I have studied the following MLB teams and have a good feel for them.

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I have studied the following teams and have a good feel about them..


Dodgers
Giants
D'Backs
Cubs
Indians


Anyone care to discuss them with me?
 
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Dodgers pitching was very good last year, one of the best ERAs... They lose Garland and Kuroda and pick up Harang and Capuano. Maybe a small decline or push.

Billingsley is working on a few things and this could be a breakout year for him. I expect him to have a very good year. Lilly fits Dodger Stadium like a glove and
is a pretty consistent guy.

What I do like about the Dodgers pitching is their bullpen. Jansen and Guerra are both very good.. If the Dodgers have the lead in the 7th they should win almost every game. There is some good middle relief too. I'm very excited about the bullpen and think Dodgers wont be blowing many leads this season.

Dodgers should be ok and should be an above average team but their margin of error is quite low.. Dodgers will need a lot of things to go their way if they want to win
the division.. Either will have to be his old self and considering this is a contract year he might breakout and be that guy. Loney will have to improve vs LHP , the guy is brutal vs LHP and is an automatic out. Maybe Mattingly could tweak the lineup.. Dodgers acquired a ton of Ultility guys so they have depth and wiggle room.

The one surprise the Dodgers have and the one guy I think could be a widely known player is Dee Gordon. Hes the fastest player in baseball. When he gets on base he will
steal 2nd and maybe 3rd. He will score on singles from 1st. His speed is dangerous and has me excited. Whomever bats 2nd will be key and I hope Mattingly can find the right guy to do that cause Matt Kemp bats 3rd and with Gordon on base and the 2nd guy going Matt Kemp could see a lot of good pitches

Dodgers could have a good lineup if Loney Either and Rivera play consistent at the same time. Uribe should be healthy and there are bench guys that can come in and hit
.250-.270.. So Dodgers should have a decent bat going 1-7.
 

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would like to read your thoughts on the Indians, if you have the time. Thanks
 

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Sands has the potential to take a big step forward this year and Jansen is just filthy. Hopefully he will keep that blood pressure thing under control.

What are your thoughts about the D-backs? They have a couple of young horses at the front of the rotation with Kennedy and Hudson, and a pretty solid 8,9 punch with Hernandez and the veteran, Putz. There's also some big talent and some pop on the other side of the ball with the youngsters Upton and Goldschmidt.
 

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Re: LA, my thoughts...
Dodgers bullpen is solid as you stated.
Kershaw is the best pitcher in baseball and last year wasn't a career year, more of those are coming. Ive always been a fan of Lilly since his Oakland days, but he is 36 although he last year he improved along the way. Billingsley is the break out candidate every year, but he has yet to do it. I view Cap and Har as below average and a drop off from last year.
Ethier should have a solid year (another guy Oak gave up on too early).
Loney is only 27 and his ops was 1.000 for Aug-Sept last year. That won't happen this year but he should be improved and could potentially hit much better. Kemp is Kemp but I don't expect a repeat of last year although he is capable. Gordon should be good but is still a rookie.
I see Juan Rivera as a weak link, warning track power, no speed, no defense.
Catcher is a weak link, Ellis and Treaner
Uribe and Hairiston are both old and possibly done, but Gwynn is a nice backup in CF.
Bullish: bullpen, kershaw, kemp, ethier, loney, gwynn
Bearish: starters 4-6 (spot starter), catcher, LF, infield depth
 

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CUBS


World series champions.


STONE
 
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Re: LA, my thoughts...
Dodgers bullpen is solid as you stated.
Kershaw is the best pitcher in baseball and last year wasn't a career year, more of those are coming. Ive always been a fan of Lilly since his Oakland days, but he is 36 although he last year he improved along the way. Billingsley is the break out candidate every year, but he has yet to do it. I view Cap and Har as below average and a drop off from last year.
Ethier should have a solid year (another guy Oak gave up on too early).
Loney is only 27 and his ops was 1.000 for Aug-Sept last year. That won't happen this year but he should be improved and could potentially hit much better. Kemp is Kemp but I don't expect a repeat of last year although he is capable. Gordon should be good but is still a rookie.
I see Juan Rivera as a weak link, warning track power, no speed, no defense.
Catcher is a weak link, Ellis and Treaner
Uribe and Hairiston are both old and possibly done, but Gwynn is a nice backup in CF.
Bullish: bullpen, kershaw, kemp, ethier, loney, gwynn
Bearish: starters 4-6 (spot starter), catcher, LF, infield depth

Good thoughts sir.. About the catcher position

Ellis will be splitting time with Treanor.. Ellis is a good hitter and average catcher, calls okay.. Dodgers sure have a weak catching tandem.
They have a guy tim federowicz who might come up from the minors who I hear is pretty good.

