Major League Baseball

[Toe]

The season starts Tuesday night for the Toronto Blue Jays, and I think this is the first time ever in my entire life I have actually looked forward to baseball starting. The Blue Jays have made huge strides in the past 3-4 years, and even though they may have overpaid for some of there free agent pick-ups, the fact that they were willing to spend is huge in my mind. Toronto now has two extremely talented pitchers in Roy Halladay and AJ Burnett. This could be fun!

Is anyone else looking forward to the start of the MLB?

[ACCBiggz]

Spoiler: Toronto still won't get to the postseason.

[Toe]

Hey, you got to let me have a little bit of hope, considering how screwed the Maple Leafs look right now.

[Ananas]

I've got tickets to the home opener on Tuesday. Apparently there's a ceremony to honour both Tom Cheek and Kirby Puckett (the Twins are in town). Classy move, and I hope it's matched with a good game. I'd tend to agree with Biggzy that the odds of the Jays making the post-season are still slim, but you never know what can happen. The Jays have taken a ton of risks and if many of them pay off, it will be a close finish this year. Or at the very least, we should probably break .500.

[Jester of Death]

Looking forward to a repeat performance from last year from my D-Backs.

All the critics have them finishing no better than 3rd in the NL 'Worst', and with reason do they do that.

Everyone (except Colorado) improved greatly in the off-season, while the D-Backs absorbed as much as they disposed.

To expect 77 wins and second in the divison is probably very optimistic, although, the D-Backs have had a solid spring, leading the NL and Cactus league for the most part of March. Also have held the Yankees to 1-run, and a tie, so we can always take that. (Last time D-Backs beat the Yankees was Game 7 of 2001 World Series (0-3 since))

[Mofoticon]

AJ Burnett is hurt already, missing his 1st two starts...he is going to turn out to be a horrible pickup, he's hurt way too much and has a career losing record.

[gunnar hendershow]

The Orioles have the chance to do pretty well this year if Mazzone works his magic on a young pitching staff with a lot of potential. And if our offense plays pretty well, things could be pretty good. But I don't expect much. Except Markakis winning Rookie of the Year honors.

[Toe]

AJ Burnett is hurt already, missing his 1st two starts...he is going to turn out to be a horrible pickup, he's hurt way too much and has a career losing record.

[Lowerdeck]

My predictions....

AL East

1. New York Yankees

2. Boston Red Sox (wild card)

3. Toronto Blue Jays

4. Tampa Bay Devil Rays

5. Baltimore Orioles

Look at it this way. Yeah, the Blue Jays improved a lot. Yeah, Boston improved a bit too. While New York made some acquisitions, they didn't do anything to the scale TOR and BOS did. So even though New York is getting older, looking like a ton of injuries bound to happen, and got tons of questions on their pitching, here's why they're going to win... because they're the Yankees. They may be 15 games out of first at the All-Star Break, and then just storm back and win the division. Because it's the Yankees, they have to win, at any cost, end of story. Someone's gonna choke in their path, they all turn into Level 60 shaman orcs, or some ridiculous streak of good luck will happen. Barry Zito will possibly be in pinstripes for the stretch run. And if not him, there's some shit team out there like Pittsburgh or Kansas City or Cincinnati that will sell out to Steinbrenner. So yeah, Yanks will win the division again. Probably not by much. Toronto will be very close to Boston too.

As for the rest, Tampa is getting better. Not good enough to get to .500, but good enough to beat the clusterfuck known as the Orioles. Next Sunday, you'll see me and many others of the Red Sea take over Camden because the real Orioles fans know they're that pitiful.

AL Central

1. Chicago

2. Cleveland

3. Minnesota

4. Detroit

5. Kansas City

Chicago is fuckin impressive and can make another strong run this year. Last year wasn't a fluke. Cleveland returns with a solid team this year, although a few moves they made (or didn't) this offseason could hurt them slightly. Minnesota needs an offense. Detroit is still years away and needs help. Kansas City should consider contraction.

AL West

1. Anaheim Angels

2. Texas Rangers

3. Oakland Athletics

4. Seattle Mariners

Anaheim will be a force to reckon with once again, without a doubt. If injuries are minimal, they can go quite a long way. Texas improved on their pitching, not that it ever matters at the Ballpark... pitching just means you give up 5 runs a game instead of 8. Their offense is explosive enough to hold things together, but they won't be close to the Angels. Youth movement will help them in a year or two. Oakland has no offense, and may be tempted to trade Zito or other pitching cause they're Kenny McCormick poor. Seattle is finally getting it's shit together, but they're still a bit off from getting to .500

----------------

NL East

1. Atlanta Braves

2. New York Mets

3. Philadelphia Phillies

4. Washington Nationals

5. Florida Marlins

The Braves are the Braves. John probably wasn't alive the last time the Braves came 2nd place, or maybe a year old, or something. Bobby Cox is one of the best managers of all time. They still have a solid team put together. As for the Mets ... they always find a way to completely fuck up year after year. Is their bullpen THAT much better? Yeah, Wagner helps a lot. Things might be better all around. But it's the Mets, they always bound to disappoint. They get lucky if something goes right (cough 1986 cough). Phils are average. Nationals kinda remind me of Natty Light beer, quite bad and leaving a taste for something better. Florida ... well ... Jeff Loria needs to be killed. He is the worst owner in baseball and saying he is a bad buisnessman is giving him way too much credit.

