let's baseball

LET'S

GO

GO

GO

WHITE SOX

  

   

   

 

Poz'd. See you guys in October for hot Cardinals action.

Yea guys this is the season Samardjza proves me wrong.

Ludicrously detailed predictions with final season totals, just because it’s fun to put such things down for posterity and see just how wrong one was:

NL wins the All-Star Game, securing Home Field Advantage

NL West:  Dodgers, 94 wins
NL East: Nationals, 93 wins
NL Central:  Pirates, 93 wins
Wild Cards:  St. Louis (91 wins), Giants (after winning one-game playoff 6-4 forced after they tie with Atlanta for second wildcard berth at 90 wins apiece)

AL West:  A's, 93 wins
AL East: Rays, 94 wins
AL Central: Tigers, 91 wins
Wild Cards:  Yankees (92 wins), Angels (90 wins)

Postseason:

NL
Giants win one-game wildcard playoff against St. Louis in an unexpected 8-1 laugher
Dodgers take NLDS against Giants 3-2 via a Game 5 Kershaw-Bumgarner pitcher's duel classic in Chavez Ravine
Nationals win NLDS against Pirates 3-1
Nationals take NLCS from Dodgers in 6

AL

Angels win wild card single game over Yankees defying nostalgic hopes for Jeter Swan Song
ALDS:  A’s win over Angels in 5
ALDS:  Tigers win over Rays 3-1
ALCS:  A’s finally get the monkey off their back and beat Detroit at home in 7

World Series:  A’s make relatively quick work of the Nationals, clinching in Game 5 at home.

The Oakland A's, your 2014 World Series Champions.  You heard it here first.

Think I might just skip the season and imagine that narrative w/ my eyes closed for the next 7 months.

not at all happy about the Oakland A's new closer, Jim Johnson

have not be happy about some of the hand-wringing about Johnson by certain A's fans who are ready to write him off already, but the writing was on the wall from the last two seasons that he can be very hittable and has some consistency issues.

Balfour's health faded at the end of last year and there's certainly questions about how much gas he had left in the tank for another playoff run, so i get the move to find a new closer, but this whole Johnson move was a big swing by Billy B and i really hope things can turn around.

was at the 12 inning Coco walk off game the other day and it was some great Thursday night baseball. the Mariners actually have a good lineup. they also have a lot of very tall players and a huge number of dudes who throw righty and hit lefty (and are not switch hitters).

They play 162 games or some shit when do you guys actually start taking this serious? I usually don't give a damn until the All Star break.

i'd say it takes about 40 games to have any idea who the real good teams are

i just enjoy watching and thinking about my team until then

40 games seems right for specific assessments, but you can definitely get a sense of which teams have set themselves up for success in just the first week of the season.

While flipping channels, I caught the Cubs game midway through the top of the 9th, Cubs up by three. Two pitching changes, one injured outfielder & five runs later, Cubs lose. Happy 100th birthday Wrigley field! I've watched <1 inning of baseball this year and loved every minute of it.

 

I can't believe they're celebrating 100 years of a stadium that is a cathedral to losing and dudes that wear sun visors & sandals.

The Cubs have looked like a competent baseball team this weekend and ESPN is doing a terrific job with tonight's broadcast. I have already been to four games at Wrigley this year and will definitely be finding a way to get into the stadium either tomorrow or Tuesday night.

The low expectations this season and the creeping emergence of summertime weather is really fueling my reawakened appreciation for the beautiful game of baseball.

Nick, we were completely wrong about Samardzija. As bad as the Cubs have been this year (and they've been awful) I have really enjoyed watching them. Bryant has been tearing it up in Double-A but Baez is struggling still in Triple-A. With a new TV deal in the works, questions about the possibly $500 million refurbishment of Wrigley, and the development of all these minor league prospects, there is no shortage of interesting headlines surrounding this team despite their abysmal record.

Also, as truly amazing as Samardzija has been this year I still support trading him before the deadline. The Cubs should get a great return and he deserves to be playing for a serious playoff contender.

Would love it if the A's could pick up Samardzija.

The Cubs are trying to get people excited now by marketing the future.

It is kind of crazy but working. The prospects are getting decent coverage each week & Wrigley renovations were front page again today. I really think the roof toppers are worthless cunts.

But yea, much like last season I watch a bunch of the games and enjoy it so I'm either just a Cubs / baseball fan or a sucker.

  

one of the more astonishing things I've seen happen on the diamond

Yeah…holy shit.

He did it again - not quite as dramatically - tonight.

Cespedes has got a hose for sure. Mang.

It terms of Samardzija, I'd say there's an equal likelihood Sabean goes for him at the deadline if both Cain and Lincecum continue to struggle (unless he's able to cut a deal for Rickie Weeks, Punto or some other potentially available second baseman).

Samardzija and Hammel to the A's. A's lose Addison Russell, Dan Straily, and - most painfully, imo - Billy McKinney. Hot DAMN.

a win in his first go 'round.

Pretty wild trade. I hope the A's win it all this year. First time in a while that things seem to be truly headed in a proper direction on the north side. They could be real competitors in 2015 even.

Also, Bryant is probably going to be the greatest baseball player since Ty Cobb. So whatever.