MLB '08 Season Discussion

[Akiyama]

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 ;/

For one.. Soriano over Braun right now is even a little nuts> Braun is playing out of his mind. I hate the fact that Soriano, Fukudome, and Griffey lead the NL in votes while Soriano is on the DL, Griffey is struggling, and Fukudome.. I mean come on. Nate McLouth, Jason Bay, Carlos Lee, Ryan Braun, Pat Burrell... all having waaay better years. Okay, Soriano was having a good year, but he's been on the DL twice. D: Heck, even Chipper is on the DL now, but I think you sort of have to vote him in.

In terms of catching, Soto or McCann are really interchangable. McCann is a better contact hitter with pop. I think he's batting around .300. Rest of the NL roster looks good.

AL Roster looks alright. Not much available really at SS. Too many Red Sox still, I think, but eh. Really.. what else is there?

[archibaldcrane]

How about Ryan Doumit for NL Catcher? Dark horse maybe but he's a better hitter this season than all those guys, just got a bit of DL issues.

[Akiyama]

How about Ryan Doumit for NL Catcher? Dark horse maybe but he's a better hitter this season than all those guys, just got a bit of DL issues.

Doumit is doing well, but he's not better than Soto or McCann. He's got a better average due to less at bats, but he is pretty good. Then again, even if he did have way better numbers than Soto and McCann, just like McLouth and Bay, he wouldn't get votes. :/ No one cares in Pittsburgh.

[Melena]

god, no love for Bengie Molina, who along with Rowand are putting together a pretty nice year. Them along with watching Lincecum and the side show that is the Barry Zito starts are about the best things for the Giants this year.

[Akiyama]

god, no love for Bengie Molina, who along with Rowand are putting together a pretty nice year. Them along with watching Lincecum and the side show that is the Barry Zito starts are about the best things for the Giants this year.

Giants should be proud honestly. Zito is what.. 2-8? 2-9? And you guys are still 33-44 this year? That's pretty damn good. That and Brian Wilson is an awesome closer.

[Melena]

god, no love for Bengie Molina, who along with Rowand are putting together a pretty nice year. Them along with watching Lincecum and the side show that is the Barry Zito starts are about the best things for the Giants this year.

Giants should be proud honestly. Zito is what.. 2-8? 2-9? And you guys are still 33-44 this year? That's pretty damn good. That and Brian Wilson is an awesome closer.

if by awsome, you mean by collectively raising our blood pressure every time he steps foot on the mound, then yea. He's better then that shit we traded to the marlins, who I can't even think of his name right now, but he's by no means an automatic save. Makes us realize how lucky we were to have Beck and Nenn during our glory days. And zito is 2-11 now. He's got a legit shot to have 20 losses by september at the rate he's going.

We actually have a pretty decent core group right now that we can build on in future years. Fred Lewis is showing a lot of promise, Bowker has some good pop. Winn and Durham are having pretty decent years, so can be used for trade bait to get us some decent prospects, and despite zito, I'd take our pitching staff up against anyone outside of maybe Arizona's 1-2 punch of Webb and Haren.

[Akiyama]

god, no love for Bengie Molina, who along with Rowand are putting together a pretty nice year. Them along with watching Lincecum and the side show that is the Barry Zito starts are about the best things for the Giants this year.

Giants should be proud honestly. Zito is what.. 2-8? 2-9? And you guys are still 33-44 this year? That's pretty damn good. That and Brian Wilson is an awesome closer.

if by awsome, you mean by collectively raising our blood pressure every time he steps foot on the mound, then yea. He's better then that shit we traded to the marlins, who I can't even think of his name right now, but he's by no means an automatic save. Makes us realize how lucky we were to have Beck and Nenn during our glory days. And zito is 2-11 now. He's got a legit shot to have 20 losses by september at the rate he's going.

We actually have a pretty decent core group right now that we can build on in future years. Fred Lewis is showing a lot of promise, Bowker has some good pop. Winn and Durham are having pretty decent years, so can be used for trade bait to get us some decent prospects, and despite zito, I'd take our pitching staff up against anyone outside of maybe Arizona's 1-2 punch of Webb and Haren.

By awesome, I mean he still gets you saves. He actually has the highest save total in the NL right now believe it or not. That's pretty awesome. He may be a Joe Borowski (Cleveland) type closer that will walk three batters, give up a run and get the save... but he still gets the job done. Zito 2-11? Damn. He's had semi-decent starts in the past few games (other than the game against the Tigers), so maybe he'll get 5-6 wins? Who knows.

