MLB 2009 Season

[zioxide]

Since pitchers and catchers report in just over 12 hours, I figured it was probably time to get this thread started.

Lots of questions as this season draws near... were the Rays for real, will the yankees $400 million dollar spending spree help them or will they still end up in 3rd place, will the phillies be best in the nl east again, or will the mets finally not suck?

Oh yeah, Go Sox

 

[MacNut]

Oh goody it begins again. I see the AL east being a 3 team race between the Rays, Sox, and Yanks. If everything goes according to plan I don't think we will see a true frontrunner until late August.

 

[macfan881]

here my predictions for 09
AL East
Yankees
Rays
Redsox
Toronto
Baltimore

AL Central
Minesota
Whitesox
Cleavland
Kansas
Detroit

AL West
Anahiem
Oakland
Rangers
Seatle


NL East
Phillies
Mets
Braves
Flordia
Washington

NL Central
Cubs
ST Louis
Astros
Cincinati
Pitsburg
Brewers

NL West this is hard to do i think all teams got worse and i belive if the Dodgers dont sign manny that will be a lose but anyway
Diamondbacks
Dodgers
Padres
SF
Colorado

 

[macfan881]

and then playoffs would Be Yankees Minnesota Anahiem and Tampa as the Wildcard

NL Phillies Cubs Diamondbacks and Dodgers as wild card

and Wolrd Series Yankees VS Cubs and sorry cubs fans Yankees win world series

AL MVP
A-Rod
AL CY Young
CC Sabathia

NL Cy young
Santana

NL MVP
Ryan Howard

 

[MacNut]

and then playoffs would Be Yankees Minnesota Anahiem and Tampa as the Wildcard

NL Phillies Cubs Diamondbacks and Dodgers as wild card

and Wolrd Series Yankees VS Cubs and sorry cubs fans Yankees win world series

AL MVP
A-Rod
AL CY Young
CC Sabathia

NL Cy young
Santana

NL MVP
Ryan Howard

That looks great on paper, lets see how A-Rod handles this season. Way to soon to be making predictions.

 

[Silencio]

I think the Giants significantly improved in the off-season. Enough to win the division? Doubtful. No way do they finish behind the pathetic Padres, though!

1. Dodgers (will inevitably re-sign Manny)
2. Giants (will acquire a bat in a mid-season trade and make it a tight race)
3. D-Backs (downgrading from Johnson to Garland will hurt them)
4. Rockies
5. Padres

 

[IJ Reilly]

I think the Giants significantly improved in the off-season. Enough to win the division? Doubtful. No way do they finish behind the pathetic Padres, though!

1. Dodgers (will inevitably re-sign Manny)
2. Giants (will acquire a bat in a mid-season trade and make it a tight race)
3. D-Backs (downgrading from Johnson to Garland will hurt them)
4. Rockies
5. Padres

Right. I think this order is more likely, though Arizona and SF are interchangeable at this point. If the Dodgers finally do get Manny, then they will have improved significantly over the beginning of the last season.

 

[wvuwhat]

All I care is that the Sox make the playoffs and do well and the Yankees fall flat and miss them again. I don't care about anything else.

 

[zioxide]

and then playoffs would Be Yankees Minnesota Anahiem and Tampa as the Wildcard

NL Phillies Cubs Diamondbacks and Dodgers as wild card

and Wolrd Series Yankees VS Cubs and sorry cubs fans Yankees win world series

AL MVP
A-Rod
AL CY Young
CC Sabathia

NL Cy young
Santana

NL MVP
Ryan Howard

there's no way A-Roid is winning the MVP now

 

[furcalchick]

spring games starting soon...let's put our baseball talks here instead of in the hot stove thread.

 

[TSE]

I personally think CC Sabathia isn't going to be as good this season either, for a couple reasons:

Last season, he seriously threw about 250 innings, which is pretty much unheard of from pitchers nowadays, that might have tired out his arm.

