MLB 2004

yanks'll have to settle for the wildcard this year.
the red hot sox went out to oakland and swept -- no easy feat... they're goin' to the show!

the astros are the hottest team in the NL, but st. louis gets to the series this year.

ok, going out on a limb here: boston over st. louis in 7 games.

Even though the Sox screwed up my Fantasy Score yesterday (I have Hudson) it would be pretty cool to finally see them in the Series. I thought they were going to do it last year and meet the Cubs there... we know how that worked out. Might have been a good thing though...Red Sox vs. Cubs world series might signal the end of the world IMO.

St Louis is going to be tough to beat. They have a very potent line up with Rolen, Pujols, Edmonds, Walker and Renteria. As long as their pitching holds together they are going to be tough. I think their bullpen gives them a good advantage over other teams too.

I love Boston but fear if I mention them I will jinx things, so I'll just, uh, say that I dunno 'bout the AL. :-D

As for the NL, I think it'll be Atlanta.

NYY amaze me: their hitters offen fell on slumps, their pitching, with the exception of Rivera, has usually been below par, they make dumb trades (gave Contreras, took Loaiza). And they're still hanging to 1st place. It's a pact with the devil, I tell ya.

Boston has depth. But Wakefield and Lowe did not have a very good season.

The Twins are a conumdrum. How did they get there with only one decent (well, great) starter? What medallion does Juan Rincón have? He gets to the mound and suddenly the team lifts up.

Oakland's line up is the one I'd fear the most. The A's would be much higher had it not been for the excessive patience the management had towards Eric Karros (a .194 batter who benched better players). They also supported old Arthur Rhodes for too long. If no more such mistakes are made, they are serious contenders.

If there is justice, Boston and Oakland should be fighting the AL championship series. But the devil also plays.
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Atlanta has usually no flaws. The key to its recovery is the new Mike Hampton (9-1 since june). That's the team to beat.

St. Louis has the toughest core in the batting order, I wouldn't rely too much on Suppan and Morris, but St. Louis has the best set of relievers (doesn't depend on one star, like the NYY). Another toughie.

When one sees the rosters of Astros, Cards and Reds, one has to wonder what the hell was Cincinatti doing leading that division for so long. But the Astros have awoken and were able to do that without two of their top pitchers. They're red hot, but for how long? Not till mid-October.

The whole NL Western division is a conundrum to me. LA, with very little batting (but with wise running), and with tremendous pitching -minus Nomo- is leading. It's the best team of the division allright, but any Dodgers-Rockies seems eerie to me.

Justice would have Braves and Cards fighting for the pennant.

All this said, this time I'll side with the American League teams (if it's not the Yanks), but think the National League team will have an edge.
So I guess it's reasonsable for a Boston fan to pray very hard for a 4-3 win and the end of the spell.

Good news for me. I'm a White Sox fan (words probably never said before on a2k). As far as I'm concerned getting rid of Loaiza was just step one in getting rid of old, overpriced bad players. We gave up 4 young guys total to get Roberto Alomar twice. We gave up even more to get Carl Everette twice. There is practically nothing left in a once promising farm sysytem.



The Twins have the advantage of playing in a really bad division and they play well as a team. They don't make to many mistakes and play small ball very well. That said they have no chance in the post season.

Such pain this time of year, so is the life of a Cubs fan. They really miff me. Rotation with Maddux, Zambo, Clement, Wood, and Prior (Rusch and Dempster could start on tons of teams). Lineup with 7 possible 25 HR guys and 6 or 7 .300 avg guys. WTF is the problem then?

The Bullpen and Management. Farnsworth and Remlinger have been crap, Borowski got hurt, and Hawkins has been sporadic. Baker leaves the starters in WAY too long and makes these mind numbing double switches that move Jose Macias, an outfielder, to 3rd base where he promptly throws a ball into the dugout losing the game. If they don't turn it around, look for Baker to be canned...hopefully.

Loaiza is not that old. He wasn't overpriced either, really. He got in 2004 what he deserved for 2003 (and in 2003 what he deserved in 2004: the minimum wage for MLB).
But the CWS move was wise: he's been mediocre (for MLB standards) all of his life, minus one dream year.

Hm, I will skip this debate at this moment, but if anyone is interested in Croatian Baseball Cup final, Karlovac will play against Zagreb

Go Karlovac!
Is it one game or "world series" 4/7 ?

it's Cup, so it's one game, in Championship they play best of 5 in semifinal, and best of 7 in final (but we will probably miss play off, after 4:7 home defeat with Vindija Varazdin). Poor season, no play offs in national championship, no play offs in Interleague (teams from Austria, Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia and Serbia)...

as for MLB I will still remain silent, after betting on Tigers against Royals (26:5 for Royals )

so, fbaezer, although this topic is dead, let me inform you:

Kelteks Karlovac - BK Zagreb 7:2

Hey ChildoftheLight... still think your cubbies are gonna make it?

What a great wild card finish

'stros have the advantage this weekend, playing the lowly rockies.

cubs would have to upset atlanta; the giants have their hands full with LA...

so it's the stros for RP...ok...we'll see.

i say they'll take it... on paper!
the doings on the field may prove otherwise...

I bet you're a hell of a lot of fun in a casino

The Yankees this year have me mystified. Ho-hum hitting and pitching (not including relief pitching) and they're firmly in first place.

I think St. Louis could go all the way, but what do I know?