With spring training just around the corner, I'm getting really anxious.

Will the improvements made by the Padres be enough to unseat the Dodgers?

How about that Met's-Nationals rivalry for the East? Who will prevail?

And will this be the year that Tom Maddon finally makes the Cubs sorry for letting him get away?

Note: I am a Tigers fan, it'll likely be a few years before I'll have anything to boast about, so for the time being you are relatively safe.

Will the improvements made by the Padres be enough to unseat the Dodgers?

That's looking to be a tight race

How about that Met's-Nationals rivalry for the East? Who will prevail?

The Braves


And will this be the year that Tom Maddon finally makes the Cubs sorry for letting him get away?

You mean Joe Maddon? Not with this years Angels

Note: I am a Tigers fan, it'll likely be a few years before I'll have anything to boast about, so for the time being you are relatively safe.

Yes, to put it as kindly as I can, the Tigers are in a rebuild.


The biggest overall question is still how long the season will be and what the schedules will look like.

The White Sox are loading up their roster and brought back Tony LaRussa to manage the team.

I still follow the A's but don't expect much from them this year, after a 3 year playoff run from 2018-20 I can see them going on the downslide again but will see how the season unfolds.

Speaking of the White Sox, they signed Liam Hendricks so he is no longer the A's closer. I don't know who the A's plan to use now to close out games, Lou Trivino could be a possible candidate but I have no idea what their plans are.

You mean Joe Maddon? Not with this years Angels



.


Yes, "Joe". That is embarrassing, I don't even know how I did that, must have been a brain fart.


As a fan, I hate it, but from strictly a business standpoint I am happy for the owners that they have finally found some resistance to the salary madness that made $30 million/yr contracts part of the landscape. I think the owners have gone to nonsensical levels trying to plea their case over manufactured losses.....but things had gotten too out-of-hand the other way...so perhaps a little time for things to normalize is a good thing.

The White Sox are loading up their roster and brought back Tony LaRussa to manage the team.

I still follow the A's but don't expect much from them this year, after a 3 year playoff run from 2018-20 I can see them going on the downslide again but will see how the season unfolds.

Speaking of the White Sox, they signed Liam Hendricks so he is no longer the A's closer. I don't know who the A's plan to use now to close out games, Lou Trivino could be a possible candidate but I have no idea what their plans are.

I lived near Oakland 1989-1992, those were good years to watch baseball in Oakland (I was on a plane making it's final approach to SFO when the big quake hit, they ended up re-routing us to Sacramento)

And, yes, although the LaRussa signing is a bit of a puzzle, I think that the White Sox are the team to beat in the AL Central this year,

Yes, to put it as kindly as I can, the Tigers are in a rebuild.
.



"Moonshot" Torkelson,.... there is a name you will be hearing..

"Moonshot" Torkelson,.... there is a name you will be hearing..

Right, the number one overall pick in the draft. He’s gotta be a minimum of two years away, no?

Right, the number one overall pick in the draft. He’s gotta be a minimum of two years away, no?

Probably about right. But there is an oddball factor that might change that.

The Tiger's front office main mantra is "cheap and controllable" and they have been playing this deceitful game with the fans trading away any costly players we might have who have enough talent to have trade value....claiming it's a "sacrifice for our future".

Pushing a variety of "smoke" to hide their (obvious) true motive.

Just this past season the coverstory was "the future is now!", and they used that to bring a bunch of AA and high A players to the show...as low paid filler......to eat up innings.

So they COULD do similar with Torkleson....so long as he's cheap, they will try to use him.

I'm guessing he will get a late-season call up, no matter how ready he might be.

Any normal team with a genuine desire to compete would delay the call-up as much as possible, to delay the start of his service time. But since the Tigers are just cheap and nothing else, I' doubt they have any intention to try and sign him to a big payday to keep him after his 5 years are in. The way they will look at it, is that they will be able to trade him a year sooner perhaps having more value in trade that way.

LA Dodger fan since 60's...
I am anxious for start of season as i listen to a lot of games on radio

LA Dodger fan since 60's...


