First Half Thoughts

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 4:36 pm

First Half Awards
American League
MVP: David Ortiz
Cy Young: Francisco Liriano
Rookie of the Year: Francisco Liriano
Manager of the Year: Jim Leyland

National League
MVP: Albert Pujols
Cy Young: Tom Glavine
Rookie of the Year: Ryan Zimmerman
Manager of the Year: Jerry Narron

*Revised* Playoff Picks
American League
East: Red Sox
Central: White Sox
West: Angels
Wild Card: Tigers

National League
East: Mets
Central: Cardinals
West: Dodgers
Wild Card: Astros

World Series
White Sox over Mets

Terry in Crapchester · Mon Jul 10, 2006 5:57 pm

I respect your picks, but I think the Yankees will take the AL East. The Red Sox' current lead is due strictly to interleague play. The Yankees have a better record within the division (18-11 vice 25-19) and against the AL Central and AL West (22-17 vice 12-12). Having 23 games left on the schedule vs. Baltimore and Tampa Bay doesn't hurt, either.

PrimeX · Post by **PrimeX** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 7:37 pm

Brad Lidge should be shot.

Neely8 · Post by **Neely8** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 7:44 pm

Terry in Crapchester wrote:I respect your picks, but I think the Yankees will take the AL East. The Red Sox' current lead is due strictly to interleague play. The Yankees have a better record within the division (18-11 vice 25-19) and against the AL Central and AL West (22-17 vice 12-12). Having 23 games left on the schedule vs. Baltimore and Tampa Bay doesn't hurt, either.

The Sox have like 32 games on the road left and like 50 at home. MUCH MUCH Better team at Fenway. Also with Lester and the kids playing a big role their starting/relief pitching will be much better the second half. Much better then Clement/Tavarez/Seanez did anyway.......

It can be spun any way you want....

rozy · Post by **rozy** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 11:53 pm

PrimeX wrote:Phil Garner should be Ned Beattied.

Yassah!

Shoalz, Papelbon is the Cy with ease and the ROY with greater ease. At this point anyhoo... Liriano keeps it up and that race will tighten.

Nomar is the NL MVP but no argument with anything else. Pujols will likely get it and I certainly won't have much to say against him as he deserves every accolade and award he gets. But to date this year Nomar is the MVP.

The question is, will Ortiz get screwed by weak-minded bias again?

rozy · Post by **rozy** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 11:54 pm

Terry in Crapchester wrote:I respect your picks, but I think the Yankees will take the AL East. The Red Sox' current lead is due strictly to interleague play. The Yankees have a better record within the division (18-11 vice 25-19) and against the AL Central and AL West (22-17 vice 12-12). Having 23 games left on the schedule vs. Baltimore and Tampa Bay doesn't hurt, either.

Typical yankeefan horseshit.

Terry in Crapchester · Mon Jul 10, 2006 11:56 pm

rozy wrote:
Terry in Crapchester wrote:I respect your picks, but I think the Yankees will take the AL East. The Red Sox' current lead is due strictly to interleague play. The Yankees have a better record within the division (18-11 vice 25-19) and against the AL Central and AL West (22-17 vice 12-12). Having 23 games left on the schedule vs. Baltimore and Tampa Bay doesn't hurt, either.

Typical yankeefan horseshit.

Rozy, if you want to refute what I said, have at it. So far, you haven't done that, though.

rozy · Post by **rozy** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 12:04 am

Terry in Crapchester wrote:
rozy wrote:
Terry in Crapchester wrote:I respect your picks, but I think the Yankees will take the AL East. The Red Sox' current lead is due strictly to interleague play. The Yankees have a better record within the division (18-11 vice 25-19) and against the AL Central and AL West (22-17 vice 12-12). Having 23 games left on the schedule vs. Baltimore and Tampa Bay doesn't hurt, either.

Typical yankeefan horseshit.
Rozy, if you want to refute what I said, have at it. So far, you haven't done that, though.

Refute what? A shameless Yankee fan predicting his team will win the division as opposed to a TIGER fan named Shoalz predicting the Red Sox will win it?