The core of your team is pretty good, yeah. Bowker's been a pretty nice surprise. Winn and Durham are doing nice, but your pitching staff can be trumped by a few other teams right now. While Cain is decent and Lincecum can be downright unhittable at times, others he'll get lit up pretty hard. Webb and Haren are the better 1-2 punch right now though I guess, even with Webb struggling.. but their pitching staff as a whole is no more as dominating as I thought it was. Atlanta's even with their shitty record is actually pretty good. They've had something like the 2nd or 3rd most games where their starting pitching has allowed 1 run or less, but it seems like every time that happens, their offense forgets the point of baseball is to also hit.

[Viq]

For one.. Soriano over Braun right now is even a little nuts> Braun is playing out of his mind. I hate the fact that Soriano, Fukudome, and Griffey lead the NL in votes while Soriano is on the DL, Griffey is struggling, and Fukudome.. I mean come on. Nate McLouth, Jason Bay, Carlos Lee, Ryan Braun, Pat Burrell... all having waaay better years. Okay, Soriano was having a good year, but he's been on the DL twice. D: Heck, even Chipper is on the DL now, but I think you sort of have to vote him in.

In terms of catching, Soto or McCann are really interchangable. McCann is a better contact hitter with pop. I think he's batting around .300. Rest of the NL roster looks good.

AL Roster looks alright. Not much available really at SS. Too many Red Sox still, I think, but eh. Really.. what else is there?

I was actually really torn on picking between Soto and McCann. In the end, I picked McCann because I'm more partial to the Braves than the Cubs.

For the AL roster, the SS options are all pretty weak. I did pick a lot of Red Sox, but it's hard to argue with Youk at first. He did break the records for consecutive errorless games and chances as a firstbaseman this year, and he's been good with the bat. In the outfield, Manny has had a solid year, and the 500th HR pushed him over the top for me (similar to how I voted Griffey out of respect for his 600th). JD Drew, while he's cooled down in the past couple of games, is having one of the all-time great months both with the bat and in RF. The past couple of days have pulled him back down to earth a little, but he's sporting a VORP rivaling Yaz's September in 1967, and that alone is worth a vote.

For the NL outfield, I would've voted for Soriano over Burrell if he Soriano didn't miss so much time this year. Braun's playing out of his mind, and Griffey was going to get a respect vote from me regardless. Soriano fell into the same trap that Ortiz did on the AL side... just too much time on the DL to justify voting for him over other players.

[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 ;/

For one.. Soriano over Braun right now is even a little nuts> Braun is playing out of his mind. I hate the fact that Soriano, Fukudome, and Griffey lead the NL in votes while Soriano is on the DL, Griffey is struggling, and Fukudome.. I mean come on. Nate McLouth, Jason Bay, Carlos Lee, Ryan Braun, Pat Burrell... all having waaay better years. Okay, Soriano was having a good year, but he's been on the DL twice. D: Heck, even Chipper is on the DL now, but I think you sort of have to vote him in.

In terms of catching, Soto or McCann are really interchangable. McCann is a better contact hitter with pop. I think he's batting around .300. Rest of the NL roster looks good.

AL Roster looks alright. Not much available really at SS. Too many Red Sox still, I think, but eh. Really.. what else is there?

If you followed Alfonso Soriano you would know that if he hadnt gotten injured he quit possibly could have the same amount of Homeruns and Runs scored if he hadnt gotten hurt and he is doing it from the leadoff spot. I'm not trying to put down Ryan Braun by any means he is a stud but Soriano pre-jury was having the much better year and that was with a real slow start to the season.

Numbers dont lie.

[Viq]

Griffey Jr. should be pushing for the all-time HR lead, but he got hurt. Just because he was on pace to have the most doesn't mean he gets to be listed above Ruth, Aaron, and Bonds. It's the same deal with Soriano. He was having a great year, but he's been hurt. You can't take away what Ryan Braun HAS accomplished because of what Soriano MIGHT have accomplished.

[Rhinox]

Missed my point. My point was that Akiyama was suggesting that Soriano doesnt even belong in the ballot even if he was not injured. And i was replying to him telling him why he was mistaken.

In a perfect world it would be Soriano, Burrell and Braun in the outfield.

