Strange Schedule

post from Baseball Musings on 31 March 2008 12:03:00 PM. © Baseball Musings

I didn't realize until just now that the Atlanta-Washington game last night was a one-game series. Washington travels to Philadelphia today and the Braves host the Pirates. I guess ESPN really wanted that opening....

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BLS 08 forecast: Get ready for Red Sox redux
(Yahoo! Sports)

post from MLB News Blog on 31 March 2008 11:59:02 AM. © MLB News Blog

I’m not much for season previews or predictions. Yeah, they’re a lot of fun to make, but by the second batter of…Read the full story.

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Angell's Take

post from Baseball Musings on 31 March 2008 11:59:00 AM. © Baseball Musings

Roger Angell writes a properly sane comment in the New Yorker on steroids, records and why people used PEDs: The game is about to move on, and Commissioner Selig, who voiced distress over Major League Baseball's failure to impose strong...

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Rox Girl's 2008 NL Projections

post from Purple Row on 31 March 2008 11:52:52 AM. © Purple Row

Speaking of coming from a horse's backside, here's where I think we wind up come the end of September:

NL West (Why does the East always get listed at the top? It's not even alphabetical)

Colorado - I always get overly exuberant at the end of Spring Training. I will never apologize for being a homer in this regard. I'm going to say between 90-92 wins.
Los Angeles - I'm worried about this team, Joe Torre's making the right decisions thus far. 89-91 wins
Arizona - I think they wind up being relative disappointments in 2008, but I expect them to return to the top in 2009. 86-88 wins.
San Diego - It's hard to tell because their FO does such a great job about keeping competitive in off years, but the Padres are rebuilding right now, and I see them taking a step back as they work to integrate Headley and Antonelli into the program. The downgrade defensively in the outfield costs them a lot more than people realize. 81-83 wins.
San Francisco - How can you not watch this train wreck of an offense and take some perverse pleasure out of the misery of insufferable Giants fans? I'm looking forward to it. 68-70 wins.

NL Central

Milwaukee - I like the Brewers, they've been underestimated IMO by a lot of people thanks to their smaller media market. 85-87 wins
Chicago - If they had traded for Brian Roberts, I might have had them in first. They've got a deep pitching staff, and a decent lineup. I think Fukuodome's going to be okay, but not what the faithful are expecting. 83-85 wins.
Cincinnati - I had initially thought more of their potential this year than I do now, it looks like 2009 will be there breakout season. 79-81 wins.
Houston - This organization has become a model of inefficiency and an absolute joke. The team in 2008 isn't going to be as bad as they will be over the coming few seasons, but still bad enough. 71-73 wins.
St Louis - I might be underestimating them because they have a decent and deep outfield, plus Pujols, which makes their offense more formidable than I think many are giving them credit for, but the rotation and bullpen will be giving all those runs back. 68-70 wins.
Pittsburgh - The rebuilding process has begun, but it will take a lot of time. Last season made me believe that the Pirates young rotation is a bit overrated and the offense is just plain bad. I think they wind up with the worst record in the NL and are more a threat than the Giants for 100 losses. 62-64 wins.

NL East

Atlanta - I've decided to go outside of the conventional wisdom for all three of my division winners this year. I think Atlanta's got one of the top offenses in the league and pitching that's better than a lot of people seem to think and certainly deeper than their two primary divisional foes. I see the NL East as a three team horse-race, and I think the Braves pull it out. 92-94 wins.
NY Mets - I could see a wild card play-in game between the NL West and NL East second place teams. The Mets are top heavy, with stars up front masking considerable weakness in both the lineup and rotation and a bullpen that's not really improved from last season. 88-90 wins
Philadelphia - The Phillies are one of the hardest teams for me to figure out because there's a considerable gap in talent between the elite offensive unit they put out everyday and the substandard pitching they'll have outside Hamels and perhaps Myers. 86-88 wins.
Washington - I'm not sold on the Nats. I think their peak is mediocrity and they aren't going to hit that for another season or three. 72-74 wins.
Florida - The NL's three worst teams -the Marlins, Giants and Pirates- should be fodder for the top. If a supposed contender unexpectedly struggles against this group, you could probably count them out. 68-70 wins.

