2011 MLB Thread
- Thread starter El Justo
- Start date
The Baseball Gods have spokenreplied, and They have said 
to the AL East.
to the AL East.
classical_hero
In whom I trust
Detroit are Dangerous. Give them a lead in the 9th innings and Valverde will take them home, if he is needed to get the save. The Yankees have only themselves to blame, for not producing when they had the chance to.
Darkness
Shadow creature
So, I go away for a few days and suddenly we're in a game 5 with Philadelphia. Nice... 
Halladay vs. Carpenter should be a good matchup.
Halladay vs. Carpenter should be a good matchup.
Loving the Yankees collapse. Have they painted themselves into a corner? I don't know what their minor league system is like right now, but it looks like they are a pitcher or two short, and their super expensive, older hitters are on the decline....and signing Prince Fielder to be your DH for elevendy billion dollars prob isn't going to fix what ails them.
dIZZyBlIZZy
Batteries not included
I think you covered it downtown, I can't see them having a good farm system, they keep spending on vets. This sort of thing will come back to haunt them at some point. Poseda, ARod, and Jeter only have a finite number of years left.
classical_hero
In whom I trust
I am really pissed off about the coverage in Australia. We should be getting live, but we have darts being shown right now. Surely they could have put it on viewers choice, which means having two things on the same channel. ![[pissed]](/images/smilies/pissed.gif "Pissed [pissed]")
Lambert Simnel
One across
You probably didn't want to see that, c_h. They were being kind...
classical_hero
In whom I trust
Congratulations to the Brewers on winning the game. We had our chances and like the Yankees, we did not take them. It should be interesting to see who they face. We tried our best to win the game. To even make the playoffs is a massive achievement from the previous two years. Hopefully this disappointment will be a driving factor next season to do even better than this year. Massive strides have been taken this year, so overall I am not too disappointed.
Backwards Logic
Emperor Palpatine
I wouldn't call it a collapse (Braves and Red Sox collapsed...), we just forgot how to lay off a breaking ball in the dirt or hit a fastball.
The Yankees farm system pitching-wise is fairly solid. Betances looks like a legit ace, worst case number two, while Brackman and Banuelos have the potential to be number 2's also. There's a reason Cashman would not deal them (or Nova) this trade deadline for anyone that was out there. Behind them, we have a number of guys that can at the very least eat innings - Noesi, Warren, Mitchell, and Phelps to name a few of the second-tier guys. Relief-wise, assuming he's added to the 40 man roster before the winter (otherwise we'll probably lose him in the Rule 5 draft), switch pitcher Pat Venditte is looking like a legit-swing man who can throw multiple innings from both sides of the rubber. Possible long-man/matchup guy out of the pen in a year or two.
Hitting-wise outside of C (which is stacked for us given Montero/Romine/Sanchez), we're hurting. Brandon Laird is a solid offensive piece at 3B, but he's got nowhere to play. Recently drafted Dante Bichette Jr had a nice first season in the Gulf Coast League as well. 2B and SS are fairly empty, though the low-minors has 2010 first-rounder Cito Culver. Jorge Vazquez makes for a solid 1B option (.262 BA, 32 HR, 93 RBI), but he's obviously blocked. He's possible/probable trade bait, though he is a bit old for a prospect at this point. In the OF we have standouts Slade Heathcott (first rounder in 2009) and Mason Williams (who wrecked single-A ball), but outside of those two looks fairly thin.
As for Granderson: Do I expect him to hit 40 homers again? No. But Long did fix is swing against lefties (as evidenced by his splits) and he's still young enough to keep things moving. The issue I saw was Girardi played him every single day down the stretch for the most part, and I think fatigue finally caught up with him. Should be back in 2012, but I'll admit needs to be a better two-strike hitter. He K'd way too much.
Long story short: pitching-wise, not bad, there's some potential here. Hitting-wise, outside of C it's going to be a while before we have another Cano, or even Gardner-esque player to add to the major league roster. My prediction? We'll keep buying hitters (though I'd argue almost zero chance of them acquiring Fielder, Pujols, or even Reyes. Can't trade Tex with his contract, and I think they want Montero DH'ing full-time next season (barring a trade). If he's traded, then I reserve the right to amend this
).
