Best, Surprising, Worst and Dissapointing

See Red · August 8, 2007

But I assume it was more or less to get the the guy in the eight spot into the ninth spot as opposed to trying to get the pitcher into the 8th spot.

Kind of like how in the AL, teams will put a leadoff type hitter in the 9 spot and their worst hitters at 7 or 8. Looking at the Cards lineup, that line of thinking would make sense if they had a leadoff guy who was hitting .300+ or something. But if that's what LaRussa was going for, it'd have been better to just have Miles lead off.

I don't know... not saying it was the right thing to do, but I do somewhat understand the thought process, perhaps.

Jigga · August 8, 2007

Best-(AL) Bo$ton, (NL) New York
Worst (AL) Kansas City, (NL) Pittsburgh
Surprising (AL) Seattle, (NL) Atlanta
Dissapointing (AL) Chicago/Toronto, (NL) Cincinnati
St. Louis isn't having a dissapointing season, because I didn't expect them to make the playoffs this season. Anyone who had them repeating clearly didn't notice their offseason downgrades, especially at pitching, and is guilty of having an insanely Pollyannish outlook on this team. *looks at certain other members of Redbird Nation who post here*
...and now LaRussa has resorted back to batting the pitcher 8th again.
What the hell is he drinking?
That's actually not the worst idea ever. I'm not sure what the Cardinals lineup looks like at this point but I can see instances in which that would be a good idea.
Tonight's starting pitcher has a season batting average of .048, and the Cardinals got shutout.
Brilliant move. Chug-a-lug!

We are ALL Cardinals.

Coast2CoastAM2006 · August 8, 2007

AL Best: New York
NL Best: New York
AL Worst: Tampa Bay
NL Worst: Washington
AL Surprising: Seattle
NL Surprising: Milwaukee
AL Disappointing: Chicago
NL Disappointing: St. Louis
I'm standing by a subway series world series

not happenin'. i wouldn't mind the yanks making the playoffs, beating the sox in the first round, then whomever else is in there league in the league finals, and get hammered by the Brewers in the world series.

FiddySicks · August 8, 2007

AL Best: Boston (But Anaheim could very easily snag a playoff series from them)

NL Best: San Diego (That rotation is dead scary and their bats are starting to pick up. Watch out for the Pads, if their bullpen can calm down they could turn some heads)

AL Worst: Chicago (Just a miserable team this season)

NL Worst: San Francisco (If im not mistaken, they got Swept'd by the frickin Pirates this year. Despite their great starting rotation this team is still ugly as sin. Bonds is carryng this team right now. Bonds, an immobile 43 year old swatter with bad knees who plays 60-75% of the time. That right there relates just how bad it is)

AL Suprising: Detroit (I thought for sure they were a one hit wonder, but they've done more than enough to convnce me that they're true contenders)

NL Suprising: Arizona (Where the hell did these guys come from? Ehhh, well it is the NL West, maybe it's not that suprising)

AL Disappointing: Oakland (One week they're taking two of three from the Yanks and Red Sox, the next theyre getting swept'd by the Royals and D Rays. I just simply cannot figure this team out)

NL Disappointing: Chicago (With what they added in the offseason compaired to the rest of the division they should be running away with this one, but instead theyre treading water once again in typical Cubs fashion. That dreadful start is gonna kill this club once again)

Shumway · August 8, 2007

AL Best: Los Angeles....granted, I'm an Angels fan, but they've just taken two from Boston with some significant injuries. Plus, they downright dismantled the Tigers a few weeks ago.

NL Best: Atlanta...they've got a serious chance at the series

AL Worst: Tampa Bay

NL Worst: Pittsburgh

AL Surprising: Cleveland...I honestly expected a 3rd place finish for the Tribe this season. I'm delightfully surprised...I can't stand the Twins for some reason, although I really don't know why.

NL Surprising: Philadelphia....Pat Burrell...swinging a good bat? What'na? How? Who? I'm speechless.

AL Disappointing: Toronto...I thought they'd give a better run at the division this year.

NL Disappointing: I'm not sure, honestly. I didn't think the Cards would go anywhere this year.

LEWJ · August 8, 2007

Best:

AL-Red Sox

NL-Mets

Worst:

AL-Rays

NL-Pirates

Suprising:

AL-Indians

NL-Brewers

Dissapointing:

AL-Jays

NL-Cardinals

Strongest Division:

AL-Central (By a hair-over the East)

NL-West (Also By a hair-over the East)

speedy · August 8, 2007

AL Best: Boston

NL Best: Atlanta

AL Worst: Tampa Bay

NL Worst: Pittsburgh

AL Surprising: Seattle

NL Surprising: Milwaukee

AL Disappointing: Chicago

NL Disappointing: St. Louis

not happenin'. i wouldn't mind the yanks making the playoffs, beating the sox in the first round, then whomever else is in there league in the league finals, and get hammered by the Brewers in the world series.

