The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

Hi everyone -

New MLB thread dedicated to anything you'd like to talk about in regards to the upcoming 2009 season, spring training, unsigned FA's...

Consider this your own personal MLB Network channel.

Will JD Drew's back just unleash it self from his body before the end of the season?

That hot stove thread had a life of its own.  Turned out it posted the second highest post count for any thread. 

Back on topic.... the Yankees training camp is a media circus now.  Everything is all about A-Roid.

The marlins current rotation 1-5 will be regarded in 5 years as being better than the rotation from 2003

that is my prediction

That is a pretty bold prediction!

It's all about the farm system coaching.  The Marlins minor league coaches have a knack for deveolping talented young arms that throw serious heat. 

There's a reason why the Marlins are known as the best AAA team in the majors. 

I predict,the Cubs will not win the central this year....We've taken a 97 win team and made it worse...Which is saying something,when the Cardinals have pretty much stood pat,the Brewers have gotten weaker...

Cardinals will come in 3rd in the division.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

You are basing this on...?

AAA is not a tell tale sign, by itself, on how a farm system is judged.  I drew a paycheck for many years from the Marlins.  It wasn't the scouting or coaching that landed them good pitchers in the beginning, it was high draft picks.

That said, Baseball America's top farm systems of 2008 are as follows:

1. Rays
2. Red Sox
3. Reds
4. Rangers
5. Yankees
6. Dodgers
7. Rockies
8. Braves
9. Nationals
10. Angels
11. Mariners
12. Padres
13. Cardinals
14. Marlins
15. Diamondbacks
16. Orioles
17. Mets
18. Twins
19. Indians
20. Cubs
21. Brewers
22. Phillies
23. Giants
24. Royals
25. Blue Jays
26. Pirates
27. A’s
28. White Sox
29. Tigers
30. Astros

Regarding the Marlins system and it's pitchers, I have two in their top 20.  Brett Sinkbeil and Chris Leroux and they are at 17 and 20, respectively.

Look at a guy like Ricky Nolasco.  The Marlins didn't draft him, the Cubs did.  The Marlins traded for him in '05 and basically had no clue what they had with him, moving him around in the pen until eventually putting him into the rotation last year.

The Marlins system is really middle of the road.  They end up getting guys like Maybin because they refuse to pay contracts on their sure-fire draft picks once those players get out of arbitration years.  I would be careful before patting that AAA coaching staff on the back.

ANYWAY - in order for this year's pitching squad to be better than 2003's, they have some huge shoes to fill.  They had four pitchers in double digits in wins (Pavano, Penny, Willis and Redman).  Beckett of all guys was the lone guy with less than 10 wins that year.  A combined 3.67 ERA between that rotation and 63 wins.  An average of 176 innings pitched with an average of 143 K's per guy.  That's a tall order to fill.  

I think the Marlins pitchers have a lot of potential but I also think there are some injury problems and youth that might get in their way this year.  Offensively the NL East has improved, even Washington should be much better with the stick.

I'll guess we'll all see, won't we?

Who wins the division? 

I think the Padres farm system is looking really good right now...we have high prospects at all levels of the farm who are showing what you want as far as developmental trends.  I think that by the 2010 season, SD will be back into contention for the NL West again.

i stick with my prediction.. i think you'll see josh johnson get 15+ wins this year too

I'm slotting Johnson and Nolasco to both notch +15 wins.  I think Nolasco is a potential 20 game winner.  You won't (shouldn't) have any issues with your #1 and 2 this season.  It's 3-5 that I'm not completely sold on yet.

That division down right sucks, to be honest.  It really does.  It wouldn't surprise me if any of the teams in that division ended up with 85-ish wins, which should be enough to win it.

The Giants of all teams did the most to upgrade their team this offseason and I still don't see them winning more than 78 games.

