2008 MLB Season

[infrared41]

Rays have looked more like the Rays of old heading into the All-Star break, having lost 7 straight courtesy of the Yankees and the Indians. If the Red Sox lead over the Orioles holds, Boston will head into the break with a .5 game lead, having trailed by as many as 5 games within the last week or so, I believe.

edit: First place at the break!

The AL East could get damned interesting over the next few months. Here's hoping it does. I would love to see at least a three team battle all the way to the end.

The Rays will be ok. They were due for a rough stretch. Happens to everyone.

[WJMorris3]

So at the All-Star Break, the leader of the NL West is under .500.

I almost think MLB should have a rule that says a team has to be at least at .500 to be able to make the playoffs as division champ. If no team makes it to .500, then take another wild card team (which could, in fact, be the division leader.)

[njmeadowlanders]

The break is coming at the worst possible time for the Metsies...

[HedleyLamarr]

So at the All-Star Break, the leader of the NL West is under .500.

I almost think MLB should have a rule that says a team has to be at least at .500 to be able to make the playoffs as division champ. If no team makes it to .500, then take another wild card team (which could, in fact, be the division leader.)

All the division games will almost prevent a sub-.500 division winner.

I was looking at the standings of 1994, and the Rangers were leading the division when the strike hit, yet were like 12 games under .500....

[Spezza19]

Rays have looked more like the Rays of old heading into the All-Star break, having lost 7 straight courtesy of the Yankees and the Indians. If the Red Sox lead over the Orioles holds, Boston will head into the break with a .5 game lead, having trailed by as many as 5 games within the last week or so, I believe.

edit: First place at the break!

The AL East could get damned interesting over the next few months. Here's hoping it does. I would love to see at least a three team battle all the way to the end.

The Rays will be ok. They were due for a rough stretch. Happens to everyone.

As a Blue Jays fan I hope they will be in that mix, seeing what they've done over the past week getting on quite a roll going into the All-Star break. Sweeping Baltimore and beating the Yankees two out of three, with some pretty damm good pitching I might add.

[WJMorris3]

So at the All-Star Break, the leader of the NL West is under .500.

I almost think MLB should have a rule that says a team has to be at least at .500 to be able to make the playoffs as division champ. If no team makes it to .500, then take another wild card team (which could, in fact, be the division leader.)

All the division games will almost prevent a sub-.500 division winner.

I was looking at the standings of 1994, and the Rangers were leading the division when the strike hit, yet were like 12 games under .500....

That's the thing - it'll ALMOST never happen.

[NJTank]

The break is coming at the worst possible time for the Metsies...

Well hopefully they are finally on the right tack and can pick up where they left off, they are so much better since that idiot was fired.

[rams80]

So at the All-Star Break, the leader of the NL West is under .500.

I almost think MLB should have a rule that says a team has to be at least at .500 to be able to make the playoffs as division champ. If no team makes it to .500, then take another wild card team (which could, in fact, be the division leader.)

What if the division champion wins it by a larger margin than another division champion? Should the team that won its division by less also miss out?

[cappital92]

So at the All-Star Break, the leader of the NL West is under .500.

I almost think MLB should have a rule that says a team has to be at least at .500 to be able to make the playoffs as division champ. If no team makes it to .500, then take another wild card team (which could, in fact, be the division leader.)

What if the division champion wins it by a larger margin than another division champion? Should the team that won its division by less also miss out?

And if that divison champion didn't play againist all the other divison champions? Does that negate that team's playoff berth?

[Shumway]

Apparently K-Rod's gonna test the market at the end of the season. Let's hope Arredondo's ready for the closer role, for my sake.

[LMU]

Apparently K-Rod's gonna test the market at the end of the season. Let's hope Arredondo's ready for the closer role, for my sake.

Arredondo'll at least save some of the drama. For once, can't Frankie get a 1-2-3 inning in the 9th? He always ends up walking one, giving up a hit, and then come back from behind in the count for the 3rd out.

Besides, with the money they'll save by letting him walk, hopefully they can bring in an actual bat like they've been promising for the past 4 years, so that we won't need a closer to be in that many save situations. Teixiera perhaps?

[Joshawaggie]

So, the Yankees have pretty much found the Rivera replacement. Sad that the Angels spent so much on their outfield, that they couldn't lock up Frankie a while back.

[Shumway]

Apparently K-Rod's gonna test the market at the end of the season. Let's hope Arredondo's ready for the closer role, for my sake.

Arredondo'll at least save some of the drama. For once, can't Frankie get a 1-2-3 inning in the 9th? He always ends up walking one, giving up a hit, and then come back from behind in the count for the 3rd out.

Besides, with the money they'll save by letting him walk, hopefully they can bring in an actual bat like they've been promising for the past 4 years, so that we won't need a closer to be in that many save situations. Teixiera perhaps?

From what I've read, they're looking into Teixiera, or even Matt Holliday, possibly at the deadline.

[LMU]

Apparently K-Rod's gonna test the market at the end of the season. Let's hope Arredondo's ready for the closer role, for my sake.