NL Central

1. St Louis Cardinals

2. Milwaukee Brewers

3. Houston Astros

4. Chicago Cubs

5. Cincinnati Reds

6. Pittsburgh Pirates

Pujols and Carpenter could win this division on their own, but they got a nice team backing them up. The Brewers are the wave of the future, they're not there yet though. It'll suck when they do their best impersonation of Oakland, but that's a few years away. (make playoffs, bounce first round, trade away talent cause of the poor small market). Astros are getting older, probably won't repeat magic run last year, esp. without Clemens involved. Cubs are an average team, but it'll be bad if Wood and Prior get hurt. Reds are going around in circles. They got a nice outfield, even without Pena (though losing him will hurt). Bronson Arroyo is a nice pickup, but they got shit for pitching after him. Pittsburgh, young team are in for a long year.

NL West ... aka SHITSHOW

1. Los Angeles Dodgers

2. San Diego Padres

3. Arizona Diamondbacks

4. San Francisco Giants

5. Colorado Rockies

To sum up this division, it's like your college female... after about 10-12 shots of cheap tequilla. It's a embarassing train wreck that just keeps on repeating it's own misery. The girl says she'll never drink tequilla again, then she proves to be a dumbass and downs another 12 shots two nights later and be completely wrecked once again. If the division winner is more than 5 games above .500, I'll be surprised. If 2nd place is more than 3 games above .500, I'll be surprised. Dodgers and Padres look the best, but that isn't saying much. Neither made major moves to correct their mistakes, so it looks like they won't learn anything from last year. Arizona is years away, Colorado is years away from .500. San Francisco is going backwards and is fucked for years to come. Bonds won't be that much of a benefit cause there's nothing around him.

[Toe]

I have to agree with your predictions about the AL East ( I don't know much about the rest ), Toronto may be better and may actually compete for the Wild Card, but they have one of the worst divisions to be in competing in, with Boston and New York always producing results. Toronto doesn't have the budget to work with like New York and Boston either, so it's tough. I'll be really pleased if they had a shot near the end of the season, instead of being nowhere.

[gunnar hendershow]

As for the rest, Tampa is getting better. Not good enough to get to .500, but good enough to beat the clusterfuck known as the Orioles. Next Sunday, you'll see me and many others of the Red Sea take over Camden because the real Orioles fans know they're that pitiful.

It doesn't help that by the time tickets go on sale those games are already sold out... for some reason.

I tried getting tickets for a Red Sox-O's game and it was sold out. I know there are scalpers, but it's ridiculous.

[ACCBiggz]

I thought Burnett was a .500 pitcher, something like 41-41 (As of his signing with Toronto) or something around those marks....

[Lowerdeck]

As for the rest, Tampa is getting better. Not good enough to get to .500, but good enough to beat the clusterfuck known as the Orioles. Next Sunday, you'll see me and many others of the Red Sea take over Camden because the real Orioles fans know they're that pitiful.

It doesn't help that by the time tickets go on sale those games are already sold out... for some reason.

I tried getting tickets for a Red Sox-O's game and it was sold out. I know there are scalpers, but it's ridiculous.

In Oct. 2004, I bought tickets to a game the night before I drove down to Baltimore. Got seats in like the fifth row in Section 352. In Sept. 2005, I bought the tickets four weeks before the game and got top row Section 358. This time around I bought my ticket in February for this Sunday... I coulda got better than 340 but didn't want to shell out for the lower deck. Same with the 2004 trip.

[gunnar hendershow]

As for the rest, Tampa is getting better. Not good enough to get to .500, but good enough to beat the clusterfuck known as the Orioles. Next Sunday, you'll see me and many others of the Red Sea take over Camden because the real Orioles fans know they're that pitiful.

It doesn't help that by the time tickets go on sale those games are already sold out... for some reason.

I tried getting tickets for a Red Sox-O's game and it was sold out. I know there are scalpers, but it's ridiculous.

In Oct. 2004, I bought tickets to a game the night before I drove down to Baltimore. Got seats in like the fifth row in Section 352. In Sept. 2005, I bought the tickets four weeks before the game and got top row Section 358. This time around I bought my ticket in February for this Sunday... I coulda got better than 340 but didn't want to shell out for the lower deck. Same with the 2004 trip.

Well, it's easier to get tickets end of the season as opposed to the start. Secondly, it's easy to get tickets for one person. But it's hard to get group seats, which is what I was trying for. At least, when I tried to get tickets in Feb they didn't have anything. Yankees games are worse though, at least you don't have to compete with local fans (At least not that many). With all the Benedict Arnolds floating around town it's not even worth going to a Yanks-O's game. Their fans are rude... at least around here.

[Miami Vice]

Longest Offseason of my life. I bleed Toronto BlueJays and have struggled through the past ten years of knowing the playoffs wern't possible. This is the first year ever I feel like this club has a shot. I'm not saying they'll do it but knowing they have a shot is all I need.

