2008 MLB Season

[Trichocyst]

Oh the Braves will be competitive, don't get me wrong. But the amount of vitriol I see on game day when the Mets visit Philadelphia just isn't present when anybody else comes to town. It's really becoming a major rivalry and I love it ... As long as the Phillies are winning.

[Viq]

viq, i know the giants are going to suck horribly this year, but that doesn't mean they should be removed all together from MLB

Sorry >_< I knew something was wrong with the Dodgers in last place, but I didn't even realize that I left off the Giants lol

[Akiyama]

Rockies were a fluke last year and won't finish the way they did last year. Calling it here first! The West needs to get back to sucking =[

[Orph]

The Mets will not make the playoffs. Johan Santana doesn't pitch everyday and the rest of their starters are very questionable. That and they have to play a team that will have a 3 MVP candidates and a cy young candidate as well in the Phillies. The Phillies improved this off season and while the Mets got Santana, the rest of their team just got older.

[Lordcaim]

Mets lost Glavine, he was a big part of why they were good, i mena yea they got Johan but as someone mentioned he gives up the longball often. thier lineup is pretty much the same, they are just a quick 3-4 run score team then have the pitching shut the opponent down, i expect santana to win 20, Pedro could win maybe 10-15 but i think his career is done for the most part but as for the rest of thier rotation idk....

Tigers made ok moves, i was never a big dontrelle fan, i thought his rookie season was a fluke and since his rookie year he's sucked....

Brewers might have a shot, added gagne for depth in the bullpen which is something they needed, they still got sheets who is one of the top starters in the NL, they may make a push for the postseason

[Akiyama]

Santana won't win 20. The NL might be "weaker" than the AL in terms of how it looks, and how ESPN makes it seem to be, but it's not THAT easy. He won't win 20, especially in the East. I say ~17-18 though should be expected and at least 25 HR's given up.

I agree about Glavine. Glavine may not be a shut-down pitcher anymore, but he provided some stability to their rotation and now where is that? You can't count on Pedro to make all his starts. You can't count on their other starters to have great years like last year either as they slowed down at the end of the season anyway. I feel the East may be wide open.

[Lordcaim]

East is gonna be tight with mets-phil's-braves

as i said mets can put up quick runs but will thier pitching be able to hold?

like i said i love the braves rotation but losing andruw jones i think was big i just dont see enough lineup depth granted they got kotsay(decent lead off man but still no Andruw jones), they are gonna have to depend solely on thier pitching to win

Phil's pretty much have same team as last season so they can be in it, like the mets they are a quick scoring team with rollins and howard but will thier pitching hold up?

[Akiyama]

East is gonna be tight with mets-phil's-braves

as i said mets can put up quick runs but will thier pitching be able to hold?

like i said i love the braves rotation but losing andruw jones i think was big i just dont see enough lineup depth granted they got kotsay(decent lead off man but still no Andruw jones), they are gonna have to depend solely on thier pitching to win

Phil's pretty much have same team as last season so they can be in it, like the mets they are a quick scoring team with rollins and howard but will thier pitching hold up?

I don't know. While I liked Andruw's 20+HRs/90+ RBI or so last year, I wasn't a fan of his .220 Batting Average. He was hardly ever on base, and it didn't help us get anymore runs. I think with Kotsay/Willie Harris/Escobar and what not batting up near the top of the order, assuming they are all starting and what not, we may have a better, well rounded offense. I'm not worried about losing Andruw's offensive numbers anyway. It was his defense I loved, and even that was slowing a bit. Have you seen him in LA? He just looks so... out of shape. I think he weighed in at around 240 lbs.

If you had to ask me, I think the Braves pitching staff is more solid than the Phillies and on par with the Mets if Hampton can stay healthy. I mean seriously. At least 20 starts. That's all I ask.. if he gets injured again, I'm going to send hate mail.

[Lordcaim]

I havent really been paying attention to the dodger @ all, yanks,mets,boSox,tigers,angels and cubs are teams im watching for.

as for Hampton:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/h/hamptmi01.shtml

Putting 20 games into the hands of someone who hasnt pitched in 3 years... Might be tough but if he's healthy he can do it

[Akiyama]

Well Hampton is a steaming pile of dogshit and one of the worst busts in past years. As a Braves fan, I sometimes forget we even have his sorry ass because he's always hurt somehow, so I'm not holding my breath. With Hudson, Smoltz, Glavine, and Chuck James though (who pitched great last year), it's a rotation to be reckoned with as 3 outta the four can get you ~13-15 wins each.

[Lordcaim]

lol look @ 1999, he was 22-4 amazing season, i tell u that colorado air fucks up a pitcher bad lol, he was 21-28 with a 5.76 ERA in 2 seasons with the rockies and now he cant get off the DL /sad

[Akiyama]

lol look @ 1999, he was 22-4 amazing season, i tell u that colorado air fucks up a pitcher bad lol, he was 21-28 with a 5.76 ERA in 2 seasons with the rockies and now he cant get off the DL /sad

lol, 1999. Is it bad that every time I look at an inflated stat that happened after 1998, I immediately think Steroids/HGH? D: God damn baseball corrupting my brain. Fucking cheaters. I'm not saying he did anything though, just makes me a bit of a skeptic.

[Lordcaim]

lol yea the whol steroid issue hurt the MLB over th eoff-season but i think they can work through it and have a successful season

[octopus]

lol, 1999. Is it bad that every time I look at an inflated stat that happened after 1998, I immediately think Steroids/HGH? D: God damn baseball corrupting my brain. Fucking cheaters. I'm not saying he did anything though, just makes me a bit of a skeptic.

