Major League Baseball 2010

[Lowerdeck]

June 28-30 in Philly, the epic battle and potential World Series matchup

Lineup of Death vs. Rotation of the Gods

[Meacon Keaton]

I'm going to go out and say that neither the Phillies or the Red Sox make the World Series! Who is with me?!

[Vendetta]

I think Atlanta has had a nice quiet but very productive off season.

[Panni]

I'd be willing to agree that Phillies vs. Red Sox won't be the World Series. Very rarely do the two best teams match-up in the actual series. One of them will probably lose in the postseason.

I also won't crown Philadelphia as WS Champs right now for another reason. Throughout the 90s and into the 00s the Atlanta Braves had just as good of a rotation, if not better. Their hitting wasn't bad either with the likes of Chipper, Andruw Jones, Galarraga/McGriff, David Justice, and more. Yet they only managed to win the World Series once.

As usual it will just come down to who plays the best ball come the postseason.

[Panni]

I'd be willing to agree that Phillies vs. Red Sox won't be the World Series. Very rarely do the two best teams match-up in the actual series. One of them will probably lose in the postseason.

I also won't crown Philadelphia as WS Champs right now for another reason. Throughout the 90s and into the 00s the Atlanta Braves had just as good of a rotation, if not better. Their hitting wasn't bad either with the likes of Chipper, Andruw Jones, Galarraga/McGriff, David Justice, and more. Yet they only managed to win the World Series once.

As usual it will just come down to who plays the best ball come the postseason.

[Ananas]

I'm going to go out and say that neither the Phillies or the Red Sox make the World Series! Who is with me?!

Odds are on your side.

I agree with damshow about the offseason. The Sox added offensive depth because they can reasonably expect their pitching to be better in 2011 given that Lackey and Beckett absolutely CANNOT get worse than they were this year. The Phillies have an aging core and they let one of their best bats walk in free agency. Every single one of their core players are either entering or approaching their decline phase, and several of the guys have injury histories. The offense wasn't particularly elite in 2010, and although some guys can probably be expected to have rebound seasons subtracting Werth and adding Brown isn't likely to make them better in the short term. This is more overcompensating for a deficiency than anything. I'd expect the Phils to win about as many games as they did last year, but the Sox probably went from 89-96 wins in the span of a couple weeks.

[Meacon Keaton]

Pedro Feliciano has reportedly agreed to a two-year contract with the Yanks.

I know you all care so much.

[gunnar hendershow]

Who needs Cliff Lee?

[Lowerdeck]

The Yankees apparently.

After all, their next best thing is Mark Prior. Last I heard of him, he was pitching in a Golden League game.

[naiwf]

Greinke wants out of KC, maybe the Phillies can trade the Royals some autographed baseballs from Halladay and Lee and toss him in as their # 5 starter or mop up man

[gunnar hendershow]

Greinke to the Brewers for their top prospects.

This makes no sense.

[Ananas]

Given what the Brewers gave up, I'd say it makes perfect sense. Escobar is a serious prospect albeit one that's not likely to be an elite bat. He's got a great glove and fits the Royals needs for up the middle depth. Jake Odorizzi probably has the highest upside but he's 20 years old and is in A-ball. Lorenzo Cain is probably long term a 4th outfielder. Jeffress is a guy who has two drug test failures under his belt already and most likely a reliever long term. In return they have a top three of Greinke, Gallardo and Marcum that will be able to contend with any team in their division, and with the bats they have they very well could reach the post season in 2011. On the Royals end, I feel like they made the decision to try and fill organizational need rather than get the best possible package. They needed up the middle help and even in the short term Escobar is an upgrade over Betancourt, but I can't help but feel that there was a loss of value here. To me, given that the Royals are still a year or two away from serious contention, it would have been wise for them to take the strongest package possible and then try to find a fit with your package to address the organizational need a little more aggressively.

[naiwf]

CarGo is close to a 7 year/~$80 million extension with the Rockies. It's interesting to see them open up the checkbook for him and Tulo, but I think it's a sound move unless they want to end up like the Rays where they lose all of their stars during free agenct except for the one (Longoria) they chose to pay and then go right back into rebuilding mode. It looks like Adrian Beltre is going to sign with either the Angels or Rangers.

Edited January 3, 2011 by naiwf

[gunnar hendershow]

Rockies have a lot more money to spend than the Rays do. They're using it wisely. With the pitching in place, they can compete out west for years.

[naiwf]

Alomar and Blyleven into the HOF with roughly 90% (3rd highest vote total ever) and 79.7% respectively. The "steroid era" guys and newcomer to the list, Jeff Bagwell didn't even get 50% apparently.

EDIT: Bagwell was in the low 40's, McGwire ~19%, Palmeiro 11%. Barry Larkin was the closest of the guys who didn't get in with 61 or 62 from what I just heard.

Edited January 5, 2011 by naiwf

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

Fuck yeah Robbie

[gunnar hendershow]

Larkin, Bagwell, and Raines will all get their chances over the next few years. Voting for Alomar was logical, the guy was a surefire Hall of Famer by the 8th or 9th year of his career. Blyleven got a lot of votes because people basically realized that he belongs in the Hall thanks to the spread of sabermetrics.

Next year it's gotta be Barry Larkin, without a doubt. He could have an insanely high vote total too since he's clearly the best player on the 2012 ballot.

[Meacon Keaton]

I'm kind of bummed about Bagwell getting such a low vote count. I hate being a "What-if" guy, but had he not had his wrist broken every year for like six years straight, he could have been a 3,000/500 guy.

[livid]

Yeah, I hate the Astros but I've always had a lot of respect for Bagwell; it is sad he didn't get more votes.

[Ananas]

If baseball writers didn't have moral superiority they'd have nothing to write about.