MLB 2008

[Chalupa]

Can Sabathia save the Brewers "bacon" tomorrow on 3 days rest?!?

We'll see.

Which Oliver Perez shows up for the Mets today, the one that can pitch 8 innings with two hits and 9Ks, or the one that pitches 4 innings with 6 walks? Massive clutch performance by Santana yesterday, complete game shutout knowing his bullpen is bull----.

I feel sorry for the Mets fans, I am just an old softie. I have been there too many times. Perhaps their GM will learn next year a (good)bullpen is important! Braves thought for years it wasn't that big a deal, and kept getting bit in the ass by it...Smoltz would have won 20 Games in 2007 with a good one. and Santana was 16-7 for the year, 2.53 ERA, best in the league. Why so little Cy Young talk for him??? His bullpen blew 7 games for him.

Better not be Webb this year. Lincecum, Sabathia, or Santana, should be the choices, IMHO....

How about Brad Lidge? A perfect 41 for 41 in save opportunities.

[PHILLYQ]

Can Sabathia save the Brewers "bacon" tomorrow on 3 days rest?!?

We'll see.

Which Oliver Perez shows up for the Mets today, the one that can pitch 8 innings with two hits and 9Ks, or the one that pitches 4 innings with 6 walks? Massive clutch performance by Santana yesterday, complete game shutout knowing his bullpen is bull----.

I feel sorry for the Mets fans, I am just an old softie. I have been there too many times. Perhaps their GM will learn next year a (good)bullpen is important! Braves thought for years it wasn't that big a deal, and kept getting bit in the ass by it...Smoltz would have won 20 Games in 2007 with a good one. and Santana was 16-7 for the year, 2.53 ERA, best in the league. Why so little Cy Young talk for him??? His bullpen blew 7 games for him.

Better not be Webb this year. Lincecum, Sabathia, or Santana, should be the choices, IMHO....

While I can see the argument for Lidge, what Lincecum did for a crappy team really impresses me. Santana got robbed by his bullpen- if not for them he would have at least 20 wins and I believe he led the league in ERA.

[jlhoots]

Can Sabathia save the Brewers "bacon" tomorrow on 3 days rest?!?

We'll see.

Probably tacky to reply to myself, but yes he can & did.

Go Brewers!!

[PHILLYQ]

Can Sabathia save the Brewers "bacon" tomorrow on 3 days rest?!?

We'll see.

Probably tacky to reply to myself, but yes he can & did.

Go Brewers!!

Congrats to the Brew Crew- the difference today between them and the Mets is that the Brewers got the big hit late to win.

[Quincy]

Can Sabathia save the Brewers "bacon" tomorrow on 3 days rest?!?

We'll see.

Probably tacky to reply to myself, but yes he can & did.

Go Brewers!!

Heh. I picked them here to go all the way (uh...vs. Cleveland. Soulstation wishes it was so. ) Though I did have them winning the division and the Cubs not making the playoffs. And the Braves winning the East. But otherwise, I got all of the NL playoff teams right.

[Dan Gould]

In the end I decided that watching Met fans cry overcomes any concern about dealing with Sabathia in October. In the final analysis, the Mets with Santana and the Brewers with Sabathia are dangerous in a short series, while the Dodgers really are the weakest of the playoff teams. I mean, they've set up their rotation to have Lowe start Game 1. He's a fine pitcher and all, having a good season, but he's not a guy you fear. Cubs should have no trouble getting to the NLCS, and if they have to beat Sabathia to get to the Series, so be it.

[zen archer]

What about Beckett ?....geesh ....has this guy had an injury plague season or what ?

[zen archer]

It is just wishful thinking right now that Beckett can pitch game 3 ......if only the Angels knew about Becketts

oblique they might have gone with the short schedule and not the long.

He hurt his oblique Friday in a side session and the Sox took a page out of Belichicks playbook and kept quiet.

Edited September 29, 2008 by zen archer

[Dan Gould]

It is just wishful thinking right now that Beckett can pitch game 3 ......if only the Angels knew about Becketts

oblique they might have gone with the short schedule and not the long.

He hurt his oblique Friday in a side session and the Sox took a page out of Belichicks playbook and kept quiet.