And hey didn't he break the record for hitting homeruns for a pitcher in colorado? /spreads rumor

Edit: nope he didn't, but he was only off by 2!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MLB_all-ti ... y_pitchers

[Lordcaim]

pitchers hitting homers? thats gotta be juice!

[blister1]

its all because of the DH in the AL, u have ur power hitter as a DH as compared to ur pitcher hitting in the NL, thats pretty much why the AL dominates but they usually struggle come WS time cause of that pitcher hitting slot.

I think the Braves would of been a bigger threat had they hung on to andruw jones but hey anything is possible in the NL

Huh? The pitcher slot in the NL makes it A LOT easier for NL pitchers to get by. I've seen way too many pitchers post very good numbers in the NL and switch over the AL and get trashed.

Funny you mention that because I've seen a lot of AL pitchers switch to the NL and get equally trashed. Barry Zito, Tim Hudson his first couple years and such anyone? Also, Curt Schilling went from the D-Backs to the Red Sox and did quite well himself AL. I think the DH does make it harder for the AL pitchers because you can form a batting order much differently, but I wouldn't say it makes a difference in which league they pitch.

As far as the Braves pitching lineup goes, it is deep if they stay healthy, just like there are other rotations out there that are deep as long as they stay healthy. We don't have "Throw the heat" type pitchers. We have pitchers with incredible location and control though capable of logging many innings (except Hampton, because I hate that waste of skin and bones that have taken up a roster spot/salary for far too long.) I hope Hampton succeeds in the #5 spot (which I assume he will be) and can at least get twenty starts, because while I do feel bad for him, I feel bad for our team much more for making that horrible deal.

Barry Zito just "lost" it. His fastball barely clocks at 90 and his curve which was regarded as one of the best pitches in the league is nowhere to be found. Hudson pitched well last year and Schilling hasn't been nearly as dominant as he was with Arizona or Philly. This obviously doesn't imply to every pitcher, but switching from the NL to the AL is a lot harder than vice-versa.

Santana won't win 20. The NL might be "weaker" than the AL in terms of how it looks, and how ESPN makes it seem to be, but it's not THAT easy. He won't win 20, especially in the East. I say ~17-18 though should be expected and at least 25 HR's given up.

Santana won't be facing the Yankees/Indians/Tigers/Angels/Sox, even the lesser teams such as the Rays/Mariners have decent offenses. He's gonna feast on the entire NL West which had some of the worst offensive numbers in the majors last year (Arizona/San Diego/San Fran) then toss in the Marlins/Nationals/Pirates and you have 20 wins, especially with the Mets offense.

[Lordcaim]

its all because of the DH in the AL, u have ur power hitter as a DH as compared to ur pitcher hitting in the NL, thats pretty much why the AL dominates but they usually struggle come WS time cause of that pitcher hitting slot.

I think the Braves would of been a bigger threat had they hung on to andruw jones but hey anything is possible in the NL

Huh? The pitcher slot in the NL makes it A LOT easier for NL pitchers to get by. I've seen way too many pitchers post very good numbers in the NL and switch over the AL and get trashed.

Funny you mention that because I've seen a lot of AL pitchers switch to the NL and get equally trashed. Barry Zito, Tim Hudson his first couple years and such anyone? Also, Curt Schilling went from the D-Backs to the Red Sox and did quite well himself AL. I think the DH does make it harder for the AL pitchers because you can form a batting order much differently, but I wouldn't say it makes a difference in which league they pitch.

As far as the Braves pitching lineup goes, it is deep if they stay healthy, just like there are other rotations out there that are deep as long as they stay healthy. We don't have "Throw the heat" type pitchers. We have pitchers with incredible location and control though capable of logging many innings (except Hampton, because I hate that waste of skin and bones that have taken up a roster spot/salary for far too long.) I hope Hampton succeeds in the #5 spot (which I assume he will be) and can at least get twenty starts, because while I do feel bad for him, I feel bad for our team much more for making that horrible deal.

Barry Zito just "lost" it. His fastball barely clocks at 90 and his curve which was regarded as one of the best pitches in the league is nowhere to be found. Hudson pitched well last year and Schilling hasn't been nearly as dominant as he was with Arizona or Philly. This obviously doesn't imply to every pitcher, but switching from the NL to the AL is a lot harder than vice-versa.

as i said NL pitchers have easier outs cause of the pitcher hitting, everyone knows when th epitcher comes up its pretty much a gaurenteed out where as in the AL there is no pitcher hitting but the DH which is usually your power guy hitting, might be why schilling isnt all that great on the boSox, as for Zito his career started going down the drain in oakland before he even went to san fran

[octopus]

Barry Zito just "lost" it. His fastball barely clocks at 90 and his curve which was regarded as one of the best pitches in the league is nowhere to be found.

Did he lose it or is he not on juice anymore?

OHSNAP I WENT THERE

(Man, I need to get that mindset out of my head )

[blister1]

It's a possibility, but the guy just feel off the face of the earth. His first start this spring:
2/3 IP, 8 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 0 K, 0 HR

Not being able to complete the 2 innings is just fucking sad.

[Akiyama]

It's a possibility, but the guy just feel off the face of the earth. His first start this spring:
2/3 IP, 8 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 0 K, 0 HR

Not being able to complete the 2 innings is just fucking sad.

No joke, and I know Hudson did well last year. I'm a Braves fan. I'm talking about the year after he left the A's to come over here. He went from an ace, to just a decent pitcher. Switching leagues, regardless of who you are is tough. I still don't think Santana will get 20 wins, but when he does, I will be the first to admit I was wrong.