In your opinion, what is "up" with David Price? Do you believe that his motive for sitting out ever since his trade is health related? Or do you think he is working off some fringe protest angle?

He's got a reputation for being moody over the environment that he's in, he's not shy about pouting over perceived slights. So, I have to at least consider he might have personal motivations over-riding his sense of duty.

The Tiger's front office main mantra is "cheap and controllable" and they have been playing this deceitful game with the fans trading away any costly players we might have who have enough talent to have trade value....claiming it's a "sacrifice for our future".

Pushing a variety of "smoke" to hide their (obvious) true motive.

Just this past season the coverstory was "the future is now!", and they used that to bring a bunch of AA and high A players to the show...as low paid filler......to eat up innings.

So they COULD do similar with Torkleson....so long as he's cheap, they will try to use him.

I'm guessing he will get a late-season call up, no matter how ready he might be.

Any normal team with a genuine desire to compete would delay the call-up as much as possible, to delay the start of his service time. But since the Tigers are just cheap and nothing else, I' doubt they have any intention to try and sign him to a big payday to keep him after his 5 years are in. The way they will look at it, is that they will be able to trade him a year sooner perhaps having more value in trade that way.

Is Little Caesars not doing well anymore? You figure in the pandemic, with everyone stuck at home, they'd be raking in the cash.

Is Little Caesars not doing well anymore? You figure in the pandemic, with everyone stuck at home, they'd be raking in the cash.

The big shift is a result of old man Ilitch dying. Mike was more sentimental, and willing to use his considerable financial resources to try and bring a championship to Detroit. It was a golden era to be a Tigers fan.....year after year he would go after the best talent available...not a lot of owners will do that year after year.

When he died, the son Chis took over and had less interest in plundering the family fortune for the sake of a trophy. There is a big redevelopment push in the city's center...casinos....hotels.......boutiques. And the Ilitches are deeply involved (heavily invested) in that strategy.

Although those re-dev projects were started under the old man, it was the kid who decided to refocus resources, and redouble the effort on the revitalization effort.

The Ilitches also paid for the vast majority of the construction cost of the current stadium, in the form of a loan to the public entity that owns the stadium. Repayment of the loan comes from a local tax on rental cars and hotel rooms. There have been sluggish times when that tax was not making the payments in their entirety.

So, one might argue that the Ilitches efforts towards the downtown revitalization, is just an investment towards trying to assure that their loan gets repaid.

details here: https://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20120822/FREE/120829973/comerica-park-owner-to-refinance-remaining-61m-public-debt-on-300m


But, here is what I REALLY think is going on. The Tiger's ballpark is very near the focus of this revitalization district. I believe that the Ilitches have figured out that the sale value of the Tigers would be higher if their games were played near a vital city core, instead of the beaten-down rustbelt city that Detroit has become.

So, they are "feathering their nest" you might say, building a mini utopia to surround the Tigers' place of business, geared to the eventual sale of the franchise.

So, spending money on players who actually play the game well, isn't part of their current set of priorities

I think there is a psychological aspect to it as well. When a team is owned and controlled by a wealthy patriarch, (Ricketts, Ilitch, Steinbrenner, etc) Those men might be willing to pour considerable resources into "buying" a championship. But they are also accustomed to getting what they expect.
When they find themselves paying $200 million/year in salaries for a team that falls short of the championship (the Tigers in 2006/2012, or the Cubs ever since 2016)...I think the owners get this mindset that they are being betrayed, that the players really don't care if they win or not. And I think that moves the wealthy patriarch to retaliate, by insisting on salary purges, and what not.

I really think that Ricketts had good intentions when he continued to go out and get the Darvishes, Heywards, and Kimbrels, hoping to keep the good times rolling. But when those hopes turned into futility, there is really only one way for the owner to retaliate

One other thing that I've noticed in just the recent several years, when the team that you have your heart invested in, has absolutely no chance of winning anything worthwhile.....it frees you up to become a "bandwagoner" of sorts. Years ago, such behavior really annoyed me,...I couldn't understand how any fan could be so disloyal as to follow any other team, merely because they are winning.

