Baseball Season 2006

[Koodauw]

Its gonna be a good year for the Yankees. Still have the best Closer in either league, the best bats around, and the pitching will be better than you think.

And ps, If you are a padres fan, you have no right to brag. 82-80, is NOT a big deal.

 

[rickvanr]

Go Toronto.. I hate baseball, so I'll cheer for the sole Canadian team.

 

[grapes911]

The Dominican team is basically like the world all star team. I think I'll watch a game or two of theirs just so I can see them annihilate some smaller countries (aka the US heh).

Have you even looked at the rosters? While IMO the Dominican team is the strongest, the US and Venezuela aren't that far behind. These three teams are going to be very competitive.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Umm who won the NL west title in 2005?

Two games over .500 gets you bragging rights? Getting swept in the first round of the playoffs?

Lemme tell ya, nobody in the NL West gets to brag about anything they did last season. Nobody. The division was pathetic.

The Padres are playing for second place this season.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Its gonna be a good year for the Yankees. Still have the best Closer in either league, the best bats around, and the pitching will be better than you think.

Better than Eric Gagne? I don't think so!

 

[iPhil]

The Padres are playing for second place this season.

the padres are better than last season on paper now.. <<IMO

Better than Eric Gagne? I don't think so!

Trevor Hoffman is better than Gagne but purty close to M. Rivera << IMO

 

[IJ Reilly]

the padres are better than last season on paper now.. <<IMO

I've seen dogs that were better on paper than the Padres!

Trevor Hoffman is better than Gagne but purty close to M. Rivera << IMO

Trevor Hoffman? Don't make me laugh. Take a look at saves. Take a look at strike out to walk ratio -- the stuff that counts for closers. Hoffman isn't even close to Gagne.

 

[cycocelica]

I can't wait for baseball season. A great sport coupled with a great season (summer).

GO YANKEES!!

 

[Kwyjibo]

Trevor Hoffman? Don't make me laugh. Take a look at saves. Take a look at strike out to walk ratio -- the stuff that counts for closers. Hoffman isn't even close to Gagne.

you have to be joking? Trevor Hoffman has 436 saves in eleven years as being a closer. He was injured for one year. Thats reliable, you can't argue with consistency. He could break the all time record this year (Lee Smith's 478). RELIABILITY is the most important factor in being a closer, and you can rely on him to do his job as well as Mariano Rivera. Is he declining, sure its only natural.

Gagne is unproven as of yet to me. Show me 5, 10, 15 years and I'll declare him the best ever. Was his streak amazing, sure. Was it partially a product of the advantage he has over batters via their first chance batting against him, slightly but he still has tons of talent. He has 160 career saves, lets see how that number looks after ten years. Maybe he will stay dominant for a long long time, i'd love to see that the because it looks like he has the talent. but show me a few more full seasons where he stays dominant and I'll totally agree but right now I'd say the numbers are with hoffman to get it done just fine.

 

[yoda13]

Better than Eric Gagne? I don't think so!

Gagne needs to show he is recovered. Regular season he is as good as Rivera, maybe even better statistically speaking. However, nobody has done what Rivera has done over the years in October, of course, even he is showing some signs of age and/or cracking. Anyway, go Rangers!

 

[prostuff1]

You guys are all wrong about the soxs. The Indians will be winning the central this year. With the starting pitching and hitting htey have they should be good. the only thing i worry about is the bullpen. have had troubles with that the last couple of years...but... Wickman was great last year.

Unfortunantly, I have not been following baseball all that much lately and i am kinda behind what has been happening.

 

[Sayhey]

Lets see how good your bowl of cereal can do in center field. Hopefully the remarks of one roid Bonds are true about his retirement at the end of the season.

Sorry, MacNut, Bonds isn't retiring just yet. Talking about the effect of his new knee brace on his attitude Barry said,

"The brace feels great, it's awesome," said Bonds, who will turn 42 on July 24. "Right now, I feel like I can play for another five years, another 10 years. It's given me a new lease on life. That's how I'm feeling today. I'm ready to get going."

So don't get your celebration on too early.

Say, how are roid Giambi and roid Sheffield doing by the way? And how is that old starting pitching looking?

With the National League West, I think it will be a two team race down to the wire between the Dodgers and the Giants (as long as both teams can stay relatively healthy.) Both are much improved and the level of play in the West will go up accordingly.

