MLB team correspondent thread for 4.4-4.11 EVERYONE INVITED. We gonna do this ALL SEASON

Please note: EVERYONE is INVITED and the more information the BETTER!!! So any informatiion is useful, even if you do not like the game, still please offer your input..

This thread will be for baseball games played on:
Wednesday 4/4 through Wed 4/11
will be starting new threads every 6-7 days instead of daily. Believe its better that way..


If you have no idea on whats going on here, this thread will help you understand
http://www.therxforum.com/showthread.php?t=835866

We are working together dropping thoughts on teams we follow "very" closely. Be it our informed opinons, key stats, teams state of mind, hot/cold bats, overused bullpens, injuries, weather or any information that you feel will be useful.. When you follow a team very closely, you get a good feel for them..


God Forbidding I will be creating these threads all season.. We should have some great info in them and have lots of fun too.

No list yet of who is going to contribute, reason why?

A lot of people last year claimed they were going to contribute but never did, I only want to list people who contribute.

I will compile a list of folks that contribute along with the team in 2 weeks.. In the meantime enjoy this thread

i feel like i just walked in to a nightclub

Phillies:

Bullpen issues...Relievers Jose Contreras and Mike Stutes are likely to open on the disabled list. Contreras is close to being fully recovered from September elbow surgery, but still needs a little more time. Stutes dealt with some inflammation in his shoulder late in camp. It does not appear to be serious, but he may also need a little extra time.

The biggest concern, by far, is the health of the team’s position-player nucleus and what that does to the offense. Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, two of the faces and biggest reasons for the Phillies’ ascension to elite status in the NL, are out indefinitely. Utley continues to deal with a chronic knee condition and Howard the lingering effects of surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon. The team has set no timetable for the players to get back into the lineup. There is a template for Utley – he missed the first 46 games with knee issues last season and returned in late May. There is some thought he will be back sooner than that, but nothing official. Phillies officials had been targeting May for Howard’s return, but he lost a month of prep time with a setback in camp and may now be out until sometime in June. Again, nothing is official.

The Phillies’ big challenge is to survive until Utley and Howard get back. Rookie Freddy Galvis will move in at second base in place of Utley and Manuel will use a collection of first basemen as he tries to replace some of the thunder that Howard brings to the lineup.

The team had been hoping that John Mayberry Jr. would help pick up the offense, either at first base or in left field, but he struggled to hit his weight in Florida, opening the door for veterans Juan Pierre and Jim Thome to get increased playing time in left and at first base.

Out of the gate, Manuel may look to use shortstop Jimmy Rollins’ bat in the No. 3 hole. That means Pierre could lead off – as he did Friday night and again Sunday. Thome, 41, has gone from an idea at first base to a reality. After a nearly five-year absence from the position, he started there frequently late in camp, was there again on Sunday and, depending on the health of his back, will continue to see time there as Manuel desperately looks for some offensive punch.

But, with a full season of Hunter Pence, with the Big 3 in the rotation, Jonathan Papelbon at the back of the bullpen and Shane Victorino in a contract year, there are a lot of teams that would like to have the Phillies’ problems.

Love it heynow..

I'm going to be gone for 5 days, vacation in santa barbara. I will be back, hope this thread takes off.. love heynow's post.

Lookin forward to adding a couple extra eyes to Gyno's in regards to the Dodgers and the NL west. This thread produced some winning weeks last season, looking forward to more.

St. Louis Cardinals

You all know what they lost: Larussa, Pujols and Duncan. What did they add: Beltran was the only notable free agent. Carpenter and WS hero Allen Craig and Skip Schumaker are all starting the season on the DL. Carpenter they hope to have back sometime in May. Craig should be back w/in a couple of weeks as long as he doesn't have a setback and Schumaker will be back in a couple weeks as well.

Staff: This will be the key to the season and I think it will be great if Wainwright is truly back as it appeared he was in spring. Lohse was solid all spring as was Garcia. Wainwright was really good as well. Lance Lynn who will be filling in for Carpenter was also very solid. The real surprise of spring was Jake Westbrook. He slimmed down in the off season and posted great numbers this spring. If he puts it all together this year and Carpenter comes back strong by late May and if Wainwright remains healthy and is strong then this could be a great rotation. Lot of ifs but....We know what Wainwright is capable of as well as Carpenter if they are healthy. Also Garcia has proven that he has the stuff to shut down any lineup. His biggest problem last year was his struggles on the road. At home he was awesome. Not so much on the road. In the pen the Cardinals have several proven commodities and they added lefty JC Romero as well. When Carpenter comes back Lynn will probably go back to the pen as well. Also they sent Eduardo Sanchez down to AAA to start the season. Sanchez has the best stuff in the pen. His slider is awesome. I am sure he will be back up at some point in the season. Defensively they should be better with Furcal playing a full season at SS and Berkman no longer in RF.

As far as the offense is concerned they definitely have some question marks because of the fact they no longer have Pujols. They did add Beltran and he should be able to replace some of the numbers that Pujols put up. If Freese can stay healthy all season then that will help replace some of Pujols RBI's. Even before his post season breakout last year he had shown the ability to drive in runs. When healthy Craig has shown the ability to produce runs as well. The biggest question mark on offense in my opinion is Berkman. He had a huge 1st half last year and was then very quiet in the second half of the year as far as his run producing numbers were concerned. He still hit almost .300 in the second half he just didn't have the power numbers. This spring he didn't hit a home run which may not mean anything but it bears keeping an eye on. If he doesn't produce then they are not going to have the type of offense that they had last year. If Berkman is at least serviceable (.290, 20 HR, 80 RBI) and they don't have any major injuries then they should be fine. The one big thing that may look a little different with this the Cardinals this year is the aggressive nature on the basepaths. Matheny has talked throughout spring that they are going steal more and go 1st to 3rd as often as possible. A little different than Larussa and his 3 run HR offense.