I actually did my first fantasy baseball draft of the year last night, and those two pitchers are the only two Marlins I was able to grab at any value. I love Josh, and hope he can stay healthy enough to give the Marlins 30+ starts this season. I think if Nolasco's control gets any better (already damned good), he could actually tickle that 1.00 WHiP mark this season. Not sure about 20 wins, but he has the stuff to be a stud out there, no doubt about it.

If you look at Nolasco's numbers last year, and keep in mind he was middle relief for a part of the season, there isn't any reason to think he can't sniff 20 this season if he stays healthy.  Give him 30 starts, 15/15, and he should be well above 15 wins anyway.  My .2 cents!

i think volstad is a beast .. and andrew miller is "supposed" to have 1st round talent .. so him at the 4 or 5 isn't so shabby

Maine, I think you should notice, I think it was Tommy's lame-ass attempt at a joke, poking at the Marlins. ::)

Then explain why they drew only 600 fans to a midweek game last year??

http://www.thedolphinsmakemecry.com/forums/index.php?topic=12047.0

What does that have to do with your calling them a AAA team?

The  No. 1 problem that the Marlins have is that everyone here is from somewhere else. Sports alliances are not something that is easily given up. I love the Marlins, but I love my Sox more and always will. Lucky for me, they play in different leagues and only face each other 3 games every once every 3 years.

Brian and I bought a mini pack, we're slated for 15 games this season.

As for a day time mid week game, I'd never make it. My boss isn't gonna give me an afternoon off to go watch baseball (as much as I wish he would). In the current climate, I'm not rocking the boat, I'm employed and I'd like to stay that way

I have no idea why Juan Cruz isn't a Yankee. He would cost them a 4th round pick as compensation because they already signed 3 Type A free agents. It wouldn't even be over the top spending, you figure a 2 year/$5 Million deal does it for one of the more consistent relievers in the game.

Off topic, in the end I think Manny goes to the Dodgers for 2 years/$44 Million.

Damn - I was having an OFF day.  That was funny shit, Tommy!  :)

jays 2009 outlook doesn't look to great, another year of looking up the asses of the red sox, yankees and now the rays.

At least Cito is the manager, and doc is still with the team, the only bright spots. Was a little sad to see Chacin being released from the jays in december, i believed he signed a  minor league deal with the nationals.

They are probably going to trade Doc this year to maximize his return. He isn't getting any younger and with the Jays financial issues, they won't be contending anytime soon.

I just got 3 details for the month of March doing security for the METS games.......Whoo hoo! I'll be out in the left field mezzinine under the palm tree..................

It has a lot to do with it... because they are constantly trading their big stars for seriously talented prospects from other organizations.  Then those prospects develop into major league stars, they get too expensive for the Marlins to keep, so they trade them away. 

Like Dave said in a previous thread, Marlins fans are afraid to get too attached to a player, knowing that player will likely be traded and their hearts will be ripped out.

But what is on the field right now, not a AAA team. 1998? Yeah, that was bad. Don't knock the Marlins, they're young, but they're going to be good

But how long will those players be in Marlins uniforms??

The Reds

riiiight ::)

Who knows, who knows how long any random player will be in a particular uniform.

Guys - can we not spend the rest of this thread bickering about the Marlins?

They'll have a good team this year, should be between 85-90 wins.  That might be enough to win the wildcard.  I fully expect K-Rod to flame out in New York and JJ Putz's arm to fall off.  It'll be a team two race between Atlanta and Florida for the wild card with Philly running away with the division.

philly won't run away with the division .. at most they'll win it by 5 games if they win it .. they could also miss the playoffs entirely .. this is Philadelphia ..  they aren't exactly known for their consistency

Woohoo The Cubs first Spring traing game is today...WOOOHOOO I'm dancing a little jig! :D ;D

Five games - in a good division - is "running away with it."

I need help.

I was yelling at the TV last night during Boston's game against the Twins.

2nd inning of the first spring training game (against an MLB team) and Maine is yelling at the TV already.

It's going to be a loooooooooooooooooooooong season.

I probably would have been too if I had been watching :)

Read that Josh looked good against BC yesterday

Josh was sharp.  So was Masterson.

