MLB Baseball Thread

[PsychicPsycho]

I'm still believing in the Cardinals magic- I'm picking them until they lose.

Looks like the Giants have stolen the Cardinals magic. Even prior to the game last night, I was expected them to win the series, even spotting the Tigers wins in Verlander's starts. With one of those gone, I woudn't be surprised if the Giants take it in 5, or even sweep.

I heard an interesting stat yesterday- in World Series matching teams that had a 4 game CS with one that had a 7 game CS, the 7 game CS team has won them all, and it apparently hasn't been close. I remember this occuring in the recent Red Sox-Rockies series, when the Rockies were swept.

[Golden_Latias]

The thing is, Barry Zito is a soft-tossing lefty who's good at getting batters to swing outside the strike zone. This is pretty much THE way to beat the Tigers, especially since the Tigers struggle against soft-tossing lefties, for whatever reason. Well, that and Verlander just had a bad game. It happens. Bumgardner's not like that, though. I can see the Tigers winning tonight, and if they do, they're going back to Comerica for three games. And the Tigers are one of the best home teams in baseball.

And that would make sense because supposedly, the 7 game CS team is hot while the 4 game CS team is rusty. However, according to this WSJ article, there hasn't been a difference regarding the team that has more days off. Heck, look at the 2008 Phillies. They had six days off and still won the WS. The 2005 White Sox had five days off and still won the WS. No reason the Tigers can't do it.

EDIT: Wow, you go Fister. Way to go!

EDIT 2: Game and season. :/ Congrats Giants. You pretty much won the World Series. Again. No way the Tigers dig themselves out of an 0-2 hole against a red-hot Giants team, home field advantage or not. It's 2006 all over again.
But I should have known. Boston, New York, and the western-based teams pretty much always win the World Series.

Oh well. The Tigers will be even better next season. No more Delmon, Valverde, or Boesch, they'll have Victor Martinez back, and hopefully Dombrowski will go out and get us a good RF. Hopefully then, they'll make a run next season.

[TheWatersGreatGuardian]

Pretty impressive run to the championship by the Giants

[Golden_Latias]

And this is why I didn't want to face the Giants at the beginning. They are, in my opinion, the best team in the NL. I'd take the Tigers starting pitching over the Giants, but everything else about them is just flat-out better. Better offense, better defense, better bullpen, better baserunning, etc. Congrats to them, even though the San Francisco Bay Area is spoiled sports-wise (Giants, A's, 49ers, Sharks).

Oh well. Tigers have some work to do, but I think they'll be a better team next year. They'll get Victor Martinez back, and although I don't think he'll hit like he did in 2011, I still think he'll be far more productive than Delmon Young. He's a good leader, too. Jose Valverde is probably done as a Tiger, so they need a new closer (and maybe another bullpen arm). I don't know what they'll do there. They could trade for one, they could bring up Bruce Rondon, they could make someone they already have a closer. Who knows? I'm still hoping they'll sign Annibal Sanchez, find a way to trade Porcello in a package deal, and bring Drew Smyly back as a starter. They need a RF. Don't know what they'll do there, either. Maybe go after Torii Hunter or something.
And something that would help: let's hope Jim Leyland can lead the American League to a victory over the National League in next year's All-Star game.

[SkinnySweatyMan]

What a terrible ending to a great season. The Giants were the last team I wanted to win the World Series.

[Golden_Latias]

What can you do? The Tigers had too much time off and lost momentum. They played a red-hot Giants team, and they weren't exactly lighting up the Yankees and A's offensively to begin with. There was no way they could beat that.

And now that the offseason has begun, time for all the teams to get down to business. To start off on the Tigers front, they announced today that Jim Leyland will manage the Tigers in 2013, which is good news, because there isn't anyone better out there. They also have to decide what to do with Peralta and Dotel, but I expect both of them will be back for 2013, as well, since there aren't any good SS free agents, and Dotel has been adequate for the Tigers.

EDIT: Also, they're letting Valverde and Young walk. Again, no surprise there. I am surprised they're letting Laird go, though. I don't know who replaces him.

[Joltik-Kid]

EDIT: Also, they're letting Valverde and Young walk. Again, no surprise there. I am surprised they're letting Laird go, though. I don't know who replaces him.

Can you believe Sanchez wants a 90 mil (6 year) contract? Not totally sure about that right now

[Golden_Latias]

Can you believe Sanchez wants a 90 mil (6 year) contract? Not totally sure about that right now

He won't get that. The Tigers will offer when it goes down to a realistic level.

I heard they made offers to Torii Hunter, Justin Upton, and I think Josh Hamilton. I'd love to see Torii Hunter as a Tiger, but I'd stay away from Upton and Hamilton. Upton's home/away splits are... not pretty, to say the least. And Hamilton will cost too much, and the Tigers already have three superstars. I also heard they want to use someone already in the Tigers organization as their closer, meaning they'll either bring up Bruce Rondon or use one of their other BP guys.

[TheWatersGreatGuardian]

I think it is evident that the marlins are the worst franchise in baseball. Nice that they felt the need to screw with the balance of the AL East before they went down too..

[Golden_Latias]

The AL East will be fun to watch next year lol. The Toronto Blue Jays just got a lot better.

Tigs are supposedly the favorites to land Torii Hunter, too, which is good.

EDIT: And it's confirmed. Torii Hunter is now a Tiger. Which is good. He'll be a huge upgrade defensively, he hasn't shown any signs of decline despite his age, and it's only two years, which gives Avisail Garcia more time to develop. Good move, Dombrowski.

