MLB Thread

[Sepholio]

At least he gets to ruin that strange.

[Droford]

http://news.sportslogos.net/2015/04/...ong-promotion/



I think this might be April Fools but it's funny

[ClockShot]

Adam Warren was "finally" announced as the Yankees' 5th starter. Really wasn't a contest to being with during spring training.

[Emperor Smeat]

Christian Vazquez out for the entire season. Was speculated his injury was going to need Tommy John surgery and the Red Sox confirmed today that was happening.

Team didn't think it was serious at first but got hit with the worst case scenario days later from the MRI results and Vazquez's pain flaring up.

[Droford]

I'm glad I got to Wrigley last year before they fucking destroyed it

That jumbotron looks so out of place

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Shark will still look fake.

[ClockShot]

Arodys Vizcaino suspended 80 games for popping positive for PEDs.

[Clerk]

Espn needs to stop televising mlb. So boring.

[Sepholio]

Shut up Clork

[ClockShot]

D-Backs and Braves swap Trevor Cahill and Josh Elander

[Keith]

Originally Posted by Droford I'm glad I got to Wrigley last year before they fucking destroyed it That jumbotron looks so out of place

You'll love it when the Cubs clinch at home and it reads "2015 NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL DIVISION CHAMPIONS!"

[Shisen Kopf]

Originally Posted by Bad News Gertner Wow, Osuna, Castro, Sanchez and Norris all made the Jays pitching staff, with Travis and Pompey starting at 2nd and Centre field. Jays are going.to be fun to watch.

Is that goofy Jap still on the team?

[Bad News Gertner]

No he got sent to the minors

[ClockShot]

Josh Hamilton wins his arbitration case involving his relapse over Super Bowl weekend. He won't be suspended for it.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Good.

[Emperor Smeat]

THIS JUST IN: Twins pitcher Ervin Santana suspended 80 games without pay for testing positive for Stanozolol. pic.twitter.com/CVjVJaQZxu

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 3, 2015

[Evil Vito]

That would be a big blow if the Twins had a chance of not finishing in last place.

[ClockShot]

Damn. And right at the start of the season, too.

Twins are probably scrambling for a last minute starter now.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Stanozolol

I don't think the Twins are laughing out loud about that one. HIYOOO

[ClockShot]

MLB concluded it's investigation into Marlins pitcher Jarred Cosart. No evidence that he bet on baseball. But he was fined for making bets on other sports with a bookie. That's a no-no in the MLB rule book.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Why? It has no effect on the MLB at all. Are they legal bets? Nvm. Bookie.

[Evil Vito]

On the eve of the season it's time for my annual predictions. I got pretty lazy with them last year, so this year I actually put some effort in:

Regular Season Standings

American League East
1. Toronto Blue Jays
2. Boston Red Sox (Wild Card 2)
3. Baltimore Orioles
4. New York Yankees
5. Tampa Bay Rays

As has been the case the last several years, the AL East is incredibly difficult to forecast with no fewer than four teams I can see taking the division if things break the right way. But after years of entering the season with promise, I think this is the year the Jays step up to the next level. They added Josh Donaldson, Russell Martin, and Michael Saunders to an already quality lineup which could push them into a level of elite offensive production provided the usual injury suspects that occupy the rest of their lineup manage to stay on the field. The biggest knock I’ve seen on Toronto is their rotation, but I’m very bullish on the potential of Drew Hutchison, Aaron Sanchez, and Daniel Norris and think R.A. Dickey and Mark Buehrle are great veteran pieces to put them with.

Boston is also a team with a lineup that could be elite, with Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez being two of the biggest acquisitions in free agency this year. The rotation should be solid if unspectacular, although I think they will miss having a guy with Jon Lester’s mental makeup. Still, I think Boston will play their way into a Wild Card spot. The Orioles crashing the Wild Card party wouldn’t surprise me either, they did next to nothing in the offseason but did win 96 games last year and should be getting Manny Machado and Matt Wieters back for a healthy chunk of the campaign. The Yankees are a coin flip team, currently I just see too many question marks to pick them especially with the inevitable drama of Alex Rodriguez and the constant worry about Masahiro Tanaka’s elbow. The Rays are the only team I feel comfortable ruling out altogether. They have a solid young pitching staff but the lineup seems unimpressive outside of Evan Longoria. Unless Kevin Cash can get the most out of every play on the roster like Joe Maddon did, I think it will be a year to forget in Tampa Bay.


