Top 5 Teams In Baseball

[jrdnkiks213]

(sorry ooIRON MANoo, the only Dodgers fan that's cool)
I have something to say about that one....

... nah, reallythough...

I do know when you have Reyes leading off with Wright, Delgado, Beltran and so forth.. they'll put up numbers. Johan definitely gives your rotation aboost... Pedro, Maine should solidify it.. But my main concern is within our Division, not the Central or East.

But, I'm excited with our squad. A healthy Furcal... followed by Martin, Loney, Kemp, Jones, and the aging Kent. Our pitching seems a little bit morestabilized with Schmidt supposedly regaining form... but it seems like that every ST. Penny, Lowe, Bills, Kuroda, and Schmidt / Loaiza / Kuo. Brox &Saito back in the Pen... Only thing we need now is to settle the Ethier / Pierre dilema for LF... and maybe sign a legit PH. Sweeney or Clark would do.

 

[am 1 fiend]

jrdnkiks213, you're probably a cool cat too, it's just lames that give Dodgers fans a bad name on this board.

 

[nitzski]

Originally Posted by the PGA tour

seriously, how is someone a memphis grizzlies, and Washington Nationals fan at the same time. I don't know what football team you root for (except Moss obv.) but its probably the Arizona Cardinals.

Even though he explained why, he could have conceivably been Canadian. Memphis Grizzlies = Vancouver Grizzlies and Washington Nationals = MontrealExpos...(2 different coasts but very plausible)

 

[tylerdub]

what is drastically different about this years reds team and last years team that went 72-90 only finishing ahead of the pirates?

well, let's see...would a new coach be "drastically different?" did you not see what happened after Jerry Narron was fired? we had the best record in baseball for about 2 and a half months. what about getting an all-star closer who was second in the league in saves last season? especially since we lead the league in blown saves and bullpen era. maybe having the favorite for ROY?
and we still might add Joe Blanton.


Yeh have fun with Dusty Baker he is a real great coach. He will kill your young talent and probably just tear off your best pitchers throwing arms.

 

[oanonymous1o]

It is hard to make a solid Top 5 list this early. Every team, even those on top, have a lot of questions. There is also a lot of hope, which is the lovelything about Spring. A fresh start, for most teams, a chance to think that something special will happen in the fall. My top 5 (ezpanded, lol) would have tobe.

1) Red Sox - Got to give the top spot to the defending champions. Losing Schilling will not be as big a hit as everyone is making it out to be (BSPN).

2) Tigers - It is hard not to put them this high with their stacked lineup and their above average rotation.

3) Phillies - They made good moves in the off season, Brad Lidge has an excuse if he gets bombed on this season. They didn't overpay for Aaron Rowand. Ithink Feliz is going to have a solid year only because his hacking style will be aided by playing in Citizen's Bank. If Feliz can't make it in Philly,he better pack it up. I expect a high HR/low OBP season.

4) Indians - Just like the BoSox, they had an unspectacular off season, because they already have a solid team. Hafner can't possibly have two consecutivebad seasons?

5) Yankees - Their position players, Cano/Cabrera aside, are only getting older. Their rotation, is only getting younger. They are relying on a lot of youngguys to carry the weight of NY on their shoulders. Let's see how Girardi pans out.

Just missed the cut -

Mets - Their rotation has a solid 1-2 punch, and it isn't because of Pedro. Oliver Perez has regained his form and having Johan will not hurt. Iwouldn't rely on Pedro though, it was a big injury and he insn't exactly a youngster. Their rotation got a huge upgrade in Santana, but this team willhave the same "situational" hitting struggles on the offensive side. The Mets, IMO, got worse on offense. Delgado and Alou are a year older, withDelgado being in his final year of his contract and having to prove that he is not washed up. Their is no one on the horizon coming either, since they gotdealt. Church is decent, but not an upgrade and who the hell is Brian Schnieder? The lineup will be set, but it will not be better. A lineup with Reyes ontop and Beltran/Wright in the middle will still score runs, but when they need a clutch hit behind those three, don't count on it. It hinges on Delgado,and how he rebounds.

D'Backs - They have a spectacular 1-2 punch in Brandon Webb and Dan Haren. Getting outscored worked for them last year, they made the playoffs. Theirrotation is solid, their bullpen might suffer a setback. Trading Valverde was risky. Sure his value was high, but he provided intangibles that can't bemeasured in stats. He was always pumped and the young D'Backs seemed to feed on that. The D'Backs are going to be in the thick of things, but theirdeficiencies will catch up with them this season.

