*** OFFICIAL MLB 2018 Thread ***

[Dan Druff]

And a hit.

Kiss of death posting it here. Sorry Bart

That's okay, he's young and has a lot of career ahead of him.

[Dan Druff]

What is so annoying has been the narrative that the Dodgers are some juggernaut. Literally, no one saw that they are in decline following a season of over achievement.

SBNation fucking yesterday

Saturday night at Dodger Stadium provided a glimpse of a series of mirages. There was a stolen base that wasn’t, a home run that wasn’t, and a good baseball team that is playing nothing like it at the moment

If you pulled up MLB Power Rankings (until recently) from some idiot or another you would still find the Dodgers in top ten. This list would read Mets 11-1 then Dodgers 3-7. Like WTF?

The narrative is turning but people are slow. If I read the “The Turner is missing” excuse for their pathetic offense one more time. 33 year old overachieving Turner. Guy who was pretty much nothing his whole career. I loved him last year - mostly cause I love the underdog - but give it a fucking rest.

The entire offense sucks and pitching sucks. They are bad. Please stop.

To show how entirely fair I am (and have always been) and that I don’t simply hate all things Los Angeles ... the Angeles are soooo much fun and so likeable. Trout and Ohtani so humble.

You love the Angels because they are historically a failteam and an afterthought in LA.

Yes, the offense has been very listless for the Dodgers. Yes, Turner's absence explains some of it, but not all of it. Turner didn't just have a fluke season last year. He's hit well for 4 years straight now, including in 2017 after he signed a big contract and could have slacked off.

There are signs that it will come together because Bellinger is hitting for average (even though the power is absent), Taylor is starting to come out of the funk, Puig is starting to look better, and Seager is good enough to get out of whatever slump he's in, unless he's hurting.

Starting pitching was good until the last few days. Relief pitching is a concern.

3 of the 4 NL 2017 playoff teams (Dodgers, Nationals, Cubs) are struggling right now.

This team doesn't look as good as the one last year, but it's not as bad as the one we've seen for the first 14 games.

[big dick]

The fail team aka the Angels won a world series this century what have the dodgers done?

[Dan Druff]

The fail team aka the Angels won a world series this century what have the dodgers done?

Won 5 straight division titles, 7 of the last 10 division titles, and made the NLCS 5 times in past 10 years.

And got to game 7 of the World Series against a very strong Houston team.

Angels had one magical year where they had to come back against the choking Giants, and otherwise have been a big fail, despite tons of money spent.

Notably:

- They've made the playoffs only once in the 2010s, despite 1/3 of the teams making it these days.

- Since the 2002 World Series, they've won the division 6 times (2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2014). They lost the ALDS 4 of those 6 times, and lost the ALCS the other two times.

- They had never won an ALCS prior to 2002 in franchise history, and haven't done so since their victory in 2002.

Let's face it.

The Angels are a FAIL.

With that said, the team looks pretty good this year (largely thanks to Ohtani) and I'm assuming will make the postseason, though possibly as the wildcard because Houston is in their division.

[Sanlmar]

We like the Angels b/c they are underdogs (& under funded)

Edit: overstepped with Angels financial clout. They are in the upper third.

The Dodgers have every advantage and are only limited by their management decisions.

Their division has been a joke until recently. Now they gotta earn it.

The Dodgers played a satellite every year and got into the tournament but honestly had a real shot very few times. Division titles are tourney tickets but you build a team for the playoff structure. They didn’t so July came and went.

They were only a reliever and an odd piece away with Greinke Kershaw in 2015 (I think it was). You and they thought it would last forever and wanted to save prospects not appreciating how rare a good spot is.

Kershaw is a playoff fail it turns out but you had to take the shot. The team is older and who the fuck knows when they will be as loaded as they once were.

[jsearles22]

You gotta respect that Druff will ride the sinking ship straight to the bottom of the ocean. Mostly blindly loyal dude I’ve seen.

[Sanlmar]

Red Sox and Dodgers are the same team. Except the rings. Same funding and dopey decisions. Sawks should have won more.

Except the Red Sox in the past year or two have taken major steps to correct stupidity. They know the window is closing. Unlike you, they know spots like theirs won’t last forever.

The owner (Henry) has shut up and gone dark. They shipped out Lucchino. They ditched bonehead Farrell. They got an Astros coach. They took the next step in analytics. (Dodgers are still MoneyBall phase 1)

Watching the Sox pains me. But I grudgingly love the new coach and hitting approach. They’ve made changes and gone over cap. (Martinez good for today & bad for tomorrow- fuck tomorrow)

The Dodgers have done shit.

