A new baseball season, Wahoo!
 

Ahh, spring is in the air and with it comes the great American past-time of baseball. Having lived in upstate NY and NYC for many years previously, I am a Yankees fan. Now living in Seattle, I have also become a Mariners fan, although they are mutually exclusive when it comes to them playing against each other. SafeCo field is a great venue to watch baseball and I already have my tickets lined up for a number of games. Can't wait to go to the ballpark.

So, what are your picks for the World Series? I will root for the Mariners, my new home team, the Twinkies for SnobbyRobby, but the Yankees make it to the WS again. I know boos, but hey, they are good (money does that ya know). And I think it will be a rematch. The Diamondbacks will make the repeat trip. Only to meet their demise against the Yankees, of course. No Mo won't blow it again I will assure you!

Tigers all the way baby!

You laugh now, but just you wait.

Actually, laughing is probably the correct response.

Go Giants!

The (now) mighty New York Mets will crush those has-been Yankees in another, even less dramatic Subway Series. But this time the Tables Will Be Turned (tm)!

Andy

i'm pulling for pedro to lift boston, but that's just because i can't stand the yankees.
i admire their class, i respect their abilities, but i can't bear the truth:

they win because they are rich.

series picks?

i'm a cardinals fan all the way, and i hope like nobody's business they manage to get past the diamondbacks this year, because i think their offense is (clearly) far superior.

now if only they can hit johnson & schilling (impossible?! perhaps, but maybe not!)
i'd also love to see the a's beat the yanks.
and the mets beat the braves, but lose to the cards...

eh...
no matter what happens, i know i now have to check espn more than any other site.
i miss baseball... sure, they have it in japan, but that whole language thing really makes for some difficulties... plus, no pedro, no magic, no popcorn, no beer... no poocat, if you know what i'm saying.

poocat.

Alright, I'll just get this out in the open right out of the gate: I am a Red Sox fan. I kind of liken it to being a Mac user. Yes, we are forever in second place, and we know that and accept it. It is frustrating, however, because we KNOW we have a better product, we have intense customer loyalty and evangelism and we are the butt of every friggin' joke in the book. We also have that BIG CORPORATE OTHER that we lothe and detest. Maybe Steve Jobs should have bought the Sox.

So, Pedro (who's worth I only occasionally question) is on fire again. Nice Baltimore sweep. Veritek is healthy. Nomar. This Clark guy is looking like something to watch. Manny's attitude seems to have sweetened. Trot is his usual business as usual self.
I'll tell you, I am on fire for this season. It always helps to see Clemmens get his booty chunked, too. It does not happen often, but I love to see it.
So. I wonder how Rocker and Everett and waltzing down in the Ranger Clubhouse? Are they wooing each other with blackjacks yet? I tell you, I LOVE cosmic justice.

Hey poocat, if the Yankees win because they're rich, how do you explain the Mets, Dodgers, Red Sox and Rangers? Big payrolls, no playoffs last year.

While dollars play a part it's the quality of the organization that makes a huge difference. I hate the Yankees as much as anyone (being a Mets fan), but they won those championships largely as a result of their farm system. Their payroll began to balloon several years ago because contracts came due and they had to reward guys like Jeter and Williams for jobs well done or lose them to free agency.

And how about the Cardinals? Small market team that somehow finds ways to win every now and then. What a great organization. I think the last mistake they made was giving up Keith Hernandez to the Mets 20 years ago.

Andy

I grew up in St. Louis, which genetically made me a Cardinals fan, even though not much of a sports nut. harry Carey was at St. Louis before he was Chicago. I used to get straight-A tickets to Cardinal games.
but in general I don't watch sports, except one time..and thereupon hangs the tale...

When I was in the hospital recuperating from cancer surgery (had all my lymph nodes removed) it was 1985, and the cards were in the series against KC. I had a WEIRD roomate who didnt want me to turn on the tv (try sitting in a hospital bed without tv for 17 days! anyways, I played up what a big cardinals fan I was , yadda yadda yadda, so he relented and let me watch the series games, so I have fond memories of that series, even though we waz robbed.