Pads - Right behind the Phillies, but instead of it being an offensive haven it is a defensive haven. They picked up to pitchers that have something to provebecause of injuries, Mark Prior and Randy Wolf, and they are in the perfect setting to succeed. They didn't do nothing to address the lack of offense, no,Jim Edmonds is not enough.

Rockies - This team overachieved and I think they will regress in 2008. They will no longer sneak up on anyone. They will not suck, most likely a .500+record, but they will miss the playoffs.

PS - I'm not jinxing/ranking my squad. I know what they will do

 

[mez 0ne]

How did the Mets lineup get worse? You can't have all stars in every position of the lineup, and Schneider was brought in for his in-game calling, not hisoffense. Delgados off season hand surgery affected him all year, so he's the only real solid question mark. Alou showed no signs of slowing down, but hellonly play 100 games anyways and they have one of better benches in the NL.

The Mets only lacked clutch hitting (not situatuional hitting) BEFORE they acquired Castillo, they even shattered franchise records in the last month (mostconsecutive games with 7+ runs...yet went 1-6 I believe because of the overused pen).

Church is an upgrade over Green that's for sure (edge would never get PT here).

The Phillies are NOT better than the Mets (they were before Santana came here). Lidge is as inconsistent as they come and their starters still have questionmarks.

It will still be a dog fight in the NL East, and I believe a wild card team will come out of that division because the NL West teams will beat each other up.

 

[peteweezy]

The Phillies are NOT better than the Mets (they were before Santana came here). Lidge is as inconsistent as they come and their starters still have question marks.
Until the season starts we still are a better team. Might be during the season anyway. Cats acting like Santana going to pitch every game. Ican't wait for that first game Santana pitches against Hammels. I heard it was going to be on the 4th. I hope so.

 

[theandrea3000]

It just sickens me how awful the bluejays are...

 

[mez 0ne]

Its not about Santana pitching every game, shoot...hell prob only face the Phils 2-3x the way rotations go. Its what he brings to the team and he moves thesolid starters the Mets have one spot down.....so teams would have to face Main, Duque, Perez while the Mets face teams bottom half (if aligned correctly). Healso provides the pen a lot of relief, and is a stopper, something the Mets lacked the entire month of September.

Mets also upgraded the pen with some signings, and Duaner Sanchez looks like hell be back.

Santana brings the team some life, and I'd be surprised if they don't play with a chip on their shoulder the entire season.

 

[j rain 23]

it's kind of odd but as a nationals fan i am actually more afraid of facing hudson/smoltz/hamels than santana. santana doesn't scare me.

 

[mez 0ne]

In the words of the late shoes.....

LOL.

 

[mez 0ne]

In the words of the late shoes.....

LOL.

 

[rbeezy32]

Mostly been following the A's youth movement, but IMO it goes.

Red Sox - Defending Champs, plus all the rooks have a season under their belts now. As long as Francona doesn't tire out those young arms, and they getsome help while Schilling in on the mend, the should go deep in the playoffs and probably get to the WS.

Mets - Adding Santana makes this team an instant WS contender. With a solid lineup, and great rotation, their only real question is can their bullpen get toWagner on a consistent basis.

Tigers - The lineup is awesome, and they should score the most runs in the league this year. Rotation is above average, and could be amazing depending on howWillis bounces back, and if Bonderman can stay healthy and take his game to the next level. Big question mark with this team is their bullpen.

Diamondbacks - Purely a gut call, but this team only got better in the offseason by adding Dan Haren to go with Webb, and maybe Johnson makes 20 starts thisyear. They have a decent bullpen with good young arms, and a very deep rotation if someone goes down. Biggest question is really if their young lineup canevolve, and Eric Byrnes builds on a huge season.

Yankees - The lineup is awesome, Cano should only get better. Biggest question is young rotation, if they live up to expecations, these Yanks will be very verygood. Not to mention, they have the money and ability to take on contracts, and you know young Hanks wants a successful first season behind the reigns.

