The Official 2006 MLB Thread
- Thread starter DangerousK
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Hey whats up Mike.
I'm ready for another thrilling season that no doubt will have highs and lows for both of our teams. I'm hoping to Yanks can break that curse they have against Anaheim this year but it's a bit early to tell on that one.
I'm expecting the Angels to take the AL West. The A's don't have the pitching to get it done. Harden is good, but he can't pitch every game. If he could then it might be different. I think their offense is average. I don't really expect them to play any differently than last year except perhaps a little bit worse at most. The Angels still have a good team all around and especially in that division they should be able to beat on those teams for some easy wins. When I see more of how they are playing I'll say where I think they will go in the playoffs.
Zito doesn't have it anymore so I would never expect him to pitch well against the Yankees. His curveball has lost a lot of bite over the past several seasons. It has the movement when he is good, but if he is a little off with that pitch, it just hangs over the plate. He's never going to regain the form he had 4-5 years ago. Ironic how they keep him though. He'll give you good starts here and there but he is no longer consistent anymore.
Rollins is up to 37...I would intentionally walk the guy every at bat to end his streak.
On the subject of Barroids and the Rocket....I believe Bonds SHOULD be banned from baseball permanently. He deserves the same treatment as Pete Rose. Unfortunately, our beloved comissioner Bud Selig is nothing more than a sack of shit. He is just a puppet who exerts very little in the way of real power. Like jro said, he'll probably publicly denounce Bonds and that'll be it. He's not the type of comissioner that Fay Vincent and Bart Giamatti were. Those two had a set of cojones. Selig is afraid of pissing off the MLBPA and the owners. If he wants to truly define his legacy, banning Bonds would be the best move he could do because it will allow him to be judged in a positive light. Look at how everyone thinks Giamatti did the right thing in putting that piece of paper before Rose that stipulated by signing it he would be banned from the game. Selig is going to go down as the comissioner who stood by idly as records were falsely shattered due to steroids and he turned the other way. He is more concerned with the business ventures of the MLB than in the darker shit that goes on. I have no doubt he knew steroid use was going on over 10 years ago and just chose to bury his head in the sand. Don't forget he has no choice but to "investigate" the claims of Bonds' steroid usage because of the book detailing the usage. He can't hide from that. If Selig wants to be a true comissioner, he should put the same paper before Bonds that was put before Rose.
Clemens will probably come back, he is a drug addict when it comes to baseball. He loves the game too much to stay away considering he is still in excellent shape. Plus the way I figure, I don't think he would want his last pitch to have come in something like the World Baseball Classic. I could see him signing with the Red Sox just to finish up with the team he started. We'll see though, maybe he really is done.
I'm ready for another thrilling season that no doubt will have highs and lows for both of our teams. I'm hoping to Yanks can break that curse they have against Anaheim this year but it's a bit early to tell on that one.
I'm expecting the Angels to take the AL West. The A's don't have the pitching to get it done. Harden is good, but he can't pitch every game. If he could then it might be different. I think their offense is average. I don't really expect them to play any differently than last year except perhaps a little bit worse at most. The Angels still have a good team all around and especially in that division they should be able to beat on those teams for some easy wins. When I see more of how they are playing I'll say where I think they will go in the playoffs.
Zito doesn't have it anymore so I would never expect him to pitch well against the Yankees. His curveball has lost a lot of bite over the past several seasons. It has the movement when he is good, but if he is a little off with that pitch, it just hangs over the plate. He's never going to regain the form he had 4-5 years ago. Ironic how they keep him though. He'll give you good starts here and there but he is no longer consistent anymore.
Rollins is up to 37...I would intentionally walk the guy every at bat to end his streak.
