The Baseball Thread

[Angola!]

And XXXX I think you are stretching it that the Phillies have the best lineup in baseball, seriously stretching it.

Name a team that has a lineup better than them? The Yankees? I would say that could be argued, but i don't think i'm stretching it that far. They're definatly top 3.

The Phillies definitely have a quality lineup, but I think the Yankees is a lot better and I think the Red Sox and Mets could give it a run, and maybe the White Sox - though I can't remember who they have beyond Thome, Konerko and Dye. The Cubs lineup is also pretty damn good.

 

[melock]

He hates baseball. Obviously.

hahahah that made me laugh out loud.

Angola, I quite obviously love baseball. But I do not have a favorite team. Long story. It's the one sport I can enjoy watching regardless of who is playing.

Weird. What teams do you hate, though?

And XXXX I think you are stretching it that the Phillies have the best lineup in baseball, seriously stretching it.

Agreed and I'm a Phillies fan. And you can't get rid of Rowand unless another trade nets you a CF. If you move Victorino over who plays RF? As far as the lineup catcher and third base aren't going to give you a whole lot. Decent maybe, but that's about it. I still like Victorino leading off, Rowand second and Rollins fifth with Burrell sixth. But damn Manuel won't even think about moving Rollins out of the top spot despite his less than stellar career OBP.

 

[Guy_Incognito]

And XXXX I think you are stretching it that the Phillies have the best lineup in baseball, seriously stretching it.

Name a team that has a lineup better than them? The Yankees? I would say that could be argued, but i don't think i'm stretching it that far. They're definatly top 3.

The Mets have a far better lineup.

 

[Hank_Scorpio]

Name a team that has a lineup better than them? The Yankees? I would say that could be argued, but i don't think i'm stretching it that far. They're definatly top 3.

The Phillies for sure don't have the best starting pitchers and they don't have the best lineup, so how can they be the best team in baseball?

 

[Guy_Incognito]

Lineups that are better than the Phillies - top of my head:

Mets
Yankees
Red Sox
Indians
White Sox

I'm sure I'm forgetting others.

And as for their pitching, I'm pretty unimpressed. You're assuming Hamels takes a huge leap, and after that you have a bunch of #3s. Deep? Yes. Great, not even close.

 

[outofplace]

He hates baseball. Obviously.

hahahah that made me laugh out loud.

Angola, I quite obviously love baseball. But I do not have a favorite team. Long story. It's the one sport I can enjoy watching regardless of who is playing.

Weird. What teams do you hate, though?

And XXXX I think you are stretching it that the Phillies have the best lineup in baseball, seriously stretching it.

Agreed and I'm a Phillies fan. And you can't get rid of Rowand unless another trade nets you a CF. If you move Victorino over who plays RF? As far as the lineup catcher and third base aren't going to give you a whole lot. Decent maybe, but that's about it. I still like Victorino leading off, Rowand second and Rollins fifth with Burrell sixth. But damn Manuel won't even think about moving Rollins out of the top spot despite his less than stellar career OBP.

The Yankees definitely have a better lineup than the Phillies, even if Rowand stays healthy and Burrell has a decent year.Though Philadelphia should score as many or more runs as anybody in the National League.

I don't know what people see in the Braves. Even if Tim Hudson comes back strong, what do they have past him and Smoltz? Chuck James is no sure thing yet. He gives up too many homers and his main weapon is a deceptive release, which hitters will adjust to.

The bullpen is fantastic if Wickman has another strong year in him, but the lineup has some serious holes. Andruw Jones is prone to huge slumps. Chipper Jones is prone to DL trips. And they need those two producing to keep up with the Mets and Phillies.

 

[buckweaver]

Andruw Jones is prone to huge slumps.

Care to point those out? He's had essentially the exact same season the last three years.

