2012 MLB Thread

[naiwf]

It's got to be the Yankees, Dodgers, Rangers or Angels. My gut says the Yankees did it

[Meacon Keaton]

I was thinking maybe Washington. If they're really going to shut down Strasburgh, they're gonna need something for the playoffs. Plus they love large contracts for minimal results.

[Maxx]

It was the Dodgers. New ownership is not fucking around.

[naiwf]

LAA vs LAD is turning into the new Yankees/Sawx. Save some players for the rest of the league guys!

[Meacon Keaton]

I haven't been watching, I'm assuming Philly is going to try to get something for him, yeah?

[zero]

The Reds have lost three games since the All-Star break. Many of them without Joey Votto.

If this isn't the year, something is very wrong.

[DMN in the House]

Damn it's good to be back. The dark days are over, and Dodgers baseball is back! Here's to a Dodgers A's World Series, cuz fuck Anaheim.

[gunnar hendershow]

Magic Johnson's rookie season in LA he won the NBA Finals. His rookie year as an MLB owner and, well, it looks like it might be headed there.

[Ron]

I haven't been watching, I'm assuming Philly is going to try to get something for him, yeah?

I'm sure they'll try, but Amaro has said he's not dealing him.

[Toe]

http://m.espn.go.com/mlb/story?storyId=8195515

Great story about getting hit by a pitch.

[Meacon Keaton]

I'm sure they'll try, but Amaro has said he's not dealing him.

If he really meant that he wouldn't have put him on waivers though.

[The Buscher]

Most teams put their entire rosters on waivers in order to mask which guys they are actually trying to trade. If a player is claimed, they could just be pulled back. The media doesn't report that though because there's some guys who obviously aren't going to be traded in any circumstances.

[Meacon Keaton]

Lee has been involved in trade talks for months. It's not like this came out of nowhere. They couldn't find a deal they liked prior to the deadline, so they tried to get him to clear waivers because teams are going to become more desperate as the season winds down, and the Phillies know that.

He was put on waivers to gauge interest. The Dodgers were awarded the Lee claim and they have, what, the fifth or so best record in baseball? So at most, there are four or five teams that even tried to get him. And they'd be four or five of the top teams in baseball, since claims are awarded based on teams with the worst record to best record. To be expected, a large market team, in the playoff hunt, is the team that claimed him (and that $90-some million still owed). All this did was give Amaro and the Phils a little bit more leverage in negotiations: "We know you were willing to take on this big ass contract for him. If you want him that bad, you'll give us a few of your prospects..."

Amaro was lying about not thinking of moving Lee. Is it priority #1? Maybe not. As has been said, a lot of players are put on waivers. But you wouldn't put someone on waivers and claim not to at least be entertaining the idea of a trade. If the Dodgers are willing to take on Lee's salary (which obviously they are, since they claimed him) and are willing to part with some prospects, he'll be in Dodger blue by September.

[zero]

22 out of their last 25

25 over .500

Best record in all of baseball

Best bullpen in all of baseball

Aroldis Chapman has allowed 1 run in 48 innings.

And they're doing it all without their two best players.

Is there any reason to talk about any team other than The Reds?

[naiwf]

22 out of their last 25

25 over .500

Best record in all of baseball

Best bullpen in all of baseball

Aroldis Chapman has allowed 1 run in 48 innings.

And they're doing it all without their two best players.

Is there any reason to talk about any team other than The Reds?

I can't think of anything aside from the fact that no one else cares about the Reds

On a more serious note, I don't trust ANY of the top teams in either league right now when it comes to winning a pennant.

[zero]

Obviously I'm biased, but I don't know how you can't care about this team, they're so fucking fun to watch.

Of course, you wouldn't know it since the sports media doesn't talk about anyone but the Red Sox and the Yankees.

[Meacon Keaton]

I don't think anyone outside of Boston has talked about the Sox this year. Unless it's about how underwhelming they've been.

Cincy is doing well, but they're getting hot at the wrong time. It's incredibly tough, and near impossible, to stay that hot for another two and a half months.

And yeah, naiwf, I know what you mean. There really isn't a clear cut "team-to-beat" this year in either league. Could...could that be parity Major League Baseball?

[zero]

As long as they stay decent, it's not going to matter if they don't stay as hot as they are now. Anything can happen, sure, but if they sweep the Pirates today, they're in mighty good shape.

[Meacon Keaton]

Oh, I'm not saying they have to stay this hot. It's just we usually see a team roll off an awesome run after the All-Star break and they kind of "burn out" by the playoffs.

Philadelphia was last year's burn-out. 102 wins and out in the first round. I like bringing that up.

[gunnar hendershow]

The team that gets hot on September 1st, when you start playing games against your division every night, will be the team that gets hot at the right time. July and August are the worst months to be hot, I mean the Reds are a good team and are going to be in the thick of it no matter what, but when Votto comes back if the rest of the team cools down it won't make a difference.

The Phillies and Red Sox were hot as hell this time last year and the Cardinals were playing like shit. Look how that ended.