But, with absolutely no hope whatsoever for my Tigers at present, I have really enjoyed following the success of former Tigers stars as they have moved on to other clubs such as Houston and Boston, and Washington. 40 years ago, I'd have sooner slashed my own throat than do anything like that.

I might end up living longer as a result of my new outlook.
When following a team that I really care about, I find the emotional attachment can be quite thick. I tend to live and die on every pitch....and losing a game whenever a divisonal adversary wins, feels like the end of the world.

But, with teams that I just "kinda" follow....when they lose, I just figure "wth?" and look forward to the next day's game.

I believe that my obsession against losing might have initially taken root back in the 1969-1974 timeframe, when the Orioles had their dynasty in full swing. When you'd have those Palmer vs Lolich matchups it felt as though the fate of the entire world hung in the balance of every pitch.

I lived near Oakland 1989-1992, those were good years to watch baseball in Oakland (I was on a plane making it's final approach to SFO when the big quake hit, they ended up re-routing us to Sacramento)

And, yes, although the LaRussa signing is a bit of a puzzle, I think that the White Sox are the team to beat in the AL Central this year,

The owner of the White Sox has always regretted the decision to let LaRussa go back in 1986 so now he wants to give him another chance since the White Sox appear to be contenders again. I think LaRussa basically came out of retirement to accept the White Sox manager job.

The 1978 A's were a very interesting group, early in the season they were the talk of baseball as they jumped out to a 19-5 start. They stayed within reach of the AL West lead until about August 10th with a 61-56 record, and then the collapse came as they went 8-37 the rest of the way and skidded to a 6th place finish and a 69-93 record. The A's schedule that year during the second half of August and all of September was very tough with games against the top teams in the East and West divisions. The strength of the 1978 A's was their pitching staff, the starters and relievers usually pitched well but the A's offense was nothing to rave about and their defense was suspect also. When the toughest part of the schedule came around in the middle of August, their weaknesses caught up to them but they were a fun team to watch up until that time.

The owner of the White Sox has always regretted the decision to let LaRussa go back in 1986 so now he wants to give him another chance since the White Sox appear to be contenders again. I think LaRussa basically came out of retirement to accept the White Sox manager job.

The 1978 A's were a very interesting group, early in the season they were the talk of baseball as they jumped out to a 19-5 start. They stayed within reach of the AL West lead until about August 10th with a 61-56 record, and then the collapse came as they went 8-37 the rest of the way and skidded to a 6th place finish and a 69-93 record. The A's schedule that year during the second half of August and all of September was very tough with games against the top teams in the East and West divisions. The strength of the 1978 A's was their pitching staff, the starters and relievers usually pitched well but the A's offense was nothing to rave about and their defense was suspect also. When the toughest part of the schedule came around in the middle of August, their weaknesses caught up to them but they were a fun team to watch up until that time.

‘78 was the year the Yankees came from 14 back in July to catch the Red Sux, ended up in a one game playoff in Fenway which became the Bucky Dent game, and went on to win the WS.

Here’s some baseball news from today

For the First Time in 8 Years, No New Players Were Voted Into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2021

https://people.com/sports/no-new-players-voted-into-baseball-hall-of-fame-2021/

‘78 was the year the Yankees came from 14 back in July to catch the Red Sux, ended up in a one game playoff in Fenway which became the Bucky Dent game, and went on to win the WS.

Yes I remember that well. 1978 was the Ron Guidry year, he was almost unbeatable as a starting pitcher. At one point I think Boston had a 61-28 record and appeared poised to win the division but the Yanks had other ideas.

In 1978 the A's really took their lumps vs. three of the East division teams. They went 2-8 vs. New York, 1-9 vs. Milwaukee, and 0-11 vs. Baltimore. Surprisingly they were fairly competitive vs. Boston and split the season series with them at 5-5.

The strength of the 1978 A's was their pitching staff, the starters and relievers usually pitched well but the A's offense was nothing to rave about and their defense was suspect also. When the toughest part of the schedule came around in the middle of August, their weaknesses caught up to them but they were a fun team to watch up until that time.