American League Central
1. Detroit Tigers
2. Chicago White Sox
3. Cleveland Indians
4. Kansas City Royals
5. Minnesota Twins

Everybody seemed quick to write off the Tigers when Max Scherzer left town, but I really think a full season of David Price will come close to mitigating his loss, and I’m a big believer in Anibal Sanchez as well, he and Price will be a really nice 1-2 punch even if Justin Verlander continues to decline. I have a hard time seeing the bullpen being as terrible as it was down the stretch last season and I think Bruce Rondon will be a great boost in his return from Tommy John Surgery. As for the lineup, barring injury I think there should be plenty of offense to go around. Miguel Cabrera is still the best pure hitter in baseball, and Victor Martinez, Ian Kinsler, and Yoenis Cespedes should all combine to keep the Tigers’ window of contention from slamming shut for one more year.

The White Sox had one of the more surprising offseasons in recent memory. Of all the teams to go on a wild spending spree, I didn’t think they would be one of them. But they’re clearly going for it this year and attempting to make last year’s 73-win effort a distant memory. Although I have them missing out on October baseball, I imagine they’ll be in heavy contention throughout the summer. Cleveland feels like a middle of the road team to me, they have the reigning Cy Young Award winner but an otherwise unproven rotation and a middling lineup that didn’t get any better or worse in the offseason. Poor Royals – I think the fans in Kansas City may be having nightmares about Madison Bumgarner for a while. They aren’t bad but James Shields was a big loss and, as amazing as their bullpen was last year, the nature of relief pitching suggests that it will be very difficult to repeat that sort of performance. The Twins are what they are – simply biding their time in the cellar waiting for top offensive prospects Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano to be ready for the big league level and hoping they can revitalize the franchise.


American League West
1. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
2. Seattle Mariners (Wild Card 1)
3. Oakland Athletics
4. Houston Astros
5. Texas Rangers

The Angels didn’t do a whole lot in the offseason, but I really don’t think they needed to. They won 98 games last season and are returning with nearly the entire roster intact, the only swap being at second base where Howie Kendrick is now gone in favor of the unproven Johnny Giovatella. Mike Trout is clearly the best player in baseball and will be the heart of that team, and in spite of decline I still think that Albert Pujols has good baseball left in him. Garrett Richards should return from injury fairly early in the season, and once he’s back he’ll join Matt Shoemaker and Hector Santiago in an impressive your rotation that will also include Jered Weaver and CJ Wilson as veteran stabilizers. The top two teams in the West should be in a dogfight all year long but in the end I’ll take the Angels to repeat at the top of the division.

Mariners fans have every reason to expect their team to get to the playoffs for the first time since 2001. Felix Hernandez is about as good as they come, and I view James Paxton and Taijuan Walker in much the same light as I view the Blue Jays’ young starters. Robinson Cano is still a truly great hitter and Nelson Cruz, while due for a decline in power in Seattle’s spacious park, should still provide a dangerous bat for the lineup. Add those guys in with the quality homegrown position players Seattle has and it’s a recipe for success. Billy Beane is pretty much a mad genius – I have no idea what he was trying to accomplish with this offseason in terms of contending now vs. loading up for the future, but I think Sonny Gray and their bullpen will keep them over .500. The Astros don’t seem quite ready to contend, but I think they’ll continue to take a step in the right direction at around 75-78 wins with Wild Card contention a real possibility by 2016. The Rangers’ lineup should be better this year with a healthy Prince Fielder, but I think the Yu Darvish injury realistically dashed any aspirations they had for this season.


National League East
1. Washington Nationals
2. New York Mets (Wild Card 2)
3. Miami Marlins
4. Atlanta Braves
5. Philadelphia Phillies

I don’t think I’ve seen a single writer, blogger, or prognosticator pick anybody other than the Nationals to win the division. And with that rotation, who can blame them? When Gio Gonzalez is your worst starter and you have Tanner Roark, a guy who had All Star credentials as a starting pitcher a year ago getting relegated to the bullpen, you know you’ve assembled a ridiculously good pitching staff. Offensively, I’m expecting big things from Bryce Harper, Jayson Werth, and Anthony Rendon among others. The lineup will be a bit banged up to start the year, but once everybody is healed up they’ll have plenty of offensive production. I don’t think the division will be the cakewalk that most are projecting it to be, but the Nationals simply have too much talent to safely pick against them.