Wakefield wasn't bad, it was more flukey type stuff.  A ball of a glove here or there.  Bard handled him pretty well.

I was just reading that on the globe.

Know who was lights out?  Ramon Ramirez.  Three up, three down, 2 k's.  His curveball was freakin' NASTY.  The gun was off last night but the FB was exploding out of hand.  Had to be mid 90's.

Sweet. I'm counting on the pitching staff since the offense is going to be down this year more than likely

I don't agree.

Why would you think that? 

You know Boston's numbers increased last year once Manny left, right?  And that was with an injured Lowell, an injured Ortiz and Drew in and out of the lineup.

This is a very good line up.  I'm not worried about the offense at all.

I am questioning those three. We don't know what they're going to do, if they'll be healthy. Oritz missed 3 days of practice because he slept funny on a shoulder for goodness sakes.

I'm very worried about the bottom of the lineup

Did you hear about the display Ortiz put on this week in batting practice?  It's weird how that wasn't news.  He was launching them out of the park like the balls were strapped to mini-rockets.  David is fine.

Lowell should be fine, he really is.  Drew is good.  He has chronic back issues and said "it gets stiff from time to time" and that was blown out of proportion. 

I think the bottom of the line up is going to be just fine.  If we're looking at this:

1 - Ellsbury
2 - Dusty
3 - Ortiz
4 - Youkilis
5 - Lowell
6 - Bay
7 - Drew
8 - Lugo
9 - Tek

Keep in mind a couple things:

1 - Lugo was hitting .280 before he got hurt last season.
2 - I truly believe that 'Tek's divorce was a huge weight on his shoulders last year.  He won't put up monster numbers but I expect him to hit around .260 / 18 / 70.

There are four guys in this line up capable of hitting 30+ home runs.  There is speed at the top and bottom.  There are
I am excited about the balance on this team.  You have five guys in the nine that are .300+ hitters. 

This isn't a line up that revolves around the monster three run blast anymore and focuses on the 3-4 hitter.  It's a line up that works pitchers deep into counts, his a huge combined OBP and is very balanced.  I think Boston will have a great line up this year.  And that doesn't even put the bench into focus, which could be one of the deepest in the league.

I love your positive thinking, I'm not quite as convinced (I'd love to see Jacoby's average up a bit this season), but I know they're not going to be in the bottom of the league either

Ellsbury hit .280+ as a rookie and swiped 50 bags.  That was pretty darned good, don't you think?  On top of that he also had his playing time split with Coco.  I expect very good things out of Ellsbury this year.

not complaining about the speed, trust me. I love his speed on the bags.

I get to see them on March 30th (my 30th birthday) up at Disney, I'm looking forward to it

I swear - I don't know what the hell Manny & Boras are doing.  No one is beating down Manny's door here...and I think turning down these offers make other teams not want to jump in.  He just turned down another 25 million for this season and a player option @ 20 million for next year.

Article here:
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-dodgers-ramirez&prov=ap&type=lgns (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-dodgers-ramirez&prov=ap&type=lgns)

If someone were "in the wings" they would have come forward by now.  The Dodgers brass hit it on the head.  "We're bidding against ourselves."  Yes you are.

great start to the season. Vernon Wells out for a month  ::).

I guess out of all the doom and gloom surrounding i will be excited to see a full season with Cito Gaston as the manager and Travis Snider, I don't know how many people noticed this but i was a huge Travis Snider fan ever since they drafted him. I don't feel that way about any other player.

Dammit that never works....

But for the sake of conversation, I am looking forward to seeing Jay Bruce play with the big boys for the whole year.  Now if they could only find a leadoff hitter with a better OBP of .220 there might be a reason for optimism.

We will be in Cincy 4th of July weekend to see the Cardinals and Reds.

Boras has had a lot of successes, but he has also had his share of failures. I think this is going to go down as a failure on his part.

I'll bet he gets signed in July or August when the playoff races heat up.  He'll be the quintessential "rent-a-bat"

Does anyone think that Manny is hoping for an offer from the Yanks, or the Mets?