He got a big contract, so maybe mentally he isn't as tensed anymore which sometimes helps players, but other players once they relax, flop.

The New York pressure is inevitably always a chance at failure. He never was on a big market team.

There is just too much that can go wrong there. I wouldn't be surprised if he did almost as good, but if he also flopped I wouldn't be surprised.

 

[me_94501]

A's may be interested in Nomar:

http://myespn.go.com/conversation/story?id=3923928

 

[zioxide]

Spring Training games have begun... baseball is officially back

 

[IJ Reilly]

New offer to Manny:

LOS ANGELES – Manny Ramirez received his third offer of the offseason from the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, this one for the same $45 million as the first offer in November, although it is structured with more money early in the deal, a baseball source close to the negotiations said.

Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and general manager Ned Colletti met with Ramirez’s agent Scott Boras and top Boras lieutenant Mike Fiore at Dodger Stadium, and the Dodgers presented an offer that would pay Ramirez $25 million in 2009, with a $20 million player option for 2010.

Boras did not immediately accept the offer, but a source said he delivered the offer to his client – a sign of progress because the first two offers were dismissed immediately by Boras. Ramirez, 36, has sought a four-year deal, but only the Dodgers are known to have made any offer at all.

The latest proposal combines elements of the first two offers. In November, the Dodgers offered a two-year, $45 million deal that would have paid Ramirez $15 in 2009, $22.5 million in 2010 and included a club option for $22.5 million in 2011 with a $7.5 million buyout.

Two months later the Dodgers came back with a one-year, $25 million offer that would have made Ramirez the second-highest paid player in baseball in 2009 behind Alex Rodriguez.

The two sides have had increasingly frequent dialogue, and it is clear the Dodgers want the power-hitting Ramirez, who led them to the National League West title after coming to them from the Boston Red Sox in a midseason trade.

Ramirez demanded that club options for $20 million in 2009 and 2010 be stricken from his contract at the time of the trade, so clearly he would be dissatisfied with any offer that didn’t eclipse those options. This latest offer bumps up those numbers, but whether it’s enough to get Ramirez into a Dodger uniform soon remains to be seen.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ti-mannyoffer022509&prov=yhoo&type=lgns&expire=1

 

[MacNut]

Manny has to know that the deals won't get any bigger.

 

[IJ Reilly]

He had to know that at least a month ago, but that didn't stop him and Boras from trying to squeeze more out of the Dodgers (with a little help from our friends in San Francisco). The article doesn't make it clear that the second year in this offer is a player option, which means it's up to the player to decide if he wants to exercise it. If this deal does go through, it will be interesting to see what happens next winter. But that would be getting way ahead of ourselves.

 

[MacNut]

The game of chicken continues. Manny rejected the Dodgers latest offer.

 

[Counterfit]

O-Cab is gonna get signed before Manny does.




Is it opening day yet?

 

[IJ Reilly]

Un freaking credible. I'm rapidly beginning not to care anymore.

 

[MacNut]

"We want Manny back, but we feel we are negotiating against ourselves," Dodgers owner Frank McCourt said in a statement. "When his agent finds those 'serious offers' from other clubs, we'll be happy to restart the negotiations."

Your move Boras.

 

[Sayhey]

He had to know that at least a month ago, but that didn't stop him and Boras from trying to squeeze more out of the Dodgers (with a little help from our friends in San Francisco). The article doesn't make it clear that the second year in this offer is a player option, which means it's up to the player to decide if he wants to exercise it. If this deal does go through, it will be interesting to see what happens next winter. But that would be getting way ahead of ourselves.

Always glad to help out, IJ.