Year Ag Tm Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG *OPS+ TB SH SF IBB HBP GDP

2004 27 ATL NL 154 570 85 149 34 4 29 91 6 6 71 147 .261 .345 .488 113 278 0 2 9 3 24

2005 28 ATL NL 160 586 95 154 24 3 51 128 5 3 64 112 .263 .347 .575 133 337 0 7 13 15 19

2006 29 ATL NL 156 565 107 148 29 0 41 129 4 1 82 127 .262 .363 .531 129 300 0 9 9 13 13

 

[outofplace]

Andruw Jones is prone to huge slumps.

Care to point those out? He's had essentially the exact same season the last three years.

Year Ag Tm Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG *OPS+ TB SH SF IBB HBP GDP

2004 27 ATL NL 154 570 85 149 34 4 29 91 6 6 71 147 .261 .345 .488 113 278 0 2 9 3 24

2005 28 ATL NL 160 586 95 154 24 3 51 128 5 3 64 112 .263 .347 .575 133 337 0 7 13 15 19

2006 29 ATL NL 156 565 107 148 29 0 41 129 4 1 82 127 .262 .363 .531 129 300 0 9 9 13 13

His numbers are pretty consistent from season to season, but often that is two weeks of crushing the ball followed by an 0-for-30. Notice the relatively low batting average.

Don't get me wrong. He's a great player when he's on. But when he slumps, it gets ugly.

 

[Hank_Scorpio]

Lineups that are better than the Phillies - top of my head:

Mets
Yankees
Red Sox
Indians
White Sox

I'm sure I'm forgetting others.

One could probably make a case that the Tigers' lineup, with the addition of Sheffield, is at least equal, if not better, than the Phillies. I mean, how many No. 9 hitters hit 26 home runs like Inge did last year?

 

[XXXX]

Lineups that are better than the Phillies - top of my head:

Mets
Yankees
Red Sox
Indians
White Sox

I'm sure I'm forgetting others.

And as for their pitching, I'm pretty unimpressed. You're assuming Hamels takes a huge leap, and after that you have a bunch of #3s. Deep? Yes. Great, not even close.

RUNS SCORED IN 2006 (a good little barometer of how teams' offenses are)
PHILLIES- 865
mets- 834
yankees- 930 (wow!)
White Sox- 860
Red Sox-820
Indians-870
The Phillies lineup is DEFINATLY best in the NL, and better than most in the AL (which also have a DH).

To say that the rotation is a bunch of 3's is RIDICULOUS! Myers has proven he can do it, and so has Garcia. The depth is great, what other team has a rotation that goes SIX deep!

I don't mean to sound like a homer, but give them some credit. Their the early season favorite in the NL. Right?

 

[sports scrub]

Myers has proven he can do it

do what, smack his wife around?

 

[outofplace]

Lineups that are better than the Phillies - top of my head:

Mets
Yankees
Red Sox
Indians
White Sox

I'm sure I'm forgetting others.

And as for their pitching, I'm pretty unimpressed. You're assuming Hamels takes a huge leap, and after that you have a bunch of #3s. Deep? Yes. Great, not even close.

RUNS SCORED IN 2006 (a good little barometer of how teams' offenses are)
PHILLIES- 865
mets- 834
yankees- 930 (wow!)
White Sox- 860
Red Sox-820
Indians-870
The Phillies lineup is DEFINATLY best in the NL, and better than most in the AL (which also have a DH).

To say that the rotation is a bunch of 3's is RIDICULOUS! Myers has proven he can do it, and so has Garcia. The depth is great, what other team has a rotation that goes SIX deep!

I don't mean to sound like a homer, but give them some credit. Their the early season favorite in the NL. Right?

Myers is not an ace. Neither is Garcia. Hamels might be one someday, but that's a tough thing to depend on from a guy who hasn't made it through an entire season in the bigs yet.

 

[BYH]

RUNS SCORED IN 2006 (a good little barometer of how teams' offenses are)
PHILLIES- 865
mets- 834
yankees- 930 (wow!)
White Sox- 860
Red Sox-820
Indians-870
The Phillies lineup is DEFINATLY best in the NL, and better than most in the AL (which also have a DH).