To which I can only say,

GO CUBS!!!!

[BERIGAN]

Can Sabathia save the Brewers "bacon" tomorrow on 3 days rest?!?

We'll see.

Which Oliver Perez shows up for the Mets today, the one that can pitch 8 innings with two hits and 9Ks, or the one that pitches 4 innings with 6 walks? Massive clutch performance by Santana yesterday, complete game shutout knowing his bullpen is bull----.

I feel sorry for the Mets fans, I am just an old softie. I have been there too many times. Perhaps their GM will learn next year a (good)bullpen is important! Braves thought for years it wasn't that big a deal, and kept getting bit in the ass by it...Smoltz would have won 20 Games in 2007 with a good one. and Santana was 16-7 for the year, 2.53 ERA, best in the league. Why so little Cy Young talk for him??? His bullpen blew 7 games for him.

Better not be Webb this year. Lincecum, Sabathia, or Santana, should be the choices, IMHO....

How about Brad Lidge? A perfect 41 for 41 in save opportunities.

Good point about Lidge...After all that trouble he had in Houston, then moving to the town of boo birds...I thought was going to be a massive mistake! Wrong!!!

[zen archer]

It is just wishful thinking right now that Beckett can pitch game 3 ......if only the Angels knew about Becketts

oblique they might have gone with the short schedule and not the long.

He hurt his oblique Friday in a side session and the Sox took a page out of Belichicks playbook and kept quiet.

To which I can only say,

GO CUBS!!!!

Wish i could join you Dan, But i am jumping off the Mystic bridge today at noon

[Quincy]

Good point about Lidge...After all that trouble he had in Houston, then moving to the town of boo birds...I thought was going to be a massive mistake! Wrong!!!

And he even faced Pujols 3 times. 0 for 2 with a walk. Though that playoff HR is still in orbit last I heard.

to Lidge and congrats to the Phillies.

[Dan Gould]

Went back and grabbed some of the predictions from April. Interesting how many people picked the Tigers and M's, and only one person - It Should Be You - had the Rays in the playoffs, and that was as the WC.

Yes its a long season but it would be a huge upset if the Sox, Yanks and Tigers don't make the playoffs. Hopefully some team will surprise us all like the 05 Wt Sox or Rockies last year in the NL.

I don't think the Tigers have a lock on things. And while the odds are longer, I don't think Boston or New York has a spot guaranteed either. For instance Boston went from having too many starters last December to losing Schilling for 1/2 the year, Beckett having back problems, Bochholz getting bombed in spring training, and Lester being wild in spring too. Not to put too much on spring training, but it's enough to cause the BoSox fan's heart to sputter. A similar list of doubts can be listed about the Yankees or other teams, which is "why we play the games."

While it's foolish I've talked myself into enough "ifs" happening in favor for the Mariners to maybe win the West. It takes a lot, but it could happen.

I'm a Yankee fan and it wouldn't surprise me if the Yanks don't make the playoffs this year. There are two young starters(Hughes & Kennedy), one over the hill(Mussina), one now with back problems(Pettite). Sure they'll score lots of runs, but pitching is the name of the game as it always is. Detroit I think will be much better with the addition of Dontrelle Willis and Cabrera, Cleveland will improve, the Angels are very good and the Bosox are the reigning champs. When the music stops the Yanks may be the team without a seat. It should be interesting to see what happens.

With two games in the books and Opening Night coming up Sunday, its time for people to step up with their predictions.

AL:

Red Sox

Indians

Mariners

WC: Tigers

NL:

Mets

Cubs

D-Backs

WC: Phillies

ALCS: Red Sox over Tigers

NLCS: Cubs over Mets

World Series: Cubs over Red Sox

My picks

AL:

Sox

Indians

Angels

WC: Yankees

NL:

Braves

Brewers

Dodgers

WC: Diamondbacks

ALCS: Sox over Indians .....again

NLCS: Braves over Dodgers

World Series :.....Lets have a Pahwade !!!!!!

