MLB 2014 Thread

[MalaCloudy Black]

Oh man the Brewers' adopted stray dog is adorable.

[Your Mom]

Oh man the Brewers' adopted stray dog is adorable.

[SeanDMan]

It is just too bad the pro team has so much depth. Since aa/aaa teams only allow human players, if Hank doesn't make the bench for the Brewers the owners are going to have him turned into bratwurst.

[ThaBoss18]

I am so excited that Spring Training is back lol

Just got to hope MLB Network plays some Chicago Cubs game

[Meacon Keaton]

Yeah seriously. I'm so ready for baseball I watched the Phillies and the fudging Blue Jays.

[Toe]

Johan Santana threw a bullpen session today, and had scouts from several teams including the Jays in attendance.

[gunnar hendershow]

Did his fastball top 80?

[The Buscher]

I had read his fastball topped at like 78. Dude is done, which is a shame as he's one of my favorite pitchers ever.

Given the sharp decline that occurred soon thereafter it really does seem that him throwing 134 pitches (on top of all the warm up pitches before the game and between innings) on a surgically repaired left shoulder to secure the Mets' first ever no-hitter basically ended his career. And yet, as a Mets fan, it was still worth it.

[The Buscher]

LOL @ this stupid "Face of MLB" contest MLB was running on Twitter. A's fans hijacked it in favor of Eric Sogard, who got past guys like Buster Posey and Jose Bautista en route to facing David Wright in the finals. Sogard had like a 42k vote lead when Wright had a mysterious surge of votes, many of whom came from South Korea on what appeared to be robot accounts.

It's almost as if MLB rigged their own farce of a contest to prevent Eric Sogard from winning

[Meacon Keaton]

Anyone else watch Tanaka? Once he found his groove his splitter was nasty. So excited to see what this kid does this year.

[ThaBoss18]

Anyone else watch Tanaka? Once he found his groove his splitter was nasty. So excited to see what this kid does this year.

Yep I made sure I did and after watching he will be good this year for the Yankees but one question though where do the yankees see him in the rotation? I am thinking a 2-3 guy in the rotation

Also watching him makes me even more disappointed he didnt sign with the Cubd

[Lowerdeck]

I've never been to Yankee stadium, been to two Yankees games though.

I've been to Yankee Stadium, but never to a Yankee game though.

Seen a Beatle though.

[Twist]

So because I don't want to spam up the draft thread with all my inane questions. Here are a few I'd love answers to.

So, I've just signed up for MLB.tv (maybe the greatest thing ever. I know the NFL does something similar with Gamepass, do the NBA and NHL have anything like this?). Now I've signed up I can't stop watching but here is what I'd like to know.

1. Who are the teams this year I should keep an eye on?

2. Who are the players to watch out for? I've been watching the Angels a lot the past few days just to see Trout play, for example.

Okay, two questions. Help me make the most of MLB.tv, please!

[The Buscher]

The Tigers are worth watching as well because Miguel Cabrera is an incredible hitter, plus they have some really great pitching. They are the clear cut favorites in their division.

Speaking of the Tigers, Jose Iglesias is going to miss most of the season so they are now expected to sign Stephen Drew. Shit like that and the Braves signing Ervin Santana as soon as Medlen went down just make it very apparent which teams are serious about contending.

Subsequently makes me more and more frustrated with my Mets. Alderson goes on and on about how he expects big improvements and yet they are trotting out the same SS he and Collins publicly criticized all last season and sent to fat camp in the off-season. They had the worst offensive production in baseball at 1B and SS and did nothing to address either position this offseason while players like Drew and Morales sat there. It's obvious they are punting yet another season and seemingly made up their minds on punting the second they lost Harvey for 2014. I actually love the look of their rotation even without Harvey but outside of their 2-4 of Murphy, Wright, and Granderson they have no offense to speak of and will probably lose a lot of close games. I feel like I did last year - I want the season to get here because it's baseball, but my excitement is dampened because I just know the Mets will be a ~75 win team and it will take a miracle to be any better.

[DMN in the House]

The Dodgers are going to win the World Series, so you should probably watch them.

[Meacon Keaton]

lol

[DMN in the House]

I know I kinda have a rep for being a homer, but the Dodgers definitely have a legitimate shot at winning it all this year. They have a hell of a line-up, and a top pitching staff (off-hand, the only team I can think of with an argument as being better is Detroit). Barring injury, of course, I don't see any reason they can't win it all.

Besides, they should be an exciting team to watch as well, with Puig, Hanley, Adrian Gonzalez, and Matt Kemp actually got some time in the outfield last week, which is good. They'll be one of the more entertaining teams this year, I think.

[gunnar hendershow]

Yeah Dodgers are definitely one of the favorites this year. I wouldn't be shocked to see them win it all.

[thatshortguy]

Meanwhile, Atlanta's rotation looks more and more like the Wood/Prior-era Cubs every day. Medlen's out for the year and Beachy may not be far behind. A rotation of Minor/Tehran/Erwin Santana/Alex Wood/David Hale just does not sound good right now. Then again, one could argue this team was built for offense and bullpen.

[Meacon Keaton]

Minor is struggling with injuries, as well, isn't he? Probably start the season on the DL?