Baseball!

[A Black Falcon]

1) http://www.theonion.com/onion3904/yankees.html :D
2) Spring Training starts in a week... almost time to start hoping our teams (Hey, is anyone here a fan of a WINNING team?) won't fail again... and then have those dreams dashed once the season is underway... :(

[Dark Jaguar]

Am I missing the point here? Hmm, it seems people are upset because some player they love is now in some other team or something..

Isn't George Steinwhatever the name of George's boss on Seinfeld?

[A Black Falcon]

Uh? I don't get what you're saying DJ... George Steinbrenner of course is the Yankees owner...

[Laser Link]

I've been joking about that happening for a while. It wouldn't surprise me too much if Steinbrenner really DID do something like that. He would if he could. We all know how angry he was that his team lost in the first round of the playoffs. Of course, some teams ahve never been to the playoffs, but that shouldn't matter... Still, it's good to see somebody else taking a stab at the Yanks. Always is.

ABF, YOU are a fan of a winning team. Unless the BoSox dropped the last 20 or so games of the year, I'm sure they ended up over .500. That means they are a winning team. :p

I can't deal with baseball again. I know it's just going to be another ugly year with the Padres trading all their talent for "future prospects". Kevin Towers will say something like "We felt this move is a step in the right direction for the organization. We are aiming to be competetive for the opening of our new ballpark, which was delayed to 2901, and we need to keep our payroll low until then. Phil Nevin, Brian Lawrence, and Ryan Klesko were integral members of our team, and we wish them the best of luck in New York, but we are very excited young Bill Buckner Jr.'s future. He's a little rough in the fielding department, but we think that will come around in time. And if that does come around and he becomes the player we expect him to be, we've already made arrangements to send him back to the Yankees for a random, cheap player in their farm system. But enough about baseball. So, uh, does anyone know if the Chargers are moving to LA?"

[OB1]

How 'bout them Rockies, eh? Eh?

:D

[A Black Falcon]

Rockies, Cubs, Padres... yeah, quality teams to be fans of around here. :)

Oh... and winning means championships! A winning record isn't that important... the Sox always do that... you've got to win the Series! Or at LEAST make the Playoffs... they haven't done THAT since '99! And no team I'm a fan of has done that in a LONG time... poor Giants. They were SO CLOSE... then they lost. (Remember, they're my second favorite team... and haven't won since the '50s when they were still in NY...). :(

As for the Red Sox, I'm not expecting much this year. Their offseason pickups have been ... underwhelming... at best... not good. And half the team is new (at least...), so who knows how they'll work out... I just am not getting good feelings here. The new GM isn't doing that great... poor Red Sox. At least this year, we aren't getting our hopes up as much, so it won't be as big of a letdown when the inevitable collapse comes...

Is winning the World Series such a hard task? Stupid Yankees! You know they'd do that (re: The Onion) if they could, too... but even for them a 6.5 billion payroll would be a bit steep. :)

[Fittisize]

Expos...I believe they had a winning season last year? Anyways, they lost their best pitcher, Bartolo Colon, a while ago. :( That sucks, but I guess when you can't afford a player what can you do? He really liked it in Montreal, too. Also, Vladimir Guerrero's contract ended at the end of last season. Hopefully he stays for one more, as I want Montreal's last hurrah to be a big one.

[The Former DMiller]

I got so excited when the Cubs hired Dusty Baker. There was all this talk of players who would die to play for Baker. Ivan Rodriguez has the same manager, surely he will be a Cub in 2003. Jeff Kent wants to stay with his manager, surely he'd be willing to move to 3rd base to become a Cub. Jim Thome has wanted to be a Cub his entire life, surely we could trade Hee Seop Choi to get him.

The Cubs biggest signing this offseason was a relief pitcher. A relief pitcher! Remlinger is great and all, and the Cubs certainly needed to work on the bullpen, but if the offense is as horrible as it was last year, I'd be shocked if they aren't dead last in the NL Central. This is coming from a fan who thinks every one of his favorite teams has a chance to do good every year. I'm saying this right now: I do not see the Cubs turning things around with Baylor alone, they need some offensive production. Pitching is fine at this point. They have a lot of decent relievers who will be fighting for bullpen positions, and of course the starters are solid, but if the Cubs can't produce runs they can't win. Sosa had an off year for him, but he still had a solid season, but the Cubs really need production from other players. I think it will be another season or 2 before Choi and Bobby Hill come around so this will probably be another lackluster year. The only good thing I see out of this past offseason for the Cubs besides hiring Baylor was finally getting rid of Todd Hundley. He was good when he first came to the Cubs, but I guess too much pressure was put on him in Chicago.