I still want the Giants to pick up another proven starter, although at this point it looks like they are willing to wait for teams to fall out of contention at mid-season and deal some quality for prospects.

 

[IJ Reilly]

you have to be joking? Trevor Hoffman has 436 saves in eleven years as being a closer. He was injured for one year. Thats reliable, you can't argue with consistency. He could break the all time record this year (Lee Smith's 478). RELIABILITY is the most important factor in being a closer, and you can rely on him to do his job as well as Mariano Rivera. Is he declining, sure its only natural.

Gagne is unproven as of yet to me. Show me 5, 10, 15 years and I'll declare him the best ever. Was his streak amazing, sure. Was it partially a product of the advantage he has over batters via their first chance batting against him, slightly but he still has tons of talent. He has 160 career saves, lets see how that number looks after ten years. Maybe he will stay dominant for a long long time, i'd love to see that the because it looks like he has the talent. but show me a few more full seasons where he stays dominant and I'll totally agree but right now I'd say the numbers are with hoffman to get it done just fine.

Partly, I'm just twitting the Padres fan for fun. It's a rivalry, you know.

But honestly, Gagne sets a record for consecutive saves that probably nobody will ever beat -- and he's still unproven? That record, btw, came over the course of three seasons, so you can't say it's because the batters hadn't seen his stuff. They saw it alright -- it just happens that his stuff is awesome. He's racked up a strikeout to walk ratio of over six to one in the past three seasons (excluding 2005, when he pitched for only a month). Neither Hoffman or Rivera are close in that department, which I'd argue is the closer's stock-in-trade.

As for history, we're debating the 2006 season, not what might have happened ten or more years ago for any given player. Hoffman's had a great career, no doubt. But if Gagne is healthy again, and regains anything close to the form he had in 2002-03-04, then I think he'll easily be the best closer in the game in 2006.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Gagne needs to show he is recovered. Regular season he is as good as Rivera, maybe even better statistically speaking. However, nobody has done what Rivera has done over the years in October, of course, even he is showing some signs of age and/or cracking. Anyway, go Rangers!

Sure, he's got something to prove, and even the Dodger management knows that (which is why they hired another proven closer as a setup man). All the indications are positive, though. His elbow surgery was relatively minor, so now it's all about work ethic and drive, which Eric Gagne has in abundance.

 

[Kwyjibo]

If Gagne is healthy again, and regains anything close to the form he had in 2002-03-04, then I think he'll easily be the best closer in the game in 2006.

you made my point for me in that statment, and I agree with you in part. The past can predict the future, you're using the Gagne's stats to say while he'll be great and I'm using hoffman's stats to say why its more likely he'll do his job ( I'm not sure he'll get quite that many opportunities this year). The idea of closer exposure is a bit delayed compared to starting pitchers, so it might take 3 years for everyone to get 5 AB's outside of his decision, partly because of his consistency in sitting down three in a row. Throwing like a hundred doesn't hurt it at all, we're going to see if the talent is that good, that he still has a big big edge, thats a question mark to me. unproven in the long run? yes, can he do the job, probably as well as anybody when he's healthy.

IF's are really fun, If Ken Griffey Jr. hadn't had all those injuries he'd be the best player in baseball right now. If Prior and Wood ever pitch 20 win season the cubs will be the best team in baseball. those are my two major If's mostly because I wish tat Ken Girffey had lived up to his potential more and because I hope that prior and wood become dominant, am I counting on it? nope.

 

[Sayhey]

If we are talking the best relievers in history then it's not Gagne, Hoffman, or Rivera. Toss a dart at pictures of Gossage, Sutter, or Eck (two in the HOF and one who should be) and any of them are better. If you want the best closer in the game now, then I'm going with Nathan. That doesn't mean I don't respect Gagne, Hoffman and Rivera - just that there are new players in town.

 

[IJ Reilly]

With the National League West, I think it will be a two team race down to the wire between the Dodgers and the Giants (as long as both teams can stay relatively healthy.) Both are much improved and the level of play in the West will go up accordingly.

I still want the Giants to pick up another proven starter, although at this point it looks like they are willing to wait for teams to fall out of contention at mid-season and deal some quality for prospects.

I wondered how long it would take for you to find this thread.