Sure, I'll keep it simple. The Red Sox have a better lineup, better pitching, and much better defense than the Yanks have. Any more questions? The only place you can compete is the lineup IF you get Matsui and Sheff back. The Yanks are currently 13th in runners left on base and 11th in fielding percentage.

Good luck, you are going to need that and some Red Sox injuries.

You guys could play an identical 162 game schedule against identical matchups and you simply don't stack up this year. But hey, no worries, the Boss'll overpay some FAs in the offseason, deplete your farm system, bust 250 million in payroll and go yet another year without #27. So hold your chin up, Skippy...

Terry in Crapchester · Tue Jul 11, 2006 12:52 am

rozy wrote:The Red Sox have a better lineup, better pitching, and much better defense than the Yanks have.

Your opinion. Like I said, the Yankees have a better record against AL opponents, both inside and outside the division, than the Red Sox have. The Red Sox are in first only because of interleague play (16-2 record vice 10-8 for Yankees), which is now done.

Actually, the Red Sox' biggest advantage is that they have 44 games at home after the All-Star break, plus 4 of 7 remaining against the Yankees at home. But the Yankees have the fifth-best road record in baseball, so the latter is not quite as huge as it might appear.

The Yanks are currently 13th in runners left on base . . .

Not a stat you want to lead the league in. If the Yankees are making efficient use of their baserunners, that's so much the better.

But hey, no worries, the Boss'll overpay some FAs in the offseason, deplete your farm system, bust 250 million in payroll and go yet another year without #27.

Truth be told, the Yankees would be better off if Steinbrenner got out of the way. It's not a coincidence that the Yankees' run in the late 90's occurred not long after Steinbrenner's lifetime, ERRR, two season, ban.

Seems that Yankee hayta would like Steinbrenner to own his team. Yankee fan, OTOH, knows that Steinbrenner's a cancer. Who knows Steinbrenner better?

rozy · Post by **rozy** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 1:09 am

Um, T, that's 13th....going the wrong direction. :wink:

The Yanks have overachieved considering their injuries and they get the props from me for that.

But in the end, Arod'll give you a 3rd inning bomb and Big Papi'll close the deal in the 9th. It's just the way they're made.

Terry in Crapchester · Tue Jul 11, 2006 1:12 am

rozy wrote:Um, T, that's 13th....going the wrong direction. :wink:

My bad, not sure what you were trying to get at and didn't bother to look it up.

But in the end, Arod'll give you a 3rd inning bomb and Big Papi'll close the deal in the 9th. It's just the way they're made.

Before 2004, I would've told you that that would be a pretty big departure from their respective histories. I guess I can't really say that with as much conviction anymore. :brad:

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 2:35 am

rozy wrote:Shoalz, Papelbon is the Cy with ease and the ROY with greater ease. At this point anyhoo... Liriano keeps it up and that race will tighten.

Papelbon was a great story early on but Liriano is the hottest name right now. He's come on like a supernova. He's only had 10 starts and he's top 10 in the 5 major categories. As for Papelbon for the Cy Young...Jenks has just as many saves and Ryan has an ERA under 1.00 like Papelbon and both guys have only one blown save. Papelbon has three. He's been great...I don't mean to slight him at all. Liriano is off the charts as far as being able to make an immediate impact. Even though the Tigers and Sox have a big lead on the Twins...Liriano and Santana are going to keep them within shouting distance.

I feel bad for my guy Verlander to have to be in the same rookie class as Papelbon and Liriano. He's probably going to win 15 games but he's going to finish a distant third in the voting.

rozy · Post by **rozy** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 3:01 am

Funny you mention Verlander. I think he'll be better than both Liriano and Papelbon in the long run. Time will tell...

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 3:37 am

rozy wrote:Funny you mention Verlander. I think he'll be better than both Liriano and Papelbon in the long run. Time will tell...

I hope you're right. The scary thing is they had another power arm on display in the Futures Game yesterday...Humberto Sanchez. Verlander and Zumaya were in the game last year in Detroit.

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/ ... pid=458008

Throw in Andrew Miller from this year's draft who pitched in the College WS with UNC...we've got a lot to look forward to in Detroit.

Bizzarofelice · Post by **Bizzarofelice** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 1:59 pm

rozy wrote:But to date this year Nomar is the MVP.