Dan, I think the Mets pitching is going to be quite good if Pedro is healthy....but the rest of the team is quite fragile....I think the braves have better hitters in left, right, at 1st base, catcher and possibly at 2nd as well. Braves pitching is much better as well. Only 2 good starters last year, now IF Hampton can stay healthy, we have 5 solid guys in Smoltz,(Yeah, each year I think he will be done, but until it happens, still the ace) Hudson, Glavine, and Jair Jurrens(Who looks to be the real deal at 22) We even have some depth with supposed top prospect Jo-Jo Reyes(Tosses too soft for my tastes) and a guy off the scrap heap Jeff Bennett, who would make a good number 5 as well now that he is further down the road from elbow surgery.

Anyway, my picks to be laughed at down the road...

NL

Braves

Cubs,

Dodgers(Just a guess, anybody but the Giants could win it)

WC, Phillies

AL

Red Sox

Tigers

Mariners

WC-Indians

NLCS-Cubs over Braves(Glavine will play the role of Charlie Leibrandt-only not in the WS)

ALCS-Red Sox over Tigers

WS Cubbies over Red Sox!

hmm..

AL

Red Sox

Tigers

Halo's

wc: Yanks

NL:

Mets

Cubs

Rocks

wc: D-backs

Tigers beat the D-Backs in five to win it all

I like World B's picks but I'll go with the Red Sox beating the Mets in five in the WS.

[Dan Gould]

And some more ...

I'm going to gab too much, but with taxes and other parts of life interfering with spending quality time with baseball still has me undecided. I can talk myself into about 15 different teams at least getting to the playoffs. After that who the hell knows what happens.

The NL seems to have the most possibilities.

MIlwaukee has so many 24-26 year olds (Fielder, Braun, Hardy & Hart) who are already very good, so if these guys improve some more pitchers will want to wear diapers when facing them. The bench might be deep enough to allow a trade for help wherever later if needed. But with Gallardo starting on the DL with a knee injury and having to hope that Sheets can pitch great for heck, I'll settle for 27 starts if you can pitch in October...ah, it's probably not going to happen.

Cubs look interesting and this has been the decade of teams that haven't won it in a long time winning...still, they're the Cubs, so it's safer to bet they'll find a way to lose & Lou Piniella's head explodes this summer.

NL East. I like the Phillies & Braves better than the Mets. Braves return to winning the division for the next 12 years again. A good mix of young & old. So many old & banged up guys on the Mets, I just don't see it happening. Then again, they have Wright, Reyes, Santana & Pedro. Phils look pretty good too - I like their bench depth, unless I'm thinking of last year's squad and not this year.

The West, man, who the hell knows? I think if the Dodgers had stuck with the kids last year they could have won the division - once again Grady Little got the shaft. With no confidence I'll say the Dodgers win the west.

AL? I could see only one team out of the East making the playoffs, and I'm not sure which one. The Yankees are older so I'm tempted to say they'll fail. But injuries and youngsters failing to live up to expectations could do in the Red Sox too. Or not, hell they could cakewalk to another title too.

I'll still take the Indians over the Tigers in the Central. Question is will the Tigers get wild card? Am I foolish to discount the Twins? Probably, time & time again they put something together.

West - Looks pretty putrid. I'm not that impressed with the Angels moves in the OF the past 2 years. But the M's have their share of troubles too.

Now watch some team not even mentioned be a contender. (How ya feelin' Toronto? Is it 2010 yet Tampa?)

Okay, stupid predictions:

Yankees (huh?)

Indians

Angels

Red Sox (wait, what did I say above?)

Braves

Brewers

Dodgers

and...um....Phils, no, the Cubs, no the Padres, D-backs...okay, the Cubs. (It's an all blue uniform NL playoffs!)

Indians > Red Sox

Yankees > Angels (only because I hate the Angels)

Indians > Yankees

Geez, NL I'm going to have to pretend I know who has the 2nd best record? Yeah, right:

Brewers > Braves

Dodgers > Cubs

Brewers > Dodgers

The NL finally wins an All-Star game & the home field advantage makes the difference.

Brewers > Indians

Oh yeah, it's happen'!

The tribe won't do as well as last season

AL

Red Sox

Tigers

Angels

WC: Yanks

NL:

Braves

Cubs

Rockies

WC: Mets

Oh and Chase Utley (AKA best 2nd basemen in the world) will be the third Phil in a row to get the NL MVP!!

