2006 MLB Thread

[Dan Gould]

time for predictions, and the opening of the official MLB thread.

Predictions:

1. Look at the last three years and the trend is clear: Yankees on the decline and getting older and older; Sox on the upswing and now getting younger. Coco outperforms Damon; Beckett buries Mussina, and as Pavano and Wright cash their checks on the DL, lightning doesn't strike twice for a group of never weres (Small, et. al). Red Sox by 5 over the Yanks, and the Yanks will not make the playoffs.

2. White Sox in the Central.

3. A's in the West.

4. Indians win the wild card.

5. Braves, Cards and Dodgers win their divisions.

6. In a stunner, the Cubs ride a healthy (down the stretch) Wood and Prior to the wild card.

7. Clemens returns in June to the Astros.

8. The streak continues and the baseball Gods smile upon the Cubbies. Cubs over Sox (Red) in 7 games.

[J.A.W.]

time for predictions, and the opening of the official MLB thread.

Predictions:

1. Look at the last three years and the trend is clear: Yankees on the decline and getting older and older; Sox on the upswing and now getting younger. Coco outperforms Damon; Beckett buries Mussina, and as Pavano and Wright cash their checks on the DL, lightning doesn't strike twice for a group of never weres (Small, et. al). Red Sox by 5 over the Yanks, and the Yanks will not make the playoffs.

2. White Sox in the Central.

3. A's in the West.

4. Indians win the wild card.

5. Braves, Cards and Dodgers win their divisions.

6. In a stunner, the Cubs ride a healthy (down the stretch) Wood and Prior to the wild card.

7. Clemens returns in June to the Astros.

8. The streak continues and the baseball Gods smile upon the Cubbies. Cubs over Sox (Red) in 7 games.

Looks like they don't have to play anymore, it's all been decided already

[GregK]

I am the biggest baseball fan there is but i think the season starts way too early. at least 2 more weeks would be good, maybe even not until may. it is just too cold and still dark in some places when the games start @ 7, 8 pm this time of year

[Dan Gould]

I am the biggest baseball fan there is but i think the season starts way too early. at least 2 more weeks would be good, maybe even not until may. it is just too cold and still dark in some places when the games start @ 7, 8 pm this time of year

Well, I'd certainly agree that the conditions in April are sometimes quite uncomfortable, but that's why there are a lot of day games and off days scheduled in April.

Personally, with so much commentary and predictions being written during Spring Training, games that actually matter are a true godsend.

[Chuck Nessa]

I loved the game of baseball and all the rules. Can you inform me where it is played sans steroids, free agents, etc? Then I'll care again. I have gradually left the NBA, the NFL and now MLB.

[Evonce]

I just watched the season's first Baseball Tonight on ESPN and nearly puked. I did crack the remote. "There's more to this season than Bonds" they say, before giving us us twenty minutes of Bonds minutia. Blecch. Apparently the Cardinals are the only team in the National League, the White Sox bandwagon is in full cruise, and Joe Morgan is still an idiot. Kruk and Reynolds have perfected the art of saying nothing.

To be positive, I am looking forward to the season very much, but predictions right now would be foolish. Go Cubs, go A's.

[Dan Gould]

I just watched the season's first Baseball Tonight on ESPN and nearly puked. I did crack the remote. "There's more to this season than Bonds" they say, before giving us us twenty minutes of Bonds minutia. Blecch. Apparently the Cardinals are the only team in the National League, the White Sox bandwagon is in full cruise, and Joe Morgan is still an idiot. Kruk and Reynolds have perfected the art of saying nothing.

[Soulstation1]

the tribe is down 3-0 to the chisox

look for my homie jim thome to have a monster year

dodgers are in mf trouble

ss1

[Soulstation1]

picked up a new tribe hat

$30 for a new hat

[BERIGAN]

Dan, you have a better chance of winning the lottery than having Prior and Woods healthy, even if just down the stretch!

Between Espn.com putting so much of their stories behind the insider, and Espn running baseball tonight at weird times(And I F***ing hate the trifecta B.S.) I really am in no position to guess even...but that won't stop me. . Braves lose division to the Mets, win wildcard. Cards win central. Dodgers win west .