Anyway, I say we have a bet to see which of our teams is out of the playoff race first. :D

[A Black Falcon]

The Red Sox hired a LOT of people this offseason... 8 to 10, at least. However, none of them are big names... the closest one to that is ooh, Chad Fox, Jason Giambi, Todd Walker, Ramiro Mendoza, and a whole lot of others... Ryan Rupe, Damian Jackson, Bronson Arroyo, and more... yeah, real big names here.

Has anyone even HEARD of any of them (or the rest of the new Red Sox I didn't mention here)? Other than Mendoza, that is...

Yeah, I sure have lots of confidence in this season after such quality pickups that teams like the Devil Rays (Rupe) didn't want them any more. Yup.

As for the Cubs... well, isn't being truly awful a tradition? I mean, the Red Sox may not have won since 1918, but at least they regularly field good teams...

[The Former DMiller]

I've heard of Jason Giambi. Didn't realize the Sox had stolen him from the Yankees. ;)

And I have actually heard of most of those players the Red Sox signed, but I'm a hardcore baseball fan, most people probably haven't heard of half of those players.

[A Black Falcon]

Jeremy.

And even if you've heard of them, I doubt that adding them to your team would be much of a confidence builder... Mendosa MAYBE, but the rest of the guys? Only Walker makes me think 'OK, maybe he was a decent pickup'... but we'll see once the season starts.

[The Former DMiller]

I knew you were talking about Jeremy, and, yeah, those are decent pickups, but not "oh, wow" pickups. They seem like players the Cubs would pickup, above average players who might have one bad year and fall off the radar.

[Laser Link]

Anyway, I say we have a bet to see which of our teams is out of the playoff race first.

I'll take that bet! The Pads are as bad as ever, and the Dogs, Giants, and Snakes are all good. I think I'll win this bet by May.

The biggest thing the Padres did this offseason was the trade for Griffey. But then Nevin vetoed it anyway. So I guess the biggest thing that really happened was somebody else sued the city in an attempt to stop the new ballpark. Again.

[Fittisize]

I'm hoping the Expos will be in the playoffs this year...very unlikely though. Actually no! It's their last season!!! They have to do good. One last hurrah. I hope they go out with a bang.

Oh yes. The baseball season is also the time that I get annihilated in the yearly Yahoo Fantasy Baseball draft. Cant' wait for that, either.

[A Black Falcon]

I've never played a fantasy sport... if I did it would be baseball, but I've never done that.

Heh... Well, LL, it'd be between your Padres and the Rockies... Unless the Cubs get off to a incredibly bad start... which is of course possible, but they are in a MUCH weaker division, so they shouldn't. :)

Its not just that the Sox added a few not so great players... its that they added at least 10 guys, maybe 11 or 12... actually, probably 11 or 12. And only two, maybe three, of them inspire me to have any confidence in them at all... Ryan Rupe isn't the kind of pitcher decent bullpens are made of... I'd never heard of half those guys, and I follow baseball. Not a good sign... and not a vote of confidence in Theo Epstein. Oh well... at least if they do succeed I can be pleasantly surprised... but I really doubt that will happen.

Ah, the Expos... so pathetic I can't help but like them... I do wish they'd do better. The Expos, with a good payroll, would be one of the best teams in baseball. No question... just look at the HUGE list of great players they've sold off! They have a GREAT farm system, but can't keep players... it is really too bad that they are going to be moving, but hopefully they will get a better money situation and be able to actually keep their good players... they do have a good team (and managed to be the only team other than Atlanta to finish over 500 in the NL East), but with Atlanta there they'll have big trouble making the playoffs, unfortunately. Oh well...

[The Former DMiller]

You have to join our fantasy baseball league this year ABF. I think you'd do pretty good. I'm also sure you'd get in arguements a lot with my friend George, who seemed to cause controversy every week in the league last year. I only have to say one thing to remind LL of him: "Sean Burroughs" :)

[Fittisize]

Ha. Yeah that was funny.

Expos aren't moving next year, ABF. They're folding. Expos do have a great farm team: Edmonton Trappers. They won four championships in a row a couple years back I think (I haven't payed much attention, it was when I was still going to their games). The Expos currently have some great players on their team:

Javier Vasquez
Vladimir Guerrero (if he stays)
Orlando Cabrera (huge rising star)

So they've got some talent...but not as much as back in '94. It still pains me to think of that year (even though I was only six, looking back and hearing about it just makes me sick). *sigh* EXPOS BETTER DO GOOD THIS YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!

[A Black Falcon]

If you think the Expos are closing, you are looking at news from before the labor decision, Fittisize... remember? No closings allowed for the next 4 or 5 years? No, they are moving. The top candidates are Washington DC (Washington Senators, v3?), Northern Virginia (across the river from Washington...), and Portland, Oregon... probably in that order.

[Fittisize]

Well I never knew that. I haven't payed much attention to baseball lately...

Washington Senators? Sorry, my fav. hockey team is already called the Senators. :D Guess it's on to the Twins as my sole favourite baseball team.

