Major League Baseball thread: Regular Season time is HERE!!!!

[Hotwheelz]

Originally Posted by 24champbailey

Arizona should be a really good team in one-two years. Furcal was a nice pickup, however the only way I see another team winning the division is if the Dodgers get the injury bug again. I dont see anything great about the padres other than old catchers.

Nothing great? IMO they are better than last year. CF, LF, 3B, 1B & SP all got better.

[24champ]

Originally Posted by Red Rocket RC

Nothing great? IMO they are better than last year. CF, LF, 3B, 1B & SP all got better.

I disagree with the SP. After peavy ,who has great stuff by the way,the rest are not so great. Then your bullpen has thinned. Now Josh Barfield, Vinny Castilla, Ryan Klesko and Dave Roberts wont put up great numbers. The only way Padres win the division is if the Dodgers get the injury bug. Go blue!

[SportinOne]

Originally Posted by Clockwork Orange

I'm holding out hope that this is the year that the Rockies can make the jump from bad to medicore. Baby steps.

Kind of like my Brewers did last year.. Although your Rockies haven't been bad for the past 12 seasons, so they got that going for them.

I'll admit i dont know much about the Rockies, but i do know that they have some good young talent. One guy i liked from last year was Brandon Hawpe. If i remember correctly he was real tall and had a nice swing with some pretty good power.

Hopefully you guys will be a sleeper this year and knock the D'Backs and Padres around a little.. The Giants without Bonds aren't really a threat if you ask me. I'm not saying NL West Title, but you guys could make some noise.

[SportinOne]

The Padres got better at Catcher also.. Mike's a little old but he is still Mike Piazza.

I agree that the Padres starting pitching is not that good. They have one of the best pitchers in the game, but 2-5 is average at best, especially for a team that wants to return to the playoffs.

Also, they for some reason traded away Otsuka.. and if Hensley doesn't step up it is all going to fall on Linebrink and Hoffman.

The Dodgers may not have a bonafide no. 1 but i'll take their staff over San Diego any day. It's a 162 game season, not a 1-game, winner take all.

Don't forget that the Padres also traded away Mark Loretta. That i will never understand.. You can say it was so that they could keep Hoffman.. but to me there should have been an allowance for that in the payroll.. it's Hoffman!

I just don't see Barfield replicating what Loretta has done, when healthy at least.

Maybe they will prove me wrong.. doubt it though.

[Clockwork Orange]

Say it aint so, the Bensons are getting a divorce.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...MPLATE=DEFAULT

Kris Benson is doing well for himself. He gets to work with Leo Mazzone and he's ridding himself of that self-absorbed, attention whore he was shackled to.

[Hogan11]

Originally Posted by Clockwork Orange

Say it aint so, the Bensons are getting a divorce.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...MPLATE=DEFAULT

Kris Benson is doing well for himself. He gets to work with Leo Mazzone and he's ridding himself of that self-absorbed, attention whore he was shackled to.

Pfft Kris Benson...Mr. Potential.....he's no better than when he left Pittsburgh. Getting rid of that skank may help him realize what he's supposed to be though because being married to someone like that has to be a damaging distraction careerwise.

We'll see, but I remain highly skeptical.

[Hotwheelz]

Originally Posted by 24champbailey

I disagree with the SP. After peavy ,who has great stuff by the way,the rest are not so great. Then your bullpen has thinned. Now Josh Barfield, Vinny Castilla, Ryan Klesko and Dave Roberts wont put up great numbers. The only way Padres win the division is if the Dodgers get the injury bug. Go blue!

Last year

Peavy
Eaton
Lawrence
Williams
Park/Astacio

This year

Peavy
Estes
Young
Brazelton
Williams/Park


Eaton and Young are comparable. Estes is an upgrade over B-Law. Brazelton has been lights out in ST.

The line-up projects to be:

Roberts
Barfield
Giles
Piazza
Cameron
Castilla
Gonzalez
Greene

Gonzo and Barfield are batting around .400 and have a nice glove. If nothing else we are better defensively.

