MLB 2009 Part 2

[No spoken words]

I'm a huge Ichiro fan and he'd be like the 2nd or 3rd person I'd select if putting together a team based on today's best players.

I'd take Pujols first, though. He's just unreal.

 

[Dalton]

I'm a huge Ichiro fan and he'd be like the 2nd or 3rd person I'd select if putting together a team based on today's best players.

I'd take Pujols first, though. He's just unreal.

I like it. If you were a GM and were tasked with selecting the best team in baseball (everyone's available), who would you select and in what order?

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

I don't know about the order. I'd maybe take Mauer first overall, actually, if not Pujols. Santana would be the first pitcher I'd take. And this would be the squad:

C - Mauer
1B - Pujols
2B - Utley
SS - Jeter
3B - Longoria
OF - Quentin
OF - Sizemore
OF - Ichiro

SP - Santana
SP - Halladay
SP - Sabathia
SP - Verlander
SP - Lincecum

RP - Rivera

 

[No spoken words]

Order is hard for me after 1-3 or so, but I'll give it a go. I'll roll with a starting 8, a 5-man rotation and a closer.

Albert Pujols - 1B
Ichiro Suzuki - RF
Roy Halladay - SP1
Joe Mauer - C
Johan Santana - SP2
Chase Utley - 2B
Hanley Ramirez - SS
Tim Lincecum - SP3
Mariano Rivera - Closer
Felix Hernandez - SP4
Carlos Beltran - CF
David Wright - 3B
Dan Haren - SP5
Matt Holliday - LF

I debated Braun at LF to have a little more power on the team, but, I think I'd rather have Holliday out there. Braun is a horrid fielder. Carl Crawford needs a few more seasons like his current season to be considered.

Ramirez at SS was a tough one for me, because I think that while he's an amazing hitter, he's not an elite defensive SS and I'd always choose Ozzie Smith for an all-time team than a Banks or Ripken. But I don't think I'd go with Adam Everett or anything. If Jimmy Rollins was a little better at actually getting on base, he could be considered.

I also debated Beltran, but, at the end of the day I just like him better than Sizemore.

5th starter could have been Lee, Carpenter, Beckett, etc, but I like Haren a lot.

Anyway, I'm sure I overlooked someone, somewhere, but that's my squad off the top of my head.

 

[phillyfan26]

Rollins' inconsistencies and low number of walks keeps him off, agreed. But he's a hell of a fielder, and when he's swinging a good bat, worthy of that MVP award he got two seasons ago.

Holliday's a pretty bad fielder from what I've seen, so I'm not sure how much of a dropoff Braun would be in left.

 

[No spoken words]

Rollins' inconsistencies and low number of walks keeps him off, agreed. But he's a hell of a fielder, and when he's swinging a good bat, worthy of that MVP award he got two seasons ago.

Holliday's a pretty bad fielder from what I've seen, so I'm not sure how much of a dropoff Braun would be in left.

Braun's one of the worst LF's I've ever seen. I've not seen a lot of Holliday, come to think of it.

Like I said, I thought about Rollins but that .329 career OBP is just too damned low.

 

[phillyfan26]

Braun's one of the worst LF's I've ever seen. I've not seen a lot of Holliday, come to think of it.

I was at his first game in a Cardinals uniform, and he butchered at least two plays that game. Other times I've seen him he's been shaky at best.

But yeah, Braun's awful too.

 

[Dalton]

I'll be back to answer the question later, but let me say this again: Dan Dickerson and Jim Price are the worst announcers I've ever heard.

 

[impy13]

Julio "The Wild Turkey" Borbon with his first career homer! I love this kid! And Marlon is having himself a hell of a night. Look for him on top plays later.

Here's hoping they don't blow their third straight 4+ run lead.

 

[No spoken words]

Impy, wow, you're going to have a fun September...I mean, they might go to the playoffs, they might not, but you'll have meaningful games down the stretch and sometimes that's all you can ask for.

Enjoy.

 

[impy13]

Aaaand right on cue Delmon Young goes yard on the Dutch Oven.

Impy, wow, you're going to have a fun September...I mean, they might go to the playoffs, they might not, but you'll have meaningful games down the stretch and sometimes that's all you can ask for.

Enjoy.

Oh I know. They were in the thick of a pennant race in September 2004 but a Fonzie Soriano injury against the A's really knocked them off the rails. The next month and a half is going to be amazing to watch. We don't get meaningful games this late in the year. I love it. Can't get enough. You guys who follow teams that consistently make the playoffs and contend for titles don't understand how I feel about this team. Although the division might not be realistic at this point, I really do believe they've got all the tools to win the wild card. It's going to be an exciting month, but even if they don't pull it out, the future is very, very bright.