Boston can't play New York in the Division Series, only the LCS.

Bronxmet · August 8, 2007

AL Best: Boston (they can win their first division title since 95)

NL Best: Atlanta (watch out Mets)

AL Surprising: Cleveland (with Lofton back, flashes of 95)

NL Surprising: Arizona (different team than 2001)

AL Disappointing: White Sox

NL Disappointing: St. Louis

AL Worst: Baltimore (get rid of Angelos now!)

NL Worst: Cincinnati

AL Best Division: AL Central

NL Best Division: NL West

BB61 · August 8, 2007

BEST:

-- NL: San Diego. I don't care if it IS the NL Worst, if the Pads get into the playoffs, they'll do some major damage. They're not an overpowering team, but they're solid up and down the lineup.

-- AL: Boston. There's no middle ground here. Either the 'Sawx will run over everyone come October, or they'll lose to the wild-card team in the ALDS.

WORST:

-- NL: Pittsburgh. Who the hell is Jon van Benschoten?

-- AL: Chicago. 2093 is a long, long way away.

SURPRISING:

-- NL: Milwaukee. The Brewers are fo' rizzle. This team has NLCS written all over it (assuming they can hold off the Cubs).

-- AL: Cleveland. Wasn't there a movie where the Indians spent most of the season in the cellar and then they came back to make the playoffs?

DISAPPOINTING:

-- NL: St. Louis. No back-door playoff spot for the Cardinals this year.

-- AL: New York. Just because I hate them.

Telemundo219 · August 8, 2007

Best

AL- Red Sox(but I think they won't represent the AL in the WS)

NL-I don't want to be bias but, with what the Mets got in terms a pitching, it's mediocre (like 6 out of 10) and they have the best record. And all this Braves talk, it's simple. The record says enough. You can say well if the Braves beat the Mets 7 out of 10, they're better. What if out of 10 games, the Nationals beat the Braves 8 times and were 8 games behind the Braves. Would Washington be better than Atlanta? No. Nuff said.

Worst

AL- Rangers

NL- Pirates. No explanation.

Suprising

AL-Mariners. Finally.

NL-D-Backs. WellI had a feeling the woul be good.

Disappointing

AL-Twins/White Sox/A's/Blue Jays

NL-Cardinals

World Series

Angels vs. Mets- Mets and Braves won't meet in playoffs. Braves will lose to Cubs maybe. Angels are beating everyone and the Yankees can't beat them. Mets will play someone in the NL West and they should win.

no97 · August 8, 2007

NL Disappointing: Chicago (With what they added in the offseason compaired to the rest of the division they should be running away with this one, but instead theyre treading water once again in typical Cubs fashion. That dreadful start is gonna kill this club once again)

That's just about the dumbest thing I've read in a while. You realize that the Cubs are just one game out of first (with still 50 games to play), right? And that they were the hottest team in baseball from June 3rd to July 20th? Also, it's not like the team they're chasing is on fire right now (the Brewers are 7-14 since July 18th).

At worst, the Division is a toss-up down the stretch, with the Crew (who, don't forget, got off to a 24-10 start, and could, according to most "experts," play, ".500 ball the rest of the year and run away with the NL Comedy Central."

Moose

edit - I'll also throw in that the Cubs only won 66 games last year, and even though they spent the much bandied about $300 mil in the offseason, it's still tough to go from 66 wins to the play-offs...

leedsunited · August 8, 2007

Worst free agent signing? BARRY ZITO.

RyanMcD29 · August 8, 2007

Best:

AL- Red Sox. They're stacked at pitching (Gange and Papelbon both in the same bullpen? Come on) and hitting and even have good fielding

NL- Braves and Mets. However, both of them are so damn inconsistent it seems. But then again this whole league has been inconsistent all year long

Worst:

AL- Orioles. People in the mid-atlantic can at least see the Nats improving

NL- Pirates. Just not good at all

Surprising:

AL- Indians. Team that normally falls short of the WC seems to be holding their own

NL- Brewers/Cubs. I mean, where the hell did both of them come from?

Dissapointing:

AL- I woulda said Yankees before the All Star break, but theyre doing one of their patented late season runs. Now I will go with the White Sox. Team that won it all 2 years ago's nowhere in sight of the playoff race

NL- Cardinals. Defending champs have not been in playoff contention all year

FiddySicks · August 8, 2007

NL Disappointing: Chicago (With what they added in the offseason compaired to the rest of the division they should be running away with this one, but instead theyre treading water once again in typical Cubs fashion. That dreadful start is gonna kill this club once again)
That's just about the dumbest thing I've read in a while. You realize that the Cubs are just one game out of first (with still 50 games to play), right? And that they were the hottest team in baseball from June 3rd to July 20th? Also, it's not like the team they're chasing is on fire right now (the Brewers are 7-14 since July 18th).