[spdirty]

prediction: Rockies will win on opening day and all the yahoos will get excited about this being "the year" we recapture that wild card magic from 11 years ago then they'll lose their next 8 games and will be out of contention before the NFL Draft starts.

God I hate baseball season. Try my best to ignore it.

Stupid ass "R you in" billboards. I get mad every time I see them advertise the Rockies. Like Id want to waste my money on crap. Stupid Rockies ownership really screwed up a great thing here.

[-Slap-]

Originally Posted by Red Rocket RC

Last year

Peavy
Eaton
Lawrence
Williams
Park/Astacio

This year

Peavy
Estes
Young
Brazelton
Williams/Park


Eaton and Young are comparable. Estes is an upgrade over B-Law. Brazelton has been lights out in ST.

The line-up projects to be:

Roberts
Barfield
Giles
Piazza
Cameron
Castilla
Gonzalez
Greene

Gonzo and Barfield are batting around .400 and have a nice glove. If nothing else we are better defensively.

I picked up Brazelton in my NL Only roto league. He'll get half his starts in PetCo and he's got a pedigree as a high first round pick (drafted ahead of Teixeira. Doh!).

Shawn Estes, on the other hand, watching him pitch makes me itch to grab a bat.

[ro_50]

My world series pick is St. Louis vs. Los Angeles Angels.

[Smelvin]

Originally Posted by ro_50

My world series pick is St. Louis vs. Los Angeles Angels.

A's over the Giants. Although without the quake.

[Bronco LB 59]

Originally Posted by -Slap-

I picked up Brazelton in my NL Only roto league. He'll get half his starts in PetCo and he's got a pedigree as a high first round pick (drafted ahead of Teixeira. Doh!).

Shawn Estes, on the other hand, watching him pitch makes me itch to grab a bat.

Smart move. Like you noted, Brazelton has talent, he just needs to keep his mechanics in sink and put his athletic frame to good use.

[Breck Bronc]

Originally Posted by Smelvin

A's over the Giants. Although without the quake.

[-Slap-]

Nice story about Marlins first baseman Mike Jacobs.

43rd round pick makes good. Hard not to root for this kid.

A Day for Mother

On Opening Day, when new Marlins first baseman Mike Jacobs takes in his new surroundings as an everyday major-leaguer, he'll reflect on his mother's teachings.

BY MIKE PHILLIPS

JUPITER - This is about Collette.

At least that's the way Mike Jacobs sees it. He's here, on the verge of Opening Day in the big leagues, because he defied the odds and because he had a mother who believed in him when no one else was around.

''If I make it big, I'll buy her a new house and make sure she can quit her job,'' said Jacobs, the Marlins' first baseman. ``She was always there for me. I can't tell you how much that meant to me.

``I remember when I was a kid she would pitch whiffle balls to me in the backyard. By the time we were done she would be black and blue.''

Collette laughed, saying, ``Yeah, he would pelt me pretty good. I'm glad he remembers that.

``He always had a true love for baseball. It's something he has wanted so long. To see him do so well, It's wonderful and nerve-wracking at the same time.''

Jacobs' father died of cancer when Mike was 6 years old, but he will carry the memory of his dad into this season, too.

''He was a real good high school athlete,'' said Jacobs, who has a tattoo on his back that reads ''JAKE'' in Gothic print. It serves as a tribute to his father. ''Everyone called him Jake, and that's what they call me,'' he said with a slight smile of pride.

Jacobs is one of those feel-good stories, the one about the kid nobody wanted who somehow made it to the majors. He was a catcher in high school in San Diego.

From time to time, he worked out with other Hilltop High grads Jose Silva, Todd Pratt and Bob Natal, major leaguers who went home in the winter.

But Jacobs was an afterthought. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays picked him in the 43rd round of the draft. He didn't sign with Tampa Bay and tried to gain attention playing for Grossmont (Calif.) Junior College. The Mets then drafted him in the 38th round.

You won't find Jacobs, a converted first baseman, reading the long lists of can't-miss prospects in Baseball America. It's fine reading, but it doesn't mean much to Jacobs, who ignored all the hype given to so many other players, and just went to work to prove everyone wrong.

''There are so many guys who weren't drafted high who made it,'' he said. ``I never thought that way.