Yanks win east, Cleveland wins central, Angels west. Boston wildcard. Yanks and Dodgers in an old school world series. Bet EVERYTHING on this happening!

Lets see what the "experts" say.....

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/preview06/ne...e=06expertpicks

2006 Team Predictions

World Series American League National League Wild Cards

Jayson Stark,

ESPN.com Yankees over Cardinals East: Yankees

Central: Indians

West: Angels East: Braves

Central: Cardinals

West: Dodgers AL: A's

NL: Mets

Peter Gammons,

ESPN/ESPN Insider Yankees over Cardinals East: Yankees

Central: Indians

West: A's East: Braves

Central: Cardinals

West: Giants AL: Angels

NL: Mets

Jerry Crasnick,

ESPN.com A's over Braves East: Yankees

Central: Indians

West: A's East: Mets

Central: Cardinals

West: Dodgers AL: White Sox

NL: Braves

Buster Olney,

ESPN The Magazine A's over Giants East: Yankees

Central: White Sox

West: A's East: Braves

Central: Cardinals

West: Giants AL: Angels

NL: Mets

Tim Kurkjian,

ESPN The Magazine Yankees over Cardinals East: Yankees

Central: White Sox

West: A's East: Braves

Central: Cardinals

West: Giants AL: Red Sox

NL: Mets

Rob Neyer,

ESPN Insider Dodgers over Twins East: Red Sox

Central: Twins

West: A's East: Mets

Central: Cardinals

West: Dodgers AL: Indians

NL: Braves

Steve Phillips,

ESPN/ESPN Insider A's over Cardinals East: Yankees

Central: White Sox

West: A's East: Mets

Central: Cardinals

West: Giants AL: Blue Jays

NL: Braves

Eric Karabell,

ESPN Fantasy Angels over Cardinals East: Yankees

Central: Indians

West: Angels East: Braves

Central: Cardinals

West: Giants AL: Red Sox

NL: Phillies

Jim Caple,

ESPN.com A's over Mets East: Red Sox

Central: White Sox

West: A's East: Mets

Central: Cardinals

West: Giants AL: Yankees

NL: Braves

Eric Neel,

ESPN.com Angels over Mets East: Red Sox

Central: Indians

West: Angels East: Mets

Central: Cardinals

West: Dodgers AL: A's

NL: Braves

Gary Gillette,

ESPN Insider A's over Braves East: Red Sox

Central: Indians

West: A's East: Braves

Central: Cardinals

West: Dodgers AL: White Sox

NL: Phillies

Pedro Gomez,

ESPN Angels over Cardinals East: Yankees

Central: White Sox

West: A's East: Mets

Central: Cardinals

West: Dodgers AL: Angels

NL: Braves

Phil Rogers,

ESPN.com contributor White Sox over Mets East: Yankees

Central: White Sox

West: A's East: Mets

Central: Cardinals

West: Dodgers AL: Indians

NL: Braves

Bob Klapisch,

ESPN.com contributor A's over Cardinals East: Yankees

Central: White Sox

West: A's East: Braves

Central: Cardinals

West: Dodgers AL: Indians

NL: Mets

Alan Schwarz,

ESPN.com contributor Cardinals over Yankees East: Yankees

Central: White Sox

West: Angels East: Braves

Central: Cardinals

West: Giants AL: Red Sox

NL: Mets

John Shea,

ESPN.com contributor Cardinals over

Blue Jays East: Blue Jays

Central: White Sox

West: Angels East: Braves

Central: Cardinals

West: Padres AL: A's

NL: Mets

Sean McAdam,

ESPN.com contributor White Sox over Dodgers East: Red Sox

Central: White Sox

West: Angels East: Braves

Central: Cardinals

West: Dodgers AL: A's

NL: Mets

Mark Simon,

ESPN Research Yankees over Braves East: Yankees

Central: Indians

West: Rangers East: Braves

Central: Astros

West: Giants AL: Red Sox

NL: Cardinals

Jim Callis,

Baseball America A's over Cardinals East: Yankees

Central: White Sox

West: A's East: Braves

Central: Cardinals

West: Dodgers AL: Red Sox

NL: Mets

[Evonce]

By the way, Prior and Wood have been a write off for me for quite a while. When they're starting the season on the DL, that's no ray of hope. Meanwhile, Zambrano is the Cubs ace, and even if Wood and Prior were in the lineup right now, I'd still have Crazy Carlos as the number one guy.