Seems like Manny is waiting for a big injury.

What's up with Santana? He's going for an elbow MRI? Man, if there's serious damage there, the Mets are toast

http://www.yfsf.org/2009/02/oh-that-manny.html (http://www.yfsf.org/2009/02/oh-that-manny.html)



Maybe the Dodgers will eventually sign Manny Ramirez on his terms (whatever those are). Maybe the Giants or some other team will swoop in and sign him. But it's hard to imagine Ramirez receiving any more than the $45 million, two-year deal he rejected this week, and if that's all he gets, consider this:

Assuming Ramirez were to exercise the 2010 player option for $20 million (I think he will because anyone who thinks the teams will be in any position to pay players more money next offseason is kidding themselves), he will have received a whopping $5 million more than he would have gotten if he had simply stayed in Boston and put up his big numbers (thereby assuring that the Red Sox would have picked up their two options on him).

All of this bullshit for $5 Million MAYBE over the course of 2 seasons. IMO, I think the Red Sox would've extended him a few years at a high salary if he just shut his mouth and didn't act like a jerk.

One last thing to note, Manny switched agents to Boras. If Boras gets more than 5%, and there's a solid chance he does, that $5 Million goes down to say $2.5 Million.

Boston actually talked extension prior to Spring Training with Manny's former agents right before he fired them for Boras.  Appears Boston was willing to drop the two team options and pick up Manny for two years, 52 million and a third year / player option @18 million. 

Rumor has it that this offer was presented to Manny and was a driving force behind him firing these agents and picking up Boras.  Good call on that one, Man-Ram!

So Brian and I went to ESPN weekend, Curt Schilling was there. No love lost between he and Manny

They HATE each other.  Loathe is a good word.

Schilling will end up in Tampa this year, I just know it.  Fat fucker.  :)

Well, for all of his prima donna bullshit, Schilling is a gamer. He pitches hurt and puts a lot of effort into the game. Manny is the complete opposite, he is just amazingly talented that he can half ass it and still hit .320 with 43 HR. Not a surprise they don't like each other.

He basically said that Manny is a prima donna and had the organization and Tito bending over to accommodate him and he quit on them. He sounded really P-O'd about last year, not that I blame him.

That team should be pretty solid now. They are the current favorites in the weak AL West.

This is a buyer's market.

Manny and the Red Sox (ha, gotcha) errrr...Dodgers have agreed to a two year, 45 million dollar deal.  He just needs to pass a physical now.

The question is this:  Will the Dodgers now see the "real" Manny now that they are on the hook for this guy?

is the second year still a player option? If so the maybe

I think so.

I heard this new from my inside source.  A text message from MLB.com!  Oh how the mighty have fallen.  I know close to nothing anymore.  Thank God.

if it's a player option, there is a greater chance of it happening since he can trigger it without LA doing a damn thing

I'm hearing A Rod could be out for a month or more...wonder if this is true?

I heard he has a hip issue....

One month 'til Opening Day... oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!!

WBC starts tonight!

Didn't it start at like 4:30 AM?

Yeah but I don't get home until TONIGHT!
;)

God bless the MLB Network.  Best channel ever.

So this AP story in the Sun-Sentinel says A-Fraud has a torn labrum.... isn't that what Lowell just had?

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/ny-sparod0306,0,3329503.story

From Newsday
A-Rod has torn labrum, but may not need surgery

BY KAT O'BRIEN and KEN DAVIDOFF | kat.obrien@newsday.com
and ken.davidoff@newsday.com
    4:16 PM EST, March 5, 2009

Alex Rodriguez with the Dominican Republic team

A report says that Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez needs surgery to remove a cyst from his right hip, but the Yankees deny knowing anything about it. (AP Photo / March 3, 2009)

TAMPA, Fla. - Alex Rodriguez will not have surgery for now to repair a labrum tear in his hip, Brian Cashman told reporters Thursday. But if rest, exercise and treatment do not improve A-Rod's condition, the Yankees' third baseman would go forward with an operation. That, Cashman said, would be "a four-month situation."