If I recall, wasn't that about the time Charlie O.Finley turned the baseball world upside down by selling/trying to sell his most talented players to other teams, for "highest bidder" type stakes?

By the way, I'll always cherish the memory of when Lerrin LaGrow gave Bert Campaneris that schoolin' in the '72 ALCS

If I recall, wasn't that about the time Charlie O.Finley turned the baseball world upside down by selling/trying to sell his most talented players to other teams, for "highest bidder" type stakes?

Yes, Finley refused to pay the high salaries so the rosters of those late 1970's A's teams was a rag tag assortment of youngsters and castoffs from other teams. But the 1978 A's made things interesting for awhile and stayed in the division race until the middle of August. Finley did acquire slugger Rico Carty during that season in attempt to improve the offense. Players on the 1978 A's were not happy with the lack of fan support as only 2 or 3 thousand fans attended many of the home games.

Another interesting fact about the 1978 A's is that prior to the start of the season, the team was nearly sold and the new owner would relocate the A's to Denver. It was very close to being a done deal but something snagged it up at the last moment and the A's stayed in Oakland.

I remember the very first time I ever saw Rickey Henderson play in person. This was after his stint with the Yankees, and he had come back home. He hit a lead-off homerun on his first pitch in the first inning. Something I believe he set a record for (and likely still holds that record).

Henderson was unusual, because he was in such incredible physical condition. A little on the short side, but he had biceps as big as some people's leg. Which, even seeing him stand way out in the outfield, you'd still notice those arms.

I remember the very first time I ever saw Rickey Henderson play in person. This was after his stint with the Yankees, and he had come back home. He hit a lead-off homerun on his first pitch in the first inning. Something I believe he set a record for (and likely still holds that record).

Henderson was unusual, because he was in such incredible physical condition. A little on the short side, but he had biceps as big as some people's leg. Which, even seeing him stand way out in the outfield, you'd still notice those arms.

Rickey Henderson was a great baseball player. He started his career with the A's, he was called up to the pro team in 1979 after the All Star break.

The 1979 A's were a woefully bad team, I firmly believe they would have lost over 120 games if Henderson hadn't joined the team at midseason. As it is, the A's finished 1979 with a 54-108 record. Without Henderson, I think it would have been more like 34-128.

The Detroit Tigers!:heart:

The 1979 A's were a woefully bad team, I firmly believe they would have lost over 120 games if Henderson hadn't joined the team at midseason. As it is, the A's finished 1979 with a 54-108 record. Without Henderson, I think it would have been more like 34-128.

The 3 years I lived in the Bay Area, I worked two blocks north of the coliseum, and would park my car there (inside), and walk to the game. Coming out after the game was nice, because I'd just walk through the traffic jam, get in my car, and head north to High street.

I also remember a restaurant just a short way's south of the stadium, called the Hof Brau, had really good sandwiches.

The 3 years I lived in the Bay Area, I worked two blocks north of the coliseum, and would park my car there (inside), and walk to the game. Coming out after the game was nice, because I'd just walk through the traffic jam, get in my car, and head north to High street.

I also remember a restaurant just a short way's south of the stadium, called the Hof Brau, had really good sandwiches.

I've never lived in the Bay Area but just happened to take a liking to the A's, funny thing is though I didn't become a fan until the late 1970's after their dynasty days were over.

The A's future in Oakland seems again to be on questionable ground, there is talk about replacing the Coliseum with a new modern stadium but if nothing happens fairly soon the A's could leave town like the Raiders did. Maybe they'll join the Raiders in Las Vegas and be the Las Vegas A's. :lol:

1988-1990 wasn't too shabby of a time to be an A's fan, either.

As far as the stadium goes, I thought that the old ballpark was adequate, until they allowed the raiders to build that monstrosity on the east side, but the whole politics of trying to build a stadium in Fremont, or some of the other areas that have been hand picked mostly with the intent of irritating the Giants...is a basket of worms. Just one more area where economics spoil the game.

1988-1990 wasn't too shabby of a time to be an A's fan, either.