Also I personally wouldnt vote someone in because of pass accomplishments. If we did that Aramis Ramirez would be starting at third base because he has been the most Productive 3rd basemen in all of baseball the last 6-7 years.

[Akiyama]

Missed my point. My point was that Akiyama was suggesting that Soriano doesnt even belong in the ballot even if he was not injured. And i was replying to him telling him why he was mistaken.

In a perfect world it would be Soriano, Burrell and Braun in the outfield.

Also I personally wouldnt vote someone in because of pass accomplishments. If we did that Aramis Ramirez would be starting at third base because he has been the most Productive 3rd basemen in all of baseball the last 6-7 years.

Uh... what? I didn't say Soriano doesn't even belong on the ballot even if he's not injured. I said he doesn't belong on the ballot now because he IS injured.

For one.. Soriano over Braun right now is even a little nuts> Braun is playing out of his mind. I hate the fact that Soriano, Fukudome, and Griffey lead the NL in votes while Soriano is on the DL,

See? You misread. I'm a baseball fan. I'm not stupid. I know what sort of year Soriano was having and could still be having if he hadn't been on the DL, but you can't vote for what someone may do by purely speculating. If that were the case, David Ortiz would belong because he might have 20 HR by now. Seriously, don't put words in my mouth. When it comes to my baseball, there's no way in hell I'll be made a fool of. If you are a Cubs fan, I'll give you a pass. You guys haven't won in 100 years. If not, then stop being so blind.

In a perfect world, McLouth/Carlos Lee (interchangeable imo, similar stats), Braun, and Burrell belong in the all-star game. Not Fukudome, Griffey, and Soriano (INJURED). That's what you get when you let the FANS vote for something that's based off of achievements. I've been against fan-voting for a while. If you want to give them votes, make it a really small percentage, and let the players' peers/coaches have the majority.

[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 ;/

For one.. Soriano over Braun right now is even a little nuts> Braun is playing out of his mind. I hate the fact that Soriano, Fukudome, and Griffey lead the NL in votes while Soriano is on the DL, Griffey is struggling, and Fukudome.. I mean come on. Nate McLouth, Jason Bay, Carlos Lee, Ryan Braun, Pat Burrell... all having waaay better years. Okay, Soriano was having a good year, but he's been on the DL twice. D: Heck, even Chipper is on the DL now, but I think you sort of have to vote him in.

You yourself were comparing all those Healthy Outfielders to an injured Soriano stating that they were having "waaay better years" how is that fair?

I said he doesn't belong on the ballot now because he IS injured.

Not sure how serious you where but not a few post earlier you said Chipper should be voted in even though he was injured kinda hypocritical isnt it? I'm not new to this thread I know you have stated plenty of times that you are a baseball fan but you root for the braves and thats perfectly fine but you're not totally objective and neither am I.

In a perfect world, McLouth/Carlos Lee (interchangeable imo, similar stats), Braun, and Burrell belong in the all-star game. Not Fukudome, Griffey, and Soriano (INJURED).

well if you want to get into semantics in a perfect world Soriano wouldn't be injured. And imo would be starting in the outfield ahead of those you have listed but this isnt a perfect world. I'll agree with you that Fukudome doesnt belong in the starting lineup even as a diehard cubs fan I can acknowledge that.

when it comes down too it though I guess we can agree to disagree. In the end we both want the NL to win correct?

[Cephius]

You yourself were comparing all those Healthy Outfielders to an injured Soriano stating that they were having "waaay better years" how is that fair?

He wasn't. He was saying those guys are having way better years than Griffey and Fukudome, he wasn't comparing them to Soriano.

Not sure how serious you where but not a few post earlier you said Chipper should be voted in even though he was injured kinda hypocritical isnt it? I'm not new to this thread I know you have stated plenty of times that you are a baseball fan but you root for the braves and thats perfectly fine but you're not totally objective and neither am I.

Now wait a minute, thats completely different. Chipper isn't injured, and I think what Aki meant is that "if he were injured tomorrow, I'd still vote him in" because he's been hovering around .400 the whole year. It's different from what you said about Soriano. You want Soriano in because of what he might have done, Aki wants Chipper in because of what he has done.

