MLB '08 Season Discussion

[Rhinox]

The difference between this cubs team and teams of past. its the Never say die attitude you can be down 9 in the 7th inning and they are still capable of coming back. This team Expects to win as oppose to be greatful for winning.

What a bunch of nonsense. The difference with this Cubs team is that they imported a decent RF and they've got Marquis and Dempster pitching way the hell above their talent level.

What a bunch of nonsense. Lets break it down. Last year we had Jacque jones and cliff floyd Spliting time in right field while they struggled in the first half they came back in the second half and where part of the reason why we overcame the Brewers to win the central last year. Right field was not an issue. Marquis had a similar year last year but fizzled towards the end and was eventually left off the playoff roster. Rich Hill and Sean Marshall and jason Marquis the 3, 4 and 5 starters are doing everything Gallagher and Marquis and Dempster are doing this year. being consistent and eating up innings. Aside from Jim Edmond's resurgence as a cub fueling the cubs the last few weeks and fukudome and Dempsters insertion into the lineup and rotation respectively everything else has been the same.

You're giving Fukudome way too much credit. .296 average 5 homeruns and 30 RBI's as the 5/6 hole hitter aren't exactly gamebreaking

[Viq]

You're not giving the Rays enough credit. They're a real team this year.

[Akiyama]

You're not giving the Rays enough credit. They're a real team this year.

Agreed. People seem to forget the Florida Marlins were like this; a group of young kids that don't really pay attention to the huge amount of spotlight they are under, and just play ball. Except in this case, the Rays are doing it in a tougher division and responding well with their 30-13 home record.

[Doombard]

You're not giving the Rays enough credit. They're a real team this year.

Agreed. People seem to forget the Florida Marlins were like this; a group of young kids that don't really pay attention to the huge amount of spotlight they are under, and just play ball. Except in this case, the Rays are doing it in a tougher division and responding well with their 30-13 home record.

And if they get Griffey......

[archibaldcrane]

The goddamn Cubs need to stop winning. The Brewers are playing well recently but are having a hard time closing the gap.

[Akiyama]

You're not giving the Rays enough credit. They're a real team this year.

Agreed. People seem to forget the Florida Marlins were like this; a group of young kids that don't really pay attention to the huge amount of spotlight they are under, and just play ball. Except in this case, the Rays are doing it in a tougher division and responding well with their 30-13 home record.

And if they get Griffey......

Nothing will change at all besides getting another couple thousand fans? Griffey isn't that good anymore. Sure, he hit a homer in New York today, but still.. he's not very good or an every day player. D:

[Headspace]

You're not giving the Rays enough credit. They're a real team this year.

Agreed. People seem to forget the Florida Marlins were like this; a group of young kids that don't really pay attention to the huge amount of spotlight they are under, and just play ball. Except in this case, the Rays are doing it in a tougher division and responding well with their 30-13 home record.

And if they get Griffey......

Nothing will change at all besides getting another couple thousand fans? Griffey isn't that good anymore. Sure, he hit a homer in New York today, but still.. he's not very good or an every day player. D:

He makes a pretty good DH. Doesn't strike out that much, also provides a very mature veteran leadership role in the locker room. He's a class act that the young players in Tampa Bay would benefit greatly from.

[Akiyama]

You're not giving the Rays enough credit. They're a real team this year.

Agreed. People seem to forget the Florida Marlins were like this; a group of young kids that don't really pay attention to the huge amount of spotlight they are under, and just play ball. Except in this case, the Rays are doing it in a tougher division and responding well with their 30-13 home record.

And if they get Griffey......

Nothing will change at all besides getting another couple thousand fans? Griffey isn't that good anymore. Sure, he hit a homer in New York today, but still.. he's not very good or an every day player. D:

He makes a pretty good DH. Doesn't strike out that much, also provides a very mature veteran leadership role in the locker room. He's a class act that the young players in Tampa Bay would benefit greatly from.

Yeah, but why disrupt the balance they have now in that clubhouse? 13 games above .500 and surging? I wouldn't want to mess that up personally, but eh.

[blister1]

Sabathia yesterday: 7IP 5H 1ER 10K also hit a bomb to RF. He was throwing as hard as I've ever seen him, 96-99. I'd cream my pants if we land this dude in the offseason.

[Viq]

Has anyone else voted for the All-star Game yet? I'm not that into it to vote multiple times, but I filled out my ballots one time as follows:

AL:
1B - Kevin Youkilis
2B - Ian Kinsler
SS - Orlando Cabrera
3B - Alex Rodriguez
C - Joe Mauer
OF - Josh Hamilton, JD Drew, Manny Ramirez
DH - Aubrey Huff. I'd normally vote for Ortiz, but he'll still be on the DL at the time of the All-star game.

NL:
1B - Lance Berkman
2B - Chase Utley
SS - Hanley Ramirez
3B - Chipper Jones
C - Brian McCann
OF - Ryan Braun, Pat Burrell, Ken Griffey Jr. (Griffey was more of a respect vote for #600)

[blister1]

Huff over Giambi? why?

[Cephius]

Giambi I think is listed as a 1st basemen, I forget though. Even so I'd take Matsui before Huff...

Huffs Stats:

.271 14 HR 42 RBI .342 OBP

Matsui Stats:

.323 7 HR 34 RBI .404 OBP (4th and 5th in the AL for average and OBP, respectively)

Giambi Stats:

.271 17HR 42 RBI .403 OBP

[Bxbaby]

LMAO at King Felix just hitting a grand slam off Johan Santana.

[Cephius]

LMAO at King Felix just hitting a grand slam off Johan Santana.