[Dan Druff]

We like the Angels b/c they are underdogs (& under funded)

Edit: overstepped with Angels financial clout. They are in the upper third.

The Dodgers have every advantage and are only limited by their management decisions.

Their division has been a joke until recently. Now they gotta earn it.

The Dodgers played a satellite every year and got into the tournament but honestly had a real shot very few times. Division titles are tourney tickets but you build a team for the playoff structure. They didn’t so July came and went.

They were only a reliever and an odd piece away with Greinke Kershaw in 2015 (I think it was). You and they thought it would last forever and wanted to save prospects not appreciating how rare a good spot is.

Kershaw is a playoff fail it turns out but you had to take the shot. The team is older and who the fuck knows when they will be as loaded as they once were.

Most of this isn't true.

Dodgers were a legit good team in all of the years they won the NL West. It's not like they just sneaked in with an 87-75 record via 2nd wildcard. They didn't get it done in the playoffs until last year (when they fell 1 game short), but they definitely had a shot each and every year they made it in recent times.

I disagree that they should have shot off prospects to win the World Series, because they are a well-funded team and don't have to ride it all on one good year. Look what happened to the Phillies when they overspent in attempt to win in the moment. Sure, they got the World Series ring, but the organization was fucked for many years to come.

Had the Dodgers won game 7 of the World Series last year, everyone would be talking about how they won a championship AND were well positioned for the future.

This year may be a down year because they chose to cut costs in the offseason, and getting under the cap was the goal. This was presumably so they could be better positioned for the 2019 free agent class.

Admittedly, they took a lot of gambles for the 2018 season, choosing savings over depth.

They had a lot of unknowns coming in:

- Was Chris Taylor a fluke, or a new star?

- Would Cody Bellinger run into a sophomore slump?

- Which Alex Wood would show up? First half 2017 Alex Wood, or the inconsistent Alex Wood?

- Would Clayton Kershaw stay healthy?

- Is Rich Hill too old to be an effective #2 starter?

Then of course, there's the unknown, such as Justin Turner getting injured and Kenley Jansen mysteriously not being as effective as before.

But they basically had to ride out a lot of this stuff ad see where these players go, and then adjust after that.

It's possible the 2018 Dodgers won't ever get in sync, and could miss the playoffs. I still think they will click enough to at least make the wildcard. Interestingly, the Dodgers haven't really needed the wildcard much. It has existed for 23 season (not including this one), and they were only the wildcard twice -- in 1996 and 2006. They won 9 division titles in that same timespan.

Personally I think the 2nd wildcard is idiotic, as is the 1-game playoff, but baseball wanted to do something to spice up the races in the late season, so here we are.

[big dick]

The fail team aka the Angels won a world series this century what have the dodgers done?

Won 5 straight division titles, 7 of the last 10 division titles, and made the NLCS 5 times in past 10 years.

And got to game 7 of the World Series against a very strong Houston team.

Angels had one magical year where they had to come back against the choking Giants, and otherwise have been a big fail, despite tons of money spent.

Notably:

- They've made the playoffs only once in the 2010s, despite 1/3 of the teams making it these days.

- Since the 2002 World Series, they've won the division 6 times (2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2014). They lost the ALDS 4 of those 6 times, and lost the ALCS the other two times.

- They had never won an ALCS prior to 2002 in franchise history, and haven't done so since their victory in 2002.

Let's face it.

The Angels are a FAIL.

With that said, the team looks pretty good this year (largely thanks to Ohtani) and I'm assuming will make the postseason, though possibly as the wildcard because Houston is in their division.

All that matter is how many world series you win not how many you got to or almost got to.
Dodgers are a fail team who choke(unlike my cubs)

[Dan Druff]

Sorry but the Cubs choked every year until they finally got lucky that Cleveland was an even bigger choker in 2016.

They are hardly an example of playoff success.

[Sanlmar]

Phillies & Cubs were Champions. That is the object of sports. Period, new paragraph

I don’t care if you go out on a broken leg to take an at bat and risk never playing again. (Sound familiar?).

It matters not a wit how many wins you accumulate in the regular season. Except for seeding and home field.

The playoffs are a different season with different circumstances. I’m not going to break them down. Not for free.

It’s just easier for you to throw your hands up and say, “variance”. Somehow this gives you peace.