Loney is always up and down, never what you are going to get with that guy... Juan Rivera could hit .280 and thats good for a 5th hitter in the NL.. But I agree, no speed, bad defense and kind of a dumbass.

Keep in mind Dodgers have a ton of depth and utility guys.. Hairston, Adam Kennedy, Mark Ellis are 3 guys they picked up this off season. Mattingly has a lot of wiggle room
and lineup options.
 
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Short thoughts on INDIANS


Indians.. Well they could go anywhere, winning 84-86 games wouldnt shock me and winning under 73 wouldn't either.. Lots of injury prone, inconsistent guys on the team.

Rotation wise they are solid 1-2 with Masterson and Tomlin.. Jimenez, what are you going to get from that guy? Ace caliber stuff or shit? Lowe, Slowey are average at best
and Carmonas status is still up in the air. Lots of questions marks.

Hitting wise, more questions. They should be a pretty good hitting team, top to bottom the lineup is average and capable. Good mixture of speed and power.. Cabera is a stud, Choo can be a stud. Sizemore is injured and Hafner is another iffy guy.. I really dont know what to expect.

Bullpen is top notch, they've been an underrated bunch. I really like their BP and its their strength.


All in all too many questions marks.
 
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D'backs.. Not sure if they can repeat what they did last year... Upton, Hudson, Kennedy all had breakout season, can they repeat? Dbacks wont be
catching anyone by surprise this season.. Lineup is very sweet, lots of power and very good 1-8. Paul Goldschmidt, really like this kid, a lot!! He will make this lineup
really good.. I expect a lot of high scoring games with the Dbacks this season.

Rotation.. hmm Im going to predict a drop off here.. Dont think Kennedy will repeat last years great performance. Cahill going from Oak to AZ will be a major adjustment. Collimenter looked good last year but not sure I trust him yet. Saunders and Hudson are pretty predictable ... Still a pretty good rotation but
one I could see having some issues. Bauer is coming later in year and should make rotation.. Could help as I think someone will regress.

Like their BP quite a bit, think it will be pretty strong.

Great manager

Montero is a very underrated catcher, I think he is one of the MVPs of the team. Love that guy.


All in all I think they will battle LAD for 2nd in the NL west.
 
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I'll do my writeup on the Giants later. Was going to do it now but I had to put some bitch in her place in another thread.
 
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Giants, I really like their chances.. Rotation is lockdown, almost every game they will have a very good reliable pitcher starting. We all know about the 1-2 punch of the freak and Cain but their 3-4 is really, REALLY good with Bum and vogel..

BP is shutdown and wont be blowing many leads... Offense was putrid last year but I see an improved offense..

Sandoval Posey are a very good 3-4, both .300 hitters who get on base... Giants were a very slow base running team last year, with some of their new additions of Pagan and Cabera I think they will run the bases better and play better small ball.. Lineup 1-6 is not bad IMO.. And if Belt is called up this lineup could surprise people..

Pagan Sanchez Sandoval Posey Cabera scheriholtz are a pretty good 1-6, if Belt is called up he could really help.. You never know what you're going to get from Huff but
he might do okay. Im concerned about their 7-8-pitching hitting, other than that this team is solid. BP, rotation cant do much better.

Giants are playing for the now too, lots of Free Agency in the future and I doubt they sign everyone.. This is their chance and I think they will contend and when
the trade deadline happens they will pick up someone else that will help. I really like the Giants chances to win the division, win a playoff series and to possibly play and win
a WORLD SERIES.
 

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Capuano is always underrated. I think he will do well this year in LA.

The Rockies bats will be good, but the pitching will probably be another story.
 
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BREWERS I think are under the radar a bit.. Losing Fielder hurts but they have a lot of good things going on there..

First lets look at rotation. Gallardo, Grienke, Marcum, Wolf are a very good 1-4 rotation IMO.. All very solid reliable guys, I expect all 4 of them to have an ERA of under 4. Narvelson is a serviceable #5 guy.. I like the rotation a lot..

