Small ball hysteria!

MLB's new slogan becomes "Chicks dig small balls"

"Kennyball" a book 'written' by Joe Morgan becomes the antistathead bible

I think we should start a Brandon Backe Needs A Hug fund. He looked so depressed. Maybe we can get some cheerleaders to hug him or something.

The Toronto Blue Jays will be 2006 World Champs.






....at nintendo

Blue Jays as champs? Hmm, that would make your last three champs the Red (Sox), White (Sox) and Blue (Jays) ... a Canadian team completing the All-American trifecta!

I posted it in the old thread, but was anyone a little put off by the several references to Derek Jeter in the ninth inning?

Who am I kidding? He's so dreamy...

Red, white and blue--Mick, you're a genius!
The Union Jack was our flag and it's still on some provincial flags; the Blue Jays are a lock for next year.
Now where's Paul Konerko...

One other reason to believe the Jays are a lock for next year...at this years Rock Paper Scissors Championship in Toronto, the winner was from Team Blue Jays. It was hilarious seeing all these people dressed up as Blue Jays jumping up and down like they won the World Series. Lets not hope that that moment is the closest I will get to see another Blue Jays championship.

And FYI, I was there doing a story for my news station in Ohio, but I wish I had comepeted cause it was great. The event is just an excuse for people to dress like idiots, get drunk, and maybe win 7,000 bucks.

The Blue Jays will win the World Series next year.

And I am gonna come back to all the haters here, and personally make you eat your words. :)

I predict that Assistant GM Tim McCleary will not return to the Jays next season.....
Oh all right, so I heard it on the Fan this morning.

The World is falling apart. We have Hurricanes, Earthquakes and Tsunamis, so it could well be the End of Days. So all God is doing is making sure those teams that haven;t won in awhile win the world series before the world is over. So, next year, the Cubs will win and the world will rest in peace.

I think the Blue Jays really have a chance next year. So, I'll probably be wrong. Next year's shocking development will be Joe Buck suddenly not being sanctimonious and annoying.

Who am I kidding? It'll be Yankees over Braves in 2006.

Congratulations, while we're on the subject, to the Chicago White Sox, who were without any doubt the best team in baeball this year. I don't think I've ever seen a team get as hot as the White Sox, starting with the last week of the season and extending throughout the playoffs. Neither Kenny Williams nor Ozzie Guillen have ever been among my favourites, but credit is due where credit is due: they did a tremendous job this season.

Kudos to the Houston Astros, too, who were left for dead at 15-30 but came back to exorcise any number of playoff demons. I'm glad Biggio and Bagwell got their NL championship rings, and while they were denied the WS trophy, they should feel good that better Astros teams than this have fallen by the wayside. They simply ran into a buzzsaw this fall.

Here's my not-so-fearless prediction: neither one of these teams will make the playoffs next season. The White Sox had a fantastic year, but they were almost injury-free and got unprecedented production from a number of players and pitchers. The Indians are coming on very strong in the AL Central. The Astros, meanwhile, will have a lot of retooling to do, and will proabbly be without Clemens next season. The Cardinals are going to make a major move to get over the hump next season, and the NL Central should be stronger again in 2006. Neither of these teams is bound for glory anytime soon.

Well, none of us predicted this. Congratulations to Jobu, Ron and Jes Golbez for correctly prognosticating that the White Sox would win the AL Central. I'm not as certain as Jordan that the White Sox will not be a force next year. There is a good possibility that Konerko will return, in which case the team will be essentially intact, and Brandon McCarthy might very well make a leap forward. It's pretty clear that the AL will have 3 solid divisions for the next couple of years at least.

What unlikely event...?

The Jays will stun the baseball world by entering and winning the Rafael Furcal sweepstakes. Just imagine - Furcal and Hudson up the middle... Mmmmm, I'm getting nipply just thinking about it.

The Brewers and Pirates finish over .500 for the first time since 1992.

The Contest isn't over yet (with the postseason awards to be announced) but VBF did the best job with the tiebreakers (Jays ERA and OPS)

VBF:
4.10
.733

Actual:
4.06
.738

No one predicted an ERA lower than the Jays actual ERA. Many people were in the right neighborhood for the Jays OPS.