EDIT-After this year, of course

[A Black Falcon]

Washington had the name first... the Senators date back to 1901. I don't think the NHL's Ottowa Senators do... :)

[Fittisize]

Well...the Ottawa Senators for sure don't date back to 1901. Like, maybe '93. :) I think there was another hockey team in Ottawa called the Senators...not an NHL team but maybe WHA? In any case, I've liked the Senators from Ottawa before I heard of any Senators team from Washington. What sport was that, by the way? Baseball? Besides, I don't think I could like a team that I really really liked playing in another city, where they haven't become a part of it yet. Where the people of the city haven't made them a part of them. Winnipeg was like that when the Jets moved to crappy Phoenix.

[Dark Jaguar]

Yeah tell me about it! Why just the other day a friend I knew traded away his frickin' "Tobybro" for a ponyta just because he was too lazy to wait to catch one himself! Wow, it's painful to watch bad decisions like that for his organization...

Oh and ABF, the whole thing on Seinfeld must have been making fun of a real person I guess then. It all makes sense, but I preferred it when I thought he was an original outragious character...

[Laser Link]

Hehehe! Yes DJ, that's the kind of pain I go through every year. I know you were talking to Fittisize, but I know the feeling too.

But admittedly, Ponytas are cooler than Slowbros anyway. ;)

[A Black Falcon]

The Washington Senators were one of the founding members of the American League in 1901... the National League is older, but the 8 oiginal AL teams date to 1901. In the early '60s they moved and became the Minnesota Twins. A few years later, Washinton got an expansion Senators team... which moved to Texas and became the Rangers within 10 years. Washington hasn't had a team since the early '70s. If the Expos can't stay in Montreal (which is really too bad, but they really CANT when the attendance is as miserable as it is...), Washington probably is a good place to put them... if it happens I hope they last longer than the last Senators team. :)

I don't watch Seinfeld. It wasn't a good show, yet is/was massively popular... just like Friends, actually.

Being a Red Sox fan is different from being a fan of a plainly bad team... at least you don't have the expectations that your team will win. We do... because the Sox are always good, but never good *enough*. It is depressing, sorta... every year they get everyone hopeful and excited that THIS is the year... then they blow it and leave New England unhappy again at yet another poor season. :(

[Dark Jaguar]

Haha, really? Well actually I was just trying to compare games to games to be funny. Anyway, Tobybro is the most famousest of the slowbro movesets, with surf, amnesia, thunder wave, and rest, he was nearly unbeatable in color.

Oh, and ABF, you didn't like Seinfeld? Philistine!

[LukeIsTerrified]

Funniest moment of this thread: Seeing Orlando Cabrera referred to as a "huge rising star."

Worst moment of this thread: Seeing Seinfeld being bashed.

Best moment of this thread: Seeing someone pick Toronto to win the World Series.

Wait, that last one was just wishful thinking, I guess.

[The Former DMiller]

OMG, Seinfeld was bashed in a baseball thread! I can see how some people don't like Friends, I for one can't stand the show, but the only people I can see not liking Seinfeld are really conservative people, and you certainly don't seem to be that conservative ABF. What specifically didn't you like about the show? Seinfeld was the master of parody and sarcasm. I've never seen a TV show pull off that kind of humor well before Seinfeld. Although that will ultimately make the show less timeless since most of the jokes pretain to modern life.

[A Black Falcon]

I generally dislike most sitcoms... only a few are worth watching, and most of those are, overall, dumb. I didn't watch Seinfeld much (only parts of episodes here and there in reruns), but it never even made me want to think about stopping and watching... it just seemed... I don't know, dumb... like most sitcoms. Watchable, I guess, but not something I'd want to spend my time watching if there is anything remotely good watching on... lie Frasier, or several other sitcoms.

Friends is just awful.

Oh, and I hate the Blue Jays and am happy to see them be bad. :) Call it me still being angry they won two world serieses in the '90s and bested the Sox... well, it probably is. Oh well... I still dislike them.

[The Former DMiller]

Yeah, I generally hate sitcoms as well. The only ones I've liked in the past few years are Seinfeld, Fraiser, and Everybody Loves Raymond. When I watch TV it's generally sports, the Simpsons, or the news.

[Fittisize]

Blue Jays used to kick ass...but holy crap a lot of things changed after the '94 strike.

And Montreal really has never had much interest in baseball. In '94, before the strike, when they had the best record in the NL (by over 10 games I'm sure) they still had the lowest attendance rate...I've heard that example used a lot when bashing Montreal sports but do you think that if they would have stayed good and won the World Series that year people would have been a bit more interested in them? I think so.