``I just believed if I worked hard I would get a chance to prove myself.''

Jacobs, who was the Mets' organizational player of the year in 2005, got more than a chance. He got a helping hand from Pedro Martinez.

The Mets called him up last August. Four days later, Jacobs hit a pinch-hit, three-run home run in his first big-league at-bat. After the game, the Mets were preparing to leave for a road trip, and they told Jacobs he was being sent back to the minors.

Martinez heard they were sending Jacobs down, and had a tirade in the clubhouse over the decision, telling Mets manager Willie Randolph that Jacobs deserved to stay.

''It's just not right,'' Martinez told reporters at the time. ``It could frustrate a kid when he hits a three-run homer that puts us back in the game, and you send him back down.''

Martinez's words made a difference, and the Mets kept Jacobs. He made Martinez look like a genius. He hit a home run in each of his first four games. Jacobs finished the season with 11 homers in 100 at-bats. If you extrapolate the numbers to an entire season it comes out to 55 home runs for the year.

''I thanked Pedro for standing up for me,'' Jacobs said. ``What he did was awesome. He said he remembered what it was like coming up. For a guy like Pedro Martinez to stand up for you was something I'll never forget.''

Jacobs has always had to prove himself.

''It seemed like he always had so much going against him,'' said Collette Jacobs, a mortgage processor in San Diego. ``He was always so determined, and there was never a doubt in his mind or my mind that he would make it. But he was always an underdog.

``When you're drafted in the 43rd round, who is going to pay attention to you? But he has always found a way to make people notice him. They can't deny him. He opens eyes.''

Now Jacobs has a chance to be an everyday big-leaguer. Jacobs came to the Marlins along with right-hander Yusmeiro Petit and infielder Grant Psomas in the trade that sent Carlos Delgado to the Mets. No one expects Jacobs to replace Delgado's 33 homers, but Jacobs expects a lot out of this Marlins team.

''We all know what the opportunity is here, and we feel we can do something special,'' he said.

``I wouldn't say I'm surprised to get here. I put in a lot of hard work to get here. I always believed I would make it. That goes back to when I was growing up.

``It goes back to my mom believing in me.''

[phillybroncosnut]

Trade alert:

http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com...=.jsp&c_id=phi


I'm a bit disappointed the Phils let Tejada go. Especially with Delucci being plugged in as a 4th outfielder. I wonder if the Phils might be close to trading Abreu or Burrell?

[Rich Karlis]

Second game of the MLB season in the books as the Mets beat the Nats 3-2. Game ends with Beltran throwing out Vidro at second base.

[Jens1893]

Originally Posted by Rich Karlis

Second game of the MLB season in the books as the Mets beat the Nats 3-2. Game ends with Beltran throwing out Vidro at second base.

That call against Soriano at home was a bit controversial.

[SouthStndJunkie]

Just sitting down to watch my Tigers play their opener at KC.

[DBroncos4life]

Cards are killing the Phillys.

[Clockwork Orange]

Originally Posted by DBroncos4life

Cards are killing the Phillys.

10-0 in the 4th. Pujols has homered and driven in two. Rolen hit a grand slam, which I'm sure he got a nice ovation for in Philly.

[DBroncos4life]

A-Rod better jack two out tonight if Pujols hit one.

[DBroncos4life]

See what happens when I pass on Pujols, what a dick

[broncosteven]

Anyone see Thome hit that bomb last night? WS Repeat. Just need to sort out who is going to be the closer.

BTW it is fun not to have to mock or put up with Cub fans anymore! I can just sit back & enjoy pure baseball this year with no loud mouth northsiders spoiling it. Crosstown Classic will be mighty fun this year.

[Clockwork Orange]

Originally Posted by DBroncos4life

See what happens when I pass on Pujols, what a dick

Make that 2 HR's & 4 RBI's on the day for Pujols.

[DBroncos4life]

Originally Posted by Clockwork Orange

Make that 2 HR's & 4 RBI's on the day for Pujols.

A-Rod now owes me 4HRs and 8rbi's today. Zito is going to get lit up.

Why is the Rambler pitching for the Tigers instead of Bonderman??