Many people were in the right neighborhood for the Jays OPS

Which makes sense, seeing as how basically everyone on the team had an OPS in that area. Hinske, Johnson, Koskie, Zaun, Hill, Adams and Rios were all within 60 points of each other and within 35 points of the team average. I didn't think it was possible to have so many players on one team hit .270, but there you go.

Also, Russ Adams and Alex Rios had the same number of AB, but Adams had more extra-base hits, 40 to 39. And Rios was second on the team in strikeouts, behind Hinske. Rios really didn't have a very good year, did he?

Shortstop is predicting a Cubs World Series win followed by Armageddon. I think that takes the lead as "boldest prediction for 2006."

Me, I'll start smaller but stay in the NL Central. Meet your 2006 World Champion ... Cincinnati Reds. (This is not a recording. One of these years, I'm gonna be right. Then who'll be laughing? Oh, yeah -- y'all will be. Oh well.)

Prediction:

In MLB's usual penchant for poor timing it will announce Pete Rose's reinstatement the same day that the Devil Rays hold a press conference and state that they're moving to Las Vegas.

As reported by the AP, and apparently the FAN, the Jays have fired assistant GM Tim McCleary.

``This was a truly difficult decision to make as Tim is more than just a good baseball man, he's a good friend,'' general manger J.P. Ricciardi said. ``But we needed to make a change.''

Perhaps JP was disappointed that some of his FA targets were not being properly wooed or negotiated with. Of course, with all of these kinds of moves, there is more to the story than what is reported.

Oh, and Shea Hillenbrand will win the AL batting title.

Hey I got a prediction right:)

Frank Thomas actually has a healthy season in 06 and ends up hitting 35 HR's for ...... the Toronto Blue Jays

Thanks, Brent S. I've opened a new thread.

Jordan, the Astros were written off this year after they lost Carlos Beltran in the off-season. And when they were 15 games under .500 in late May, they were written off again. Consider me a believer until I see otherwise, and at any rate, much can happen between now and April. Clemens may return, a big free agent may be signed (Konerko?), etc. Of course much went right. Will Morgan Ensberg be an MVP candidate again? No. Will Roger Clemens re-sign and be as dominant? Probably not. Will Brad Lidge be the dominant closer he was for the last two years? Nobody knows, and at any rate given his work-load, delivery, and repertoire (pitchers who throw hard, biting sliders seem more prone to injury than fastball/curve-ball types), he's likely to suffer an injury next year. There are questions, in other words, about the sustainability of thier success. Nearly every team faces those. We shall see.

As for the White Sox, how much do they have to do to earn some respect? Time and time again I hear how lucky they were to win 99 games, to beat the Red Sox, to beat the Angels, to beat the Astros. Well, they lost two games in the playoffs, winning 11. They weren't all pretty, and many were close, but overall teams that win 110 games (including the playoffs) are not entirely built on luck. Unlike, say, hockey, where luck can influence an outcome far more than in baseball, seldom does a team win the top prize without being the best team, just as, over the course of 162 games, seldom does the best team not emerge as a division winner. While I get as tired as the next person hearing the absurd laudatory rhetoric hurled at, among others, Scott Podsednik and Ozzie Guillen, this in no way should take away from what the Sox have accomplished this year. They deserved to win the World Series, no matter how they did it.

As for 2006? Yeah, chances are good they won't make the World Series, but that only speaks to how hard it is to do, and at any rate not every team is a dynasty, or even a mini-one. At this time last year, everyone was talking about how, once the Red Sox finally beat the curse, a repeat was, if not a virtual given, at least highly probable: they had a sharp GM to correct any flaws that might develop in-season, they had a huge budget second only to the other-universe-type Yankees to minimise those holes to begin with, they had a terrific offense that would out-thump everyone else and make their starting pitching problems less severe (as would Keith Foulke, a dominant closer). Things don't always go as planned, do they?

Gitz, my take on the White Sox isn't that they were lucky, it's that they were good -- very good, in fact, from top to bottom. My argument is simply that they won't be as good next year.

All four top starters had ERAs under 3.90, and I'd be very surprised -- NFH Challenge surprised -- if that happened again next year (Garland and Buehrle had the best ERA+ campaigns of their career, for example). Contreras might very well have finally turned a corner, or he might not. The bullpen received remarkable contributions from castoffs like Dustin Hermanson and Bobby Jenks; will it receive those contributions again next year? Brandon McCarthy looks like a very special arm, but young pitchers are always a risky proposition.