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http://www.purplerow.com/2008/3/31/388156/rox-girl-s-2008-nl-project

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Red Sox Make Another Japanese Signing

post from MLB Fleece Factor on 31 March 2008 11:47:58 AM. © MLB Fleece Factor

According to Ian Browne at MLB.com, the Boston Red Sox, no strangers to the Japanese player pool, have signed free-agent right-hander Terumasa Matsuo. The team of course landed Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima prior to the 2007 season, both of whom helped them to a World Championship.Matsuo, 26, was pitching for the Independent Shikoku Island League in [...]

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On the Phone

post from Baseball Musings on 31 March 2008 11:38:00 AM. © Baseball Musings

Of all the firsts at Nationals Park last night, only Big League Stew noted the first cell phone waver....

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Talkin' Cubs Live - Cubs vs. Brewers - 03/31/08

post from ChicagoCubsOnline.com on 31 March 2008 11:30:00 AM. © ChicagoCubsOnline.com

Game One - Opening Day: Cubs (0-0) vs. Brewers (0-0)
Game Time - 1:20pm C.T.
Coverage - TV: WGN TV, ESPN 2 - Radio: 720 WGN, XM Radio Channel 184
Location - Wrigley Field, Chicago

Carlos Zambrano (0-0, -.--/-.--) vs. Ben Sheets (0-0, -.--/-.--)

It's finally here....Opening Day and Chicago Cubs Baseball is on the Air! Carlos Zambrano will take the mound today for the fourth consecutive Opening Day. The Cubs need a solid season and especially a good start from Zambrano....and it begins today as he shoots for his first career win on Opening Day. Weather permitting....

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Hey lady, dont touch that jacket, its still March
in Detroit! (Yahoo! Sports)

Here’s an Opening Day tradition I had no idea existed before just perusing the AP photo wire …Read the full story.

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et-it%e2%80%99s-still-march-in-detroit%e2%80%99-yahoo-sports/

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Bleacher Creatures On New Stadium

Filip Bondy, author of the excellent Bleeding Pinstripes book, took the temperature of the infamous Bleacher Creatures regarding the new stadium and the impending fate of the current House That Ruth Built.

But there is no stopping the cranes now. The new stadium is rising right across the street, scaring the Creatures half to death. Where will they be next year at this time? The Yankees are offering them season tickets again, but will their seats be further removed from the field? Will their section feature the beloved, butt-molded plastic benches?

It appears from early sketches that the Creatures may be forced to sit directly behind box seaters at the new stadium. This is good news, in that the heckling of fellow fans will be made easier and it will be difficult for beer vendors to boycott the Creatures. But it is also bad news, because opposing right fielders might not hear the carefully concocted taunts, and Derek Jeter might have to strain to recognize his name during the first-inning roll call.

?As far as 39 goes next year,? says Bald Vinny Milano, ?there is a right-field bleachers now, there will be a right-field bleachers in the new stadium. When it comes time to pay for our seats, I believe they will offer us something ?comparable? to what we have now and we?re pretty much gonna be at their mercy. I have zero faith that anyone that works with or is involved with the Yankees actually cares one way or another if any of us go to the new stadium.

?Personally, I?m not even sure that I will make the move.?

"You know me well," says Tina Lewis, queen of the Creatures. "I'm very, very, very sad. It's going to be strange. I've seen things out there - the magic, the good, the bad - it just breaks my heart. Something hit me the first day I saw the place. I can't explain it and no amount of money in this world could replace it."

It appears from early sketches that the Creatures may be forced to sit directly behind box seaters at the new stadium. This is good news, in that the heckling of fellow fans will be made easier and it will be difficult for beer vendors to boycott the Creatures. But it is also bad news, because opposing right fielders might not hear the carefully concocted taunts, and Derek Jeter might have to strain to recognize his name during the first-inning roll call.

As a frequenter of the Yankee Stadium bleachers, it will be sad to see an end to that irreplaceable atmosphere - which includes the crappy confines, horrible food selection, alcohol-ban and dilapidated tunnel.

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http://bronx-bomberz.blogspot.com/2008/03/bleacher-creatures-on-new-stadium.html

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Coors, Colorado Rockies sign new 10-year
sponsorship agreement (AP)

Molson Coors Brewing Co., the No. 3 beer producer in the United States, will continue to be a fixture at Coors Field in Denver for at least the next decade. The brewery said Monday it has signed a 10-year sponsorship agreement with the Colorado Rockies. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. The deal, which includes licensing, advertising [...]

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