Major League Baseball "2007 Season" Talkback

[Duke]

It's that time of year again. The snow is melting. The flowers are blooming. The weather's finally getting warmer. And training is over. It's to put up or shut up.

In the American League East, the Boston Red Sox made the biggest splash with their astronomical payment for Japanese wonder Daisuke Matsuzaka. The New York Yankees countered with their own Japanese player in Kei Igawa, while the Toronto Blue Jays hope that the rest of the pitching staff can help support Roy Halladay. Over the offseason, the Baltimore Orioles beefed up their bullpen and their lineup, but will it be enough? And though the Tampa Bay Devil Rays have one of the best core of young players, will that be enough to simply get to .500?

Over in the American League Central, the Chicago White Sox made some questionable moves, but will those moves come back to haunt them? The Detroit Tigers lost a few key members of their pitching staff, but will the addition of Gary Sheffield offset that? Can the Minnesota Twins' starting rotation properly support Cy Young candidate Johan Santana? Will this finally be the year the Cleveland Indians break though to respectability? Is it possible that the Royals could actually be a factor?

Out in the American League West, the Oakland Athletics pray that Mike Piazza is as good as Frank Thomas was last year and that the pitching stays healthy, while the Anaheim Angels hope they didn't make a big mistake with Gary Matthews Jr. The Seattle Mariners are in do-or-die mode, while the Texas Rangers hope that another rebuilt pitching staff and the addition of Sammy Sosa are enough moves to climb back to the top.

Elsewhere, in the National League East, the Atlanta Braves are looking for redemption after not being in the playoffs for the first time since the early 90's, while the New York Mets hope their offense can carry the pitching staff until Pedro Martinez comes back. The Florida Marlins have proven to be quite scrappy, but will that be enough this year? The Philadelphia Phillies are hoping that Ryan Howard can continue his hot streak from last year, while the Washington Nationals are praying to many dieties that their starting rotation is at least servicable.

Meanwhile, in the National League Central, the St. Louis Cardinals have lost much of their World Series Championship rotation, but can they compensate? The Houston Astros are riding on the return of Roger Clemens and hope that he is enough for the team to get into the playoffs. The Chicago Cubs hope newcomers like manager Lou Pinella and high-priced outfielder Alfonso Soriano will break their long curse, while the Cincinatti Reds are wondering if their team can play to their full potential. The Milwaukee Brewers were a nice surprise last year, but can they build on the momentum? And will the Pittsburgh Pirates be able to escape the basement?

Finally, in the National League West, all eyes are focused on the San Francisco Giants as Barry Bonds continues his chase to break Hank Aaron's home run record. The Los Angeles Dodgers, meanwhile, hope that their pitching can be better than last year's and that the lineup can produce enough offense to compete. The Colorado Rockies are relying on their young players to produce, but can they come together? The addition of Randy Johnson makes Arizona Diamondback fans remember their magical 2001 season, but is this Randy just a mirage? And will the Padres' improved pitching allow them to compete with the other teams?

Complete Standings:
Position. Team Name (W-L) GB

American League:
Eastern Division:
1. Boston Red Sox (73-49) --
2. New York Yankees (68-54) 5.0 GB
3. Toronto Blue Jays (62-59) 10.5 GB
4. Baltimore Orioles (56-64) 16.0 GB
5. Tampa Bay Devil Rays (46-75) 26.5 GB

Central Division:
1. Cleveland Indians (67-54) --
2. Detroit Tigers (67-55) 0.5 GB
3. Minnesota Twins (61-60) 6.0 GB
4. Chicago White Sox (54-67) 13.0 GB
5. Kansas City Royals (54-67) 13.0 GB

Western Division:
1. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (71-50) --
2. Seattle Mariners (67-52) 3.0 GB
3. Oakland Athletics (60-63) 12.0 GB
4. Texas Rangers (53-68) 18.0 GB