Why is that?

I'm not playing the homer here, but Cardinals is what I know best. IIRC Pujols is up on Slugging and OPS by about 90 pts each. Not up on Nomar, but on the entire NL.

indyfrisco · Post by **indyfrisco** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 6:37 pm

rozy wrote:But in the end, Arod'll give you a 3rd inning bomb and Big Papi'll close the deal in the 9th. It's just the way they're made.

I was surprised to hear this stat the other day:

A-Rod leads the majors in GWRBI this year. Granted, a GWRBI CAN come in the 3rd inning. However, it is still a GWRBI.

Dog · Post by **Dog** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 7:06 pm

My first half thoughts:

The Cubs SUCK, again!

Bizzarofelice · Post by **Bizzarofelice** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 9:55 pm

IndyFrisco wrote:
rozy wrote:But in the end, Arod'll give you a 3rd inning bomb and Big Papi'll close the deal in the 9th. It's just the way they're made.
I was surprised to hear this stat the other day:

A-Rod leads the majors in GWRBI this year. Granted, a GWRBI CAN come in the 3rd inning. However, it is still a GWRBI.

To be "clutch" a player must be given the opportunity a great deal. That means:
--your team has to win a lot
--you have to be at the plate w/ RISP

To be "clutch" in the 9th, not only must you meet the previous criteria but your team must also win by a slight margin frequently.

rozy · Post by **rozy** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 1:20 am

Bizzarofelice wrote:
rozy wrote:But to date this year Nomar is the MVP.
Why is that?

I'm not playing the homer here, but Cardinals is what I know best. IIRC Pujols is up on Slugging and OPS by about 90 pts each. Not up on Nomar, but on the entire NL.

You know I am not going to argue vehemently with you on this one, as I pretty much already stated. Just an opinion based on team projections and team accomplishments to this point. I'm one of those guys that might overemphasize VALUABLE just a touch. You know, one of those guys that KNOWS Big Papi got ripped off last year...

fix · Post by **fix** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 2:28 am

Shoalzie wrote:
rozy wrote:Shoalz, Papelbon is the Cy with ease and the ROY with greater ease. At this point anyhoo... Liriano keeps it up and that race will tighten.

Papelbon was a great story early on but Liriano is the hottest name right now. He's come on like a supernova. He's only had 10 starts and he's top 10 in the 5 major categories. As for Papelbon for the Cy Young...Jenks has just as many saves and Ryan has an ERA under 1.00 like Papelbon and both guys have only one blown save. Papelbon has three. He's been great...I don't mean to slight him at all. Liriano is off the charts as far as being able to make an immediate impact. Even though the Tigers and Sox have a big lead on the Twins...Liriano and Santana are going to keep them within shouting distance.

I feel bad for my guy Verlander to have to be in the same rookie class as Papelbon and Liriano. He's probably going to win 15 games but he's going to finish a distant third in the voting.

Cy Young?

You girls are forgetting the one guy with the best record in the AL, 12-2, who would be 14-2 if the bullpen hadn't blown two saves...third in ERA... and currently leading the league in complete games..

If the Jays rotation can stay healthy.. 5 games ain't shit to make up.

The Assassin · Post by **The Assassin** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 2:45 am

My first half thought?

I think Bud Selig is still a dope.

indyfrisco · Post by **indyfrisco** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 2:48 pm

Bizzarofelice wrote:
IndyFrisco wrote:
rozy wrote:But in the end, Arod'll give you a 3rd inning bomb and Big Papi'll close the deal in the 9th. It's just the way they're made.
I was surprised to hear this stat the other day:

A-Rod leads the majors in GWRBI this year. Granted, a GWRBI CAN come in the 3rd inning. However, it is still a GWRBI.
To be "clutch" a player must be given the opportunity a great deal. That means:
--your team has to win a lot
--you have to be at the plate w/ RISP

To be "clutch" in the 9th, not only must you meet the previous criteria but your team must also win by a slight margin frequently.

I don't think A-Rod has proven anything about being "clutch" but what is this award that is given out yearly to the best "clutch" player? And no, a World Series trophy isn't it.