R O F L

[Akiyama]

LMAO at King Felix just hitting a grand slam off Johan Santana.

I know! I was checking the stats on Yahoo! and saw King Felix homered and drove in three other runs for a grand slam, rofl! All runs were unearned against Santana due to an error by Wright, but still. Holy shit. He must've called C.C. Sabathia for pointers after his homer in LA.

[Viq]

Huff over Giambi? why?

Like Cephius mentioned, Giambi was listed as a first baseman. Since the voting was for a DH, I went with Huff because of the stats he has put up while primarily DH'ing.

Matsui - 67 games, 43 DH. 7 HR, 13 doubles, 34 RBI, .323/.404/.458. 2 outs + RISP - .294/.400/.294

Huff - 73 games, 57 DH. 14 HR, 20 doubles, 1 triple, 42 RBI, .271/.342/.500. 2 outs + RISP - .231/.429/.538

Huff's got the lower average and overall lower OBP. He makes up for it in SLG both overall, and especially with 2 outs and runners in scoring position. DH is supposed to drive in runs and keep the line moving. When his team has needed him to keep a rally going with 2 outs, he has produced better than Matsui has.

[Akiyama]

Huff over Giambi? why?

Like Cephius mentioned, Giambi was listed as a first baseman. Since the voting was for a DH, I went with Huff because of the stats he has put up while primarily DH'ing.

Matsui - 67 games, 43 DH. 7 HR, 13 doubles, 34 RBI, .323/.404/.458. 2 outs + RISP - .294/.400/.294

Huff - 73 games, 57 DH. 14 HR, 20 doubles, 1 triple, 42 RBI, .271/.342/.500. 2 outs + RISP - .231/.429/.538

Huff's got the lower average and overall lower OBP. He makes up for it in SLG both overall, and especially with 2 outs and runners in scoring position. DH is supposed to drive in runs and keep the line moving. When his team has needed him to keep a rally going with 2 outs, he has produced better than Matsui has.

Christ. That's awful. .294 Slugging with 2 outs and RISP? Jesus. What happened to Godzilla?

Huff is a very underrated player though. He's a semi-decent Fantasy player in 10 team mixed leagues, but there are generally better players out there. I do hate how some people go for the bigger names over the better player. Anyway, we all know a Yankee/Red Sox player will win out over someone else anyway.

[Cephius]

Huff over Giambi? why?

Like Cephius mentioned, Giambi was listed as a first baseman. Since the voting was for a DH, I went with Huff because of the stats he has put up while primarily DH'ing.

Matsui - 67 games, 43 DH. 7 HR, 13 doubles, 34 RBI, .323/.404/.458. 2 outs + RISP - .294/.400/.294

Huff - 73 games, 57 DH. 14 HR, 20 doubles, 1 triple, 42 RBI, .271/.342/.500. 2 outs + RISP - .231/.429/.538

Huff's got the lower average and overall lower OBP. He makes up for it in SLG both overall, and especially with 2 outs and runners in scoring position. DH is supposed to drive in runs and keep the line moving. When his team has needed him to keep a rally going with 2 outs, he has produced better than Matsui has.

By your own logic then, Matsui is the better candidate. His average with RISP and 2 outs is 60 points higher, and in those situations you don't need extra base hits to score the runner from 2nd, a base hit will score him a high percentage of the time. If you're judging a DH by his production with 2 outs and RISP, why wouldn't you take the guy who has the better average by a wide margin?

[Viq]

Huff over Giambi? why?

Like Cephius mentioned, Giambi was listed as a first baseman. Since the voting was for a DH, I went with Huff because of the stats he has put up while primarily DH'ing.

Matsui - 67 games, 43 DH. 7 HR, 13 doubles, 34 RBI, .323/.404/.458. 2 outs + RISP - .294/.400/.294

Huff - 73 games, 57 DH. 14 HR, 20 doubles, 1 triple, 42 RBI, .271/.342/.500. 2 outs + RISP - .231/.429/.538

Huff's got the lower average and overall lower OBP. He makes up for it in SLG both overall, and especially with 2 outs and runners in scoring position. DH is supposed to drive in runs and keep the line moving. When his team has needed him to keep a rally going with 2 outs, he has produced better than Matsui has.

By your own logic then, Matsui is the better candidate. His average with RISP and 2 outs is 60 points higher, and in those situations you don't need extra base hits to score the runner from 2nd, a base hit will score him a high percentage of the time. If you're judging a DH by his production with 2 outs and RISP, why wouldn't you take the guy who has the better average by a wide margin?

Over time, higher OPS in those situations will yield more runs than straight AVG, hence why I went with the higher OPS.

[Rhinox]

Has anyone else voted for the All-star Game yet? I'm not that into it to vote multiple times, but I filled out my ballots one time as follows:

AL:
1B - Kevin Youkilis
2B - Ian Kinsler
SS - Orlando Cabrera
3B - Alex Rodriguez
C - Joe Mauer
OF - Josh Hamilton, JD Drew, Manny Ramirez
DH - Aubrey Huff. I'd normally vote for Ortiz, but he'll still be on the DL at the time of the All-star game.

NL:
1B - Lance Berkman
2B - Chase Utley
SS - Hanley Ramirez
3B - Chipper Jones
C - Brian McCann
OF - Ryan Braun, Pat Burrell, Ken Griffey Jr. (Griffey was more of a respect vote for #600)

Only really filled out the NL ballot myself it looks like yours except I have Geovany Soto catching and Would have had Alfonso Soriano instead of Griffey and Braun if he had not gotten injured ;/