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Post by iPatriot on Jan 30, 2011 8:17:17 GMT -5
20 days until Red Sox position players (amongst others) hit the warm weather, and green grass of Fort Myers, FL for Spring Training!
For those of you who don't know me, I bleed Red Sox baseball. My favorite thing to do is come home from work, crack a beer, sit on my deck, and listen to Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy. This season is especially exciting because the Sox outdid the Yankees in the off season, and they look to correct last year's disappointment.
As my excitement builds, I hope to build excitement here on Talkin Sports! One a day, for the next 20 days, I will be posting something baseball related in this thread. It'll range from my predictions, to my opinions, to a cool baseball moment from season's past.
Who knows, maybe if it takes off, we can keep going until we hit the regular season!
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Post by Nyi28nhl on Jan 30, 2011 8:18:49 GMT -5
I heard on the radio that Derek Jeter reported to Yankees' camp several weeks before Pitchers and Catchers were even required too. He's working with the hitting coach down there to make sure what happened last year doesn't happen again. Gotta love that work ethic.
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Post by iPatriot on Jan 30, 2011 8:23:08 GMT -5
Day 1:For the last 10 years, I've been running a fantasy baseball league with a bunch of my buddies from high school. Out of 12 guys, I'd say 9 of them are original members, and we try to do new things every year to keep it interesting. Two or three years ago, I made a series of YouTube videos to build up to the season. This one was made with one of my brothers, and it's definitely fitting considering I'm excited for baseball season and there's four feet of snow outside of my bedroom window. Enjoy 
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Post by iPatriot on Jan 30, 2011 8:24:50 GMT -5
I heard on the radio that Derek Jeter reported to Yankees' camp several weeks before Pitchers and Catchers were even required too. He's working with the hitting coach down there to make sure what happened last year doesn't happen again. Gotta love that work ethic. Absolutely gotta love that work ethic. I read last week that Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez have been working out together in Arizona. That's pretty neat considering they're both new members of the Red Sox. It'll be cool to see what kind of character dynamic they bring to the team. |
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Post by BlackOps on Jan 30, 2011 15:43:44 GMT -5
I heard on the radio that Derek Jeter reported to Yankees' camp several weeks before Pitchers and Catchers were even required too. He's working with the hitting coach down there to make sure what happened last year doesn't happen again. Gotta love that work ethic. Worst thing about Jeter aging is that now he's going to have to work extra hard to keep his hitting skill up and at some point work on fielding a new position, too. I always wondered what things would've looked like for both of their careers if Jeter made the switch for the team instead of A-Rod. I could buy the argument that A-Rod was the correct one to move due to his size and injury concerns, but there's no argument that Jeter was the better defensive shortstop, even at the time. I don't think I'd enjoy seeing Jeter-the-DH for the last few seasons of his career. Few things worth noting from Mets camp: The Wilpons are looking to sell 20-25% of the team due to larger than expected losses from the Madoff ponzi scheme debacle. It isn't expected to hurt the team at all, but this is basically the portrait for new investors: "We're the Wilpons! We don't know how to invest money, and we sure as hell don't know how to run a baseball team! That's why we're still going to have all the say in operations, you'll just be giving us 200 million to protect our pockets with!" It's an investment that will inevitably make money, but I would not in any way be willing to spend that much money for a minority stake in an organization that has been consistently run so poorly by these men since their last World Series victory (25 years this year. 25.) Further dwindling any confidence investors would've had with the Wilpons, apparently the hire of Sandy Alderson came from very strong advice from the commissioner's office. Without Selig's endorsement, they would've gone after Jon Daniels (who would not have been a bad pick, at all). But still, they don't know baseball well enough to know who a good hire is and they're not smart enough to realize that they don't have any clue how to build a good team. When the commissioner points you in the right direction because he's afraid his 3rd (random number) biggest money-making team isn't going to do well enough, maybe it's time you took a step back from the "active" owners pool. The press release: Emphasis mine. It's been 25 years, Fred. What is it going to take for you to admit things have been terrible for a long, long time? ps: Did you know the Mets owe Bobby Bonilla >1 million per year until 2035? Oy. |
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Post by All Day Peterson on Jan 31, 2011 10:46:20 GMT -5
The Mets are still paying the killa BB?? Do you know how much per year they pay him? Wow.
As for this thread, I cannot wait to get to Target Field.
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Post by BlackOps on Jan 31, 2011 19:03:34 GMT -5
Yeah, it's one of the most hilariously pathetic contract clauses in history. Here's the article. |
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Post by iPatriot on Feb 1, 2011 6:04:59 GMT -5
2 posts coming today because I missed yesterday! Later tonight for sure.