On the subject of Barroids and the Rocket....I believe Bonds SHOULD be banned from baseball permanently. He deserves the same treatment as Pete Rose. Unfortunately, our beloved comissioner Bud Selig is nothing more than a sack of shit. He is just a puppet who exerts very little in the way of real power. Like jro said, he'll probably publicly denounce Bonds and that'll be it. He's not the type of comissioner that Fay Vincent and Bart Giamatti were. Those two had a set of cojones. Selig is afraid of pissing off the MLBPA and the owners. If he wants to truly define his legacy, banning Bonds would be the best move he could do because it will allow him to be judged in a positive light. Look at how everyone thinks Giamatti did the right thing in putting that piece of paper before Rose that stipulated by signing it he would be banned from the game. Selig is going to go down as the comissioner who stood by idly as records were falsely shattered due to steroids and he turned the other way. He is more concerned with the business ventures of the MLB than in the darker shit that goes on. I have no doubt he knew steroid use was going on over 10 years ago and just chose to bury his head in the sand. Don't forget he has no choice but to "investigate" the claims of Bonds' steroid usage because of the book detailing the usage. He can't hide from that. If Selig wants to be a true comissioner, he should put the same paper before Bonds that was put before Rose.
Clemens will probably come back, he is a drug addict when it comes to baseball. He loves the game too much to stay away considering he is still in excellent shape. Plus the way I figure, I don't think he would want his last pitch to have come in something like the World Baseball Classic. I could see him signing with the Red Sox just to finish up with the team he started. We'll see though, maybe he really is done.
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Neo Mike said:So a quick game 1 season opener question:
Are the A's this bad? Or are the Yankees this good this year?
People are saying the Yankees are probably going to score over 1000 runs this season. I think it is still early to say on that, but if they actual can function as a team this year, they might have a team better than the one we saw in the '98 season.
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DangerousK said:
I grabbed clemens in my fantasy league, and have him riding the pine for now. I'll hang on to him until mid summer I figure, if necessary. Like you, I'm sure he'll be back.
I have tix on the field for the wife and I for the Yankee/Angel weekend opener at the big A on sat. night. I splurged a bit this year and bought a massive amount of tix for the whole season the morning they were released a month ago. Had to wake my ass up at 7 for that shit.
@Dangerous You get any tix for the season out of the way? I was sick of dicking with all the scalpers last year. I think i'm getting season seats next year. We'll see.
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Neo Mike said:
How far away from the field are you for the Yankee/Anaheim opener and how many games did you buy tickets for this season?
I actually haven't bought any tickets for the season. In fact I haven't been to a game in Yankee Stadium since 1996. Ever since they won then, the ticket prices have just gotten more and more expensive for good seating. I have no interest in sitting in the upper deck or mezzanine levels. It's kind of a shame that the ticket prices have gotten in my opinion so out of hand. But that's what happens when a team wins and the payroll balloons to a level of spending that a third world country has.
I honestly don't know when I will ever go back to Yankee Stadium. I used to go there all the time when I was a kid. Heck I have some ticket stubs in my drawer from September of 1991 when box seats there were $12.00. I was probably 10-15 rows away from the field when I would go to games. How the times have changed. I probably will try and go to Shea Stadium since it's easier on the wallet.
Had a blast when I went with my friends last year so we will probably try and go again. But this time hopefully when Pedro Martinez is pitching. I'd love to see him pitch in person since I think he is just amazing to watch.
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DangerousK said:
We got about 10 different games, all are in various seats in field box level except the final yankees series. I have at least 2 tix to see the yanks for each series they come here, padres, a's, doggers, and I think a bosox game.
I paid the face value and got them through the mlb site the morning they were released. Much easier on the wallet than dealing with all the scalpers/ebay auctions.
Similar tix we have for sat's game i've seen on ebay for almost 300 dollars for 2. Absurd. We are 3 rows back in row C field, right in between Kotchman (1b) and Vladdy (rf).
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Neo Mike said:
I was disappointed when I read that the needle was removed.
Barry Bonds kind of reminds me of wizkid. Everyone hates them, yet they don't have enough of a brain to realize when they should just get lost for good.
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Anyone watch the "Bonds on Bonds" episode last night?
What a joke. The master of self pity himself. All the fake tears, all the fake crying. Lame.
See the below article from LATimes.
Reality Is, This Could Be an Act by Bonds
Mike Penner
April 5, 2006
Can a reality series really be a reality series when the series really isn't sure what the reality is?