BP is very VERY good.. Axford is as good as it gets for a closer and K-Rod is a solid 8th inning setup guy. They will win almost every game where they have the lead aft 7..

middle relief is a little questionable but I think they have options. Plus they have inning eaters in the rotation.

lineup, I like it a lot. Aramis Ramirez is taking over for Prince and wont be as good but wont be that much of a dropoff.. Also Brewers will bring in Gamel who is
considered a stud. Weeks, Morgan Hart all very good hitters. Should be a very good hitting team, they might even play more small ball now.

They are managed well.. I am a little concerned with Braun, baseball is so mental and he might let the past years drama get to him. Hes a big part of their success.

I think the Brewers win 85+ games and have a big chance at winning that division again. The NL central will all depend on who stays healthy.
 
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Cards...

If they stay healthy they will be the team to beat in the central but this team is filled with players that are frequently injured. Their lineup is the best in the NL.
Wainwright is coming back from Tommy John, he will still be great but probably not 2.4 ERA great.. Carp has a neck issue and we dont even know whats up with him.
He pitched a lot last year too. Not much rest in between and was pitching in pain.. Garcia is a home specialist, Lohse was solid last year and I'm not sure he can repeat.. Maybe. I do think Westbrook will improve with another year in NL.. I'm hearing good things.

Furcal and Beltran have a history of being in and out of lineups. Berkman is a little shaky too.. Good lineup when fully healthy, maybe the best in the NL.. furcal,green,holiday,berkman,freese,beltran,molina ,jay what a fucking great lineup that is... So I really dont know what to say about this team. If everyone stays healthy they got a great shot but thats a big if.

I like Jason Motte as a closer, the BP is slightly above avg. contender if they stay healthy.
 
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Angels,

Team is stacked, especially offensively and rotation wise..

Angels actually have too many good hitters.. We all know about the Angels lineup, top to bottom its great and one of the best.. Offense will have no problems scoring.. Lineup is so good Abreu and Morales both will have to share playing time, most teams would kill for those bats. Rotation wise 1-3 it doesnt get better, and #4 is pretty damn good too. Although the Angels are very righty happy.. Almost the entire lineup is right handed batters.

Thats a weakness but one that probably wont bother them much.. I do think their bullpen could be problematic, the Angels might have a major issue and is definitely the main weakness of their team and its their BP. Jordan Walden has great stuff but is not a shutdown closer. Hawkins is a good setup guy and Downs is alright. The other guys are very so-so.. Angels bats better have plenty of 3+ run leads going into 6th-7th and hopefully the rotation pitches a lot of 7 inning games.
 
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Rangers,

Another stacked team.. Lineup is disgustingly good, no soft spot in it really.. I dont even need to get into details about it. best lineup in baseball.

Rotation wise I have some concerns but they are slight. How good will Darvish be? Will he be as good as Wilson? Probably not.

Lewis Holland and Harrison are solid 2-4 guys, not great but solid. Also with more experience too.. Not sure if Feliz or Ogando will be #5 guy probably will go back and forth.All they ask from their starters is that they keep the game from getting out of hand cause the offense is so good. they go 6 deep so their is depth.

If Joe Nathan is his old good self the Rangers will have a very very good BP. Adams, feldman urhara are all solid BP guys too.

Rangers will be in playoffs and will have another great shot to be in the world series. Some think they've played a lot of baseball the last two years and might tire, but I think they will be managed well and have the talent to overcome that.. Rangers will be very good although Darvish and Nathan are question marks. IF both guys come to fruition, LIGHTS OUT!
 
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Orioles...

What can I say about this team, awful.. Completely awful.. The saving grace of this team will be their lineup which has a lot of pop and will score a lot of runs.
Baltimore has 4 guys that will hit 20+ HRs and probably 7 guys who will hit more than 10.. Reynolds either strikes out or hits HRs, Adam Jones and Hardy could both hit 30 HRs.. O's could have 3 guys hit 30HRs.. This team can knock the ball out the park and they will need too cause they have
no pitching.. No Vlad anymore, Betimet took his place, wilson can hit.. Baltimore will score runs.

I think its safe to say the O's dont have one starter that would start on any other team. I mean look at their rotation and tell me if there is one starter that you'd love to have
pitching for your team? They have a couple of asian pitchers coming in with Chen and Wada, we have no idea what they are going to do, probably nothing major.

They have nothing but very hittable pitchers with high WHIPS and OPP BA.. Not sure how they are going to win 70 games with this rotation.