Arredondo'll at least save some of the drama. For once, can't Frankie get a 1-2-3 inning in the 9th? He always ends up walking one, giving up a hit, and then come back from behind in the count for the 3rd out.

Besides, with the money they'll save by letting him walk, hopefully they can bring in an actual bat like they've been promising for the past 4 years, so that we won't need a closer to be in that many save situations. Teixiera perhaps?

From what I've read, they're looking into Teixiera, or even Matt Holliday, possibly at the deadline.

Well, hopefully they can somehow swing a deal for Holliday and include Matthews in it, since they need to break up the log jam in the outfield. Then, whenever GA retires, the ideal OF/DH setup in this case would be Guerrero, Hunter, Holliday, Rivera. Plus, again, if they let Frankie walk, they'd have cash to lock down Holliday.

In the case of Teixiera, I hate suggesting it, but I'd think that Kotchman would have to be included in that deal. Yes, he's had all sorts of fluke injuries/illnesses, but right now we have 2 starting infielders who have been dealing with fluke injuries with Kotchman and Kendrick, and I think that Kendrick has more upside, plus you'd have to move Kotchman to give Teixiera a position.

The other rumor I've been hearing is that they're also targeting Garrett Atkins. That I'd also like to see, since they'd be adding a big bat, as well as a So Cal player.

[Shumway]

Apparently K-Rod's gonna test the market at the end of the season. Let's hope Arredondo's ready for the closer role, for my sake.

Arredondo'll at least save some of the drama. For once, can't Frankie get a 1-2-3 inning in the 9th? He always ends up walking one, giving up a hit, and then come back from behind in the count for the 3rd out.

Besides, with the money they'll save by letting him walk, hopefully they can bring in an actual bat like they've been promising for the past 4 years, so that we won't need a closer to be in that many save situations. Teixiera perhaps?

From what I've read, they're looking into Teixiera, or even Matt Holliday, possibly at the deadline.

Well, hopefully they can somehow swing a deal for Holliday and include Matthews in it, since they need to break up the log jam in the outfield. Then, whenever GA retires, the ideal OF/DH setup in this case would be Guerrero, Hunter, Holliday, Rivera. Plus, again, if they let Frankie walk, they'd have cash to lock down Holliday.

In the case of Teixiera, I hate suggesting it, but I'd think that Kotchman would have to be included in that deal. Yes, he's had all sorts of fluke injuries/illnesses, but right now we have 2 starting infielders who have been dealing with fluke injuries with Kotchman and Kendrick, and I think that Kendrick has more upside, plus you'd have to move Kotchman to give Teixiera a position.

The other rumor I've been hearing is that they're also targeting Garrett Atkins. That I'd also like to see, since they'd be adding a big bat, as well as a So Cal player.

I'm pretty sure Sgt. HGH is most likely to move(I'm not a fan of G-Math's, honestly). I agree tht if I had to move either Howie or Kotch, it'd be Kotch, although the upside on both seems to be pretty good. Atkins would be great, so long as Figgins stays as starting shortstop. I'm hoping there's someone valuable behind the plate available either at the deadline or during the offseason because I'm not sure I can live with Mathis or Naps longterm.

[LMU]

The problem I see with the catcher position is that the platoon setup isn't working. I'd rather they just stick with one, which looks to be Mathis since Napoli keeps getting banged up.

I think that the team is still suffering from MacPherson's failure, since they essentially mortgaged the third base position, and Figgins is essentially playing out-of-positon, since 3B is usually a power hitter position.

Plus, it doesn't help that Wood is looking to be yet another dud in the power hitting department.

[Shumway]

The problem I see with the catcher position is that the platoon setup isn't working. I'd rather they just stick with one, which looks to be Mathis since Napoli keeps getting banged up.

I think that the team is still suffering from MacPherson's failure, since they essentially mortgaged the third base position, and Figgins is essentially playing out-of-positon, since 3B is usually a power hitter position.

Plus, it doesn't help that Wood is looking to be yet another dud in the power hitting department.

From where I sit, both of the Angels' up-and-coming shortstop possibilities seem to be duds. Maicer's the best of the bunch by a longshot at this point. I haven't seen Sean Rodriguez play yet, but maybe he's got the potential to be our guy at short.

And yes, this is the official Angels thread now

[LMU]

The problem I see with the catcher position is that the platoon setup isn't working. I'd rather they just stick with one, which looks to be Mathis since Napoli keeps getting banged up.

I think that the team is still suffering from MacPherson's failure, since they essentially mortgaged the third base position, and Figgins is essentially playing out-of-positon, since 3B is usually a power hitter position.

Plus, it doesn't help that Wood is looking to be yet another dud in the power hitting department.

From where I sit, both of the Angels' up-and-coming shortstop possibilities seem to be duds. Maicer's the best of the bunch by a longshot at this point. I haven't seen Sean Rodriguez play yet, but maybe he's got the potential to be our guy at short.

And yes, this is the official Angels thread now

I guess we're making this an Angels thread to make up for all the Shea trivia threads .