Maybe I’m a homer, but I really do feel more optimistic about this Mets team than I have in years. Yes, losing Zack Wheeler for the year hurts, but they’re getting Matt Harvey back and appear to have put together a quality rotation and stout bullpen after a few crafty trades for lefty relief pitchers this week. David Wright finally looks healthy again and his good friend Michael Cuddyer will give him the protection he didn’t have last year. The Marlins should be another team gunning for the Wild Card all year long with Giancarlo Stanton, Marcell Ozuna, and Christian Yelich combining to form one of the best outfields in the National League and they should provide run support for a steady pitching staff that could get back Jose Fernandez by July. The Braves have a couple of budding stars in Freddie Freeman and Andrelton Simmons but otherwise seem content with playing for the opening of their new stadium in 2017. I can’t see the Phillies being much more than a trainwreck this season. They need to do a total rebuild and it will likely start by trading Cole Hamels by the trade deadline.


National League Central
1. St. Louis Cardinals
2. Pittsburgh Pirates (Wild Card 1)
3. Chicago Cubs
4. Cincinnati Reds
5. Milwaukee Brewers

There seem to be only three certainties in life: death, taxes, and the Cardinals playing baseball in October. They’ve just gotten to the point where it’s nigh on impossible for me to bet against them making the postseason. Adam Wainwright is a year older and John Lackey is decent, but behind them they seem to grow hard-throwing young pitchers on trees and have no shortage of depth. Yadier Molina should continue to be a great defensive general on the field as always. I actually really like the Jason Heyward trade for them, he’s bound to be extra-motivated in his last year before free agency. While the lineup may be susceptible against lefty starters with Heyward, Matt Adams, and Matt Carpenter, I’m pretty sure the team will find a way to navigate through any problems they have just like they always do.

After two decades of losing, I’m predicting the Pirates to earn the top Wild Card spot for the third straight year. Francisco Liriano and Gerrit Cole are a nice 1-2 punch atop the rotation, and they have one of the best players in the league in Andrew McCutchen. Also be on the lookout for Starling Marte who I think is a star in the making. The Cubs feel like a team that will be around the .500 mark but still one year away from serious playoff contention. But their long-term outlook is very bright. Jon Lester will prove to be a key cog to a future contender, Joe Maddon will do great things with that team soon enough, and Kris Bryant will be electrifying the North Side within a month or two. I actually really like the look of the Reds offense more than most. I think Joey Votto bounces back in a big way and the rest of the lineup follows suit, but I don’t see there being quite enough pitching. I really don’t know how the Brewers were in first place for most of last year, aside from Carlos Gomez and maybe Ryan Braun they really don’t have a big offense, and their pitching is mediocre at best.


National League West

1. Los Angeles Dodgers
2. San Diego Padres
3. San Francisco Giants
4. Colorado Rockies
5. Arizona Diamondbacks

With this pick I’m now forecasting five of the six division winners from last year to repeat. Hardly the most exciting of predictions, but the Dodgers feel like the right call here. For starters, the division isn’t exactly strong with two teams that might be in the bottom five of the league in Colorado and Arizona. They have the best pitcher in baseball in Clayton Kershaw along with Zack Greinke who is better than most teams’ ace. The bullpen will be shored up from within when Kenley Jansen and Brandon League return from their injuries. Yasiel Puig should continue to develop as long as he keeps his head on straight, and I can’t really say anything bad about Adrian Gonzalez. As if that wasn’t enough, they would seem to have an unlimited budget in case they felt compelled to make a big trade at the deadline.