I can't fucking wait for the first pitch tomorrow!

[Lowerdeck]

As for the rest, Tampa is getting better. Not good enough to get to .500, but good enough to beat the clusterfuck known as the Orioles. Next Sunday, you'll see me and many others of the Red Sea take over Camden because the real Orioles fans know they're that pitiful.

It doesn't help that by the time tickets go on sale those games are already sold out... for some reason.

I tried getting tickets for a Red Sox-O's game and it was sold out. I know there are scalpers, but it's ridiculous.

In Oct. 2004, I bought tickets to a game the night before I drove down to Baltimore. Got seats in like the fifth row in Section 352. In Sept. 2005, I bought the tickets four weeks before the game and got top row Section 358. This time around I bought my ticket in February for this Sunday... I coulda got better than 340 but didn't want to shell out for the lower deck. Same with the 2004 trip.

Well, it's easier to get tickets end of the season as opposed to the start. Secondly, it's easy to get tickets for one person. But it's hard to get group seats, which is what I was trying for. At least, when I tried to get tickets in Feb they didn't have anything. Yankees games are worse though, at least you don't have to compete with local fans (At least not that many). With all the Benedict Arnolds floating around town it's not even worth going to a Yanks-O's game. Their fans are rude... at least around here.

You expected anything LESS? Yanks fans are pricks in general, no matter what part of the country they are from.

At least with the Sox fans, we're a bit more respectful. Actually, a lot more. You know all the cars around the place are from a New England state, so it's not like locals among you turncoat.

[gunnar hendershow]

As for the rest, Tampa is getting better. Not good enough to get to .500, but good enough to beat the clusterfuck known as the Orioles. Next Sunday, you'll see me and many others of the Red Sea take over Camden because the real Orioles fans know they're that pitiful.

It doesn't help that by the time tickets go on sale those games are already sold out... for some reason.

I tried getting tickets for a Red Sox-O's game and it was sold out. I know there are scalpers, but it's ridiculous.

In Oct. 2004, I bought tickets to a game the night before I drove down to Baltimore. Got seats in like the fifth row in Section 352. In Sept. 2005, I bought the tickets four weeks before the game and got top row Section 358. This time around I bought my ticket in February for this Sunday... I coulda got better than 340 but didn't want to shell out for the lower deck. Same with the 2004 trip.

Well, it's easier to get tickets end of the season as opposed to the start. Secondly, it's easy to get tickets for one person. But it's hard to get group seats, which is what I was trying for. At least, when I tried to get tickets in Feb they didn't have anything. Yankees games are worse though, at least you don't have to compete with local fans (At least not that many). With all the Benedict Arnolds floating around town it's not even worth going to a Yanks-O's game. Their fans are rude... at least around here.

You expected anything LESS? Yanks fans are pricks in general, no matter what part of the country they are from.

At least with the Sox fans, we're a bit more respectful. Actually, a lot more. You know all the cars around the place are from a New England state, so it's not like locals among you turncoat.

There are a few hardcore Sox fans here (And it's possible they came from New England anyway), but yeah most of the Red Sox fans I meet ARE from New England. And they're definitely good people too, a few years back I actually went to a Red Sox-Orioles game and was surrounded by Sox fans. They were really good people, my dad was talking to this one guy all game. And plus, O's fans tend not to have anything against the Red Sox since for a lot of us you guys are our "number 2" team (Since we see you so often and you AREN'T the Yankees). Really, to be honest, most fans from visiting ballclubs are good people and I love meeting them. Yankees fans seem to be the exception though, at least in most cases.

[Guest The Legend]

I'm a huge Mets fan, and we are really excited for the new season. Great way to start it yesterday, hopefully this is the "next year" we've been waiting for for so long now. We did get lucky with that horrible plate call, the ball was nowhere near Lo Duca's glove and Soriano was called out, but we'll take it.

[Toe]

Wow. I have never been a baseball fan, but that was a good game. I really enjoyed watching the Jays beat the Twins 6 to 3. Maybe I should try to watch more baseball...

The new Jays played well, except for an error by Overbay in the first, they all did there part. Glaus with the double, Overbay with the single and Molina with the homer in the 4th. Halladay threw well, and then BJ Ryan cam in and knocked out 2 of the 3 he faced.

[Ananas]

Boys came out swinging tonight against one hell of a pitcher. Doc Halladay put on a clinic, and throwing just 88 pitches in seven and two-third innings of work. The new guys played well, but Hillenbrand, Rios and Johnson all had good nights at the plate. Even Aaron Hill, who was the only Jay who failed to get a hit, played really well in the field, and if he continues this, the loss of Orlando Hudson may not be a major issue at second. The only Jay who played poorly was quite predictably Ryan Adams, who's already got his first throwing error at short. Oh how I look forward to the days Johnny Mac gets the start.

1-0 boys, 81 to go for that .500 season.

P.S. The atmosphere at the Rogers Center was ELECTRIC. Having been to games during the golden age in the early nineties, I couldn't help but feel a sense of deja vu. Not to say this team is that good, but they certainly captured that energy tonight.