Oh hell. Here’s one: Cubs v Indians RELIEF. They were advanced in their thinking. Where were Dodgers that year on this issue? Are the Dodgers playing catch up with this approach? Why, yes they are. Did they fuck that up that year? Why, yes they did.

The Dodgers have very much discussed this year the 5 inning approach and the 3rd time around issue (Kershaw). They simply don’t have the players to execute it.

[Sanlmar]

Once again, for you & OSA

The Yankees met the Astros and performed with exactly equal success. So much, for feeling uniquely close to victory.

The Yankees are a team on the way up however. Dodgers are winding down this era

[ftpjesus]

Dodgers have two problems right now:

1) Offense is super listless, and nobody is a hot hitter. They seem to have all wilted with Justin Turner's absence.

2) Bullpen sucks again, after a few years of being one of the team's strengths. Wilmer Font isn't ready for prime time, Scott Alexander has a bad career WHIP (and it shows), Baez hasn't been good since mid-2017, and most importantly, Jansen isn't himself. So that's going to be a big problem. The loss of Watson and Morrow is looking pretty big right now.

Odd start in the NL.

Pittsburgh and Atlanta are the offensive juggernauts. Pirates are about to be 7-2, Braves are 5-3 with the most runs scored in baseball.

Dodgers are 2-6, Nationals are 4-4, and Cubs are 4-4.

Hmm.

Doesn't help that they are getting fed a large shit sandwich by facing the Dbacks who are off to their best start in Franchise history and will play the Dodgers 12 times in their first 36 games of the season.. Dbacks are eating the division for lunch and dinner right now and with so many division games upfront and winning every series its going to be harder to catch them if they get a sizeable lead because the number of head to head games is being chewed up quickly in the beginning of this season.. Up until Kershaws win today Dodgers had lost I believe 11 straight regular season games to AZ.. I gotta admit nobody say this coming out of the Cactus League.. The Starting pitching for AZ has been very good and their bullpen is probably the best in baseball right now with the 1-2 punch of Bradley and Boxberger who looks more like the closer he used to be vs last seasons less then stellar season..

I could be wrong but my guess is AZ and LA will flip positions this year and AZ will likely run away and hide with the division locked up pretty much before Sept 1 unless they suffer a ton of injuries to guys like Paul Goldshmidt, Peralta and a couple others.. If they stay healthy Im not sure anybody can legitimately make a run at them in the division as LA was the original favorite and they are already almost 6 games out already just over 2 1/2 weeks into the season..

[ftpjesus]

Most true Dodgers fans would just get Spectrum to watch Dodger games. I am probably an outlier in that I refuse to get Spectrum mainly because I don't want to give up the DirectTV NFL package.

Also, on top of the Mexican fanbase (which is also why the Raiders are probably the most popular football team in LA still) despite the name change noone in Los Angeles considers the Angels their local team. The Angels have their own fan base in Orange County where they play. All the white people I know who are Dodger fans have no interest in the Angels either.

The Koreans I am not so sure. LA has a very big Korean population (and a very small Japanese one) which are big Dodger fans, especially because the Dodgers aggressively go after Korean players. I dunno if they will become Angel fans to root for a Japanese player. I doubt it.

and the Korean fans will travel as well.. When Ryu pitched here in AZ I think it was 2015 there were a ton of Korean fans at Chase Field with Ryu jerseys and such.. That's one thing when the Dodgers are in town on a weekend in AZ the fan split is damn near 50/50 for Dbacks and LA.. Kinda scary but truth is a lot of people here in Phoenix Metro while they support the Dbacks find other stuff to do at least on Friday nights sometimes Saturday nights.. (Sunday day games get decent turnouts though)

[ftpjesus]

How are the Mets 11-1?

Only 3 of those victories were against the bad Marlins. The rest of the opponents were decent.

I can't imagine this holding up, though the hot start by itself may be enough to score a wildcard berth.

There are 150 games left in their season.

If they go 76-74 in those games, they will end up winning 87, which is sometimes enough to get 2nd wildcard.

If they go 80-70, they win 91 and have a very good chance of making 2nd wildcard.

Mets are winning because of Pitching.. If Syndegard and the rest keep pitching well who knows whatll happen.. The NL East and West are just crazy.. Dodgers and Nats were the favs and both are in the cellar 2 1/2 weeks in.. Mets are no pushover they were in the post season not that long ago (Lost WS in 2015 and lost WC in 2016) so its not that surprising they managed to retool and become competitive again.. Miami is a joke.. Phillies are still a mess, Nats are underachieving massively, and Braves are nowhere near legit contenders.. the NL East has lately been like the AFC East in Football.. Pretty much a 1 team (Nats) with the division being theirs to lose and occasionally a pretender who sorta threatens the status quo.. Honestly I believe Nats will get their shit together and make it a 2 team race.. If Mets can continue consistency they could still win the division over the Nats.. remember the Nats have a new manager this year so it could be an issue of manager not getting his message through to the players yet..