AL

Blue Jays

Tigers

Angels

Rays (wild card)

NL

Mets

Cubs

Rockies

Nationals (wild card)

I don't know how well Jeff is doing on the NFL or College Football predictions, but his "The tribe won't do as well as last season" sure was spot on.

[Neal Pomea]

Wait til next year!! (My prediction for the Nationals was a bit off!)

[Quincy]

And some more ...

Whadya know, I misremembered, I indecisively did pick the Cubs to make the playoffs (as wild card) not the Phils. Sorry J.H. (though he didn't pick his own team. ) I even had the Cubs facing the Dodgers in the first round. And picked the Dodgers?

Those "ifs" didn't work well for the Mariners at all, no siree. Bring on the Nationals for the baseball equivalent of the Toilet Bowl I say!

You know, if the Twins end up facing Tampa it'd be an all plastic all indoors series. Kind of like the NL in the '70s (other than the indoor part, or DH...) And then there's the Young-Garza trade too. The ChiSox are up 1-0 as I write, much to the joy of grass seed growers.

[zen archer]

Any White Sox fans here ?...Damn they couldn't even sell tickets for that game yesterday ....what up with that ?

[Dan Gould]

Well I think its appropriate that these two teams square off to decide matters though if Detroit had won the White Sox really would have deserved their early vacation. Unfortunately though I can't see either team beating the Rays. Liriano gives the Twins a fighting chance though. Hopefully the weather will be more cooperative tonight than it was yesterday.

[papsrus]

Well I think its appropriate that these two teams square off to decide matters though if Detroit had won the White Sox really would have deserved their early vacation. Unfortunately though I can't see either team beating the Rays. Liriano gives the Twins a fighting chance though. Hopefully the weather will be more cooperative tonight than it was yesterday.

M&M pointed out this morning that the season series counts for nothing in baseball. The Twins won the season series with the ChiSox, 10-8, I believe, yet those 18 games count for nothing and the Twins are forced to play a one-game winner take all game ... at Chicago (because of a coin flip!)?

Doesn't seem fair to the Twinkies. If you're tied atop the division with another team but you won the season series against that team, you win the division. makes sense. Why is it different for the wild card?

They have a point.

[Dan Gould]

Well I think its appropriate that these two teams square off to decide matters though if Detroit had won the White Sox really would have deserved their early vacation. Unfortunately though I can't see either team beating the Rays. Liriano gives the Twins a fighting chance though. Hopefully the weather will be more cooperative tonight than it was yesterday.

M&M pointed out this morning that the season series counts for nothing in baseball. The Twins won the season series with the ChiSox, 10-8, I believe, yet those 18 games count for nothing and the Twins are forced to play a one-game winner take all game ... at Chicago (because of a coin flip!)?

Doesn't seem fair to the Twinkies. If you're tied atop the division with another team but you won the season series against that team, you win the division. makes sense. Why is it different for the wild card?

They have a point.

Its different because only one playoff spot is left. Head-to-head record counts only if both teams are heading to the playoffs regardless; its for seeding purposes as well as "bragging rights". Do you really think that a spot in the playoffs should be determined by season series rather than on the field?

And as far as the coin flip goes, do you have a better method? How about "choose a number from 1 to 100, the closest without going over wins"?

[zen archer]

Well I think its appropriate that these two teams square off to decide matters though if Detroit had won the White Sox really would have deserved their early vacation. Unfortunately though I can't see either team beating the Rays. Liriano gives the Twins a fighting chance though. Hopefully the weather will be more cooperative tonight than it was yesterday.

M&M pointed out this morning that the season series counts for nothing in baseball. The Twins won the season series with the ChiSox, 10-8, I believe, yet those 18 games count for nothing and the Twins are forced to play a one-game winner take all game ... at Chicago (because of a coin flip!)?

Doesn't seem fair to the Twinkies. If you're tied atop the division with another team but you won the season series against that team, you win the division. makes sense. Why is it different for the wild card?

They have a point.

Its different because only one playoff spot is left. Head-to-head record counts only if both teams are heading to the playoffs regardless; its for seeding purposes as well as "bragging rights". Do you really think that a spot in the playoffs should be determined by season series rather than on the field?

