2007 Baseball Season is about to start--talk about anything you want

[The Dog]

be amazing if a-rod, mo, torre and clemens are all gone next year.  it'll be like a rebuilding year.   never would have thought it would happen.

its kinda cool actually.

[sandman]

2007 payrolls per ESPN.

   TEAM                   PAYROLL (US$)
1. NY Yankees       195,229,045
2. Boston               143,123,714
3. NY Mets             116,115,819
4. Chicago Sox      109,290,167
5. LA Angels          109,251,333
6. LA Dodgers        108,704,524
7. Seattle               106,516,833
8. Chicago Cubs     99,936,999
9. Detroit               95,180,369
10. Baltimore         95,107,808
11. San Francisco   90,469,056
12. St. Louis           90,286,823
13. Atlanta             89,492,685
14. Philadelphia     89,368,213
15. Houston           87,759,500
16. Oakland           79,938,369
17. Toronto            79,925,600
18. Milwaukee        71,986,500
19. Minnesota        71,439,500
20. Cincinnati         69,654,980
21. Texas               68,818,675
22. Kansas City      67,366,500
23. Cleveland         61,289,667
24. San Diego        58,235,567
25. Colorado          54,424,000
26. Arizona            52,067,546
27. Pittsburgh       38,604,500
28. Washington    37,347,500
29. Florida             30,507,000
30. Tampa Bay      24,124,200

Note: Team salaries do not represent full team payroll. Number listed includes current salary for all players currently on the roster.

[freedom78]

2007 payrolls per ESPN.
 
25. Colorado          54,424,000
26. Arizona            52,067,546

Look at Colorado, trying to buy a pennant. 

[sandman]

the Sports Guy (bill simmons) is a yankee-hater. in today's column, he mentions a few negatives about the yankees, some of which are very interesting points...

1. They're 25-31 in the past seven postseasons.

2. They lost seven different playoff games that could have finished off opponents.

3. They've had the highest payroll for every season -- including 2007 -- and yet, with their playoff lives on the line, they had to throw out Chien-Ming Wang on three days rest.

4. Not one, not two, but three different teams have ended Yankee seasons on Yankee soil

5. Tying run on second, open base, two outs in the ninth of a 1-1 game, and you PITCH to the HR, RBI, runs scored, and ninth-inning batting average leader in all of baseball?!? Amazing how heavy the postseason baggage is for A-Rod.

Number 3 is really interesting. with all that money they spend, you would think the yankees rotation would be stronger. instead they had to make a desperation move for Game 4. according to the Chicago Sun Times...

"In best-of-five series over the last 10 postseasons, teams that have brought back starting pitchers on short rest late in the series have lost nine of 14 series. And one of the winning teams beat a team that was doing the same thing.

It's even worse in the 21 games the pitcher on short rest worked during that span. Those teams went 4-17 in those games."

[freedom78]

the Sports Guy (bill simmons) is a yankee-hater. in today's column, he mentions a few negatives about the yankees, some of which are very interesting points...

1. They're 25-31 in the past seven postseasons.

2. They lost seven different playoff games that could have finished off opponents.

3. They've had the highest payroll for every season -- including 2007 -- and yet, with their playoff lives on the line, they had to throw out Chien-Ming Wang on three days rest.

4. Not one, not two, but three different teams have ended Yankee seasons on Yankee soil

5. Tying run on second, open base, two outs in the ninth of a 1-1 game, and you PITCH to the HR, RBI, runs scored, and ninth-inning batting average leader in all of baseball?!? Amazing how heavy the postseason baggage is for A-Rod.

Number 3 is really interesting. with all that money they spend, you would think the yankees rotation would be stronger. instead they had to make a desperation move for Game 4. according to the Chicago Sun Times...

"In best-of-five series over the last 10 postseasons, teams that have brought back starting pitchers on short rest late in the series have lost nine of 14 series. And one of the winning teams beat a team that was doing the same thing.

It's even worse in the 21 games the pitcher on short rest worked during that span. Those teams went 4-17 in those games."

I don't think the short rest issue would be a big deal if (IF!) pitchers were used to it.  In other words, three days rest isn't the problem...it's that their entire routine, for an entire season, is based on four days rest, and then some desperate manager fucks with it.  The five man rotation, as the baseball standard, is only about 30-35 years old, and pitchers were just fine before it.  The key really is routine. 

RE: Bill Simmons, I do enjoy a lot of his stuff.  He's funny, which is good in a sports writer.  But he's such a complete homer (which he fully admits) that it occasionally gets under my skin.  Maybe it's because I'm from Indy and he's constantly trying to fellate Brady and Belicheat. 

Anyway, he does make a good point about the money situation.  You'd think that, having spent nearly $200 Million, and $50 million more than any other team (and about $110 million more than the median club), that they'd have an incredible rotation.  Why do they have so much incredible home grown talent, except in starting pitching?  Beats me. 

I'm all for a salary cap in baseball, but I hate to think of the strike it will cause, and the damage that will ensue. 