Wild Card:
1. Seattle Mariners (67-52) --
2. New York Yankees (68-54) 0.5 GB
3. Detroit Tigers (67-55) 1.5 GB
4. Toronto Blue Jays (62-59) 6.0 GB
5. Minnesota Twins (61-60) 7.0 GB
6. Oakland Athletics (60-63) 9.0 GB
7. Baltimore Orioles (56-64) 11.5 GB
8. Chicago White Sox (54-67) 14.0 GB
9. Kansas City Royals (54-67) 14.0 GB
10. Texas Rangers (53-68) 15.0 GB
11. Tampa Bay Devil Rays (46-75) 22.0 GB

National League:
Eastern Divison:
1. New York Mets (68-53) --
2. Philadelphia Phillies (65-56) 3.0 GB
3. Atlanta Braves (64-58) 4.5 GB
4. Florida Marlins (56-66) 12.5 GB
5. Washington Nationals (55-67) 13.5 GB

Central Divison:
2. Chicago Cubs (62-59) --
1. Milwaukee Brewers (62-60) 0.5 GB
3. St. Louis Cardinals (58-61) 3.0 GB
4. Houston Astros (55-67) 7.5 GB
5. Cincinatti Reds (52-68) 9.0 GB
6. Pittsburgh Pirates (50-70) 11.5 GB

Western Divison:
1. Arizona Diamondbacks (70-53) --
2. San Diego Padres (65-56) 4.0 GB
3. Los Angeles Dodgers (63-59) 6.5 GB
4. Colarado Rockies (62-59) 7.0 GB
5. San Francisco Giants (52-70) 17.5 GB

Wild Card:
1. San Diego Padres (65-56) --
2. Philadelphia Phillies (65-56) --
3. Atlanta Braves (64-58) 1.5 GB
4. Los Angeles Dodgers (63-59) 2.5 GB
5. Colorado Rockies (62-59) 3.0 GB
6. Milwaukee Brewers (62-60) 3.5 GB
7. St. Louis Cardinals (58-61) 6.0 GB
8. Florida Marlins (56-66) 9.5 GB
9. Washington Nationals (55-67) 10.5 GB
10. Houston Astros (55-67) 10.5 GB
11. Cincinatti Reds (53-68) 12.0 GB
12. San Francisco Giants (52-70) 13.5 GB
13. Pittsburgh Pirates (50-70) 14.5 GB

Now, let's play ball!

[bigddan11]

New York Mets 6
St. Louis Cardinals 1
The Cards may have gotten to raise their World Series banner, but that was the best thnig for them during the night. The Mets smacked them around in the opener, and I was actually surprised by how big the Mets won by. Now it's on to a full day of action with Monday's opening games.

[BCVM22]

Everyone ready for another season of the greatest game ever played, and with it the talkback chock full of day-in-and-day-out fairweathering, homerism, flawed, biased "analysis", angry knee-jerk reactions involving lots of and threats of violence towards professional athletes, and declaration of division titles in May?

Good. Just making sure.

[Condiment King]

I'm going to echo BCVM's sentiments. This is fully what I expect from this here thread. =]

Tonight was a good night to be a Mets fan. A good start to a good season. It's late or I'd comment more. Tomorrow, in my opinion, is the greatest day to be a baseball fan of the year. Opening day is amazing because it is the first time we see each of the teams in their new form. It is the only day that a true baseball fan can legitimately try to watch every single game. I love opening day.

[G1Ravage]

yay mets

[Moto Pete]

Go Tigers Today the Jays @1:05 Bonderman vs Holiday win 1 of 162

[Duke]

Damn, Carpenter. You're the ace on both my Yahoo! Fantasy Teams and THIS is how you treat me!?

[email2003]

LOL! The fake champs Cardinals lose on their championship ceremony night! LOL! Morons!

GO ASTROS!!!!!!!!!!!

[RedNinja84]

Aw. Opening day, a major holiday here in Cincinnati. Can't wait to see the Reds whack the Cubs. I'm also happy the Cards lost, some World Champions.

GO REDS!

[sag_2002]

Well, RedNinja, you're getting your wish, as my Cubs are picking up where they left off in '06. In other words, this could very well be the start of year #99 of The Curse.