I don't like how in recent years how Canadian sports teams have been going down hill. It's all about the money nowadays, isn't it? The Canadian dollar is worth about 0.65 of the American dollar, so Jays and Expos players (who mostly live in the States) will want full money to spend in their country...greedy bastards. Raptors aren't like that though (NBA), their team has a lot of money. It's too bad that they are sucking this year. But at least they have no more 7-day contract players...

I'm so happy to see my favourite NHL team once again being a dominating force (Senators). They have the most points in the NHL. It's too bad that they will be sold. I just hope they are bought by a person who wants to keep the team in Ottawa, not some rich redneck American from the south and move them down there. Whoo man I'd be pissed if the Senators moved to Florida or some place like that.

Ok I'm done ranting away. :)

[Laser Link]

I just hope they are bought by a person who wants to keep the team in Ottawa, not some rich redneck American from the south and move them down there. Whoo man I'd be pissed if the Senators moved to Florida or some place like that.

I agree with you 100%. I don't like how all the Canadian teams are leaving, it's not right. Yes, I know the Avs were the Nordiques (probably not spelled right) and I sound hypocritical. I just want it to stop now.

[A Black Falcon]

So... its good when it comes to your area, but bad if they go elsewhere and move a old franchise? Yeah, that is a hypocritical statement... :)

I'd say the 1994 is one of Baseball's greatest 'What Ifs'... What if? Would the Expos have won a series for the first time in their history? We'll never know...

Also, I wouldn't say wanting to be paid in US Dollars is greedy... it just makes sense for the players. Just because you're in Canada doesn't mean you should be punished and forced to use Canadian Dollars...

[A Black Falcon]

Pitchers and catchers report tomorrow... :)

Oh, and more good news for LL here...
http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/m...&fext=.jsp

[Laser Link]

Fantastic. Well, at least we have Jesse Orosco if all else fails. If he doesn't keel over first. He's the oldest player on the Padres by 1 years, 6 months. Hoffman is the second oldest. There are 2 guys on the 40 man roster who are younger than I am. Wow, that's scary.

[Laser Link]

Oh no. No no no no no! How could this happen? WHY?!?!?!

The name of the new stadium will be PETCO Park. Shoot me. No, that wouldn't be painful enough. We better nuke it now and make them spend a couple more years at the Murph. Yes, the team would probably go bankrupt and move to Charlotte or something, but at least the Padres would go out with some dignity. This is sick.

[A Black Falcon]

Um, LL, they announced that weeks ago (before your post)... like last year, I think... where were you? I guess you don't follow baseball closely...

http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/...&fext=.jsp
The Red Sox. They have 11 new players this year... and Spring Training is just starting. By opening day there might be even more... wow. That sure is a dramatically different field... I wonder how Jeremy Giambi, David Ortiz, and maybe Shea Hillenbrand will do (defensively) at first base compared to last year's Brian Daubach and Tony Clark... offensively that is clearly and upgrade, but defense? I don't know... and have doubts.

Same at second base. Todd Walker is clearly a MUCH better bat than Rey Sanchez, but his defense isn't as good...

Then there's the new bullpen (NO ONE who was in the bullpen in spring training last year is still there... two late season pickups are back from last year...). How will Chad Fox, Ramiro Mendoza, Ryan Rupe, and Mike Timlin mix with the returning Howry, Castillo, and Embree? Will the Sox accept Ryan Rupe after last year when he was a participant in the feuds between the Sox and D-Rays (he hit several Sox...)?

The last issue is the one most talked about: How will those relievers do in the expected closer-by-commitee situation? I really have no idea.

We'll see. It sure is a lot of changes... two of the coaches are new, too. I guess this is the first real full redoing of the club after the new ownership came in... and I don't see a world series-caliber team. Playoff caliber? Yes... I think they have a good shot at the wildcard. But victory? I doubt it strongly... unless they pick up better guys during the season, I just don't see it happening with this team. I can hope for more, but don't see it as happening... :(

The Red Sox do have money issues... the salary is just $103 million this year, down $15 million from last year. Meanwhile the Yankees are up to $161 million... arge...

Did you know that last year the Sox had 98% attendance capacity at Fenway? And the highest ticket prices in the majors? Its good for revinues... but not good for any more growth in profits without even higher prices. Not good... they do need a new stadium, unfortunatley (I love Fenway!), but that won't happen anytime soon. Boston won't give any money for sports stadiums in this financial situation... and the owners don't have the $500 million after spending $700 million for the team...

[Laser Link]

No, I don't follow baseball at all during football season. I only just now started checking the MLB section at ESPN, and I don't even read ESPN that much.

I just saw the old comment about the Nordiques moving to Colorado. What I was saying was that I hated seeing more teams move. It was one thing when a single Canadian hockey team left Canada, it's another when they are all leaving. It didn't matter to me that Quebec moved to Colorado. They were my favorite team anyway. There really is no benefit to living close to your favorite team, unless you can afford to go to games. And that is never going to happen.