Rodriguez is definitely a possibility. Maicer had his hot streak last season, but he reminds me way too much of Amezaga on the team... another undersized middle infielder with no pop. With Aybar, it seems like he's been around too long to drastically improve. I can't recall his age off hand, but he seems to have been with the club for quite some time.

I'm not about to be one of those fans begging for Eckstein to come back, because let's face it, while he did have the desire, his only real talent was working the count, and even with the World Series MVP trophy, I still find him overrated. Also, looking at Escobar's injury, the Cabrera for Garland trade seems like a genius move, since thankfully they were able to fill the rotation quite nicely without forcing Adenhart to spend the entire season in the big show, since he wasn't ready in my book.

I'm still interested to see if Morales is ever going to become of anything. He might just be a surprise down the road.

*EDIT: Aybar is 24. Still, I don't really see him breaking out to any large degree*

[Shumway]

The problem I see with the catcher position is that the platoon setup isn't working. I'd rather they just stick with one, which looks to be Mathis since Napoli keeps getting banged up.

I think that the team is still suffering from MacPherson's failure, since they essentially mortgaged the third base position, and Figgins is essentially playing out-of-positon, since 3B is usually a power hitter position.

Plus, it doesn't help that Wood is looking to be yet another dud in the power hitting department.

From where I sit, both of the Angels' up-and-coming shortstop possibilities seem to be duds. Maicer's the best of the bunch by a longshot at this point. I haven't seen Sean Rodriguez play yet, but maybe he's got the potential to be our guy at short.

And yes, this is the official Angels thread now

I guess we're making this an Angels thread to make up for all the Shea trivia threads .

Rodriguez is definitely a possibility. Maicer had his hot streak last season, but he reminds me way too much of Amezaga on the team... another undersized middle infielder with no pop. With Aybar, it seems like he's been around too long to drastically improve. I can't recall his age off hand, but he seems to have been with the club for quite some time.

I'm not about to be one of those fans begging for Eckstein to come back, because let's face it, while he did have the desire, his only real talent was working the count, and even with the World Series MVP trophy, I still find him overrated. Also, looking at Escobar's injury, the Cabrera for Garland trade seems like a genius move, since thankfully they were able to fill the rotation quite nicely without forcing Adenhart to spend the entire season in the big show, since he wasn't ready in my book.

I'm still interested to see if Morales is ever going to become of anything. He might just be a surprise down the road.

*EDIT: Aybar is 24. Still, I don't really see him breaking out to any large degree*

Kendry's always my favorite "question mark", so to speak, for the Angels. I have that Philadelphia mentality of "this is the year" for him, although I'm secretly sure it won't be. If it were a few years back, I would've loved to see Eckstein back, but the last thing the Halos need is another Willits, Figgins, Kendrick, etc. They've got enough guys with a solid bat with little to no power. The Angels won a series on small ball, yes, but I hate to think of the day the team's pitching hits a(nother) snag.

[BaltimoreFan]

The problem I see with the catcher position is that the platoon setup isn't working. I'd rather they just stick with one, which looks to be Mathis since Napoli keeps getting banged up.

I think that the team is still suffering from MacPherson's failure, since they essentially mortgaged the third base position, and Figgins is essentially playing out-of-positon, since 3B is usually a power hitter position.

Plus, it doesn't help that Wood is looking to be yet another dud in the power hitting department.

From where I sit, both of the Angels' up-and-coming shortstop possibilities seem to be duds. Maicer's the best of the bunch by a longshot at this point. I haven't seen Sean Rodriguez play yet, but maybe he's got the potential to be our guy at short.

And yes, this is the official Angels thread now

I guess we're making this an Angels thread to make up for all the Shea trivia threads .

Rodriguez is definitely a possibility. Maicer had his hot streak last season, but he reminds me way too much of Amezaga on the team... another undersized middle infielder with no pop. With Aybar, it seems like he's been around too long to drastically improve. I can't recall his age off hand, but he seems to have been with the club for quite some time.

I'm not about to be one of those fans begging for Eckstein to come back, because let's face it, while he did have the desire, his only real talent was working the count, and even with the World Series MVP trophy, I still find him overrated. Also, looking at Escobar's injury, the Cabrera for Garland trade seems like a genius move, since thankfully they were able to fill the rotation quite nicely without forcing Adenhart to spend the entire season in the big show, since he wasn't ready in my book.

I'm still interested to see if Morales is ever going to become of anything. He might just be a surprise down the road.

*EDIT: Aybar is 24. Still, I don't really see him breaking out to any large degree*

Kendry's always my favorite "question mark", so to speak, for the Angels. I have that Philadelphia mentality of "this is the year" for him, although I'm secretly sure it won't be. If it were a few years back, I would've loved to see Eckstein back, but the last thing the Halos need is another Willits, Figgins, Kendrick, etc. They've got enough guys with a solid bat with little to no power. The Angels won a series on small ball, yes, but I hate to think of the day the team's pitching hits a(nother) snag.

Would you Angels fans be interesting in Aubrey Huff? He's had a huge first half and is usually a second half player. I could see him making a big impact for a contending team.