[Joltik-Kid]

EDIT: And it's confirmed. Torii Hunter is now a Tiger. Which is good. He'll be a huge upgrade defensively, he hasn't shown any signs of decline despite his age, and it's only two years, which gives Avisail Garcia more time to develop. Good move, Dombrowski.

The best part of this was he wanted to come here

[Golden_Latias]

I think he just wanted to go to any WS contender in general, not specifically the Tigers.

But yeah. Now all the Tigs need to do is get Sanchez signed, make someone the new closer, and maybe get a new bullpen arm, and they're set, in my opinion.

[TheWatersGreatGuardian]

Price wins the Cy Young

[sceptile33]

Not surprising. It's nice to see him finally win that award. Congrats to Price on a fantastic season.

[TheWatersGreatGuardian]

Not surprising. It's nice to see him finally win that award. Congrats to Price on a fantastic season.

The downside is what little chance there was of him being here long term is now gone.

[Golden_Latias]

Congrats to Price. Obviously, I wish Verlander would have won it, but Price had an excellent season.

Unsurprisingly, R.A. Dickey won it on the NL side. Figured it would be him or Clayton Kershaw, but I figured they'd go for Dickey, just to give it to a knuckleballer.

[BCVM22]

just to give it to a knuckleballer.

I don't think this had much to do with it.

[sceptile33]

The downside is what little chance there was of him being here long term is now gone.

I figured it was going to happen anyways. If he's going to have a career year, I'm glad it was with the Rays.

[Joltik-Kid]

I think he just wanted to go to any WS contender in general, not specifically the Tigers.

But yeah. Now all the Tigs need to do is get Sanchez signed, make someone the new closer, and maybe get a new bullpen arm, and they're set, in my opinion.

No, an article I heard on the radio today said he was planning to come here for quite sometime... not Texas, not the Dodgers, but here.

Either way though, despite his "age" two years is still plenty of time for him and can't wait to see how this plays out. He's a solid number 2 hitter IMHO

[Golden_Latias]

No, an article I heard on the radio today said he was planning to come here for quite sometime... not Texas, not the Dodgers, but here.

Either way though, despite his "age" two years is still plenty of time for him and can't wait to see how this plays out. He's a solid number 2 hitter IMHO

You're right, I had just read that.

He probably will be the #2 hitter. And it's not just that. Two years is also plenty of time for Castellanos and Garcia to polish their skills. I assume one of them is the Tigers RF of the future. And even if he declines, he can't be any worse than guys like Boesch or Raburn or Kelly or whoever.

[PsychicPsycho]

I think it is evident that the marlins are the worst franchise in baseball. Nice that they felt the need to screw with the balance of the AL East before they went down too..

I thought that move was crazy. For them to gather all those players and blow it up in just one year was very odd to me. I mean, yeah, the season wasn't the best last year but you have to give it some more time (although I wouldn't blame them for blowing it up next year if it still didn't work).

Also, I figured you'd be happy with the Jays (apparently) getting better- there'd be more of a chance they could beat your division rivals.

Unsurprisingly, R.A. Dickey won it on the NL side.

I'm happy for him to win it. I've heard his story on tv and couldn't help but root for him, despite the fact that I don't like the Mets.

[TheWatersGreatGuardian]

I thought that move was crazy. For them to gather all those players and blow it up in just one year was very odd to me. I mean, yeah, the season wasn't the best last year but you have to give it some more time (although I wouldn't blame them for blowing it up next year if it still didn't work).

Also, I figured you'd be happy with the Jays (apparently) getting better- there'd be more of a chance they could beat your division rivals.
I'm happy for him to win it. I've heard his story on tv and couldn't help but root for him, despite the fact that I don't like the Mets.

I actually feel the O's and Jays are bigger threats at the moment than the Yankees and Red Sox. What has always held the Jays back is their starting pitching. That just got a lot better.

I would have preferred things stayed as they were. BTW why are you surprised that the marlins blew up their team? Its something they have made a habit of over the years

Think those fans in Miami are mad? They build a stadium largely off taxpayer money, then dismantle the team the year after

[Joltik-Kid]

You're right, I had just read that.

He probably will be the #2 hitter. And it's not just that. Two years is also plenty of time for Castellanos and Garcia to polish their skills. I assume one of them is the Tigers RF of the future. And even if he declines, he can't be any worse than guys like Boesch or Raburn or Kelly or whoever.

Anyone is better then Raburn... but back to that Sanchez thing, I hope we pick him up, but I don't know if he'll lower his "expected" income to stay with our team.

On another note, G$ is headed to the Braves

[Golden_Latias]

Anyone is better then Raburn... but back to that Sanchez thing, I hope we pick him up, but I don't know if he'll lower his "expected" income to stay with our team.

On another note, G$ is headed to the Braves

Raburn's not that bad as an OF, but for that offense, it's just not worth.

Eh, they'll probably just bring up Bryan Holiday or something. Tigers have more important things to worry about than back-up catcher.

EDIT: And Miggy wins the MVP. Good. He absolutely deserved it.

[Joltik-Kid]

Raburn's not that bad as an OF, but for that offense, it's just not worth.

Eh, they'll probably just bring up Bryan Holiday or something. Tigers have more important things to worry about than back-up catcher.

EDIT: And Miggy wins the MVP. Good. He absolutely deserved it.

Not bad? Hmm, for every one good play he made in the OF, 3 mistakes/misplays happened.

Pierzynski Your probably right

EDIT: I took my idiotic post off... seesh I get it ;p