To say that the rotation is a bunch of 3's is RIDICULOUS! Myers has proven he can do it, and so has Garcia. The depth is great, what other team has a rotation that goes SIX deep!

I don't mean to sound like a homer, but give them some credit. Their the early season favorite in the NL. Right?

THEY'RE not the early season favorite.

Those stats are nice. THEY'RE also from last year.

 

[XXXX]

Myers has proven he can do it

do what, smack his wife around?

HAHAHAHAAHA

 

[XXXX]

RUNS SCORED IN 2006 (a good little barometer of how teams' offenses are)
PHILLIES- 865
mets- 834
yankees- 930 (wow!)
White Sox- 860
Red Sox-820
Indians-870
The Phillies lineup is DEFINATLY best in the NL, and better than most in the AL (which also have a DH).

To say that the rotation is a bunch of 3's is RIDICULOUS! Myers has proven he can do it, and so has Garcia. The depth is great, what other team has a rotation that goes SIX deep!

I don't mean to sound like a homer, but give them some credit. Their the early season favorite in the NL. Right?

THEY'RE not the early season favorite.

Those stats are nice. THEY'RE also from last year.

The Phillies have upgraded 3B and catcher, albeit slightly.
The Mets upgraded nothing
The Yankees lost Sheffield
The Red Sox added J.D. Drew.
The Indians have done nothing.
The Tigers...please... they added Sheffield, but they got where they were and will get where they want to be this year by PITCHING!

And if the Phillies aren't the favorite in the NL, then who is?

 

[sports scrub]

RUNS SCORED IN 2006 (a good little barometer of how teams' offenses are)
PHILLIES- 865
mets- 834
yankees- 930 (wow!)
White Sox- 860
Red Sox-820
Indians-870
The Phillies lineup is DEFINATLY best in the NL, and better than most in the AL (which also have a DH).

To say that the rotation is a bunch of 3's is RIDICULOUS! Myers has proven he can do it, and so has Garcia. The depth is great, what other team has a rotation that goes SIX deep!

I don't mean to sound like a homer, but give them some credit. Their the early season favorite in the NL. Right?

THEY'RE not the early season favorite.

Those stats are nice. THEY'RE also from last year.

The Phillies have upgraded 3B and catcher, albeit slightly.
The Mets upgraded nothing
The Yankees lost Sheffield
The Red Sox added J.D. Drew.
The Indians have done nothing.
The Tigers...please... they added Sheffield, but they got where they were and will get where they want to be this year by PITCHING!

And if the Phillies aren't the favorite in the NL, then who is?

how about the reigning World Series Champion

 

[XXXX]

Cardinals are the NL favorites, for sure.

The Phillies are no better than even with the Mets in the East. They can't be considered favorites for anything until they can ever get IN the damn playoffs.

Buck, I see your point; they shouldn't be favorites when they haven't been in it. Point taken. But...
The Cardinals shouldn't be the favorite just because they won. Kip Wells is their #2 starter. They're rotation is average, and their lineup, outside of Pujols, is old and injury prone. They'll finish no better then third in that division.

 

[spnited]

No matter what the Phillies look like on paper -- and remember, Flash Gordon is still the closer (HAHAHAHAHA) -- you can always count on one thing...

THEY WILL CHOKE at whatever point it looks like they might become winners.

 

[BYH]

No matter what the Phillies look like on paper -- and remember, Flash Gordon is still the closer (HAHAHAHAHA) -- you can always count on one thing...

THEY WILL CHOKE at whatever point it looks like they might become winners.

ESPECIALLY because Flash "get me a bucket I'm gonna puke" Gordon is still the closer.

 

[Ellis Redding]

No matter what the Phillies look like on paper -- and remember, Flash Gordon is still the closer (HAHAHAHAHA) -- you can always count on one thing...

THEY WILL CHOKE at whatever point it looks like they might become winners.

Leave it to spnited to put it plainly and succinctly. Well done. [/not sarcasm]