The Yankees' general manager said, at Steinbrenner Field, that A-Rod would take the "conservative" route in dealing with his condition -- about which, Cashman stressed, A-Rod never complained of pain, only stiffness and restricted movement.

Cashman offered no timeline for when A-Rod could return to competitive action. The GM said that A-Rod would spend a couple of more days in Vail, Colo., where he has been meeting with hip specialist Dr. Marc Philippon, before returning to Tampa and resting and rehabilitating on Yankees grounds.

"We are going to take this day by day, week by week, month by month," Cashman said. Not surprisingly, the injury will remove A-Rod from the World Baseball Classic.

 
When asked whether A-Rod could play through this condition, Cashman said, "We believe and hope the answer is yes."

If the answer is no, then the Yankees will lose their three-time Most Valuable Player for the bulk of the 2009 season. Either way, considering how crucial a hitter's hips are to his success, this is a serious concern for the Yankees and A-Rod, moving forward.

The Yankees first learned of A-Rod's hip problems last year, as an incidental finding while conducting an MRI on A-Rod's injured right quadriceps. It was considered asymptomatic.

^^^^

This is the beginning of the end of A-Roid's career.  See Mark McGwire.

Wow.  You just compared A-Rod...maybe the best all around player that has ever played this game (bar none) to the one trick pony Big Mac?

Jeez.  Hitting the sauce early this morning, Tommy?

The Yankees are making a mistake.  Shut the guy down and pick up a VA infielder for now.  Get the surgery and you'll have him back by July or August.

It sounds like a similar problem to Lowell, he had offseason surgery and is about to play in a spring training game next week

Hey Maine,

Do me a favor and lighten up??   We all know what steriods does.... makes you more susceptable to injuries such as this.  All I'm saying is McGwire was out of the baseball within three years of his home run deluge.  And that was because of all the injuries.  It wouldn't surprise me if the same thing happened to A-Rod.

YOU are asking ME to lighten up?

That's rich.

One month until Opening Day!  Oh boy oh boy oh boy! ;D

It was sad,I was damn near orgasmic,I got to watch (part) of the Cubs/W Sox spring traing games!...

<Dancing a little jig!>

Exactly.  Because I'm comparing two guys who used steroids to advance their careers, and you say I'm "hitting the sauce early". 

I will agree that A-Rod is way better than McGwire, but keep in mind that McGwire and Jose Canseco made up Oakland's famous "Bash Brothers".

Regardless of the stats they put up, the end result will be the same.  Steroids leaves you susceptible to injuries which can and will derail your career. 

Look at Canseco and the injuries that plagued him late in his career.     

Boston locks up Lester - five years / 30 million.

Bargain.  A flippin' bargain.  Between Youkilis, Dusty and now Lester they have invested less than 80 million in complete contracts between the league's MVP, the league's runner up MVP and an ace in the making.

THIS is the way to spend money.  Boston's payroll is going to continue to drop as they continue to lock up their youngsters in this manner.  The ONE guy you won't see this happen with will be Jacoby Ellsbury.

That last sentence is a head-scratcher... Is Boston no longer pleased with it's zippy young leadoff hitter?

After reading my SI magazine, I'm more convinced this is the beginning of the end of A-Rod's career.  He missed 24 games last season.... the most he has ever missed in his entire career... and now he stands to top that.

He is now a Scott Boras client.  Do you see, under any circumstances, a Boras client allowing his young star to forgo the first three years of his free agency in order for Boston to lock him up?  Youk, Dusty and Lester all had to agree to forfeit 3, 2, and 3 (in that order) of their first years of FA.

Rarely, if ever, would Boras ever allow that on an impact player.  Boston will milk Ellsbury through his initial years, stay middle of the road in his arbitration years and then deal him the year before he hits the open market.  He won't be in a Sox uniform in five years if he stays with Boras.