** The Official 2012 MLB Thread! **

[gtru1981]

last two nights have been real huge heartbreakers. The Nats losing (was hoping for a Nats/Yanks World Series) and Jeter and his injury!

Arod better step up and everyone else as well! Raul cant do it all himself!

I wonder if the Dodgers are willing to take another bad contract and take Arod off our hands!?

 

[Ninja108]

Gtru..A-Rod isn't the only one. This is the WORST offense I have seen in the last 20 years.

 

[Sausy]

Too little speed, too many strikeouts and not enough reliance on making contact to generate runs. Generates home runs in bunches but without Derek Jeter loses one of the few guys who can make contact to get on base. They are awesome driving the ball out of the park but if you contain their power, it's very unlikely they can generate any offense now.

 

[sonny10305]

Too little speed, too many strikeouts and not enough reliance on making contact to generate runs. Generates home runs in bunches but without Derek Jeter loses one of the few guys who can make contact to get on base. They are awesome driving the ball out of the park but if you contain their power, it's very unlikely they can generate any offense now.

It’s almost like watching the Mets huh Saucy
The Yankees even have their own Jason Bay in A-Rod.
I think of A-Rod the way I did with Bay when he comes up to the plate and we really need something to happen you think, Oh no, what is that fool gonna do. Nothing seems to go right for Alex even last night with a ball up and in that should have given him a 2-1 count he tried to get out of the way and it’s a foul ball. When a player is going good and he has the count in his favor taking close pitches making sure he gets the pitch he wants and letting it rip but Alex just can’t get to the real good fastball anymore so he tries to cheat and when he does that of course he gives himself up on the breaking ball; it’s just what is gonna happen and I should think a-Rod would know that or at least he should.

I am a big Mets fan but with my team out of it I wanted to see the Yankees win it and there was a time when they would bounce back after losing the first two but not without Jetter and the guys they have on this team

 

[Sausy]

It’s almost like watching the Mets huh Saucy
The Yankees even have their own Jason Bay in A-Rod.
I think of A-Rod the way I did with Bay when he comes up to the plate and we really need something to happen you think, Oh no, what is that fool gonna do. Nothing seems to go right for Alex even last night with a ball up and in that should have given him a 2-1 count he tried to get out of the way and it’s a foul ball. When a player is going good and he has the count in his favor taking close pitches making sure he gets the pitch he wants and letting it rip but Alex just can’t get to the real good fastball anymore so he tries to cheat and when he does that of course he gives himself up on the breaking ball; it’s just what is gonna happen and I should think a-Rod would know that or at least he should.

I am a big Mets fan but with my team out of it I wanted to see the Yankees win it and there was a time when they would bounce back after losing the first two but not without Jetter and the guys they have on this team

I wouldn't count the Yanks out,ya know,sonny....if they can get the long ball going, that's the one thing they can run rings around the Mets. Even Ichiro gets em out every now and then! It's sad what's hapened to A-Rod, and who knows how much of his steady decline can be attributed to his past history with chemical additives? The past two or so years he has looked like a shell of his old self.

I'm also a big New York baseball fan.....much more like you support the Mets but they represent the city,too. Now I know that a Cub fan would probably root like hell for the Cards over the White Sox if they were in the playoffs representing Chicago and the old Giants/ Dodgers rivalry with the Yankees was incredibly intense and divisive. Yet it isn't that bitter a rivalry between Mets and Yankees we can't wish each other well when we're not there to compete in the playoffs.... I guess losing two pro teams to the West Coast makes you appreciate the presence of the other team more these days.



Carlos Beltran is really impressing this postseason...big home runs from him and last year's WS hero David Freese helped the Cards bash the Giants last night. Carlos seems to be smelling that WS ring and what a story if he gets it being a key member of the team that broke the hearts of the 2006 Mets, most pointedly himself being frozen into a called third strike from Adam Wainwright with those runners on base to end the series.

 

[gtru1981]

Gtru..A-Rod isn't the only one. This is the WORST offense I have seen in the last 20 years.

We all know Swisher is gone after this season. Curtis might be another one, as I think the longer term contracts with the Yankees era might come to an end soon. A lot of these bigger clubs like the Soxs, Phillies, are realizing that going these ten year contracts aren't worth it.