That's just one question posed by ESPN's "Bonds on Bonds," a weekly hourlong look at controversial San Francisco Giant slugger Barry Bonds, which debuted Tuesday evening.
Are the best interests of baseball being served when its most cherished record is being chased by a hitter widely suspected of juicing his pursuit with performance-enhancing drugs?
Are the best interests of journalism being served when a major news outlet such as ESPN trades on its ability to credibly cover the Bonds story by paying for the dubious privilege of allowing Bonds to put his own spin on that story?
And how much of that story is being left on the cutting-room floor by the production company working in association with Bonds?
This sort of checkbook journalism is enough to bring tears to the eyes of any self-respecting member of the media … and while we're on that subject, what are we to make of the scenes of Bonds weeping at the end of the first episode of "Bonds on Bonds"?
With his voice breaking and his right hand mopping up tears, Bonds tells an interviewer, "You don't see me bringing anybody else into this. I take it myself. (Long pause.) And I'm going to take it. Because there's so many other people that depend on me. And I think I stand up for them too, it's not just me.
"They can take me down. Who gives a … ? I don't really care. I never care. Baseball, they want to take me down, go right ahead…. I don't care. But there are so many other people that depend on me to stay strong.
"I wish I could walk away. Like, leave this game. But can I let my father down, my mom down, myself, everybody, my teammates? I don't need the money.
"I don't really care. I've never really cared about that anyways. I just want to play ball, and that's just it.
"You've got this half of the people that hate you, and then you have this other half that roots for you. Why should I let them down? Why should I let them down for all these other people? Why should I let myself down? Why should I let my kids down? I just can't do that."
The sequence makes for gripping viewing. Good television, as they say.
But is any of it real? The tears? The emotion? The Ruthian tug at the heartstrings?
Or is Bonds just playing a role? Acting out a part for the benefit of a public-image salvage project, to say nothing of a sizable paycheck? Bonds is sharing profits with the company producing the series for ESPN, Tollin/Robbins Productions.
That association casts yet one more cloud over Bonds. The series has sparked debate within ESPN over possible conflict of interest, an argument not diluted by the network's decision to turn the production over to its "original entertainment" division, the same august body responsible for "Hustle," "Season on the Brink" and "Dream Job."
Anyone without that knowledge tuning into ESPN2 on Tuesday easily could have assumed the program to be an independently produced news report. All the trappings are there — footage of the Giants' season opener against the San Diego Padres, references to the syringe tossed onto the field by a spectator, baseball journalists commenting on the Bonds case and the validity of his home-run chase.
On the surface, "Bonds on Bonds" works hard to avoid puff-piece allegations.
ESPN baseball reporter Peter Gammons is shown commenting, "When Barry passes Ruth, [the steroids controversy] will be a major topic. And I'm sure people in baseball would love for Barry to announce he's going to retire, and deal with this. But there are certain things you have to deal with."
There is a reference to a national poll showing that only 49% of baseball fans believe Bonds should be elected to the Hall of Fame, with 46% saying they wish Bonds would immediately retire.
But the strength of such segments is undercut when they serve mainly to create sympathy for Bonds, who is seen laughing at a GQ article about the 10 most hated athletes and wondering how he could have ever finished second behind Terrell Owens.
In a self-promotional commercial aired more than once during the program, Bonds says, "All that you've read, all that you've heard — I'll tell you the truth. I'll tell you who I am. I'll tell you what I go through. And I'll let you into my life. There's no better person to get it from than me."
But is anyone believing it?
What a joke. The master of self pity himself. All the fake tears, all the fake crying. Lame.
See the below article from LATimes.
Reality Is, This Could Be an Act by Bonds
Mike Penner
April 5, 2006
Can a reality series really be a reality series when the series really isn't sure what the reality is?
That's just one question posed by ESPN's "Bonds on Bonds," a weekly hourlong look at controversial San Francisco Giant slugger Barry Bonds, which debuted Tuesday evening.
Are the best interests of baseball being served when its most cherished record is being chased by a hitter widely suspected of juicing his pursuit with performance-enhancing drugs?