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Post by Nyi28nhl on Feb 1, 2011 9:13:20 GMT -5
Yeah, it's one of the most hilariously pathetic contract clauses in history. Here's the article. Wow, they deferred a $6M payment to be 25 $1+M payments? Yeah, the Wilpons are that bad at investing. And that agent deserves an award. I wonder if they are still paying Mo Vaughn. |
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Post by iPatriot on Feb 2, 2011 7:52:17 GMT -5
Day 2:
AL East Prediction
1. Boston Red Sox
2. New York Yankees
3. Baltimore Orioles
4. Tampa Bay Rays
5. Toronto Blue Jays
The Favorite:
The Boston Red Sox offseason set them up to be the best team in the American League. In most people's opinion, newly acquired Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford are in the top 10-15 players in the league. Add them to lineup with Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, and Jacoby Ellsbury, and you have an offense that is poised to score a lot of runs. Last season, the Sox focused on defense and pitching and with the newly added weapons on offense, the Sox figure to be one of the most complete teams in all of baseball. The big question mark is at catcher for the Red Sox. Jason Varitek serves in more of a symbolic, leadership role and former Texas farmhands Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Max Ramirez have not developed the way many scouts thought they would. Keep an eye on Ramirez, though. You heard it here first.
The Others:
The New York Yankees. With guys like Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter, and Alex Rodriguez, the team is going to score a lot of runs. With guys like AJ Burnett, Bartolo Colon, and Freddy Garcia, the team is going to give up a lot of runs. The Yankees struck out big time this offseason after acquiring catcher Russell Martin. For a while, they were the front runner for Cliff Lee, but Philly snuck in and snatched him up. Now the Yankees are in a front-office slap fight with the Texas Rangers. Is the offense good enough to carry the pitching? Maybe. But the Yankees took a considerable step backwards after last season for sure.
The Sleepers:
The Baltimore Orioles! That's right, those Baltimore Orioles. After Jose Bautista's stellar season last year, the Toronto Blue Jays are the chic pick as an AL Sleeper pick. But if you take a look at the Orioles young pitching staff, and additions to the lineup, it's easy to see that they could be poised for a huge season. Brian Matusz, Jake Arrieta, and Chris Tillman are three stellar young pitchers poised to make an impact in 2011. Plus the additions of JJ Hardy, Mark Reynolds, and Derek Lee to the Adam Jones and Nick Markakis anchored lineup actually makes this team look like a big league club. There will be some interesting games, and some interested fans at Camden this season. Keep an eye on them.
Overall:
As a lifelong Red Sox fan, I am happy to say that this is their division to lose this season. The Yankees are a shell of what they were in 2010, and the other 3 teams really pose no threat to the most complete team in the American League.
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Post by iPatriot on Feb 2, 2011 8:00:14 GMT -5
Day 3:
AL Central Prediction
1. Minnesota Twins
2. Detroit Tigers (WC)
3. Chicago White Sox
4. Kansas City Royals
5. Cleveland Indians
The Favorite:
The Others:
The Sleepers:
Overall:
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Post by iPatriot on Feb 2, 2011 8:03:25 GMT -5
Day 4:
AL West Prediction
1. Texas Rangers
2. Oakland Athletics
3. Los Angeles Angels
4. Seattle Mariners
The Favorite:
The Others:
The Sleepers:
Overall:
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Post by FootballFreak03 on Feb 2, 2011 21:09:19 GMT -5
Day 2:AL East Prediction1. Boston Red Sox 2. New York Yankees 3. Baltimore Orioles 4. Tampa Bay Rays 5. Toronto Blue Jays The Favorite:The Others:The Sleepers:Overall:(Analysis coming as work schedule allows) Agree with this, but I do see the Yanks getting the wild card. I know their starting pitching is bad, but they have a great offense and tremendous bullpen and they find ways to win games in the regular season. They will win close to 90 games. As far as my Phillies, we all know the deal haha. They got a huge target on their back, expectations are probably highest ever as they should, and anything sort of a world series title would be a disappointment. Only concern with the Phillies is that they are left handed heavy that depend on mainly power and not average. The lineup is very good, but when they are not getting homers or doubles, they can struggle. Thats why the Giants won the WS, because their lefties basically overpowered the Phillies when it mattered. will Joe Blanton get traded? well see.... RAJ says he would like to keep him, but i would personally rather homegrown guy starting or a prospect at the 5th spot besides a Joe Blanton. Its gonna be a great baseball season for sure. |
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Post by iPatriot on Feb 3, 2011 6:58:26 GMT -5
AL East analysis added.
Day 5:
NL East Prediction
1. Philadelphia Phillies
2. Atlanta Braves
3. Washington Nationals
4. New York Mets
5. Florida Marlins
The Favorite:
The Others:
The Sleepers:
Overall:
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