Offensively, seven of the nine starters had OPS+ seasons under 105, and only AJ Pierzynski can accurately be said to have had an off-year. Frank Thomas may come back big, or he may not come back at all -- Ozzie does not care for him. Jermaine Dye hasn't had a season like this since 2000 in Kansas City, and while I expect Konerko to return and be very good, 2005 was his best year by a substantial margin. And Guillen, like Larry Bowa or Jack McKeon, is something of an eccentric whose schtick is wonderful if you're winning but wears thin very fast when you're not.

I don't mean to take anything away from the the White Sox' great season, and they will certainly be competitive again in 2006. But another 99 wins? After only assembling 91 Pythagorean wins this year? I doubt it.

The White Sox deserved to win. They were outstanding this year.

Speaking of stuff we're tired of hearing, I'm sick and tired of hearing that these guys are a small-ball team. They're not - they're a team with an incredible D, a manager who is terrific at handling a pitching staff and a one-dimensional offense which is built around the long bomb. It's almost all people don't actually, you know, watch the games.

Speaking of D, the more I see Uribe the more I'm impressed with him. He's got incredible range.

BTW, I'm glad to see people coming around on McCarthy. I knew you guys would. :)

they're a team with an incredible D, a manager who is terrific at handling a pitching staff and a one-dimensional offense which is built around the long bomb. It's almost all people don't actually, you know, watch the games.

Excuse me, Prof. Mo' Phat, but are you implying that dedicated baseball fans might know more than ancient dinosaur sportswriters and other people who spout the same crap over and over? What's next, the White Sox and Red Sox winning the World Series?

Heh. Given my politics, I'm supposed to have an active distrust of the fourth estate. It just comes with the territory. :)

I'm supposed to have an active distrust of the fourth estate.

You're a right-wing conservative who believes all media is liberal and therefore evil?

No, but I play one on TV. :)

Alright, my predictions for '06.

The Astros decide they need some more average hitters so they deal Chad Qualls out've their bullpen to the Toronto Blue Jays for Franky Cat. After many suicide attempts from different members on Battersbox.ca the Blue Jays aquire Milton Bradley and Nick Johnson along with free agent signee, AJ Burnett. 9 months later and 58 Chad Qualls saves later, the Blue Jays win 90 games to capture the AL Wildcard, the Jays then march through Anaheim and New York and face the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. The Jays put up a great fight but lose in 7 games as Miguel Batista blows a 7 run lead in the 8th inning of game 7. JP later credits Batista with giving his best effort only to cut him the day after.

After all that...
Cardinals over Jays in 7 games.

AL MVP = Mark Texieria
AL Cy Young = Chad Qualls

NL MVP: Albert Pujols
NL Cy Young: Josh Beckett

Wait. Chad Qualls NL Cy Young????? I've heard some doosies before -- are you listening, Doherty? Reds as 2005 champs??? -- but this one ranks up right up there!

Statheads are usually against suicides.

Oooh, it gets even worse! Chad Qualls, AL Cy Young for the Blue Jays! 58 saves!

Obviously some tongue-in-cheek, but if you're going that route, may as well travell the whole nine yards, go after the whole enchilada, go the distance, shoot for the moon, catch a few falling stars, yadda yadda yadda. Put Pujols on the D-Rays, for instance, as they trade Upton, Young, Kazmir, Crawford, Huff, Piniella's Tampa Bay mansion, lifetime subscriptions to The Weekly Standard and Nation (for balance, you see), and a thousand monkeys working on a thousand computers for Pujols.

- The Jays will overpay for Jarrod Washburn after Burnett's price tag balloons to $12 million per.

- The Jays will trade Hudson AND Rios AND Dave Bush in the off-season (not necessarily in the same transaction). Yes, all three.

- Miguel Batista will have 40 saves and an ERA under 3.00 next year (if he remains closer), and Ted Lilly will exceed the 200 IP mark and have an ERA under 4.00. Both are free agents after the season (yes, that's my entire reasoning for making the prediction).

- Jason Frasor has a bust out year in '06 (think Juan Rincon, minus the roids). His second half numbers last year give me a good feeling.

Dimitri Young will be a Jay in 30 days.

I won't be as bold to say that the Jays will win a world series but I do believe that they will finally push into 2nd in the AL East behind Boston. They won't win the wild card but it will come down to the last weekend. Cleveland will win the Central, the Angels will win the West and the Sox will beat out the Jays and A's to win the Wild Card.