 

[impy13]

The man crush on Neftali Feliz continues.

 

[No spoken words]

Aaaand right on cue Delmon Young goes yard on the Dutch Oven.



Oh I know. They were in the thick of a pennant race in September 2004 but a Fonzie Soriano injury against the A's really knocked them off the rails. The next month and a half is going to be amazing to watch. We don't get meaningful games this late in the year. I love it. Can't get enough. You guys who follow teams that consistently make the playoffs and contend for titles don't understand how I feel about this team. Although the division might not be realistic at this point, I really do believe they've got all the tools to win the wild card. It's going to be an exciting month, but even if they don't pull it out, the future is very, very bright.

Well, of course I understand.

The Yankees won the WS when I was 6 and 7, then lost during the strike year, 1981, when I was 10. They then did not make playoffs again until 1995. So, from age 11-23, not one Yankee playoff game, and just a handful of meaningful Septembers (1985 leaps to mind). I think that you know by now how deep my passion for baseball runs....well, then, it was even greater. Also, the years before 1995 were really bad years for the Yanks...they really sucked. So, when they started adding guys like Boggs, Key, O'Neill, Wetteland, Girardi, etc...then Bernie debuted.....followed by Rivera and Pettitte....then Jeter.....then Posada.....well, it was awesome to watch the team transform from a horrid, bloated club into a force to be reckoned with for years to come.

So, yeah, I do relate and I hope for your sake that everything I read about the organizational strength/youth of the Rangers is true. I'm sick of the Halos anyway.

 

[impy13]

Yeah, the Yankees were awful back then. But the Rangers have been mired in mediocrity for their existence, save for three pennants. All of amounted to one playoff win though. Against the Yankees. That bad stretch for the Yanks certainly couldn't have been fun, though. Mediocrity makes success so much sweeter. That was why the initial Cuban years were so amazing, with the Mavs being a complete laughing stock for so long before. Of course now we're so used to 50 win seasons and playoff appearances that anything less than a championship isn't good enough. But if the Rangers just make the playoffs, I'll be so fucking happy. And even if they don't, I'm so proud of them and can't wait for the future. The young guys are so much fun to watch.

Borbon just doubled in Elvis. He's going to be a superstar in this league. Just wait. The kid can play. Swiped four bags Saturday, but that was on Varitek, who couldn't throw out my late grandmother trying to steal third.

Aaaand Michael (one of the most underrated players in baseball) just missed a bomb by a fraction of an inch. They're going to instant replay.

 

[No spoken words]

All that Yankee history, all the winning done before I was born? Didn't mean fuck-all to me in the 80's and early 90's. Just like the Islanders 4 cups in the 80's is not much consolation for current fans. I'm sure that when the Cowboys fail to make the playoffs, or get there and then Romo it up that you are unable to console yourself by thinking about Emmit, Aikman, Irvin, etc. Don't quit. Don't even quit.

But who cares??? You've got a good Rangers team with an even brighter future right now and I'm excited for you.

 

[impy13]

Well, the Cowboys 90s' run was before my time. Y'all tend to forget I'm a transplant Texan. But a Texan nonetheless.

Obviously you can't sit there and think about how great the past was when you weren't a part of it, but for argument's sake it's nice to have a shit ton of titles to fall back on. So no, when Romo eats greasy fried chicken in the 4th and fumbles extra points or when he gets called for phantom intentional grounding against the Giants, I get upset. All of Chicken Fried Nation gets upset. But they've been so long without any substantial success that it might be time we stop demanding Super Bowls every year (much like Yankees fans and the WS) and go the baby steps route I'm taking with the Rangers.

Years of futility wear you down, but it's the mark of a true fan to be resilient and stick with the guys through thick and thin. It's been nothing but lean, lean years in North Texas for a while now, with the 99 Stanley Cup being the last glorious moment*, but the Rangers do have a fine ball club right now which should only get better in the coming years. There's reason to be excited.



*Fuck you, Bennett Salvatore.

 

[No spoken words]

I stick with all of my teams. Even the fucking Islanders.

 

[U2DMfan]

The Rangers are good, I watch them all the time.

Their GM is younger than I am, dammit.

Speaking of, who do you guys think is the best GM in baseball?

I'd probably choose Dombrowski @Detroit

Although if Beinfest was still the GM in Miami, I would choose him.

Give me Theo Epstein's payroll and I'd put up some results...show me a dude who's done it in more than one place or with no payroll at all.

 

[No spoken words]

The Rangers are good, I watch them all the time.

Their GM is younger than I am, dammit.