The Cubs have as valid a chance as any NL Central team, and I hear that the Brewers will be a team to deal with this year.

I don't think the Dodgers are in trouble; in fact, they're my pick for the NL West. Not that they're going to have to be an outstanding team to win it.

I added a baseball book report to my jazz site recently: www.jazzshelf.org/3books

[Johnny E]

picked up a new tribe hat

$30 for a new hat

Wow, $30 dollars for a .99 cent hat with a racist picture on it. Only in America...(oh wait, it was made in China, scratch that).

Only bought in America.

Edited April 3, 2006 by Johnny E

[Johnny E]

Predictions:

3. A's in the West.

Tell me this is a joke, right?

[jazzypaul]

8. The streak continues and the baseball Gods smile upon the Cubbies. Cubs over Sox (Red) in 7 games.

two things wrong with this picture:

1) Cubs won't finish the season. Whiny north-siders will realize that expensive beer, inability to park anywhere between Division and Devon on game days and sports bars that play nothing but back to back Jon Mayer is a waste of time and will stop showing up. With only 6 real fans showing up to the games to watch them lose, the Tribune pulls the plug and the Cubs become a triple-A club by the All-Star break.

1a) wait, they're already a triple-A club. Rather, they'll start playing other triple-A teams so that they can win a few.

2) it won't be the Red Sox, it'll be the White Sox again, and they'll be so over-powering this season between Thome and Konerko that in a Duran like moment, the Cardinals will shout "no mas, no mas" going into the fourth game of the world series.

[Guest]

I can relate to the general disdain for corruption in all sports, from college Lacrosse, to NFL, to European cycling, but I'm still going to go and sit in the bleachers on a sunny day, have an IvarDog and cheer for a deep sac fly.

It's just so darn enjoyable.

[Johnny E]

I can relate to the general disdain for corruption in all sports, from college Lacrosse, to NFL, to European cycling, but I'm still going to go and sit in the bleachers on a sunny day, have an IvarDog and cheer for a deep sac fly.

It's just so darn enjoyable.

I hear ya'. And those Ichirolls are so good!

[Guest]

Yes! IvarDog, Icichrolls and a bottle of fresh, local ESB. Not quite typical baseball food in most of the country, but we've got it pretty good here in Seattle.

Now, our pitching staff....but the season hasn't started yet (a few more hours) so I can wait to worry about that sort of thing.

[Johnny E]

Yes! IvarDog, Icichrolls and a bottle of fresh, local ESB. Not quite typical baseball food in most of the country, but we've got it pretty good here in Seattle.

Now, our pitching staff....but the season hasn't started yet (a few more hours) so I can wait to worry about that sort of thing.

If Meche and Pinero can pitch to the level their talent dictates, we'll be in the hunt. If they pitch the way they did last year, we'll have a mediocre team to watch all summer. I feel like the offense has definitely gotten better. And if Beltre can snap back, we'll have nothing to worry about when it comes to driving in runs.

A lot of ifs for sure, but this M's team might surprise people.

[Guest]

I feel that pre-season excitment right now. I just go with it until something happens. Baseball is a great game.

[Soulstation1]

BIG papi just hit a homer

schilling looks slim

MLB's extra innings free on basic digital cable

ss1

[Dan Gould]

BIG papi just hit a homer

schilling looks slim

ss1

And Lowell just homered.

I tell ya, if Schilling is back, and Lowell hits like he always did before last year, and Foulke is Foulke, this is a 100 win team. Bank on it.

[Johnny E]

BIG papi just hit a homer

schilling looks slim

ss1

And Lowell just homered.

I tell ya, if Schilling is back, and Lowell hits like he always did before last year, and Foulke is Foulke, this is a 100 win team. Bank on it.

Just like the A's are gonna win the west right?

[Dan Gould]

BIG papi just hit a homer

schilling looks slim

ss1

And Lowell just homered.

I tell ya, if Schilling is back, and Lowell hits like he always did before last year, and Foulke is Foulke, this is a 100 win team. Bank on it.

Just like the A's are gonna win the west right?