As far as the stadium goes, I thought that the old ballpark was adequate, until they allowed the raiders to build that monstrosity on the east side, but the whole politics of trying to build a stadium in Fremont, or some of the other areas that have been hand picked mostly with the intent of irritating the Giants...is a basket of worms. Just one more area where economics spoil the game.

1988-90 should have been another three peat for the A's but I think the Dodgers were out for revenge after losing the '74 series, and the Reds were out for revenge after losing the '72 series. In 1989 the A's played the Giants, not the Mets, so there was no revenge factor there. The earthquake interrupted the '89 series for about 10 days but I don't think it had much of an effect on the outcome of the series. In 1989 I thought the A's would play the Cubs in the world series but the Giants surprised the Cubs in the NLCS.

I've never lived in the Bay Area but just happened to take a liking to the A's, funny thing is though I didn't become a fan until the late 1970's after their dynasty days were over.

The A's future in Oakland seems again to be on questionable ground, there is talk about replacing the Coliseum with a new modern stadium but if nothing happens fairly soon the A's could leave town like the Raiders did. Maybe they'll join the Raiders in Las Vegas and be the Las Vegas A's. :lol:

Thought you might pop back in here after the 13 game winning streak.

Some hopeful news:

Seven-inning doubleheaders and starting extra innings with runners on second are likely to be dropped by Major League Baseball after this season.

https://www.si.com/mlb/2021/07/13/rob-manfred-mlb-end-seven-inning-doubleheaders-2022

Thought you might pop back in here after the 13 game winning streak.

The 13 game win streak was mostly a fluke and not an accurate reflection of how good the team is. The A's offense is not very good and unless it improves during the rest of the season they will probably end up as a wild card or maybe not even qualify for a playoff spot. Houston appears to be hell bent on taking the division and passing them in the standings won't be easy.

Some hopeful news:

Seven-inning doubleheaders and starting extra innings with runners on second are likely to be dropped by Major League Baseball after this season.

https://www.si.com/mlb/2021/07/13/rob-manfred-mlb-end-seven-inning-doubleheaders-2022

Doing away with those two crazy rules would be a step in the right direction so hopefully it will happen.

The 13 game win streak was mostly a fluke and not an accurate reflection of how good the team is. The A's offense is not very good and unless it improves during the rest of the season they will probably end up as a wild card or maybe not even qualify for a playoff spot. Houston appears to be hell bent on taking the division and passing them in the standings won't be easy.

They're still in better shape then my Yankees :mad:

Hey, what happened to your Bonnie Franklin avatar?

They're still in better shape then my Yankees :mad:

Hey, what happened to your Bonnie Franklin avatar?

The Yanks don't seem to have quite the star power right now like they used to have back when they had Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera, etc.

I just decided to go without an avatar for the time being, should I bring it back and display a photo of my lady love Bonnie Franklin? :eyes:

The Yanks don't seem to have quite the star power right now like they used to have back when they had Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera, etc.

They still have "star names" but it's one of those seasons where everyone is simultaneously underachieving.

I just decided to go without an avatar for the time being, should I bring it back and display a photo of my lady love Bonnie Franklin? :eyes:

Long hair only :wave:

Long hair only :wave:

She is back :D, long hair, pretty eyes, sweet smile and holding a flower. :eyes:

I love baseball.... The yankees and Redsox are 2 of my favourites!!

I don't think the A's will pass Houston in the standings, if the A's qualify for the playoffs it will be as a wild card team.

I'll give the A's credit for making a few trades before the trade deadline in attempt to improve their playoff chances, but I don't think the new players will make that much of a difference and I believe one of the other teams in the playoff chase will eventually pass the A's for the 2nd wild card spot. Of course this is just speculation so will see what happens as the season goes along.

Perhaps I am too jaded, but lately I have started to see most aspects of baseball as being part of a sinister strategy by the owners to avoid paying for top dollar talent.

Wildcards: keeps fans in the stands till later in the year, hoping to win the lottery and get a post season slot EVEN FOR TEAMS WHOSE OWNERS have not paid for the best talent. Turning the post season into a seeded tournament more than an elimination of champions

Luxury Tax: what a great code name for a "salary cap"....what fan could blame an owner for trying to avoid a "tax"?