Vernon Wells will win be the Jays MVP just beating out Corey Koskie, who has a comeback season.

Justin Speier will lead the team in saves, Halladay in wins, ERA, Strikeouts and will be close in the Cy Young but will not win.

We will be here in one year talking about how the Atlanta Braves, on the back of Adam Laroche, won the World Series over Cleveland. We will also be making predictions about how 2007 will be better.

Okay let's go all out because everyone else is doing it. Jays lead the AL East by two games until September 17th when they face--you guessed it the Detroit Tigers. Doc gets lit up in the first game and the Jays end up getting swept. Boston sweeps their series and leads the division by 1 game. The Jays then go and get swept again against the lowly Yankees in Yankee Stadium to end the season. Jays fans mourn across the country.

Eddie Guardado leads the Jays in saves with 50. Orlando Hudson and Vernon Wells both get Gold Gloves and Barry Zito comes second on the team in wins with 18.

I'm reading the mailbox on yesnetwork.com and Michael Kay (who I have changed my mind about, I think he's a overall good commentator although annoying sometimes) and its becoming clear that the Yankees are a dying breed. They are pumped about Chein Ming Wang, Shawn Chacon, Jaret Wright, and an aging Mike Mussina and Randy Johnson. I'm sorry, but that is a very questionable starting rotation. According to Kay (who is suprisingly correct most of the time) the Yankees will show little interest in acquiring starting pitching, they will use this offseason to get BJ Ryan and or Billy Wagner and a few other bullpen parts which they so desperatley need. I highly doubt they will improve their lineup since it was deadly as usual in '05.

My point is, the Yankees are running into the problem that us mortals usually have. They have a great deal of uncertanty because they have one glaring weakness. Sure they can fix the problem with a player or two, but even if the problem is somewhat alleviated through free agents or trade, they still have to count on a foundation that is really not all that promising. Give me a 41 year old fading Unit, with an unproven second year (Wang), with a mediocre Chacon , and an aging Mussina, and you have a mediocre rotation. I just like the Jays chances better with a Yankee team which is a shadow of its 96-03 teams.

Dimitri Young will be a Jay in 30 days.

No disrespect, but I hope not. He hit all of 271/325/471. He can't play a defensive position. He's not the healthiest guy around. And he just turned 32.

Now, if we knew he'd repeat his 155 games of 900 OPS of 2003...

Yea, I didn't say I'd like the move, but sans this year, his numbers have always been simliar to Hillenbrand's who JP has said might go after more of. He also has a bit of a 'fear factor' which might look intriguing. Health concerns are definitely a major concern.

I predict the Jays sign Burnitz on a one year deal and Konerko to a Delgado type deal. The Jays get rid of their pets: Odog is traded to Oakland for a pitching prospect, Cat is traded for a good glove reserve middle infielder and a B prospect. Adams to 2B. Hill=SS.

The Jays have a lineup of:
Adams 2B
Hill SS
Wells CF
Konerko1B
Burnitz LF
Hillenbrand DH
Koskie 3B
Zaun C
Rios/ Gross RF

Bench: Hinske, Sparky, Rios or Gross, reserve IF, GQ

The Star brushes off the "White Jays" story. The Jays hit 182 taters and finish 2nd in the AL East but just out of the wildcard. Watch out for John Hattig who adds health to his man strength.

Hey, if you "predict" enough things, one has to turn out right!?

<i>Speaking of D, the more I see Uribe the more I'm impressed with him. He's got incredible range.</i><p>

Everybody laughed when I picked Uribe as the second-best shortstop under the age of 24. The mockery I suffered was horrendous - and hilarious.<p>

Now, I'm laughing. I have always thought (due to observation and stats) that Uribe was a cut above as a defensive SS. The WS helped people to see that - he deserves a big audience. His top speed is laughably slow, and he ain't going to get on base much, but he can hit 20 home runs a year and as long as he doesn't slow down too much, he'll save you 30 singles while he's at it.

"Kennyball" a book 'written' by Joe Morgan becomes the antistathead bible

My guess is that a book with that title and by that author would be a runaway bestseller and outsell "Moneyball" 55-45. No kidding.

Mick, we all know that 55 copies isn't a bestseller.

Here's hoping for this 2006 World Series combo

Washington Nationals vs. Texas Rangers