Its not like I'm alone in predicting the A's will win their division, Johnny. The vast majority of pundits put the A's on top. Meanwhile you're beloved M's, by your own analysis, could be crappy or could be decent.

This just in: For the first time in five years, the Red Sox have a chance to go wire-to-wire.

[Guest]

Yes, but the food and the ballpark will be fabu! Pay attention.

[BERIGAN]

Good for Vin!

Bonds' Bid for Baseball Glory Not Exactly a Solid Hit

The tainted slugger's pursuit of home run record is being met by ambivalence. 'It will be an awkward moment,' Scully says.

By Bill Shaikin and Steve Henson, Times Staff Writers

April 3, 2006

He is the voice of baseball, his descriptions an accent of grace upon so many of the Dodgers' extraordinary moments. From a perfect game by Sandy Koufax to a no-hitter by Fernando Valenzuela and a World Series home run by Kirk Gibson, Vin Scully has spun history into magic.

In 1974, when Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's all-time home run record in a game against the Dodgers, Scully called it. But at the start of a season in which Barry Bonds could pass Ruth and then Aaron for perhaps the most cherished mark in American sports, the Dodgers' Hall of Fame announcer wants no part of that history.

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"I would just as soon it not happen against the Dodgers," Scully said. "With Aaron, it was a privilege to be there when he did it. It was just a great moment. With Bonds, no matter what happens now, it will be an awkward moment. That's the best word I can think of now. If I had my druthers, I would rather have that awkward moment happen to somebody else."

Scully's ambivalence mirrors that of fans, current and former players and sports executives across the country. No sport treasures its statistics and fusses over its milestones like baseball, and yet no one is sure of the proper way to celebrate the accomplishments of Bonds, a supremely talented player widely perceived as a cheater, the most valuable player of his league a record seven times and the biggest name in a federal investigation into steroid use.

The record book, for now: Aaron, 755 home runs; Ruth, 714; Bonds, 708.

"I think it's probably the most revered record in sports," former major league pitcher Jim Abbott said. "I don't know that there's any record in sports where people could readily name the first and second guy."

Bonds could pass Ruth in a few weeks — or, given a hot streak, a few days — and then what? Fireworks and festivities? Polite applause, or silence, or jeers?

"Absolutely, you celebrate it," Dodger pitcher Brad Penny said. "How can you not? It's still amazing."

On the night Aaron passed Ruth, Steve Garvey played first base for the Dodgers. He vividly recalls the electricity in the stadium that night, but he said that buzz would not surround Bonds on whatever night he might pass Ruth, or Aaron.

"I just don't see the same anticipation, the same excitement," Garvey said. "It's the feeling of accomplishment, just to see a record broken, but a feeling of sadness at what's transpired. It's going to be tainted in the minds of a majority of the public.

"In this case, it will be more of a sadness than a gladness."

Commissioner Bud Selig last week authorized an investigation into steroid use in baseball, persuaded to do so by what he said was the "specificity of the charges" in the book "Game of Shadows." The book, released last month and written by two investigative reporters at the San Francisco Chronicle, details alleged use of performance-enhancing substances by Bonds and other athletes.

Bonds has denied knowingly using steroids. He never has tested positive for steroids, although baseball did not begin testing until 2003.

Selig's announcement raised the possibility that baseball could find itself in the uncomfortable, but not unprecedented, position of celebrating a player under investigation. In full-page newspaper ads last summer, Selig congratulated Rafael Palmeiro for his 3,000th hit, at a time Palmeiro had tested positive for steroids. The test result had been withheld pending Palmeiro's unsuccessful appeal.

At a sports business conference in New York last week, baseball's top marketing official said he expected to run similar ads if Bonds passes Ruth and to fete him if he passes Aaron.

"The big record is 755," said Tim Brosnan, executive vice president for business. "That's when we go national. That's when we bring in sponsors and create national campaigns in celebration."

Some potential sponsors are not embracing that possibility. The president of PepsiCo said the company would participate "in a muted way." A Home Depot executive said that company would pass unless an investigation cleared Bonds, and a Bank of America official said the bank would just say no.

"A company like ours is always going to choose the untainted opportunity," Bank of America's Cathy Bessant told Bloomberg News.