I'm going to stay right on that limb I crawled out on earlier, and predict that the Dodger are the team to beat in the '06 NL West. Short of some calamity (like last season - oy!), the Padres and the Giants are second-place rivals.

So why didn't the Giants make a play for Jeff Weaver? Come to that, why didn't the Dodgers resign him? I think everybody is scratching their heads over his one-year deal with the Angels, when he was insisting on three from the Dodgers.

 

[dotdotdot]

GO METS!!

This is their year, baby. This is their year.

 

[Sayhey]

I wondered how long it would take for you to find this thread.

I'm going to stay right on that limb I crawled out on earlier, and predict that the Dodger are the team to beat in the '06 NL West. Short of some calamity (like last season - oy!), the Padres and the Giants are second-place rivals.

So why didn't the Giants make a play for Jeff Weaver? Come to that, why didn't the Dodgers resign him? I think everybody is scratching their heads over his one-year deal with the Angels, when he was insisting on three from the Dodgers.

I won't begrudge you your prediction. I like (or dread to be more accurate) the team Colletti has put together (notice how I, oh so subtly, bring up the ex-Giant angle.) I just think if Barry is healthy enough to play 120+ games that he is the biggest addition to any club over the offseason. Barry's bat and Morris arm will keep the Giants in it, but - as I said - they need one more starter.

Why not Weaver? Because they're too cheap. They think they can get a better starter at the break and at most be stuck with the salary for half a season. Barry Zito, among others, springs to mind. Both Bonds and Schmidt are free agents after the season, and while I expect the Giants to keep Bonds if he wants to play, I think they are looking to see what their budget options are after this year.

Weaver got caught in a collapsing market. He's a decent enough pitcher, but teams had no interest in paying the money Boros was asking for a pitcher who is only decent. I think his best bet was to stay with the Dodgers, but time ran out on negotiations leaving him to scramble for a contract. I'm sure the Dodgers would have rather had Weaver than Tomko or Seo.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Weaver got caught in a collapsing market. He's a decent enough pitcher, but teams had no interest in paying the money Boros was asking for a pitcher who is only decent. I think his best bet was to stay with the Dodgers, but time ran out on negotiations leaving him to scramble for a contract. I'm sure the Dodgers would have rather had Weaver than Tomko or Seo.

Jeff Weaver is basically a journeyman pitcher, but he does eat up the innings. I'm sure the Dodgers would have preferred to have him instead of Tomko, but I'm not so sure about Seo. I think they expect good things from him.

As for Bonds, I think he's letting the world know that he could retire at any moment.

 

[MacNut]

A lot of ifs about the NL West this year, Well more like if not's, what happens if Barry can only go 50 games before the knee gives out do the Giants have a backup plan. Will the Padres lead again and barely win, How healthy is Gagne,

 

[dotdotdot]

A lot of ifs about the NL West this year, Well more like if not's, what happens if Barry can only go 50 games before the knee gives out do the Giants have a backup plan. Will the Padres lead again and barely win, How healthy is Gagne,

Even if he does get injured, I'd assume he'd try to play just because he says its his last year in baseball.

But the Giants probably are prepared for their worst case scenario.

 

[IJ Reilly]

But the Giants probably are prepared for their worst case scenario.

Yeah, how? Somebody else is elected to carry the team if Bonds can't play?

 

[Counterfit]

GO METS!!

This is their year, baby. This is their year.

BWA HAHAHAHAHAHA! Funny

Still have the best Closer in either league, the best bats around, and the pitching will be better than you think.

I'll give you Rivera being damn good (Too bad Mueller won't be around to crank stuff off him anymore. The job solely rests on Papi now.) But bats? Don't make me laugh.
As for pitching, I'd say starters are a toss-up, but picking up Myers might help against Ortiz. Bastards

 

[Sayhey]

Even if he does get injured, I'd assume he'd try to play just because he says its his last year in baseball.

But the Giants probably are prepared for their worst case scenario.

There is no way the Giants can make up for Bonds if he can't play. At $20 million owed this year almost one-fourth of their salaries goes to Barry. That tends to limit getting quality replacements for a back up plan. At this point the back up plan is Steve Finley or the blossoming of a rookie like Todd Linden. Even if Linden turns out to be a star or Finley can play to his old level that leaves a lot to make up to equal Barry's contribution. The reality is the until Barry retires and the money payed to him is freed up for many players the Giants are in a Barry or bust mode.