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MLB Off-Season 2011: Only a few more weeks until the radio talks about baseball again

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T

talisayNon

Member
he basically said that he went up to mitch to apologize and that mitch was cool about it, but now mitch harbors hates towards schilling.
 
Y

yankeehater

Member
cuevas said:
It's crazy to think baseball starts this month.
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I am glad that baseball is going to start up soon, I am going to a Phils spring training game at WDW, but I am not excited about the coming season at all. I shudder at the thought of JRo leading off again.
 
B

bryehn

Member
Sharp said:
Nats are going to Blue Jay it up this year, I can't wait!
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It would all be way better if they were still the Expos. That way Baltimore, with that beautiful park, could have that area of the market to themselves.

Would also be awesome to get the TOR/MTL interleague again too.

I'm drunk, go Jays! Get that extra wildcard shit!

Hope they sign a "leader" next year and make the most of what they have, because otherwise it's yet another 4 year rebuild for the Jays.

edit: I mean market "leader". Having Jose is great, but a playoff baseball team should have 2 hitters.
 
Y

yankeehater

Member
Sharp said:
I was thinking more "the best fourth place team in the NL," actually.
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Aim high, the Braves and Phils could definitely stumble and the Nats could win the division. They were a competitive team last year and they made some really good moves in the offseason. A few young guys step up and they could be right in the running for the division.
 
D

DXV

Neo Member
yankeehater said:
Nats could win the division.
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I don't know about that. I like their acquisitions, but I don't think they've got a potent enough staff together yet. People are hyped up on Stras being healthy again, which is great and all, but he's got an innings limit on him this year. I wouldn't bank too much on him carrying that rotation through losing streaks and all. And as far as offense goes, I think Harper is a year or two away from the bigs, and Werth is still a big question mark. Zimmerman is good, but he can't produce enough runs by himself to rocket them past the Phils.

Still though, the Nats could definitely take the wild card, and if there are two slots i'd be willing to say there is a really good chance they will.
 
M

McNei1y

Member
yankeehater said:
Aim high, the Braves and Phils could definitely stumble and the Nats could win the division. They were a competitive team last year and they made some really good moves in the offseason. A few young guys step up and they could be right in the running for the division.
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I may have the homer blinders on but I can see the Nats finishing better than the Braves this year. It'll be nice to actually have a pitching staff that could pitch against the Phillies.
 
A

acheron_xl

Member
McNei1y said:
I may have the homer blinders on but I can see the Nats finishing better than the Braves this year.
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This is conceivable. If things break bad for the Braves (always a possibility) the Nats have a good shot at contention.

It'll be nice to actually have a pitching staff that could pitch against the Phillies.
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Let's not get crazy here. Strasburg may well be as good as Halladay, but I'll take Lee and Hamels over Gio and Zimm any day.
 
W

Windu

never heard about the cat, apparently
Oxx said:
If Heyward and Prado play to average expectations the Braves should do better than last year.
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Yeah, heyward, Prado, and uggla really had awful seasons from what was expected. Not to mention having no competent CF for most the season till bourne came along and McCann playing hurt and being shit the last month or so. And then there was the fact that we lost Hanson, Hudson, and Jurrjens toward the end of the season. I think it's safe to say that if this team is healthy and we have average years out of most of them we will do very well.
 
D

Dmncnby2k9

Banned
The Natinals have a nice rotation but the Braves and Phillies rotations are on top. Future is bright though for them with Starsburg, Gonzalez, and Zimmerman heading that staff.
 
O

Oxx

Member
I hope that Hanson, Hudson and JJ can give healthy seasons, but I'm not counting on it. At least there is a decent amount of pitching depth.

And no Derek Lowe.
 
M

Maxim726X

Member
CygnusXS said:
I would be shocked if the Nats finished below the Marlins.
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I would too... I think the NL East will shake out like this:

Phillies
Braves
Nationals
Marlins
Mets

But the Nationals could make a serious run for the WC, and the Marlins could too if Johnson comes back to form.
 
D

Dmncnby2k9

Banned
Alot of members of the Natinals front office and Davey Johnson want Bryce Harper to start in the big leagues. That would be cool to see.
 
R

RBH

Member
Slick-fielding shortstop prospect Andrelton Simmons, pitchers Sean Gilmartin and Zeke Spruill, and top catching prospect Christian Bethancourt made the Braves’ updated list of non-roster spring training invitees announced Tuesday.

Eight of the Braves’ top nine prospects (as rated by Baseball America) will be in big-league camp, including four already on the 40-man roster: pitchers Julio Teheran, Arodys Vizcaino and Randall Delgado and shortstop Tyler Pastornicky.

Pastornicky is penciled in as the Braves’ starting shortstop, despite no major league experience. Teheran and Delgado will compete with lefty Mike Minor for the fifth spot in the rotation, and Vizcaino is a strong candidate for a bullpen job.

None of the four highest-rated prospects on the non-roster invitee list is expected to compete for a job this spring, but they’ll experience the big-league atmosphere and try to leave a good impression with Braves officials and coaches.

Others non-roster invitees: lefties Yohan Flande and Dusty Hughes; right-handers Peter Moylan, Jason Rice and Adam Russell; catchers J.C. Boscan, Evan Gattis, Matt Kennelly and Jose Yepez; infielders Ernesto Mejia, Drew Sutton, Joe Terdoslavich and Josh Wilson; and outfielders Todd Cunningham, Luis Durango, Stefan Gartrell and Jordan Parraz.

Sutton and Wilson are utility players with major league experience; both signed as minor league free agents this winter and could make the team at some point in 2012.

Durango, 25, will compete with Jose Constanza for a backup outfield job (both can play center field). Durango has a .292 average, .361 on-base percentage, no extra-base hits and seven steals in 39 career games with San Diego and Houston.

Gartrell, 28, will get a look after hitting .262 with 26 homers and 94 RBIs for two Triple-A teams last season, including 26 homers in 116 games for Gwinnett.

Moylan, a veteran reliever, is recovering from shoulder surgery and signed a minor league contract after being non-tendered by the Braves. He hopes to be back before the All-Star break.

Plenty of early attention this spring could be focused on Simmons and Bethancourt, who’ve recently risen on prospect rankings.

Simmons, 22, won the Carolina League batting title with a .311 average and stole 26 bases at high-Class A Lynchburg, but stellar defense is the main reason he’s rated as the top position-player prospect in the organization.

A part-time closer in junior college with a legitimate 98-mph fastball, he has exceptional range, quickness and soft hands. Scouts rave at how smoothly he fields and throws. He’s likely to start the 2012 season at Double-A Mississippi.

Bethancourt, 20, is another defensive whiz whose hitting has improved significantly in the past year. The 6-foot-3 Panamanian hit .289 with five homers in 99 games at Rome and Lynchburg in 2012, then drew attentnion in the Arizona Fall League while hitting .306 with five homers in 72 at-bats.

Bethancourt has a strong arm and extremely quick release. He still needs plate discipline – he had only 11 walks and a .304 on-base percentage in 410 plate appearances last season.

Gilmartin was a first-round draft pick in June out of Florida State University, and went 2-1 with a 2.53 ERA in five starts at Class A Rome while posting 30 strikeouts with two walks in 21-1/3 innings. He also pitched well in the Arizona Fall League.

Among Baseball America’s top nine Braves prospects, the only one not headed to major league spring training is Edward Salcedo, who has spent 1-1/2 seasons at Class A Rome and showed some progress last summer after moving to third base full-time. Earlier in the season he split time between third base and his former shortstop position.
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http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves...gilmartin-bethancourt-get-non-roster-invites/
 
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