BP sucked last year and I dont see it getting any better. I like Johnson and Lindstrom they are pretty good but everyone else is a liability.

O's should be a team you want to bet the overs with. I imagine a lot of 7-6 games between them. Especially in hitters ballparks vs less than stellar pitching.

Lets also consider the division they are in. O's have lost 90+ games six seasons in a row, I predict they will lose over a 100 this year.. BJ's and Rays will be very good teams and we know Red Soxs and Yanks are extremely good. O's are hopeless.
 
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Twins..

This team will be brutal, won 63 games last year and will struggle to win 70 this season..

Look at the rotation
Pavano
Liriano
Blackburn
Baker
Duesing
Marquis


I personally dont like any of these guys.. Baker is probably the best pitcher, Pavano is the #1 supposedly and he allows a lot of baserunners.. Liriano is not the
same guy from 3-4 years ago. The other guys just plain arent that good.. 4-5ERA 1.4+ whip guys. I think this rotation is worse than some think.

Twins had a collective .306 OBP last season which is beyond putrid. They dont have Kubel or Cuddyer anymore.. GL

Mauer lost his power and never had it at Target .384 slugging. Hes injury prone and so is Morneau.. Lots of question marks with these guys are their
the 2 best hitters on the team.

At least they picked up Willingham, if not this team could have no power lol.

The bullpen was horrible last season, the worst in baseball.. Pretty much has the same guys back, Capps will be closer and hes okay.. not horrible but not great. I like
Perkins and a couple of other guys but this BP wont be that good again. Zumaya's career is likely over, he wont pitch this season.

I really dont like anything about this team..

unless Mauer and Morneau go apeshit and have great offensive seasons collectively this team is in major trouble and I think will win less than 70 games. I think the division is filled with very capable teams top to bottom, this is definitely the worst team in it.
 

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Rangers,

Another stacked team.. Lineup is disgustingly good, no soft spot in it really.. I dont even need to get into details about it. best lineup in baseball.

Rotation wise I have some concerns but they are slight. How good will Darvish be? Will he be as good as Wilson? Probably not.

Lewis Holland and Harrison are solid 2-4 guys, not great but solid. Also with more experience too.. Not sure if Feliz or Ogando will be #5 guy probably will go back and forth.All they ask from their starters is that they keep the game from getting out of hand cause the offense is so good. they go 6 deep so their is depth.

If Joe Nathan is his old good self the Rangers will have a very very good BP. Adams, feldman urhara are all solid BP guys too.

Rangers will be in playoffs and will have another great shot to be in the world series. Some think they've played a lot of baseball the last two years and might tire, but I think they will be managed well and have the talent to overcome that.. Rangers will be very good although Darvish and Nathan are question marks. IF both guys come to fruition, LIGHTS OUT!

I agree with most your thread. Im not worried about Nathan, I do have worries about Feliz but this is a project deal much like Harrison, Holland have been. Darvish, Holland, Lewis, and Harrison will do the job they are asked, which is keep them in games. Harrison could easily win 15-17 games this year, Lewis will pitch well on the road and get rocked at home, he is great for rangers division road games, but he is the complete opposite of what you would like for a game in Arlington. Flyball righties have little hope in Arlington. I don't know much about Darvish yet, but Washington and everybody else seem overly excited. I'll set the bar low and say he wins 13 games (he'll win more).

Holland will win 20 games this year. Ill make that wager with anybody

Koji I'm pretty sure will get traded for a lefty reliever at some point.
 
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White Sox

I kind of like this team, I dont think they will make the playoffs but I think they will be surprise a few teams..

Rotationwise I kind of like them.. I know they lost Buerhle, Santos etc but I think all 5 guys are very capable above avg starters.. None are great but none are terrible.
I really like Humber, think he could be an Ace one day, Danks and Floyd are pretty good pitchers.. If they get anything good from Peavy this rotation should be nice.
Chris Sale is another guy I like.. I'm hoping Peavy is not done.

BP is deep, lots of options and mix of L and R although I dont know who will be closing. BP should be pretty good.

Hitting wise now they have some solid guys and some disappointments.. What will we get from Dunn? If he can hit well I think the White Sox could have a potent lineup. Konerko is very solid, De Aza, Ramirez and Pierniski are all very dependable. They wont be a great hitting team but wont be terrible either.

Not much is really expected from the White Sox but I think they will outplay what is expected of them.. White Sox will be a good team to bet on IMO.
 

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