stats from scratch so please be considerate. As you can see from the stats, Evan Gattis and Justin Upton have more than 10 RBI's while B J Upton and Jason Heyward only have 5 or less, that is not what you want from a supposed to be star player. Hits tell what about each player and you look at the other stats and they really do tell you about them. I hope the stats for both Evan Gattis and Justin Upton will stay where they are or even get better. While the stats for both Jason Heyward and B J Upton get a lot better. I want all of these star out fielders average at the plate to be at least 300. That is just what I think their potential is! 

             Team Pos GA AB
 R
 H 2B
3B
  HR
 RBI



  Upton ,  ATL   LF
15   58 15 19  4     0   
9    13



 Gattis ,
  ATl    LC    12  43 
6  12  2   0    5   
12



B J Upton ATL CF  14   54 
5   9   3   
0     2     3



Heyward ATL 
RF  15    52 
8   6   2    0    2     
5




The loss against Kansas City, a one to nothing loss is not that bad, but right now they are trailing the Pirates five to nothing. I think that the Braves have just hit a solid brick wall, need to recover and then can get back up and start this good streak of I think ten games going. The Braves are right now putting on a wonderful show for the whole MLB and for people like myself who love to follow sports then talk about them. I think that the season for the Braves will not big a big disappointment but will be amazing for this team that is still recovering from the infield fly that was called last year in their one game playoff, which I will touch n just a bit. Alright, about last years one game playoff loss to the Cards. I think that this streak that the Braves are on now is just what they need to get that bad memory of the infield fly call in last years game that got the fans super angry. What happened was that one of the Braves players hit a ball into the shallow outfield, and they called an infield fly call on the play because there was a runner at first, the ball was not to be called an infield fly and was to be left alone for the catcher to make the play with. But that is not what happened, I do not have enough time to get into great detail, but if you want to learn more or if you just want to see the play than just put in Atlanta Braves VS Cards in one game playoff, infield fly call, and you should find a whole lot of them. Just watch any of them and you will get the play, but some are better quality than others. What really made me mad was when a sports geek wanted to just come out and tell the public why the call was made. He went on this huge rant about how, as soon as the fielder could easily good under it, they called the play, it was a good choice, absolutely no one knew what he was saying. I think along with everyone else that it was a bag call that should have never been made. Overall, I think that the season last year was going so well and then put to a halt with the one game playoff. I really do think that the one game playoff should never had been made. If you have a bad day than you can always come back the next game and blow them out for the next h=few games and take home the series. 
   I just want to touch on my Cleveland Indians for a short time. First of all, I have always loved the Indians, but they have never been good so I really am not to mad or glad about there 5 and 9 start. I am however disappointed in them, they have always been at the top of the division for the first half of the season and then fall off. But I do love them and I always hope for a good season out of the Indians. 

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Minecraft Admin

Affected by 'Laziness Syndrome'

Registered: 02-17-13
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Last Post: 80 days
Last Active: 4 days

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