Are the best interests of journalism being served when a major news outlet such as ESPN trades on its ability to credibly cover the Bonds story by paying for the dubious privilege of allowing Bonds to put his own spin on that story?
And how much of that story is being left on the cutting-room floor by the production company working in association with Bonds?
This sort of checkbook journalism is enough to bring tears to the eyes of any self-respecting member of the media … and while we're on that subject, what are we to make of the scenes of Bonds weeping at the end of the first episode of "Bonds on Bonds"?
With his voice breaking and his right hand mopping up tears, Bonds tells an interviewer, "You don't see me bringing anybody else into this. I take it myself. (Long pause.) And I'm going to take it. Because there's so many other people that depend on me. And I think I stand up for them too, it's not just me.
"They can take me down. Who gives a … ? I don't really care. I never care. Baseball, they want to take me down, go right ahead…. I don't care. But there are so many other people that depend on me to stay strong.
"I wish I could walk away. Like, leave this game. But can I let my father down, my mom down, myself, everybody, my teammates? I don't need the money.
"I don't really care. I've never really cared about that anyways. I just want to play ball, and that's just it.
"You've got this half of the people that hate you, and then you have this other half that roots for you. Why should I let them down? Why should I let them down for all these other people? Why should I let myself down? Why should I let my kids down? I just can't do that."
The sequence makes for gripping viewing. Good television, as they say.
But is any of it real? The tears? The emotion? The Ruthian tug at the heartstrings?
Or is Bonds just playing a role? Acting out a part for the benefit of a public-image salvage project, to say nothing of a sizable paycheck? Bonds is sharing profits with the company producing the series for ESPN, Tollin/Robbins Productions.
That association casts yet one more cloud over Bonds. The series has sparked debate within ESPN over possible conflict of interest, an argument not diluted by the network's decision to turn the production over to its "original entertainment" division, the same august body responsible for "Hustle," "Season on the Brink" and "Dream Job."
Anyone without that knowledge tuning into ESPN2 on Tuesday easily could have assumed the program to be an independently produced news report. All the trappings are there — footage of the Giants' season opener against the San Diego Padres, references to the syringe tossed onto the field by a spectator, baseball journalists commenting on the Bonds case and the validity of his home-run chase.
On the surface, "Bonds on Bonds" works hard to avoid puff-piece allegations.
ESPN baseball reporter Peter Gammons is shown commenting, "When Barry passes Ruth, [the steroids controversy] will be a major topic. And I'm sure people in baseball would love for Barry to announce he's going to retire, and deal with this. But there are certain things you have to deal with."
There is a reference to a national poll showing that only 49% of baseball fans believe Bonds should be elected to the Hall of Fame, with 46% saying they wish Bonds would immediately retire.
But the strength of such segments is undercut when they serve mainly to create sympathy for Bonds, who is seen laughing at a GQ article about the 10 most hated athletes and wondering how he could have ever finished second behind Terrell Owens.
In a self-promotional commercial aired more than once during the program, Bonds says, "All that you've read, all that you've heard — I'll tell you the truth. I'll tell you who I am. I'll tell you what I go through. And I'll let you into my life. There's no better person to get it from than me."
But is anyone believing it?
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Y'know, the thing is, I'm just sick of Barry in general. I don't care positive, negative, whatever, it's just pretty sad how he's managed to become bigger than the game itself. He loves the attention even though he claims otherwise.
I just wish he'd go away.
I just wish he'd go away.
zapatistab
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I agree off the field Barry is an idiot. But being a Giants fan, I appreciate when he makes a comment about 50,000 Dodger fans yelling "Barry Sucks". That's funny!
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I've hated Barry ever since he Dissed the yankees as a Free agent right after the 1992 season....
Nice Rings Barry.
Nice Rings Barry.
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Thanks for posting that stuff about that reality show Bonds has Mike.
I have no desire to watch it because I had my suspicions about how slanted it would be. That just confirms it.
If he was really so broken up about what he is "put through", then he should stop saying how he might retire and just fucking do it. He would get more applause if he would disappear than he will when he hits homerun number 715. The idiots in San Francisco will keep supporting this piece of shit no matter what he does.