I know the Padres’ offseason bonanza was possibly the top story of the offseason, but how many times have we seen teams have a huge offseason only to not perform up to expectations? I’d be surprised if they aren’t in Wild Card contention with their pitching, but it remains to be seen how their three new outfielders perform in a big ballpark, and their infield doesn’t seem to be much to write home about. The Giants probably won’t be bad, but they had a pretty quiet offseason and I think the loss of Pablo Sandoval will really hurt them. Fear not though San Francisco Faithful, we all know that they play best during even years. The Rockies should be able to put together a very formidable offense if Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez can somehow stay on the field, but when you play in that ballpark and your best starting pitcher is Kyle Kendrick, that’s not a good thing. Arizona doesn’t feel like much more than a one-man team, Paul Goldschmidt is amazing and all but I don’t think he’ll be able to put the team on his back and carry them past the deficits that their pitching staff will create.


Awards

American League
MVP: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Cy Young: David Price, Detroit Tigers
Rookie of the Year: Daniel Norris, Toronto Blue Jays
Comeback Player of the Year: Manny Machado, Baltimore Orioles
Manager of the Year: Lloyd McClendon, Seattle Mariners

I’m taking the chalk with my MVP choice, but after what Trout has done in the last three years – how can I not? As mentioned earlier, I see really big things from Price in his final year before free agency. Norris’ toughest competition for the award may come from his own team with Toronto bringing so many rookies to the table. Although the Rangers have a ton of viable candidates for the Comeback award, I think the voters are more likely to vote for somebody on a decent team and can’t possibly see them voting for Alex Rodriguez no matter how he does. Lastly, history supports that voters like to reward a manager who helped end a long playoff drought – based on my predictions that leaves me with McClendon or John Gibbons. I’ll go with McClendon simply because I can see Seattle finishing with a better record than Toronto despite being a Wild Card team.


National League
MVP: Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals
Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
Rookie of the Year: Kris Bryant, Chicago Cubs
Comeback Player of the Year: Matt Harvey, New York Mets
Manager of the Year: Joe Maddon, Chicago Cubs

Harper has been scrutinized since he was a teenager and at age 22 has foolishly been labeled as a bust by pundits who demand instant gratification. I think he puts up a monster campaign and restarts the Harper vs. Trout debate for future years. With Kershaw, my reasoning is the same as Trout: how can I bet against him at this point? Bryant shouldn’t be in the minors for very long and when he gets recalled he’ll tear the cover off the ball, his teammate Jorge Soler should be his top competition. If Harvey even close to resembles his 2013 season, I think he should take the Comeback award given that it’s been 18 full months since his last pitched in a Major League game. Only five times in history has a manager of team below second place in his division won Manager of the Year, but with the Cubs figuring to be exciting and a powerhouse on the rise, Maddon takes it for setting the tone for the future of the franchise.


Playoffs

Wild Card Games
Mariners over Red Sox
Pirates over Mets

It’s nearly impossible to get most of these predictions right, let alone try to forecast individual games. I figure the Mariners would be coming to the table with either Felix Hernandez or Hisashi Iwakuma, both of whom should be better options than Boston will have unless they were to swing a trade for Cole Hamels. The Mets should have the pitching edge against the Pirates, but Pittsburgh got humiliated in the Wild Card game at home last year and will be extra charged up to avoid it happening again. Both home teams advance for the first time since the advent of the wild card round.


Division Series
Angels over Mariners
Tigers over Blue Jays
Dodgers over Pirates
Nationals over Cardinals

These short series really just come down to who is peaking at the right time. They’re essentially a total crap shoot. On the American League side I’m going to go with experience and say that the Angels and Tigers put an end to the dream seasons of the Mariners and Blue Jays, with Mike Trout and Miguel Cabrera doing what they do best and tearing the cover off the ball. Clayton Kershaw silences the critics who call him an October choke artist as he helps get the Dodgers to the next round. I feel dirty ever picking against the Cardinals, but if any rotation can stop them in a short series, its Washington’s. Nationals end the Cardinals’ streak of NLCS appearances.