[blister1]

Varitek is gonna make the ASG with a .235BA/7HR/25RBI .698OPS (which is below league average)

[Akiyama]

Well I have to correct part of my quote up there. I'm a Braves fan and said Chipper is on the DL, but he's not actually on the DL. He's just hurt with his quad again, so he's taking days off. I made a boo boo. So technically, he does belong on the All-Star team at 3B. Besides, who else at 3B would you put in the lineup right now on the NL side? I mean come on... the man is batting something like .393 after an 0/1 day in a pinch-hit situation. There is a huge difference between Chipper and the next third baseman. On the other hand, the gap between Soriano, Burrell, McLouth, Carlos Lee, and Ryan Braun is muuuuch smaller, so an injury would give way for another player to waltz into his place. See what I mean?

I know Chipper has missed games here and there this year due to his quad and other small injuries, but he's still batting near .400 this late in the year, and you can't look past that. Soriano struggled greatly at the beginning of the year before going on a tear and hitting something like 9 HR in 6 games or someshit. Insane run he had, but that's the only reason his numbers are what they are. He hasn't been consistent, he just had one huge hot streak before getting nailed on the wrist.

I guess I can agree to disagree though. Soriano is a good player, but has just been unlucky with his injuries this year. If he was still healthy, I'd have no issue at all with him on the all-star team, but he's been on the 15-day DL twice. He's had great numbers for the games he has played, but with him missing this much time, I just don't think he should be figured in to get votes ahead of others that are playing just as good, if not better than him.

Also, in reply to:

Soriano is on the DL, Griffey is struggling, and Fukudome.. I mean come on. Nate McLouth, Jason Bay, Carlos Lee, Ryan Braun, Pat Burrell... all having waaay better years.

Ceph is correct. Read that carefully. Soriano on the DL, but the "waaay better years" comment was meant towards Fukudome. Somewhat towards Griffey too, but I give him more leeway for the All-Star team due to his career in general over Fukudome, who basically takes a lot of pitches, has a little pop, a good average at home, and a LOUSY average on the road.

And thanks Ceph for the Chipper side of things. You're right. If Chipper had to go on the DL this week due to the amount of pain his quad is causing him, then yes, I'd still vote him in. Just because I'm a Braves fan, it doesn't mean I'm a total homer. The only two guys on the Braves roster I feel belong on the All-Star team are Chipper and McCann. McCann is a Top 2 Catcher this year and can easily be interchangeable with Soto, while Chipper as mentioned before is batting NEAR FOUR HUNDRED. There are no arguments against that.

/wall-o-text

Besides College Football, the MLB is my love. Okay, besides College Football and cake..

[Cephius]

It's not being a homer at all, how could you not vote for a guy who's batting a legit .400 (legit meaning he has enough at-bats to be in the running for the batting title) and is the linchpin for his team?

And yes, there are a lot of Red Sox that are going to be on the team, but most of them deservedly so. I can't even get on Varitek because if he doesn't deserve to be there then Jeter doesn't either. The Red Sox are probably the best team in the AL and the defending champs, it should be no surprise that they have a lot of All-Stars.

[blister1]

Joba is a fucking stud.

6IP/3H/0ER/6K

98,88,98 on pitches 96-98. 11.2IP 15K 1ER in his last two starts.

[Rhinox]

Well then its my bad then I misunderstood what you meant and you'll get no argument from me against Chipper cant Argue against .400 ba lol.

Oh and wow @ Varitek being a starter with those stats. I'd be embarrased to show up with those stats. Mauer, Dioner, AJ and a few others deserve to be included but Players will keep getting shafted as long as they have fans voting.

[Viq]

Well then its my bad then I misunderstood what you meant and you'll get no argument from me against Chipper cant Argue against .400 ba lol.

Oh and wow @ Varitek being a starter with those stats. I'd be embarrased to show up with those stats. Mauer, Dioner, AJ and a few others deserve to be included but Players will keep getting shafted as long as they have fans voting.

Joe Mauer deserves to show what his sideburns can do at the All-star Game. This is how dumb 95% of "Red Sox Nation" is. They vote for Varitek for the All-star game, but when it comes to day-to-day Red Sox stuff, they want him run out of town. Ever since the Celtics stopped dominating sports talk radio around here, it's been a lot of, "So, Varitek's contract is up this year. I think they should trade his weak bat and bring up George Kottaras for the rest of the season. He should be their catcher of the future." Nevermind the fact that Kottaras is a poor defensive catcher AND has worse offensive numbers than 'Tek in AAA this season.