 

[j rain 23]

Church is an upgrade over Green that's for sure (edge would never get PT here).
i'm looking forward to watching lastings showcase his smooth skill set as our everday center fielder (his ideal position), and torturing themutts for the next 10+ years! have fun with church and b.s., i'm willing to bet both will be revoked of their starting duties sometime during the season.meanwhile milledge will be paving his path to becoming a future all-star.

 

[N41D]

Originally Posted by adidas All Day I Dream About Shoes

teams like the marlins, royals, rays, orioles, and pirates are currently far more "wack" franchises than the nationals. all of those teams are sadly stuck where they are have little to no chance of being relevant in the coming years.

That's just inexplicably wrong.

It's wrong on so many damn levels.

 

[mez 0ne]

Future all star ? Maybe 2 years ago when he was considered a top prospect, but he hasn't shown anything that would even consider that (granted a smallsample, but his poor attitude is the reason he was shipped).

I hope Edge has a successful career, but if he wants to achieve his potential his attitude certainly needs to change (and don't give me that Acta b.s.about him making people change, its up to Edge whether he wants to or not).

Mets filled 2 holes with a kid they gave up on (which I disagreed with initialy but it makes sense the way the team is built RIGHT NOW).

 

[scuse7]

1. Mets
2.Red Sox
3. Yankees
4. Tigers
5. Angels

 

[superofficial]

1. Red Sox - As much as I want to put the Tigers here, they're the defending champs and stilla great team
2. Tigers - Great Lineup (1.Granderson 2.Polanco 3.Cabrera 4.Ordonez 5.Sheff 6.Gullien 7.Renteria 8.Jones/Thames 9. Pudge) or some version of that... plus agood if not great rotation... come on bullpen!!
3. Mets
4. Phillies
5. Indians

btw, could that be the best 3-4-5 ever? I'm no baseball historian, but that certainly looks great on paper.

 

[jrp44]

^ looks good but not good enough
1927 Yankees
Ruth
Gehrig
Lazzeri

 

[jules300]

1. Yankees
2. Yankees
3. Yankees
4. Yankees
5. Yankees

Bias? Meh

 

[oanonymous1o]

How did the Mets lineup get worse? You can't have all stars in every position of the lineup, and Schneider was brought in for his in-game calling, not his offense. Delgados off season hand surgery affected him all year, so he's the only real solid question mark. Alou showed no signs of slowing down, but hell only play 100 games anyways and they have one of better benches in the NL.
Alou is solid, but he will not play 100 games, more like 80-85. Delgado is a big question mark, and unlike Alou the signs of decline are all overthe place. The Mets lineup is very top heavy. I don't see why you are so high on Church. Defensively he is an upgrade over Green, offensively, not somuch. He will provide a little more power, but Green is a better hitter.

One of the better benches in the NL
That is pretty bold, since the only solid pieces I see are Gotay and Chavez. I think Chavez is going to get heavy PT, playing for the oft-injuredMoises Alou. The Mets lineup is still good and potent, but it isn't the 2006 Mets.

That is why it is difficult to pinpoint the Top 5 teams, when Spring Training hasn't even started. The Mets made moves, but they still have a lot ofquestion marks. At this point, I would pick the Phils over them, their lineup is more potent.

 

[layzielou21]

A team on paper doesn't mean a darn thing !!! There is no one in this thread that could've said the Rockies were gonna be where they ended up. It'sa long season, and I can't wait for it to start.

It's gonna be 1988 all over again... Go Lakers and Go Blue Crew !!!

 

[mez 0ne]

Mets bench: Gotay, Chavez, Marlon Anderson (

), Ramon Castro, Damian Easley,etc....I'm not really going out on a limb with that.

....and I've never been extremely high on Church, but he has a lot more power than Green does right now thats for sure, he can hit some bombs. He's anupgrade over what we had before, even if its not that major (and younger).

Every team has question marks, and while I agree the Phillies lineup may be more potent, its not by much (their bottom half isn't that great either). Metshave more pitching depth right now which is better for the long haul for a 162 game season, and that's why I rank them up there (along with many others inthis post).

 

[adidas all day i dream about shoes]

I'm already annoyed by Mets fans in February.

 

[this is carter]

1969- Jets win Super Bowl... Mets win World Series

1986- Giants win Super Bowl... Mets win World Series

2000- Giants lose Super Bowl... Mets lose World Series

2007- Giants win Super Bowl... Mets get Johan Santana , best pitcher in baseball , and become top contenders for Championship... Hmmmmm , just something tothink about....