[faldor]

The problem with the Yankees in recent years has been their substandard pitching, but it's not like they've neglected pitching.  They've just made bad decisions.  They traded away young talent for guys they thought would thrive for them for a long time (Weaver, Vazquez), or proven vets (R. Johnson).  They outbid the Sox for Contreras, that didn't work out well at all.  They signed Clemens mid-season to fill a slot in their rotation, also didn't work out quite like they planned.  They should've never let Pettitte go, but they got him back this season.  They again, beat out the Sox and signed Mussina back in 2001, now he's at the end of his rope.  Since the Sox lost out on that they went with plan B (Manny Ramirez), not too bad.  The Sox did outbid the Yanks this year for Dice K, we'll have to wait and see if that was a good move or not.  The Yanks were desparate for a CF 2 years ago and signed Damon to quite a large contract and he can no longer play CF, kind of defeating the purpose.  Just because you have the money to spend doesn't mean you can go and wildly throw it around and build a winner.  You still have to make smart decisions. 

And trust me, as a Sox fan, I can question MANY of Theo's moves too (JD Drew, Clement, letting Cabrera go and then replacing him with Renteria one year, Alex Gonzalez the next, and now Julio Lugo, and on a lesser note Dice K).  When you have a payroll in excess of 120 million you're gonna make some mistakes, you just hope you don't make too many and you can cover them up somehow.  The Yankees haven't been able to for the past 7 years.

[freedom78]

I fully expect Arizona to win tonight, behind Webb...

Shows what I know! 

[tim_m]

I fully expect Arizona to win tonight, behind Webb...

Shows what I know! 

Can't say i am surprised. The rockies are just on some kinda roll right now.

[faldor]

Peter Gammons was on Mike and Mike this morning and he thinks that both A-Rod and Torre will stay with the Yankees.  He feels with all the outcry from the players wanting Torre to stay that their hand may be forced to keep him.

[sandman]

one other thing about the rockies, their defense is phenominal. the best out of all the playoff teams.

and the good thing is that vegas still isn't giving them any respect which is very nice! 

red sox are a huge favorite tonight. that makes sense, but i'm feeling an upset.

[faldor]

one other thing about the rockies, their defense is phenominal. the best out of all the playoff teams.

and the good thing is that vegas still isn't giving them any respect which is very nice!?

red sox are a huge favorite tonight. that makes sense, but i'm feeling an upset.

Yesterday they were talking to Tim McCarver on Mike and the Maddog and they asked him how the Indians should approach the Sox lineup.  He said they should pitch around Ortiz to get to Manny if it comes to that point, but maybe not with Sabathia going (lefty vs. lefty).  Towards the end of the interview they pulled up the stats of both guys against CC.  Ortiz is 5-18 with 1 HR, Manny is 12-21 with 4 HR's and 3 2B's or something absurd.  Something tells me CC is not gonna pitch around Ortiz to get to Manny tonight if it comes to that situation.

And yes the Rockies still look very dangerous.  The short layoff and the lineup change couldn't even slow them down.

[sandman]

the rockies will be underdogs against either AL team too, which is great.

one thing that could cool them off is a long layoff. IF they were to sweep arizona, they would have 8 days off before game 1 of the WS.

one other thing....arizona fans are pathetic. throwing water bottles on the field??? Clint did the right thing pulling his team off the field. (if that had happened in philly, it would have made national headlines, but that's a whole other story.) also, yesterday afternoon there were tons of tix available for the game.

[freedom78]

red sox are a huge favorite tonight. that makes sense, but i'm feeling an upset.

Beckett has been soooo good, though.  If the Red Sox lose a Beckett game, it hurts them, just like losing Webb's start really hurts the Dbacks.

Yesterday they were talking to Tim McCarver on Mike and the Maddog and they asked him how the Indians should approach the Sox lineup.  He said they should pitch around Ortiz to get to Manny if it comes to that point, but maybe not with Sabathia going (lefty vs. lefty).  Towards the end of the interview they pulled up the stats of both guys against CC.  Ortiz is 5-18 with 1 HR, Manny is 12-21 with 4 HR's and 3 2B's or something absurd.  Something tells me CC is not gonna pitch around Ortiz to get to Manny tonight if it comes to that situation.

If Tim McCarver told me that the ham on rye is delicious, I'd get the roast beef on white.  The man's an idiot.

[freedom78]

How 'bout those Rox?  Every time I think they're gonna slip, they come away with a win, somehow. 

EDIT: I'd also like to rant a little about the starting times of these games.  Why start a game at 10 EST?  I went to bed at 2 am, and it wasn't over!  Now, I know that in a Colorado/Arizona matchup, you have two teams in MST/PST, but this was still completely absurd.  If anyone in the Central or Eastern time zones wanted to watch it (like me) they had to stay up very late to do so!  Essentially, they cut out a good chunk of audience.  What would they have done if Philly had beaten Colorado?  Assuming Boston/Cleveland still had the early slot, that's a lot of Philly fans who have to be very committed to watching the game in order to see it finish.  These start times need to change.  Move the early game up an hour and the late game to 9 EST. 