 

[Sausy]

If you give long term contracts it should be to players just reaching their prime, no older than 30 and no more than six or seven years guaranteed. Extend Cano, but even then be careful. He's not exactly imitating the great players of October right now. Yankees in a very tenuous situation...no surefire stars or solid regular contributors coming up in the next year or so. They may either be forced to overspend to keep competitive or retool entirely and I think with their prices retooling isn't really a serious option.

 

[gtru1981]

If you give long term contracts it should be to players just reaching their prime, no older than 30 and no more than six or seven years guaranteed. Extend Cano, but even then be careful. He's not exactly imitating the great players of October right now. Yankees in a very tenuous situation...no surefire stars or solid regular contributors coming up in the next year or so. They may either be forced to overspend to keep competitive or retool entirely and I think with their prices retooling isn't really a serious option.

Dude, totally agree with you. I think six should be the max for long term contracts. Once a player is over the age of 30, giving them a 10 year contract is just plain stupid. The Angeles gave Albert a 10 year contract (he is 32) and his numbers are already in decline.

 

[Sausy]

Dude, totally agree with you. I think six should be the max for long term contracts. Once a player is over the age of 30, giving them a 10 year contract is just plain stupid. The Angeles gave Albert a 10 year contract (he is 32) and his numbers are already in decline.

Even the Reds giving Joey Votto a 10 year deal acted unwisely. Albert may even be 34, and though he had a good year after a bad start it was a notch below a typical Albert Pujols year. The Angels seriously can't think he'll give them more than five or six good years....God knows the Yanks with A-Rod being under contract for five more years at nearly $120 mil didn't pay him to struggle to hit in the .270's with maybe 20 homers,75 RBI. Obviously it's not my money to determine how its spent but locking up two,three or four players while having far less maneuverability regarding the rest if the roster even for a moneybags team like the Yanks just doesn't make sense. I liked what one cynical GM said about guaranteed contracts being a good idea: "Guarantee the performance and I'll guarantee the money!"

 

[Ninja108]

The cold hard truth...last year and this year were the Yank's best chances to win a World Series that they will have in a while. They are getting older and at some point,they will have to rebuild.
As for what's going on with A-Rod,I will always be grateful for 09 but the bottom line is he hijacked a World Series game to announce to everyone he wanted to leave unless he got more $$$$.
When you get paid that much,you darn well better produce and A-Rod hasn't.

 

[Sausy]

Boy,what an ugly end to the Yankee season. Bad CC, bad offense.....and as Joe Girardi(God he has nice guns watching his meeting with the media after the game...hate being shallow but he has nice arms)added it's not fair to blame it all on ARod. Has had a miserable playoffs but he had lots of company in regards to futile production with the big bats in the Yanks lineup. There was just about NOBODY who had good at bats after the first game when the Yanks tied it 4-4 in the ninth on a two run shot by Raul Ibanez.

Yankees being swept by Detroit begs the question how can the Yanks retool with few great prospects and with such a need to blend in youth not really being able to afford giving up the few really good ones(mostly in the lower minors). Spending on plus 30 flawed players like Curtis Granderson and Nick Swisher would hurt them and as incredible as it sounds they may give Alex Rodriguez away paying the vast majority of his contract just so he doesn't clog up their budget for the next five years at an average of 23 million. Derek Jeter looks like he's reacted to surgery as well as could be expected and is likely to be ready to play by spring training...but when you're pinning hopes on the healthy return of a 39 year old veteran, even one as venerable as Jeter you've got fundamental flaws on your club it may take time to correct.

In the other league the Giants were downed 8-3 by a Cards club that seems on a mission. Great start by Adam Wainwright who even without Carlos Beltran a second straight game was given a ton of support from the Cards offense. Only a two run shot by Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval in the ninth made the score slightly more respectable. He's not around much anymore but I know Abs is in his glory with the Cards on the verge of their third WS appearance since 2006(Met fans will NEVER forget that one in particular,either) Funny how Carlos Beltran goes from taking a called strike three perfect curve by Adam Wainwright to end the Met's NL hopes that year to being a crucial part of the Card's season and playoff drive. That's why baseball is so great....random stuff leading up to karmic bliss!