[ftpjesus]

A pitcher can throw a perfect game. A quarterback cannot win single handedly even if he has a perfect QB rating

Super Bowls have been frequently won with dreadful QBs
Trent Dilfer
Doug Williams
Jim McMahon
Joe Flacco

Can’t win World Series without great pitchers.

The old Druff variance argument gets trotted out.



Kershaw has a dozen playoff games under his belt which is a fair sample. His numbers are bad

A pitcher can't pitch every game. In fact, he can't even pitch half the games.

Superbowls can be won with dreadful QBs, but baseball games are often won with dreadful pitchers (or good pitchers turning in a dreadful performance).

Kershaw is the very best pitcher to have on your team right now, and has been for several years.

If Fuck Yu didn't tip his pitches in Game 7, or if Roberts started Alex Wood instead, we might very well be talking about the 2017 Dodgers World Series Champions.

Either way, finishing with the best record in baseball AND making it to Game 7 of the World Series against a very tough team can't be considered failure.

You're also forgetting how they obliterated the Dbacks and handily beat the Cubs last year.

The sweep of the Dbacks was surprising to folks here in AZ considering the Dbacks had managed a stranglehold on the Dodgers during the second half of the season winning 8 or 9 straight games against LA.. In fact as I said earlier todays win by Kershaw was the first in 11 or 12 regular season games going back to last season for LA against the Dbacks.. (of course as has been proven sometimes regular season and post season end with differenet results.. Look at the NHL playoffs.. Tampa was pwned by NJ in every meeting but Tampa has crushed NJ in the playoffs in Rnd 1)

[simpdog]

USA Today reported that three women who were sitting behind the visitors’ dugout at Kauffman Stadium on Friday night for the Angels game against the Kansas City Royals were asked by stadium security to stop cheering so loudly during Shohei Ohtani’s at-bats. The message reportedly came from the Angels dugout.

[ErickAA]

Looks Like Kemp is starting to find his groove. Like I said, even in the last few years where he has been diminished he has had fast starts. Then he will start experiencing hamstring and/or shoulder issues and the whole season goes down the drain for him. Hopefully the Dodgers have someone else to become the everyday starter when the inevitable injury happens and his productivity plummets.

[Sanlmar]

Braves Ronald Acuna to start today




Put down that snail Mulva. You’re usually on this shit, not me.

Braves 20 year old Acuna — plus plus five tool phenom was called up and will play today.

You know the five tools so I ain’t gonna bore you with the usual hyperbole.

You know what bores the shit out of me? Highlights only show home runs. Kid is so much more than that.

What I love about this kid is the Latin cockiness. He is so young and so good he naturally wants to show his stuff. It’s the speed on the bases that will make me smile the most. He is still only 180lb. Kid can fly. This is particularly where he is gonna embarrass and delight. He’s gonna take shots.

The joy of being so naturally talented reminds me of early Puig before the Dodgers (esp McGuire) ruined him. Another guy who took shots. Every day he wanted to test his limits and shock and awe. Now Puig is just a sad man.

Puig doesn’t have anywhere near the skill as Acuna. I’m just talking flash.

Buckle up. Braves now have 4 electric young stars. Now you gotta follow.

[gut]

We like the Angels b/c they are underdogs (& under funded)

Edit: overstepped with Angels financial clout. They are in the upper third.

The Dodgers have every advantage and are only limited by their management decisions.

Their division has been a joke until recently. Now they gotta earn it.

The Dodgers played a satellite every year and got into the tournament but honestly had a real shot very few times. Division titles are tourney tickets but you build a team for the playoff structure. They didn’t so July came and went.

They were only a reliever and an odd piece away with Greinke Kershaw in 2015 (I think it was). You and they thought it would last forever and wanted to save prospects not appreciating how rare a good spot is.

Kershaw is a playoff fail it turns out but you had to take the shot. The team is older and who the fuck knows when they will be as loaded as they once were.

Holy shit really. Old man brain fart there? Moreno has been lighting money on fire for 20 years with that team. There is not an aging player that the Angels won't throw too much money at.....they arent underdogs, theyre a dumb version of the Dodgers if anything.