Why didn't I insist on watching tV? This was in Las Vegas, and the elderly gentleman of italian descent was registered as "joe", and every hospital personnel referred to him as "Joe", but every visitor called him "Armando". And he had visitors, every day, paying huge respects, Thanking him for their jobs, etc, etc. Once I was half-asleep and overheard him talking with a visitor..

"They dont wanna deliver by cab no more"
"This is disrespectful. How can they even think to refuse?"
"I just came to tell you, Mr. (name deleted to protect privacy). What do you want to do?"
"I want YOU to take care of it, capiche?...I want you to..."
-- at this point I made a show of pretending to wake up. I had my eyes barely cracked open and saw Armando make a gesture of a knife across a throat. They stopped talking. Now, this could have meant what he wanted him to do, or to stop talking because I was waking up...but I gotta tell you, you get a roomate like that, you listen when he says he don't want to watch tv.

Months later, I was at my oncologist to get my blood drawn, and someone slapped me on the back hard enough to eject false teeth, If I'd had any. It was Armando, congratulating both of us on still being alive.

whew!

Um... Go White Sox!

:D

G.--

right.

look, i know the yanks do a great job of managing their talent, creating a team based atmosphere, not having anyone be loud, blending in, being corporate. they're the ultimate team. they're a giant money-making monster. and they do it very well.

but that bores me.
i love jeter.
think what he would do if he were allowed personality?!

he'd still not be nomar, but come on, who could be?

the red sox are so much fun, until they crumble.
i love pedro. he's like no other.
nomar is more fun than breakfast.


but the cardinals?!
now that's a team.
jacked at first, second, third, right, and center.
great pitching.
brilliant defensive catcher (best in league at throwing out runners)
a bench of starters for any other team (except yanks)
eli marrero, placido polanco, mike defilice...

and a great manager (best?)
they lost mark, and it's no worries.

i love those guys.
small market brilliance, build a team, keep the core intact, and build, build, build.

poocat.

Sox are 4-1. Casey FOssum is really doing some nice stuff. And Clark... DAMN! What is he? 6'9"? Several excellent plays between he and Hillenbrand last night. Manny seems to be improving. IF we cold only have a team of Nixons, Veriteks, Clarks, Nomars and Pedros. Pedro is getting me down, though. He's like a bank account you can't touch. The wealth is there, but you only get to see the interest lest the funds themselves should be depleated.
How 'bout those Tigers?

0-7, firing the manager, general manager, pitching coach, third base coach, anyone else smelling a come back?

Well, at least the Wings/Pistons are winning.

Looks like the Mets are the most mediocre team money can buy. I'm dying watching how well Robin Ventura is doing with the Yankees. Dying.

I guess I'll have to see what happens when Mo comes back in late April, but really--losing to the Cubs after taking two of three from the Braves. Tsk.

Andy

Andy, can't say I know your pain being a Yankees fan, but Ventura sure was a great steal of a deal. When Giambi starts kicking in (2 homers tonight) they will be hard to stop. How sick is it when you have Nick Johnson batting ninth! I wouldn't mind seeing another subway series either, though the rest of the country would yawn.

Thundarr, the Mets are infamous for their boneheaded personnel decisions. It took me years to get over the Lenny Dykstra/Juan Samuel trade. The Mets traded straight across to the Phillies for Samuel and what happens? They put Samuel in center--which was not his natural position--and watched him drop balls while back in Philadelphia Dykstra nearly hits .400.

As of today the Mets are 4-4 with what has to be the most porous infield in baseball. I don't get it. Ray Ordonez is every bit as good--maybe better--defensively than Jeter yet he committed four errors in two games! It's like someone put a weird hex on the Mets that absolutely prevents these guys from reaching their potential.

Personally, I'd love a subway series, even though there is a serious problem with the fact that my kids are Yankees fans and their parents love their Mets. Let the rest of the country sleep!