Rebuilding: Code for "salary dump"

Tanking: See "rebuilding" above

Getting "younger": Cheap and controllable

Special Promotion Night: Hey, since we cant win, how would you like a nice bobblehead?

I don't think the A's will pass Houston in the standings, if the A's qualify for the playoffs it will be as a wild card team.

I'll give the A's credit for making a few trades before the trade deadline in attempt to improve their playoff chances, but I don't think the new players will make that much of a difference and I believe one of the other teams in the playoff chase will eventually pass the A's for the 2nd wild card spot. Of course this is just speculation so will see what happens as the season goes along.

Since the A’s are one of the teams battling the Yankees for a wild card, I’m okay with the A’s losing.

Since the A’s are one of the teams battling the Yankees for a wild card, I’m okay with the A’s losing.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if the Yankees pass the A's in the standings but will see what happens.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if the Yankees pass the A's in the standings but will see what happens.

Yankees can’t hit, their bullpen is scarier then watching a sitcom on LOGO, and now Gerrit Cole has tested positive for Covid. I wouldn’t worry about them.

Yankees can’t hit, their bullpen is scarier then watching a sitcom on LOGO, and now Gerrit Cole has tested positive for Covid. I wouldn’t worry about them.

We will see what happens, Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo being traded to the Yankees should provide some boost to their offense.

We will see what happens, Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo being traded to the Yankees should provide some boost to their offense.

So of course they put up 13 tonight.

Hey, why’d you kill your PMing? I had an ODAAT box set question to send your way.

So of course they put up 13 tonight.

And the Padres drubbed the A's by an 8-1 score. Take away that fluke 13 game win streak by the A's early in the season, and their record is a game under .500 which is why my gut feeling is the A's will eventually drop out of that 2nd wild card spot but we'll see what happens.

Hey, why’d you kill your PMing? I had an ODAAT box set question to send your way.

I had decided not to do PM's anymore but I have re-activated them now so you can send me your ODAAT DVD question.

I know this is unlikely to happen but I would like to see Houston go back to the NL Central and Milwaukee go back to the AL Central. Kansas City would then be moved from the AL Central to the AL West.

I like this and think it would be much better but again I know it's not likely to happen.

I know this is unlikely to happen but I would like to see Houston go back to the NL Central and Milwaukee go back to the AL Central. Kansas City would then be moved from the AL Central to the AL West.

I like this and think it would be much better but again I know it's not likely to happen.

I agree with you. It seemed kinda messed up to me the way Selig strong armed everybody to get his way.

I agree with you. It seemed kinda messed up to me the way Selig strong armed everybody to get his way.

Exactly. Selig was bent on getting the Brewers into the National League. Milwaukee was previously a National League city when they had the Braves, but the Brewers were always an American League team, going back to 1969 when the team was the Seattle Pilots for one year before relocating to Milwaukee in 1970.

Yeah, considering that Milwaukee had only been a national league city for 12 years, but had been an American League city for 28 at the time of the flip, the change seemed to be unfounded.

But, I guess the mediocrity of the AL Brewers didn't sit well with the Milwaukee fans who remembered the successes of the late 50's Brave teams, so perhaps they thought the change was like a return to the good old days?

Fans having nostalgia for the old days might have had some factor with the Brewers moving to the NL.

I would also like to see the Pirates moved to the NL East and the Braves moved to the NL Central. Geographically, this would make sense. But if I am correct, there is some crazy rule that prevents the Braves and Cubs from being in the same division together. Is this true?

I always thought it was weird all those years that Atlanta was in the NL West

Back when the National League had 12 teams and 2 divisions with 6 teams each, Chicago and St. Louis were placed in the East Division while Atlanta and Cincinnati were placed in the West. Geographically this was incorrect, Chicago and St. Louis should have been in the West Division with Atlanta and Cincinnati in the East.