[KuwabaraTheMan]

Damn, Tigers lose it in 10 innings.

Not the best way to start out the season, but it's only one game. Still, we're definitely the team to beat this year, which is a new feeling.

[Duke]

...Oh come on, now.

First Tampa's bullpen blows the game against the Yanks, and now all of my fantasy starters are sucking (Including every single one of my starters, all of whom got shelled). Geez.

[Anarky]

sigh, another Opening Day in a non-MLB city.
Looking forward to relocating to Seattle this Fall. I'll definitely be at Safeco for Opening Day '08.

In the meantime, I'm hoping the Mariners can reverse their "fortune" against the A's. The Yankees won, always good news. The BoSox lost to the Royals.

can't wait for Baseball Tonight highlights of all the day's action.

[FireStarterLE]

I'm hoping for "breakout" years all around, Edgar got it started today with two huge HRs. And the bullpen pitched just the way you'd like them to (and not Reitsma in sight!)

Hopefully Hudson has found what he needed to have one on Wednesday.

[Punisher]

Bah, it was a fun game to start the year off with, until Bedard(potential Cy Young winner? Haha) broke down. I did, however, enjoy watching and rewatching Paul Bako getting thrashed at home yet holding onto the ball.

Either ways, 0-1. It might just be the pessimist in me, but this could be a sign that the O's won't get over .500 this season.

[Duke]

Not really sure how to rate tonight's game.

Negative: Bedard struggled, but I'm not sure if that's a good indicator since about half the Cy Young Candidates tonight had a hard time. It was also a bit frustrating seeing the damn umpire change the strike zone every other inning. Either call the corners or don't! Oh, and while Bako's collision at home plate and holding the ball was nice, it didn't make up for all the other gaffs he made. I REALLY hope Hernandez comes back in New York like Perlozzo says.

Positive: While the O's didn't shell Santana quite like the Royals shelled Schilling, they did rough up Santana a bit. And with the exception of a shaky Scott Williamson, the bullpen actually did a good job, especially John Parrish.

Overall: ...I have no clue. The Marlins/Nats game was pretty much the only game not to have any real surprises, so it's a bit too early to make any kind of judgement.

Oh, and while I'm glad MASN's feed is no longer uber-blurry & uber-bright (I can actually read the little info boxes!), the feed still looked like crap on MASN cable compared to when MASN is on WJZ/WNUV. Then again, it may just be the Metrodome, as even Comcast games looked crappy in the domes.

[Moto Pete]

well i was to cocky there is still 179 more days

[bigddan11]

Florida 9
Washington 2

Atlanta 5
Philadelphia 3
10 Innings

Los Angeles 1
Milwaukee 7

Chic. Cubs 1
Cincinnati 5

Arizona 8
Colorado 6

Pittsburgh 2
Houston 0
10 Innings

Tampa Bay 5
NY Yankees 9

Toronto 5
Detroit 3
10 Innings

Cleveland 12
Chic. White Sox 5

Boston 1
Kansas City 7

Oakland 0
Seattle 4

Baltimore 4
Minnesota 7

Texas 1
LA Angels of Anaheim 4

[Lutochris]

Damn, Carpenter. You're the ace on both my Yahoo! Fantasy Teams and THIS is how you treat me!?

They said he was trying to develop a change-up during spring training. Guess we know how that turned out. It appears he was trying that out during the 3rd and 4th when he got hammered, his location was crap. Oh well, he'll still have probably 5+ complete games and a sub-3 ERA.

LOL! The fake champs Cardinals lose on their championship ceremony night! LOL! Morons!

GO ASTROS!!!!!!!!!!!

Carpenter's an Ace, so he's allowed a bad night every now and then. But it looks like "Lights Out" Lidge still can't find his stuff after Pujols deposited it somewhere up around the left field train tracks in that playground you call a ballpark. Complain about the "fake" champs all you want, we still got our 10th, and that's 10 more than you've got

[BCVM22]

Check, check, check, check and check, plus a bonus helping of complaining about players' effects on fantasy teams.

Tell ya, I'm psychic.