[Layne Staley's Sunglasses]

How 'bout those Rox?? Every time I think they're gonna slip, they come away with a win, somehow.?

EDIT: I'd also like to rant a little about the starting times of these games.? Why start a game at 10 EST?? I went to bed at 2 am, and it wasn't over!? Now, I know that in a Colorado/Arizona matchup, you have two teams in MST/PST, but this was still completely absurd.? If anyone in the Central or Eastern time zones wanted to watch it (like me) they had to stay up very late to do so!? Essentially, they cut out a good chunk of audience.? What would they have done if Philly had beaten Colorado?? Assuming Boston/Cleveland still had the early slot, that's a lot of Philly fans who have to be very committed to watching the game in order to see it finish.? These start times need to change.? Move the early game up an hour and the late game to 9 EST.?

Because, my good sir, FOX cannot afford to start the game earlier.  Especially on the east coast, since they are losing out on primetime programming.  They can't afford to do 3 hours of The Simpsons and King of The Hill.

As a result, the NLCS audience and TBS gets screwed.

[sandman]

had the phillies won a single fuckin game (still kinda upset about it), game 4 of the colorado series was set for 10pm eastern last sunday night. just totally ridiculous. TBS is just as guilty.

on a positive note, there's already rumors that the Phils will be active in trying to improve the team. they reportedly will go after Rivera if he leaves the yanks, and schilling if the sox decide not to resign him. and before the game last night, he expressed interest in returning to play for the phils.

i love Rowand, but he's seeking a deal worth $84M over 6 years. i thought $30M over 3 years was too much! it'll be alot easier to say goodbye if he gets that much money.   

[Axl4Prez2004]

If Tim McCarver told me that the ham on rye is delicious, I'd get the roast beef on white.  The man's an idiot.

Freedom!  Great line!!   
Gimme Joe Morgan any day over McCarver.   

BTW, I'm sorry, but last night's Red Sox game was boring.  I'm not a huge baseball fan, but I used to be...and what I want when I watch is a close game.  Preferably a pitcher's dual. 

[freedom78]

If Tim McCarver told me that the ham on rye is delicious, I'd get the roast beef on white.  The man's an idiot.

Freedom!  Great line!!   

Thanks, I'll be here all week!

Can't believe that six series into the postseason, we FINALLY have a series that's tied (other than at zero all).  Hopefully this Sox/Indians series will be entertaining, because it looks as if Rox/Dbacks won't be too dramatic.

[faldor]

If Tim McCarver told me that the ham on rye is delicious, I'd get the roast beef on white.? The man's an idiot.

Freedom!? Great line!!? ?

Thanks, I'll be here all week!

Can't believe that six series into the postseason, we FINALLY have a series that's tied (other than at zero all).? Hopefully this Sox/Indians series will be entertaining, because it looks as if Rox/Dbacks won't be too dramatic.

Yeah it was definitely of huge importance that the Indians win one of the first two in Boston.  If they were to lose both games with their big 2 going, it would've been tough for them to come back.  But NOW, the momentum shifts.  Hopefully Dice K can make it out of the 5th inning this time, if not and the Sox go down 2-1, will they bring Beckett back on 3 days rest?  He only threw 80 pitches in game 1 and IF it went to a game 7 he'd be back on regular rest because of the extra off day between games 4 and 5.  I tend to think yes, especially if Dice K gets knocked out early and they have to bring in Wakefield in relief.  And another thing, how many chances is Gagne gonna get?  For some reason he's awful.  I don't know how or why it happened, but it happened ever since he arrived.  IF the Sox make it to the World Series I don't see how you can put him on the roster.  And Javier Lopez is a lefty specialist who can't get lefties out (they hit .296 against him or something).  He's useless too.  Enter Julian Tavarez and Kyle Snyder.  Not that they're great, but we obviously know what the latter is capable of.  Oh, and it appears Schilling needs 10 days off in between starts to be effective at this stage of his career.  Just my 2 cents.

[Malcolm]

Report: Steinbrenner stepping down

New York, NY (Sports Network) - New York Yankees legendary owner George Steinbrenner is reportedly stepping down and will hand control of the team off to his sons, according to a report in the New York Post.

Members of the Yankees brass told the newspaper that Hank and Hal Steinbrenner will share leadership in an arrangement to be further ironed out in Tampa, Florida later this week.

"George has taken on a role like the chairman of a major corporation," Yankees president Randy Levine told the Post. "He's been saying for years he's wanted to get his sons involved in the family business. Both of them have stepped up and are taking on the day-to-day duties of what's required to run the Yankees."

Both brothers are expected to have final say on baseball decisions, the running of the YES Network and the construction of the new Yankee Stadium.

"There's always been a succession - and that's myself and my brother," Hank told the newspaper. "I'll pay more attention to the baseball part. The stadium, that's more Hal. But basically everything will be decided jointly."