The Yankees farm system pitching-wise is fairly solid. Betances looks like a legit ace, worst case number two, while Brackman and Banuelos have the potential to be number 2's also. There's a reason Cashman would not deal them (or Nova) this trade deadline for anyone that was out there. Behind them, we have a number of guys that can at the very least eat innings - Noesi, Warren, Mitchell, and Phelps to name a few of the second-tier guys. Relief-wise, assuming he's added to the 40 man roster before the winter (otherwise we'll probably lose him in the Rule 5 draft), switch pitcher Pat Venditte is looking like a legit-swing man who can throw multiple innings from both sides of the rubber. Possible long-man/matchup guy out of the pen in a year or two.
Hitting-wise outside of C (which is stacked for us given Montero/Romine/Sanchez), we're hurting. Brandon Laird is a solid offensive piece at 3B, but he's got nowhere to play. Recently drafted Dante Bichette Jr had a nice first season in the Gulf Coast League as well. 2B and SS are fairly empty, though the low-minors has 2010 first-rounder Cito Culver. Jorge Vazquez makes for a solid 1B option (.262 BA, 32 HR, 93 RBI), but he's obviously blocked. He's possible/probable trade bait, though he is a bit old for a prospect at this point. In the OF we have standouts Slade Heathcott (first rounder in 2009) and Mason Williams (who wrecked single-A ball), but outside of those two looks fairly thin.
As for Granderson: Do I expect him to hit 40 homers again? No. But Long did fix is swing against lefties (as evidenced by his splits) and he's still young enough to keep things moving. The issue I saw was Girardi played him every single day down the stretch for the most part, and I think fatigue finally caught up with him. Should be back in 2012, but I'll admit needs to be a better two-strike hitter. He K'd way too much.
Long story short: pitching-wise, not bad, there's some potential here. Hitting-wise, outside of C it's going to be a while before we have another Cano, or even Gardner-esque player to add to the major league roster. My prediction? We'll keep buying hitters (though I'd argue almost zero chance of them acquiring Fielder, Pujols, or even Reyes. Can't trade Tex with his contract, and I think they want Montero DH'ing full-time next season (barring a trade). If he's traded, then I reserve the right to amend this
).
Verarde
Pondering Wearing A Hat
C'mon Cards! (I hate the Phils)
On another note, how many are excited to see a Detroit-Texas ALCS? Who coulda called that before the season began? Also, happy for the Brewers. I think I'll be pullin' for them the rest of the way.
On another note, how many are excited to see a Detroit-Texas ALCS? Who coulda called that before the season began? Also, happy for the Brewers. I think I'll be pullin' for them the rest of the way.
dIZZyBlIZZy
Batteries not included
We got to the playoffs because unlike the Giants, we actually gave the starters run support. That was what was going to decide the NL west. However, tonight both teams were placed on lockdown.
classical_hero
In whom I trust
I'm going to wait, since I got two teams wrong already, so I will wait until the end of the NLDC before making some predictions.
KMRblue1027
Deity
Well that is why I hate 5 game series. A far inferior team won because of BABIP shenanigans and a lack of good strikezones until the last game of the series. I just can't wait for the rude awaking that the Cards are going to have in Brewer Town because you can't relay on luck for 13 games straight. Doc deserved better then this BS. I hope he gets the Cy as compensation
Lambert Simnel
One across
Wow. Not sure what to say. Halladay pitched really well, especially in the top of the 8th with the bases loaded (and despite being up over 120 pitches at that point). Carp was stellar.
I didn't think anyone could beat the Phillies this year, if I'm honest. And if this had been a best of 7, I wouldn't have bet against them coming back to take the last two. Nonetheless, I thought the Cardinals played very well, and gave themselves a chance, and the Phillies just got stuck with the same hitting problems which have been their only weak spot all season. So, on to Milwaukee it is.
I am pretty happy right now.
I didn't think anyone could beat the Phillies this year, if I'm honest. And if this had been a best of 7, I wouldn't have bet against them coming back to take the last two. Nonetheless, I thought the Cardinals played very well, and gave themselves a chance, and the Phillies just got stuck with the same hitting problems which have been their only weak spot all season. So, on to Milwaukee it is.
I am pretty happy right now.
pacesplace
Prince
I would just like to thank for the Phillies for choosing St. Louis as their NLDS opponent. The Braves had no shot at doing anything in the playoffs. Philly getting knocked off in the first round is the next best thing.
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