And as far as the coin flip goes, do you have a better method? How about "choose a number from 1 to 100, the closest without going over wins"?

I got one , why dont they take 2 players at home base and one runs towards first and the other towards 3rd and whoever reaches home first wins !!!!

We can sell tickets !!!!, beer !, Sausages, Popcorn !

[papsrus]

Do you really think that a spot in the playoffs should be determined by season series rather than on the field?

And as far as the coin flip goes, do you have a better method? How about "choose a number from 1 to 100, the closest without going over wins"?

But the season series is determined on the field -- over 18 games, a considerably fairer sample than one game in gauging which team is superior.

And if we're not going to give the team with the better head-to-head record the nod for the playoff spot, the least they should get is home field for the play-in game. That seems more equitable than a coin flip. Eighteen games should count for something.

Now, I love a good play-in game as much as the next guy, but the point Mike and Mike were making was, is it fair to the players? ChiSox players have to feel lucky to even be playing this game, let alone playing it at home. Twins players, maybe not so much.

All that said, and being careful what I wish for -- go Sox.

[Dan Gould]

Something else to be pointed out about why the NFL has head-to-head, and other tie-breaking rules:

There is no time in the NFL schedule for a 'play-in' game. They go straight from the regular season to the first round of the play-offs. So of course season-series is the first tie-breaker used, and then division record, iirc.

But in baseball, there are two or three days before the playoffs start: one for any make-up games that may be necessary and another for any one-game playoffs.

Ideally you should always settle things on the field, which is why I do not regard the Yankees as 2005 AL East champions, and never will.

[Dan Gould]

Do you really think that a spot in the playoffs should be determined by season series rather than on the field?

And as far as the coin flip goes, do you have a better method? How about "choose a number from 1 to 100, the closest without going over wins"?

But the season series is determined on the field -- over 18 games, a considerably fairer sample than one game in gauging which team is superior.

And if we're not going to give the team with the better head-to-head record the nod for the playoff spot, the least they should get is home field for the play-in game. That seems more equitable than a coin flip. Eighteen games should count for something.

Now, I love a good play-in game as much as the next guy, but the point Mike and Mike were making was, is it fair to the players? ChiSox players have to feel lucky to even be playing this game, let alone playing it at home. Twins players, maybe not so much.

All that said, and being careful what I wish for -- go Sox.

And what if a season series ends in August, and the team on the short-end catches fire and makes a tremendous playoff drive in September. If they end up tied, games from earlier in the year should be the determining factor? I don't think so. Play 162 and see where you are. If you're tied, settle it on the field the next day.

Edit to add that while this couldn't happen for division foes in the uneven schedule era, it could certainly happen if two teams were tied for the wild card.

Edited September 30, 2008 by Dan Gould

[papsrus]

Do you really think that a spot in the playoffs should be determined by season series rather than on the field?

And as far as the coin flip goes, do you have a better method? How about "choose a number from 1 to 100, the closest without going over wins"?

But the season series is determined on the field -- over 18 games, a considerably fairer sample than one game in gauging which team is superior.

And if we're not going to give the team with the better head-to-head record the nod for the playoff spot, the least they should get is home field for the play-in game. That seems more equitable than a coin flip. Eighteen games should count for something.

Now, I love a good play-in game as much as the next guy, but the point Mike and Mike were making was, is it fair to the players? ChiSox players have to feel lucky to even be playing this game, let alone playing it at home. Twins players, maybe not so much.

All that said, and being careful what I wish for -- go Sox.

And what if a season series ends in August, and the team on the short-end catches fire and makes a tremendous playoff drive in September. If they end up tied, games from earlier in the year should be the determining factor? I don't think so. Play 162 and see where you are. If you're tied, settle it on the field the next day.

Edit to add that while this couldn't happen for division foes in the uneven schedule era, it could certainly happen if two teams were tied for the wild card.

Yeah, good point. I would add, though, that if you want this system for determining the last team in, for consistency sake, it should be used to break all ties, including in the case of a division winner and wild card team that are tied atop the division (your 2005 scenario with the BoSox and Yankees.)