Championship Series
Angels over Tigers
Dodgers over Nationals

The Angels and Tigers are really built two totally different ways: with a few exceptions here and there the Angels lean heavily on youth while the Tigers are a predominantly veteran ball club. It’s not unusual for young arms to burn out at this time of year. But after seeing the Royals last year, all bets are off in October. I’ll go with the Angels to advance with the MVP of the series being, who else, Mike Trout. The Dodgers and Nationals are viewed as the consensus top two teams in the NL so really it’d be tough to label either team advancing as an upset. Although the Nationals have the better rotation, the Dodgers aren’t very far behind them. Between the good pitching and a better lineup, I’ll give the Dodgers the edge. With most of Washington’s starters being right-handed, let’s say left-handed slugger Adrian Gonzalez has a big performance to take home MVP of that series.


World Series
Dodgers over Angels

Even though this World Series would have a distinctly West Coast feel and would appropriately be dubbed the Freeway World Series, it’s tough to imagine fans throughout the country not being intrigued with this matchup. Who wouldn’t be compelled any time Mike Trout gets to step into the box against Clayton Kershaw? Anyway, earlier on I referenced the huge chip on Kershaw’s shoulder from his past playoff failures. I think he’ll be a man on a mission and could do his best Madison Bumgarner impression – two, possibly three really good starts wrapped in between Zack Greinke and Hyun-jin Ryu. Kershaw backs up his 2014 NL MVP performance with a 2015 World Series MVP performance, the Dodgers win their first championship since 1988, and with their seemingly unlimited financial resources fans around the country worry that they might get even better in the next offseason.

[Droford]

East
Orioles
Blue Jays
Red Sox
Yankees
Rays

Nationals
Marlins
Mets
Braves
Phillies

Central
White Sox
Indians
Royals
Tigers
Twins

Cubs
Pirates
Cardinals
Reds
Brewers

West
Mariners
Angels
Astros
Rangers
As

Dodgers
Padres
Diamondbacks
Rockies
Giants

AL WC
Indians & Blue Jays

NL WC
Pirates and Padres

[Droford]

Braves finished blowing their team up by trading Kimbrel and Melvin Upton to the Padres

[Evil Vito]

lol what the fuck.

guess that renders Joaquin Benoit rather useless in the 2 leagues I drafted him in

[Damian Rey]

FUCK YES

[Evil Vito]

Well I already locked my season picks in but damn this should be a fun NL Wild Card race. I had picked the Pirates and Mets but Padres, Marlins, Cubs, maybe even the Reds and Giants I can all see making a push as well. And that's not even mentioning the Nationals, Cardinals, and Dodgers who I've picked to win their divisions but if they don't they'll surely be in the Wild Card hunt too.

Should be a fun summer in the Senior Circuit.

[Frank Drebin]

Want to destroy every "it's gonna happen" sign at wrigley. Can't believe those made their way back.

[Droford]

[Droford]

Padres fans might have one more thing to look forward to

[ClockShot]

Padres give their fans an Opening Day surprise.

San Diego goes all the way this season, A.J. Preller might as well be GM for life on that team.

[Evil Vito]

Nobody went deep last night, so first HR of the year is still up for grabs. The two earliest games are Blue Jays/Yankees and Twins/Tigers so it'd probably come from one of those.

It'll probably be A-Rod just because.

[Schlomey]

Happy Opening Day, TPWW! I'll be watching the Pirates/Reds & the Nationals/Mets game and keeping the Red Sox game on my mobile. Enjoy!

[screech]

Phillies/Red Sox today. Fuck yeah

[Evil Vito]

Supposedly MLB was going to come up with a streaming app that would have eliminated blackout restrictions by Opening Day but it never happened. Only gonna miss about half of the game today, but will miss Harvey on Thursday.

[screech]

MLB.TV doesn't work on my phone. Need to find it on radio via fancy gadget, which is usually a pain in the peehole.

[Evil Vito]

Remember a couple years ago when Opening Day was on a Thursday/Friday? That shit sucked.

It should always be a Monday. Since the Mets start at 4 today I said screw it and took next Monday off instead so I can watch the entire home opener. Would love to actually go to it next year, we'll see.

[road doggy dogg]

Opening day yeaahhhhh

[Droford]

http://deadspin.com/an-absolute-shit...d-b-1695920768

Again glad I went last year

[Evil Vito]

Collins drives me up the goddamn wall. Juan Lagares tore the cover off the ball and showed plenty of speed all spring out of the leadoff spot. Guess we should move him to #6 in the order so we can continue our fascination with Granderson out of the leadoff spot.