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probably the 2nd best team in baseball.
Starters
RH Josh Beckett
LH Jon Lester
RH John Lackey
RH Clay Buchholz
RH Tim Wakefield
RH Daisuke Matsuzaka
Bullpen
RH Jonathan Papelbon
RH Daniel Bard
LH Hideki Okajima
RH Ramon Ramirez
RH Manny Delcarmen
RH Boof Bonser
LH Brian Shouse
Lineup
C Victor Martinez
1B Kevin Youkilis
2B Dustin Pedroia
3B Adrian Beltre
SS Marco Scutaro
LF Jacoby Ellsbury
CF Mike Cameron
RF JD Drew
DH David Ortiz
Bench
C Jason Varitek
IF Bill Hall
IF Mike Lowell
OF Jeremy Hermida
probably the 2nd best team in baseball.
On paper this is a well rounded team. We still have the defending world series champs to duel with.
Line Up
1. CF Drew Stubbs
2. SS Orlando Cabrera
3. 1B Joey Votto
4. 2B Brandon Phillips
5. 3B Scott Rolen
6. RF Jay Bruce
7. LF Chris Heisey
8. C Ramon Hernandez
9. Pitcher
Starting Pitching
1. Johny Cueto
2. Bronson Arroyo
3. Homer Bailey
4. Aaron Harang
5. Travis Wood
Bull Pen
Francisco Cordero
Nick Masset
Jared Burton
Author Rhodes
Danny Herrera
Carlos Fisher
Pedro Viola
I would say 3rd best team behind the Evil Empire and Phillies with their better line-up...
Phils still don't have the pitching.
You do know they picked up Roy Halladay, don't you? Yeah, their bullpen is still suspect..but pitching failed Boston in the ALDS against the Angels, so even if you think a staff is going to be good--it doesn't always turn out that way. Hamels and Halladay will be tough to beat in the NL. Their offense >>>> than Boston's that's for sure...
Scutaro is the only weak link I see in the BoSox lineup, assuming Papi can return to something like his old form.
Pitching is very, very good
Spring is in the air, and if I wasn't Giants fan I'd be getting excited
Everybody knows the Reds are goin to win the World Series
That's a big IF, symple...Scutaro is the only weak link I see in the BoSox lineup, assuming Papi can return to something like his old form.
Pitching is very, very good
Spring is in the air, and if I wasn't Giants fan I'd be getting excited
The Giants will definitely have the bullpen to be solid--it is the offense that will need to improve to give themselves a chance at the wildcard. The NL West has produced a number of the wildcards in the past few seasons.
The pitching and defense for Boston is going to be great and I think that lineup can be good enough.
Hitting hitting hitting. The bane of the Giants existence. They'll be relying on Panda and a bunch of guys who've been underperforming of late. 2 and 3 spots (Sanchez and Panda) are the only slots I feel good about, the rest is going to be a crapshoot. At least I can look forward to one of the better rotations in the league, and a solid bullpen. Not sure what to think of the defense yet.
NL west should be very good. I still give the advantage to the Dodgers, much as I hate to say it
Arizona has the tools to bounce back, and Colorado should be solid at the very least. NL West is no longer a joke
Watch out for the Reds guys, they are winning this year
If the Phils wouldve somehow kept Lee and Halladay yeah I would say they are better but not right now. Their lineup is still sick, and they are the best team in the NL.
Rollins
Polanco
Utley
Howard
Werth
Ibanez
Victorino
Ruiz
Thats a of a lineup, I don't see anyone in the NL who can stop them. But I think right now they are behind the Yanks and Sox.
I still think Hamels and Halladay are formidable enough to warrant #2 status. Fair enough that you think the Red Sox are second best, but this was a pitching staff that was taken out by a minimal hitting team in the Los Angeles Angels. They're a year older and you've got to wonder where the power is going to come from the line-up in Beantown. Either way, I think we'll probably see a rematch of last year's World Series or a Yankees/Cardinals showdown.
I will be weary of the Dodgers' starting rotation. After Kershaw, and even Clayton is still learning, you don't have a starting rotation that will scare people. There's no Lince , Halladay, Lee, or Sabathia coming out of the bullpen in Chavez Ravine. Your Giants have the best staff in the NL West and perhaps the NL. Too bad there isn't an offensive punch to go with it. It would be nice to see San Francisco finally win the whole damn thing.
Rofl, I read a story today that the Giants Freddy Sanchez will most likely start on the DL or in tripleA. Yet another hit to an already questionable offense
Okay, enough Hijacking this thread... I know there are a bunch of Dodger fans on here, as well as D'back fans. There's also another Giants fan beside me, so maybe I should just start an NL West thread.
Red Sox starting pitching should really be great this year. I'd have plenty of questions about their line-up though. Scutaro had a pretty good season last year but I think it might be hard for him to keep up that pace, especially his OBP. He had a career .330 OBP and all of a sudden he had a .380 OBP last season. And, Boston's line-up isn't as formidable as it used to be. Both Ortiz and JD Drew seem to have hit their decline. And while adding Beltre helps keep their defense strong, he had one of his worst years last season.
Will Pedroia lead off or will they give Ellsbury another shot? If not, does Ellsbury move down to #2 or to the bottom of the line-up. My guess:
Dustin Pedroia
Jacoby Ellsbury
Kevin Youkilis
Victor Martinez
Adrian Beltre
David Ortiz
Mike Cameron
JD Drew
Marco Scutaro
Still a very good line-up but not nearly as scary or as daunting as it was just a couple years ago.
With that starting pitching, they'd definitely still be one of the top teams in all of majors, but I'm not sure I'd say they're the second best. Philly is still there. And, the Dodgers might still be in that conversation even ahead of the Red Sox.
Red Sox need Adrian Gonzalez...
Whats so funny, its true, the rotation is solid, not great but solid, Aaron Harang, Bronson Arroyo, Johny Cueto, Homer Bailey and whoever wins the 5th starter job, the Line UP has been better, adding Orlando Cabrera, and Subtraction Willy Taveras, the Central is weak, the only good team is the Cardinals
Lee - Hamels - Dracbeck > Halladay - Hamels. And Ibanez's offense is due to fall off a cliff anytime soon, like Papi's did last year.
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