You can say it's dumb all you want. With the level of talent that team has they have severely underperformed all season. They have a killer staff, a decent pen, and just enough O to be a very successful team. True they have picked it up lately, but just the simple fact that it took two months to get the train rolling is a true dissapointment IMO. Chicago should be a good ten games up right now. If Chicago finishes a game or two out of the playoffs (Which wouldn't suprise me at all) it would be a huge dissapointment.

rams80 · August 8, 2007

Best-(AL) Bo$ton, (NL) New York
Worst (AL) Kansas City, (NL) Pittsburgh
Surprising (AL) Seattle, (NL) Atlanta
Dissapointing (AL) Chicago/Toronto, (NL) Cincinnati
St. Louis isn't having a dissapointing season, because I didn't expect them to make the playoffs this season. Anyone who had them repeating clearly didn't notice their offseason downgrades, especially at pitching, and is guilty of having an insanely Pollyannish outlook on this team. *looks at certain other members of Redbird Nation who post here*
...and now LaRussa has resorted back to batting the pitcher 8th again.
What the hell is he drinking?

At this point, all I can figure is that he's trying to get fired. Or he's trying to do anything to break a losing streak.

Billy B · August 8, 2007

AL Best- Boston

NL Best- New York

AL Worst- Kansas City

NL Worst- Pittsburgh

AL Surprising- Seattle

NL Surprising- Arizona, they came out of nowhere, the Brewers have had the young guys up a while and showed promise.

AL Disappointing- Chicago, this is the team that won the World Series two years ago

NL Disappointing- St. Louis, but I'm fine with the Cardinals not being in contention, hopefully they will stop creaping up in the standings.

no97 · August 8, 2007

NL Disappointing: Chicago (With what they added in the offseason compaired to the rest of the division they should be running away with this one, but instead theyre treading water once again in typical Cubs fashion. That dreadful start is gonna kill this club once again)
That's just about the dumbest thing I've read in a while. You realize that the Cubs are just one game out of first (with still 50 games to play), right? And that they were the hottest team in baseball from June 3rd to July 20th? Also, it's not like the team they're chasing is on fire right now (the Brewers are 7-14 since July 18th).
You can say it's dumb all you want. With the level of talent that team has they have severely underperformed all season. They have a killer staff, a decent pen, and just enough O to be a very successful team. True they have picked it up lately, but just the simple fact that it took two months to get the train rolling is a true dissapointment IMO. Chicago should be a good ten games up right now. If Chicago finishes a game or two out of the playoffs (Which wouldn't suprise me at all) it would be a huge dissapointment.

So, you're saying that teams in a sport that have a six month season (with 162 games) should be able to just jump into the season and hit the ground running right out of the gate? There's no adjustment period needed at all for new players (i.e. the Soriano CF experiement, the getting used to a new manager, etc.)?

Also, by your logic, since the Cubs have "underperformed all season long," being the best team in MLB for almost a quarter of the season is underperforming... If the rest of your argument is sound (if allowing for a slow start is to be considered underperforming), than this part is definatly dumb...

Moose

alwaysr92 · August 13, 2007

AL Best: Los Angeles- They wiped all over the tigers a few games ago, took 2 of 3 from boston, and swept the twins. Right now, the angels are the team to beat in the A.L. Even with injuries to key starters, the angels continue to beat great teams, and gagne hasnt exactly worked out in Boston, so the angels take it for the best team

NL Best: New York- The pieces have finally come together for the better team(imo) in new york and they are quickly becoming the team to beat in the N.L. and with Pedro coming back, they can only get better(theoretically, he is old and coming off an injury)

AL Surprise: Seattle- The angels were expected to run away with the AL West title, and maybe get a little bit of a challenge from the A's, but almost everyone accept for fans all but wrote out the Mariners and they are leading the wild card and have a legitimate shot at the AL West title

NL Surprise: NL West- This has become the most exciting division to watch all year, while the dodgers continue to slump, they are still very much in the race, the only team that is completely out is San Francisco, which means 4 teams are battling for 2 playoff spots(i believe the wild card will come from this division)

AL Dissapointment: New York- Yes, yes, i know they are still one of the best teams in baseball and are viably battling for a playoff spot, but did nebody beside yankee haters honestly think they would not be guaranteed a playoff spot this late in the season? Didnt think so, with the highest payroll in baseball, they should b running away with some kind off playoff berth.

NL Dissapointment: San Francisco Giants- Many people believed the giants would at least be a competitive team this year with the return of Bonds and the outrageous contract of Barry Zito, but Bonds has just been a sideshow and Zito nothing more than a bust, while there may have been more dissapointing teams this year, San Francisco spent money and resources to be competitive and it blew in there face, therefore, they become the most dissapointing.

AL Worst: Texas Rangers-Nothing was expected and they fulfilled everyones expectations...congratulations

NL Worst: Pittsburgh Pirates- There may be worst teams, but those dreadful red uniforms push them over the edge....congratulations

alwaysr92 · August 13, 2007