Speaking of, who do you guys think is the best GM in baseball?

I'd probably choose Dombrowski @Detroit

Although if Beinfest was still the GM in Miami, I would choose him.

There are a few GMs that seem like fucking children, age-wise. Scares me and makes me sad.

I like Andrew Friedman a lot these days. I was a big Terry Ryan fan before he stepped down. Dombrowski is strong. Theo is still up there.

I cannot include Cashman, despite my Yankee love. Maybe in the 2nd tier of GM's. Kenny Williams, while often a douche bag, is at least not afraid to make changes.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

I stick with all of my teams. Even the fucking Islanders.

 

[Dalton]

Albert Pujols - 1B
Joe Mauer - C
Tim Lincecum - SP
Ichiro Suzuki - RF
Johan Santana - SP
Dustin Pedroia - 2B
Hanley Ramirez - SS
Justin Verlander - SP
Mariano Rivera - Closer
Evan Longoria - 3B
Felix Hernandez - SP
Carlos Beltran - CF
Manny Ramirez - LF
Tommy Hanson - SP

Lineup:

1. RF Ichiro
2. SS Ramirez
3. LF Manny
4. 1B Pujols
5. C Mauer
6. 3B Longoria
7. CF Beltran
8. 2B Pedroia

 

[U2DMfan]

There are a few GMs that seem like fucking children, age-wise. Scares me and makes me sad.

I like Andrew Friedman a lot these days. I was a big Terry Ryan fan before he stepped down. Dombrowski is strong. Theo is still up there.

I cannot include Cashman, despite my Yankee love. Maybe in the 2nd tier of GM's. Kenny Williams, while often a douche bag, is at least not afraid to make changes.

Friedman is Tampa, right? Yeah, it's hard to gauge them, they got so many high draft picks for so long...they eventually had to be good, right? That said, clearly they have an excellent system and generally drafted well (as we've seen across many sports, high picks does not equal success)

As well as having a high payroll does not equal success (NY collapsing Mets, Dodgers until this season). Theo deserves credit but it's just hard for me to give credit to him and Cashman with those payrolls.

I look at the Marlins, who were an expansion franchise, won the WS 4 years later, had a firesale, rebuilt, won the WS in '03, had another firesale and have been consistently good or decent (.500) throughout. That's one hell of an organization actually. Shit stadium and shit fan support, watch out when they build that new stadium in downtown Miami, they might be a true powerhouse in the NL for decades after that.

Detroit was awful for years (sorry Dalton) before Dombrowski got there and he built the Marlins WS teams in 97 and 03, although he wasn't there in '03.

Kenny Williams is good but he is kind of an ass, isn't he?
Terry Ryan I hadn't thought about, excellent choice, talk about success with little resources. Great organization.

 

[No spoken words]

I'd have said Billy Beane a few years ago.

Just like big payrolls do not guarantee success, high draft picks do not either....just ask the Pirates. So, the Rays deserve some credit.

I'd give Cashman a little more credit if he had bought/traded his way to those 4 World Series, but the truth is the foundation was already laid by Stick Michael and to some small extent Bob Watson. Winning 4 titles in 5 years is pretty impressive, though, high payroll or not....so that's why I put him at the top of the 2nd tier.

Agreed on the Marlins, they don't get enough credit.

The Twins, yeah, I just admire the crap out of their front office and manager. I hope they can keep Mauer and Morneau.

 

[Dalton]

Detroit was awful for years (sorry Dalton) before Dombrowski got there

You don't need to apologize to me, I lived through those years.

 

[No spoken words]

Watching Yanks/Sox off of NESN, and, Remy is in the booth. How recently did he return?

I'm glad he's back where he belongs; he makes me laugh and is remarkably objective when you consider whose games he's broadcasting. Hope he stays healthy.

 

[phanan]

Tonight's his first night back, actually.

Too bad it's a laugher of a game, although that was to be expected with Penny on the mound. Realistically, the Sox will probably only win Beckett's start in this series.

 

[speedracer]

Junichi Tazawa tails his fastball over the middle of the plate too often, but he has a huge set of stones.

 

[No spoken words]

I'm stuck with the Cubs/Dodgers, so, I'm not privy to this debacle. It would be nice if tomorrow's game was actually close, one way or the other.

 

[Got Philk?]

It is going to take a very large turnaround and a very good September for my Cubbies to even think playoffs.

 

[John Lackey]

Ugh. Scioscia gave Trevor Bell his second start today vs. Toronto and it looks like we're just going to have to eat this one. 2 innings, 6 ER, Bell out.

Oh, and now Travis Snider just took yesterday's callup deep. 7-0 Jays, 3rd inning.