Mickey Mantle > Barry Bonds.
I have no desire to watch it because I had my suspicions about how slanted it would be. That just confirms it.
If he was really so broken up about what he is "put through", then he should stop saying how he might retire and just fucking do it. He would get more applause if he would disappear than he will when he hits homerun number 715. The idiots in San Francisco will keep supporting this piece of shit no matter what he does.
Mickey Mantle > Barry Bonds.
zapatistab
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DangerousK said:
You shouldn't care so much. It's just a game.
I also take offense, being called an idiot. And whatever team he played for, that city would support him. That's just how sports fans are.
zapatistab
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jro said:
No, I am not saying they should, but that they do. If Bonds played for the Dodgers, they wouldn't chant Barry Sucks.
If A Rod left the Yankees, and went to the Red Sox, Yankee fans would rip him. Look what happened when he went to the Yankees, they were calling him Pay Rod in Seattle.
Who cares if Barry took Steroids, in the long run that's his problem. As long as he has a bat in his hand I am watching. The Steroids only makes his balls go further, with or without steroids, he is still the best hitter in Baseball.
No one rips mark Mcguire, because he was the all American boy when he was playing, and he cryed in front of Congress. The only reason he may not get voted into the Hall of Fame, is because the people who vote for Hall of Famers, don't want to be hypocrits.
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They do too rip McGwire, what are you talking about? He's been villified in the press ever since his pathetic showing in front of Congress and now he's considered a questionable HOF candidate, whereas he was a can't-miss first ballot guy before. That statement isn't true at all.zapatistab said:
And I think lots of people obviously care if Barry was on illegal steroids. It cheapens the game to have THE guy who's held up as the talent standard and the all-time greatest hitter have his most impressive accomplishments be called into serious question. Don't you care if the players compete on an even field? Or should players be allowed to do whatever they can to succeed, legal or not?
Without 'roids, Bonds MIGHT still be the best hitter in baseball. But he's not the same power hitter, obviously. He'll probably still lead the league in average and draw lots of walks, but he's not going to hit 50 homers, let alone 73.
No steroids throughout his career = no HR record. Career numbers no more impressive than the ones of guys like A-Rod, Pujols, Helton, Vlad Guerrero, etc.
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zapatistab said:
I don't care if you take offense to being called an idiot.
If you want to blindly support a cheater, that's your problem.
I have a problem with it because it sets a bad example for kids. If you truly believe it does not, then you deserve to be labeled an "idiot".
When kids see the type of success that people like Canseco, McGwire, Bonds, and many other steroid users have had. Of course they would have an interest in it because if it is the difference between making $50K versus $25 million, the temptation may be too difficult to resist.
See what you cannot realize because you have a narrowminded view of sports is the effect that the participants in professional sports have on the average individual. There was a reason behind the slogan "Be Like Mike!" because people wanted to be. Dumb or not, you can't simply avoid the impact sports has on the every day life of people around the world.
Thats why I care. The records are one thing, but the effect that Bonds can have negatively goes even beyond that into the every day world you and I live in.
I would not cheer Bonds if he played for the Yankees or any team. He is a disgrace to baseball. I have no respect for McGwire or Palmeiro. Bonds believes he is bigger than the game, that's why he can blatantly lie the way he does.
Bonds is not the best hitter in baseball.
That would be Alex Rodriguez.
Hate him or like him, he is the best at this point in time.
zapatistab
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jro said:
Your missing my point. It's all about entertainment. People who shell out lots of money for season tickets, or attend games regularly want to be entertained. Yes, steroids cheapens the games, but people get entertained.
On a personal level, I don't approve of it, but it's not my problem to care. You obviously are seeing from a Baseball purists point. I am seeing it from a fans point of view. Baseball players understand the entertainments aspect, and they all want to be loved, regardless of what they say. Without the controversy, who doesn't want to be the homerun champ. But baseball players just do too much, and screw it all up.
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DangerousK said:
So, do you support Giambi? Sheffield?
I'm sorry, but you can't be considered the best hitter in baseball when you hit absolutely nothing over and over in the playoffs.