Everyday lineup should look like this: Furcal SS, Beltran RF, Holliday LF, Berkman 1B, Freese 3B, Molina C, Jay CF, Greene/Descalso 2B, Pitcher. Craig when he is healthy will be in RF, CF, and 1B. Also Schumaker will see time at 2B, CF, and RF. Descalso will be at 2B, SS, and 3B. Currently with Schumaker and Craig on the DL they have added Matt Carpenter and Eric Komatsu. Komatsu is an OF and Carpenter can play the corners in the IF and OF.

All in all they should be right there all season vying for the Central division if not more as long as all the key pieces stay healthy.

tonights game:

Lohse got shelled last year by the Marlins in his August start versus him. He let up 3 earned in 3 innings...but should've let up a whole helluva lot more. He has an 8.00 ERA in 2 starts versus them in the past three years. Johnson has shut down the Cardinals a decent amount, but who knows how he bounces back.

Play:either Marlins or Marlins TTover.

The plays here tonight are STL 1st 5 +.5 and under 3.5 1st 5. Loose is always good the first time or two through a lineup. I think Johnson will be strong as well. Good luck

greetings folks. first time posting in the MLB thread.

sf giants:
final cuts reflected an emphasis on offense as brandon belt, brett pill, and hector sanchez all made the opening day roster.
basically, in terms of hitting...
belt/pill (1B platoon) & aubrey huff (LF) > huff (1B) & nate scheirholtz (RF)
hector sanchez > eli whiteside or chris stewart behind the plate when posey sits or plays 1B.
also, gregor blanco made the team after tearing it up in spring and has a chance to be 2012's 2010 andres torres if he unseats angel pagan in center.

as far as pitching, the giants are going with a 12 man staff to start the season (@AZ, @COL). 4 man rotation and 8 man bullpen. dan otero, the last man in, has looked good this spring.

I'll keep it quick for the Dodgers opening evening in San Diego.
Kershaw is flat out filthy and was almost unbeatable post all-star in 2011.
But the LA bats have had little success vs Volquez (granted a small sample size) and always seem to have a lil trouble at Petco. That and the excess of hits/walks Clayton allowed in his final tune-up leave me in the mood to just sit back, open a Pliney the Elder, and enjoy this one as a no-play.
Liking Billingsley's success in SD so I'll be taking a hard look at tomorrow.
BOL gents

NYY N TB RAYS as I know both. NYY today aquire C- sTEWART from SFG for Kontos- RP, he assusres a good arm and defense behind Martin anbd unhappy Cervfelli sent to AAA, but not for long.

ANY P looked good today for 1ip, ROBERSTON was more criticial 1ip, 1 bb, 3k NOTHING ELSE!!!!!

David Phelps, is long relever ans earned last spot for staff. He's 1 of 10 up n comers in NYY farmhands!!

NYY healthy in field spots, only concern is Pineda, but he'ss be fine.

NYY ROTATION FOR NOW : CC SAB, KURODA, HUGHES, NOVA, GARCIA

PEN, ; MO, ROBERSTON, SORIANO, LOGAN, RAPADA, PHELPS, WADE,

IR, CABRAL=LHRP, PINEDA, AP NON ROSTER FOR NOW

bosox:... i dont usually play for big coin until after 15-20 games, so tread lightly.. although lester pitched well last april( after opening day), over his career, he is average at best in the opening month. add this to the fact the sox lost their" closer" and communication issues between gm and valentine, this doesnt look like a good spot for them. also, anytime you can get verlander at home for -140 to -160, you bet him, regardless of the opponent. i like detroit here, with a small lean to under 1st5

ATLANTA -112

Mets were "forced" to play an exhibition game in Tampa yesterday , while atlanta was resting in Ny..Then after a 3 hr bus ride, they flew to ny for a welcome dinner. Definitely expect some ass dragging today. This play isn't against Santana, who i hope has a great yr but against a suspect bullpen vs atlantas pen which was among baseballs best last yr

New York is 32-18 in season openers, the best winning percentage (.640) in baseball history -- and that's after losing its first eight. Santana is 4-1 in five opening-day starts. But the drag from flying will kill them. Makes a no pick for me but bol

Still on vacation in Santa Barbara gonna keep this brief

obvious selection, probably too obvious but i lean under. petco kershaw and volquez who has done well vs lad. expecting a 3-1 game

Vin Scully just announced kershaw's got a nasty case of the flu and was almost scratched. Hopefully this goes well.

Billingsley offers a great era @ Petco, the only Padre with documented success against him is the O-Dog and he's not the same guy as his D Back days.
Luebke is probably SD's best arm but this pitching matchup in this ballpark, I'll take the superior lineup with plus money.
LAD to win for me

anyone got info on this Frisco/Zona game. funny line i reckon

yea I LIKE LAD.. BETTER lineup and billingsley worked on a few things and seems prime to have a very good season.. his style fits petco like a glove.

plus odds..