I’m a Cardinals partisan, and I haven’t paid a lot of attention to the competition, so take my opinion for what it’s worth. I think the Cards are going to do reasonably well. I can envision them sneaking into the post season. True, the pitching is serviceable at best (at least until Carpenter comes back), Glaus is a worse glove than Rolen at third, and the middle infield is, well, not what it once was. But I think these guys are going to score a helluva a lot of runs. La Russa seems to be committed to the idea of not running Pujols into the ground. Pujols is scary when he gets a full winter off and a little extra rest during the season. He’s hitting .411 this spring. Ankiel is looking pretty sharp too. If his psyche holds up, he’s got the cleanup spot and should hit a ton. He and Glaus are both hitting over .350 this spring. I think the 3-4-5 spots are pretty solid. Duncan was hampered by injuries last season, and he’s struggling right now, but I expect him to get back on track pretty soon. If so, the Cards will have a lot of power to go around. Look for a late surge when Carpenter comes off the DL to win some games and Rasmus gets a callup.
The Blue Jays and Expos used to play an exhibition game too, called the Pearson Cup, in midseason.
I don’t understand the purpose of regular season games in Japan. It is not like they need to be convinced that it is a good game. Japan embraced it a long time ago. Playing in China or France would be selling the game. This is not.
Actually it seems to be a bridge building exercise. MLB gear has been selling at a steady increasing rate in the last 10 years. These games help sell the brand. Japan is still a growth market for MLB and the largest growth market. China appears to be the next target. In the USA is basically flat anyway. The sales go up, but only by a smaller percentage.
Jim (Must wash mouth out now, too much marketing non-speak, ack!)
Dammit, I’m too enthusiastic about the Yankees’ “Young 3.” I know in my brain young pitchers need time to develop and the chance of all 3 being good this year is slim, but I really think they wll be. Am I buying the hype? Maybe. But they all seem to have the right makeup (whatever that is) to be successful.
On a tangent, since I live in NC and don’t have satellite, I have to watch the Yanks on my laptop. Mlb.tv has a pretty good product though, and this year they’re adding a new feature called Mosaic (not the old browser) that lets you watch 6 games at once. Other than the fact that I miss all the NY/Baltimore games (blackout) it’s a decent deal. You get all the MLB radio games and I love baseball on the radio. Nothing better to nap to…
Your brain is right. Listen to it.
Says the guy hoping on the really high/wierd leg kick…
…as a third starter.
Willis just has to be decent and eat up innings. I’m not expecting a Cy Young winner. On the other hand, I am expecting big things from Miguel Cabrera. I know he’s good. He’s very good. But I think I’ll still be surprised.
Yes, no doubt Cabrera was the jewel of the offseason. If George was still young…
You misspelled “Al Davis”.
Please… There’s a HUGE difference. Al Davis is still running his team.
Hey, trivia question… What do the Tigers and George Orwell have in common?
How’d you like seeing the Red Sox win two titles?
This year I can’t find a good ranking of player fantasy values on the net.
Last year I came across one that allowed you to filter based on league and position.
Anybody know of a good one?
I personally didn’t see any such thing. Heard about it, though. Two is nothing. The *Marlins * have won two in the last fifteen years, so how hard can it be?
It sucked. It really sucked. The two great pillars of my life were destroyed in the period of 2003 to 2004.
- The Red Sox could not win the clutch game against the Yanks and that they would find a way to choke.
- Is political and I will leave it out of this thread.
It should be a good year for baseball. I’m pretty fired up for it.
Damn, I saw that you were a “new reply” and was hoping for another shot across the bow.
That made me laugh, bbs2k. No one’s stopping you from loading the cannon… 
Carl Pavano!