Yeah, I used to like the scheduling better back in those days too. I remember the Tigers would make two west coast sweeps every year, hitting LA, Oakland, and eventually Seattle too, and each of those teams would come through Detroit twice per year too.
Now it's down to one visit each way, but with like six series between divisional rivals.. Detroit just finished playing the Twins like 12 games over a 19 day span.....kinda humdrum

I also prefer how the scheduling used to be when the leagues had just the two divisions. It was much better then. Ever since they went to the three divisions, the scheduling is screwed up with over emphasis on divisional games and I'm also not a fan of the handful of inter league games that each team gets on their schedule.

Yankees can’t hit, their bullpen is scarier then watching a sitcom on LOGO, and now Gerrit Cole has tested positive for Covid. I wouldn’t worry about them.

That post didn’t age well. What idiot wrote it? :confused:

5 wins in a row, 8 out of 9, 10 out of 12.

Anthony Rizzo now on the Covid positive list, bringing the current Yankees count of starters to 4 (Gary Sanchez, Gerrit Cole, Jordan Montgomery).

I'll give the A's credit for making a few trades before the trade deadline in attempt to improve their playoff chances, but I don't think the new players will make that much of a difference

Well, the A's beat the Cleveland Indians 17-0 today in Cleveland!!

Well, the A's beat the Cleveland Indians 17-0 today in Cleveland!!

I am glad to see the A's are currently on a hot streak but we'll see what the standings look like in the month of September. The players the A's acquired prior to the trade deadline have definitely given a boost to the team so I'm a little more optimistic than I was before but we'll see what happens.

A's defense committed 3 errors tonight in Texas, not a good sigh. Yanno, it's really painful watching a team that has good offense but miserable defense.

But it also is a drag watching a team built too much towards defense, that has no power. Hard to find the right balance.

A's defense committed 3 errors tonight in Texas, not a good sigh. Yanno, it's really painful watching a team that has good offense but miserable defense.

But it also is a drag watching a team built too much towards defense, that has no power. Hard to find the right balance.

I figured that the A's would falter in their next game after the 17-0 win vs. Cleveland the day before.

This is why I don't have optimism or excitement about anything anymore until it actually happens. I've been disappointed and let down so many times over the years, and it's not just sports, it's other things also. Being pessimistic has now become my route of choice, expect to be disappointed and if something good happens then it's a pleasant surprise.

Being pessimistic has now become my route of choice, expect to be disappointed and if something good happens then it's a pleasant surprise.

That's pretty much the way I am too. Back when Major League Baseball had a forum for every team, those of us on the Tiger's board with a cynical outlook used to call ourselves "realists", and we flamed the overly optimistic members as being "sunshiners".

They seemed to think that their enthusiasm was gonna win games for the team.

Will the improvements made by the Padres be enough to unseat the Dodgers?

That's looking to be a tight race

How about that Met's-Nationals rivalry for the East? Who will prevail?

The Braves




And will this be the year that Tom Maddon finally makes the Cubs sorry for letting him get away?

You mean Joe Maddon? Not with this years Angels

Think I did fairly well here. The Braves won the division, the Angels were nowhere close to postseason, the only goof was it was Dodgers-Giants, not Dodgers-Padres that were tight down to the wire.

You have much to be happy about with the way your Yankees have come on strong when it counts.

I'm a sports fan. I know I don't come on here. But I like to watch sports. Not as much as I use to. For years I was a die hard Dodger fan. I bled Dodger Blue. I have a lot of Dodger autographs. Steve Yeager was my guy. But owners change, players change. And here in AZ, years ago we only got Dodger games and Dallas Cowboy games on TV. Since we got our own teams now, I have switched. Since I live in AZ, I'm a Dbacks fan. It's tough to watch though.

Going from new team to world champions in 4 seasons was quite a feat for the Diamondbacks.

The company I worked for had an office near the D-backs stadium. I watched it go up. Never been to a game there though. The idea of a swimming pool at a baseball stadium just seems odd to me.

Going from new team to world champions in 4 seasons was quite a feat for the Diamondbacks.

The company I worked for had an office near the D-backs stadium. I watched it go up. Never been to a game there though. The idea of a swimming pool at a baseball stadium just seems odd to me.

I don't care for the swimming pool at the ballpark myself.