Andy

arright, we're a bit further in (though not much) and here's poocat's updated calls:

the mets suck.
the mets always suck.
the mets are about as reliable as john rocker.
they'll still suck, no matter how hard phillips works.

let me clear up a few facts.
i like the mets.
i LOVE robbie alomar.
he's one of my favorite players, and i'd trade anything for him at any time...
well, almost anything.

second:
pedro will make it.
i know he will.

you know why?

cause i have faith.

third:
did i mention i'm a cardinals fan?!
did i mention that the cardinals are full of woop-ass like a can full of hand grenades?
they rock. and matt morris is 3-0, just like...

four:
the randy, curt, and pray bonds gets hurt show...
...wait. what? he's hurt? d'backs are 1-5 w/o schilling/johnson?

ha.
i sense imminent cardinals power.
i love the cardinals because tino martinez is the worst hitting man on our team.

woo-woo!

poocat.

Awright, poocat, them's fightin' words. I've NEVER met a Cards fan who likes the Mets; the kindest thing I've ever heard anybody from St. Louis say is, "Those stinkin' Mets." I know where you stand--don't try to fool me.

It warms my heart that you like Alomar so much, because he's finally breaking out of his slump (by way of Mike Piazza's borrowed bat) and was instrumental in the Mets' win over Montreal yesterday. He'll probably be instrumental in Mets wins over the Cardinals when St. Louis visits later this month. By that time Mo will be off the DL and the Mets will DOMINATE. Yes, dominate. The only question going into this season for the Mets has been pitching and that question has largely been answered.

Bring on the Cards, baby. The difference between being 8-4 and 7-5 is one lousy win. God, I miss the old NL East.

Andy

ha!

jim edmonds hits for your whole team.
jd drew hits for half your team (ie not vaughn piazza alomar burnitz)
pujols... we all know what he will do.

polanco/vina get on base like nobody's business,

pitching?
as soon as williams comes back (may?!) we're untouchable. until then we've got to put up with andy benes. (do we?! that's absurd. he's AWFUL, and i've been saying so for years!)

besides... the way rey sanchez makes errors, we don't need to play.
;)

it's all good.
my dad's a mets fan and has been all my life (and all of his, too) so i'm not actually that angry about it... (in case any of the mods are worried :)) but i do want to get you back for 1999... we had a MUCH better shot of touching the yankees, and you went and made a mess of things...

god.
t'was andy's turn in the rotation again last night.
guess what, we got KILLED.

12 runs?!
someone cut that man loose!
he's got a 83 mph FASTball and NO slider/curve/change/ANYTHING!

back to a-league for you, son.

where oh where are you rick ankiel (with your control, that is...)

whatever.
eventually ankiel will show up.
eventually williams will be back.
stephanson should be ok.
morris rules
kile is bomb
smith is solid
bullpen's pretty deep

and tino has to hit sometime.

poocat.

LOL!

I think the Mets host St. Louis on Monday for three games. Should be fun.

Andy

How 'BOUT them Sox?
 

So, while it is still very early in the season, I have to say I am bustling with joy (yes, I DID use the word bustling).
Red Sox, 8-4. And, as a bonus, we get to see them Yanks looking like... well, they way the Sox did at the end of last season, frankly. Keystone Cops, defensively speaking. Yes, I AM enjoying it. Yes, I have hope (all Sox fans, we hope, live so).
Biggest hope boosters?
Pedro is important... but he ain't the end all be all. THe rest of the bullpen is putting up marvelous stuff... for the most part (whither El Guapo?).
Tony Clark may bumble behind the plate, but DAMN! Have you seen that guy at first base?
Shea Hillenbrand- our little slugger is growing up. Discipline. All about that.
Trot Nixon and Jason Veritek are their usual out performing happy-to-be-playing-ball professional selves.
On the defensive side, the machine is well oiled. Better lubed than it has been in YEARS.
Now, now. Before yoiu guys so rightly give me the "yes, but is this not how them Sox ALWAYS start out? On top? Later in the season, they will crumble like Hamlet in Act V. Yeah, true. But you know, Hamlet DID get the job done.
Let's see what happens.
Hey. Tigers won last night, huh?

after the cardinals just lost three to the brewers i'm not discussing baseball any more.

;)

but they will be back!

kick ass!

and you're right.
there's one constant.

THE RANGERS SUCK.