The San Francisco Giants, who begin their season today at San Diego, said they had not experienced any business backlash regarding their superstar outfielder. Their robust season-ticket sales have not dipped, and no companies have withdrawn their sponsorships because of Bonds, chief operating officer Larry Baer said.

Should Bonds pass Ruth, the Giants plan to party.

"There won't be silence," Baer said. "There will be a commemoration, an appropriate tribute for a tremendous accomplishment.

"Are we going to try to pull back or play it down or minimize it? Absolutely not. In our minds, that wouldn't be fair, to the player and to the fans."

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Tom Gallo, a Giant fan who works as a business analyst in San Francisco, said he would be "elated" to witness Bonds hitting No. 715, or No. 756.

"A lot of people hate the guy, unless he's on your team," Gallo said. "He's kind of been singled out. There are a lot of players who are part of that era."

Abbott said he could not say whether Bonds had used steroids, but he echoed the suggestion that Bonds would not have been alone in doing so.

"I think it's obvious that a lot of the guys in the game were pushing the limits of what they were putting in their bodies," Abbott said. "He has played in that era and dominated in that era. There's other guys who haven't."

Said Oakland Athletic third baseman Eric Chavez: "It seems like the media has a personal vendetta to knock him down. Maybe it's his rapport with the media over the years — I think he's had a pretty bad one — but it seems to me they're trying to take him down too hard."

And, said Oakland outfielder Milton Bradley: "I think the fact that, over the years, he hasn't been the classiest guy, or whatever you want to say, ties into it. That's life."

Glenn Schwarz, sports editor of the Chronicle, said his reporters had not targeted Bonds in retaliation for his churlishness with the media. He said the book, and the newspaper stories that preceded it, illuminated a federal investigation that included grand jury testimony, court transcripts and government raids.

"That's where the documents are," Schwarz said. "He's the biggest name. Here's a guy going for one of the most hallowed records in sports. Why wouldn't the focus be on him?"

Bonds has not endeared himself to other players. He reserves a wall of lockers in the Giants' clubhouse for himself, and he is the only major leaguer to opt out of the standard licensing agreement with the players' union.

He also faces the possibility of prosecution on two scores: perjury, if the government decides Bonds lied when he reportedly told a grand jury he did not knowingly use steroids, and tax evasion, if the IRS pursues the allegations of a former mistress that Bonds failed to report income from memorabilia sales.

The backlash against Bonds has transcended sports and invaded popular culture. The website http://www.cheaterclothing.com sells $14.99 T-shirts in the style of a Giant jersey, with "Cheater" on the front and Bonds' uniform number on the back, with "Juiced" in place of his name.

On his list of "Top Ten Signs Your Kitty Is Nuts," David Letterman included "Believes Barry Bonds Never Used Steroids" at No. 2. The satirical online newspaper the Onion headlined one story "Barry Bonds Took Steroids, Reports Everyone Who Has Ever Watched Baseball."

Yet the backlash has not affected ticket sales across the country. Major league teams set an attendance record last season and are on pace to do so again this season, though one fan said she would sit on her hands if Bonds hit a milestone home run in her presence.

"I would not be cheering," said Andrea Bloom, a chef from Long Beach. "I don't think he deserves it. Someone that's going to break an all-time record should be doing it with natural ability, not with chemical additives."

To those who have worn a major league uniform, conclusions about Bonds do not come quite so easily.

"I still look at him as my childhood hero," Chavez said. "If it comes out that he's guilty, I don't think my opinion of him will change. He'll still be my childhood hero."

In the bright sunlight of an Arizona morning at the Angels' training camp, Abbott discussed Bonds, slowly and thoughtfully. Abbott, born without a right hand, captivated fans as he jumped from the U.S. Olympic team to the majors — with the Angels — and later pitched a no-hitter for the New York Yankees.

He respects the game, and he respects his fellow players. He says he is troubled by players who do not respect the game, troubled as well at the thought of publicly criticizing them. So, when asked whether he would stand and cheer were he in attendance the night Bonds hit his 715th home run, Abbott paused.

It was a long pause.

"I don't know," he said. "I don't want to take away from achievement that to me is unfathomable, but it's a shame there is this mystery to it. That's about as far as I can take it."

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-bonds3...-home-headlines