 

[Ninja108]

Seeing what I saw in this series..yuck. Never have I seen a Yankee team look so bad. Best wishes to the Tigers as they represent the AL.

 

[Sausy]

Seeing what I saw in this series..yuck. Never have I seen a Yankee team look so bad. Best wishes to the Tigers as they represent the AL.

Ninja,though the Yanks are #2 in my heart compared to my Mets I can't think of anything in recent years with the Yankees that represents quite as dismal and disillusioning moment for Yankee fans as this postseason Yankee debacle. If George were still here God help who would feel the sting of his wrath....A-Rod tops the list but almost EVERYONE just stunk. Now A-Rod says he wants to stay....if there is ANY way to get him to those fools in Florida,do it!!! Pay 80% of his salary....just lose him!!! Granderson, Swisher,Martin, Teixeira... so many flawed players....you can get away with a good but not great supporting cast if you had a couple of stars like Fielder and Cabrera to anchor the lineup augmented by a fine rising centerfielder in ex-Yankee Austin Jackson. And consistent great pitching but CC as good as he usually is was a notch below this year and no other Yankee starter has that kind of persona to ride the team through the playoffs,other than Andy Petitte and we can't count on him next year. Agreed wishing the best to the Tigers on a great run that sees them in the World Series...perhaps against the Cards who broke their hearts in 2006.

 

[gtru1981]

Seeing what I saw in this series..yuck. Never have I seen a Yankee team look so bad. Best wishes to the Tigers as they represent the AL.

With the Yanks out and i dont care for the Tigers, i am jumping ship and saying GO GIANTS!

 

[Ninja108]

Still not the worst Yankee loss I've seen. Game 7 of 01..nuff said.
As for George...while I do agree changes need to be made and more accountablity,more often then not his moves hurt the Yankees,not helped.

 

[CoolBlue71]

• 2009: New York Yankees
• 2010: San Francisco Giants
• 2011: St. Louis Cardinals


My home team is Detroit Tigers. I'm a Michigan native who wants this club, which defeated Yankees on Oct. 18 to win their 11th American League [AL] pennant in franchise history, to end up winning the 2012 World Series.

The three other teams, including Yankees, listed above having advanced to their League Championship Series means Tigers is the only one that have not won a World Series within the last three years. In fact, Detroit hasn't won it all since they went wire-to-wire in their legendary 1984 season under the management of the late George "Sparky" Anderson.

Detroit has four World Series titles: 1935, 1945, 1968, and 1984. In their ten previous Fall Classics, Tigers played Chicago Cubs four times (1907, 1908, 1935, 1945) and Cardinals three times (1934, 1968, 2006). Seven of ten … against the same two teams. That seems claustrophobic. The three other World Series were played against three separate clubs: Pittsburgh Pirates (1909), Cincinnati Reds (1940), and San Diego Padres (1984).

Right now, Game #07 of the National League Championship Series between Cards and Giants is in the bottom of the 2nd inning. San Francisco is ahead 1 to 0. We'll find out how it ends tonight. The winner captures the National League [NL] pennant, of course, and will play Detroit Tigers for the title of the 2012 World Series.

 

[sonny10305]

I want the Tigers in the mix. Their owner is a rare breed - a guy who actually cares about the success of his team. He expanded the Tigers payroll out of genuine interest in the team's success, and became the only owner in baseball to approve of an operating loss for his team.

You got your wish dude I think the Tigers deserve this chance and although the Giants will give em a run for the money I see Detroit takin it

 

[Sausy]

I would NEVER count the Giants out.... kinda feel bad for Cards fans because the Cards could not find a way to seal the deal. No offense in the last few games, plenty of mistakes,pitching couldn't hold on. Complete opposite of the Giants who took advantage of almost every opportunity and would NEVER go away. This will go at least six games,I'm going with the Giants over Detroit.

 

[sonny10305]

I would NEVER count the Giants out....

That's sorta what you said about the Yankees......how did that work out for ya

 

[Sausy]

That's sorta what you said about the Yankees......how did that work out for ya

True....but the Giants do have a very team oriented approach towards winning. Yanks depended basically on CC and home runs in bunches. Gives Mets fans like us hope though....you don't need superstars busting the budget. You need a couple of great players, some great complimentary players, some luck, a lot of heart and never say die approach.