I'm curious as to your take on the Dodgers starting pitching, and their line-up without Manny? I think the Dodgers have taken a serious hit in their rotation with the loss of both Penny and Lowe. I like Billingsley, but after that I'm not impressed. I also think the Dodgers will miss Kent's bat in their line-up, and without Manny they are not any better than most of the Western Division in terms of offense. I do think you've got a defense down south that is going to be one of the better in baseball. The core of young players in Kemp, Loney, Martin, and Ethier are folks I expect to just get better, but I've been surprised before by sudden declines. Still, with Manny, the Dodgers look to be the favorites. My Giants, while I love their pitching and some of the young talent, have still too many questions to be answered to rank them as anything but contenders for second or third with the Diamondbacks. I don't see either the Padres or the Rockies as serious threats.

Now, if Manny sits out the season or comes north (neither of which I expect to happen,) then we have a very different picture.

 

[MacNut]

If the Giants made an offer would they be wiling to pay Manny if he actually accepted it. Right now they are just baiting the Dodgers but would Manny call the Giants bluff.

 

[Sayhey]

If the Giants made an offer would they be wiling to pay Manny if he actually accepted it. Right now they are just baiting the Dodgers but would Manny call the Giants bluff.

From what I understand the Giants have only talked "concepts" with Boros. I take that to mean no offer has been made and no offer is likely to be made. If the Giants could get Manny on a one year deal, I think they would overpay for him. Locking themselves into a longer term deal, especially three years or more which is what it would likely take to get him, makes little sense for the Giants. But to answer your question, any team that puts an offer on the table that it isn't willing to go through with is totally crazy. "Concepts" are fine if you want your rival to bid against themselves, but once you put money on the line it is a different ballgame.

 

[MacNut]

So if it really is just the Dodgers biding, will Manny just sit out if he doesn't get something to his liking. Or will he be forced to take what the Dodgers give him.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Always glad to help out, IJ.

I'm curious as to your take on the Dodgers starting pitching, and their line-up without Manny? I think the Dodgers have taken a serious hit in their rotation with the loss of both Penny and Lowe. I like Billingsley, but after that I'm not impressed. I also think the Dodgers will miss Kent's bat in their line-up, and without Manny they are not any better than most of the Western Division in terms of offense. I do think you've got a defense down south that is going to be one of the better in baseball. The core of young players in Kemp, Loney, Martin, and Ethier are folks I expect to just get better, but I've been surprised before by sudden declines. Still, with Manny, the Dodgers look to be the favorites. My Giants, while I love their pitching and some of the young talent, have still too many questions to be answered to rank them as anything but contenders for second or third with the Diamondbacks. I don't see either the Padres or the Rockies as serious threats.

Now, if Manny sits out the season or comes north (neither of which I expect to happen,) then we have a very different picture.

The Dodgers will be hurt by the absence of Lowe, but since they didn't have Penny for more than a few poorly pitched games last season, it's difficult to argue that they've lost him. It is arguable that the Dodgers will lack a certified ace at the top of the rotation, but if you look at his numbers from last season, Billingsley could well become that pitcher this season. Down the rotation nobody looks as consistent as Billingsley but I think everybody is pretty solid down to number four, and Kershaw has a lot of upside potential. The number five slot is a big question mark, but it is for most teams at this point. Dodger fans are pretty excited by James McDonald. If he works out, be on notice that Billingsley-Kershaw-McDonald could be heart of an awesome rotation for some years to come.

Our infield is going to be great this year, if everybody stays healthy as much as can be expected. I don't think we'll miss Kent all that much. He's being replaced by a much better glove in Hudson, and a respectable bat, if not as much power as Kent. Having Blake here to start the season is a big plus, as is having the dead weight of Andruw Jones out of the way.

I'm also liking what I'm hearing from Martin this spring. He's been told by Joe that he won't be starting more than 160 games, and it seems he finally understands why. Martin is a talented ballplayer but he's got almost too much drive. He tries to do everything. It sounds like he's growing up with the game. The other youngsters are also full of upside potential at this point, especially Kemp.

I don't want to sound like too much of a homie, but I think even without Manny, the Dodgers have to be favored to win the NLW. With Manny, they're close to a lock.