baseball

[Spence]

Arroyo has been really good. Not a chance to get him back.

Wille Mo will get it together. In the end you will like him.

[Eric]

My suprise team is Cincinnati. No question. Sure, my Tigers are 18-9 ( ), but the Reds have to get this. I thought they would battle with Pittsburgh for the cellar of the NL Central, but I think they're on top. The pitching was the main concern, as guys like Paul Wilson and such have been aces at one point. That has really been the Achille's Heel of the Reds for a while. Good luck to the Reds, I hope they beat the stinkin' Cardinals!

[Spence]

My suprise team is Cincinnati. No question. Sure, my Tigers are 18-9 ( ), but the Reds have to get this. I thought they would battle with Pittsburgh for the cellar of the NL Central, but I think they're on top. The pitching was the main concern, as guys like Paul Wilson and such have been aces at one point. That has really been the Achille's Heel of the Reds for a while. Good luck to the Reds, I hope they beat the stinkin' Cardinals!

It is very early. Talent or lack of talent always starts showing by mid July.

[Spence]

Hey 88 Arroyo got his first loss the other day to the D-backs. What a bum.

[Eric]

Michigan's baseball team isn't doing too bad. We're 30-17. Northwestern is actually leading the Big 10 even though they aren't having a great season. What is Alabama's record? (Too lazy to look up)

[Eric]

I decided to search it myself, and I see they are 34-16. Not bad. How do you see their chances in Omaha?

[Spence]

Hey 88 Arroyo got his first loss the other day to the D-backs. What a bum.

i would still take arroyo . . you can have wily mo back ..
has bronson been playing his music gig's out there ???? my wife ran out and bought his CD last year . .it's just a bunch of pearl jam/alice in chains/ etc cover tunes . . not too bad, not too great . .

Nay, we got him, we will make due with him.

I don't know anything about the music, but Cincy and northern Kentucky are full of small clubs with live entertainment, so if he wanted to play he could without any problem.

[Eric]

Look for the bottom to fall out for this team. The Tigers aren't as fantastic as their record suggests that they are. Any team can get like this while beating Kansas City, Anaheim, Minnesota, and a mediocre Cleveland club. The truth is, they haven't shown that they can play against anybody. They have had one series against Chicago and only two more series against teams that actually have legit playoff teams in Texas and Oakland.

We'll find out in this stretch if they are for real or not. They are in the middle of a Yankee series where they are about to be swept, they play the Bo Sox, the White Sox, the Blue Jays, St. Louie, and the Astros. It's not going to be pretty. A little while after the all-star break, this team will be around .500 where they should be.

The problem is that they are getting satisfied. Hopefully Leyland will make a speech to them that they haven't proven anything and unless they are planning on being a wildcard team, they had better get their act together because the White Sox are hot on their trail. It never fails; the Tigers will slip back into mediocrity sometime this season.

I'm really enjoying this stretch they're having, but I don't think they can keep it up. They have fantastic, underrated players like Monroe, Inge, Shelton, Verlander, Rodney, and Granderson, but they seem like they were content with being 21 games over and that it wouldn't hurt if they took a couple days off. I watched this team at the ballpark against a sub-par Randy Johnson and they just didn't want to play that day in the 93 degree heat. They just wanted to go wherever it's air conditioned and get out of there. Rand Johnson is a shell of himself and there's no reason he was having a no-hitter in the 6th inning.

[Eric]

Not to put a negative light on things, they won the battle but not the war. Losing 3 of 4 to the Yanks also might suggest something

But, we shall find out more in this stretch of Boston, Toronto, Chicago White Sox, St. Louis, and Houston. It'll be a rough stretch. If they keep their heads above water, I'll be pleased.

[Eric]

I'm pleased right now. I thought Leyland could turn things around and that the Tigers could contend this year, but the overall way they've been playing is absolutely ridiculous! I'm just wondering if they'll be able to keep it above .500 against real competiton. The only real teams they've played have been the Indians which they've split it so far, I think, lost 3 of 4 to the Yanks, and I think 2 of 3 to the White Sox. They did take 3 of 4 against Texas.

It's too early to make a prediction. The only gauge to measure a team is at the end of June. Then you know who is for real and who isn't.

[Spence]

Sorry, the inks already dry on that one. We are keeping him.

It is a shame about Willy Mo, he is a good player, but we still got the best end of that deal, even if he was healthy.

[Spence]

I don't think Cincy can do it. They just don't have all the pieces to that puzzle. They have a pretty good owner now, though, and hopefully he will put Cincy back on the MLB map. Arroyo is a very solid pitcher and he has made the starting staff better. Now if they can just get some relief pitching in place and KGJR can stay healthy for a whole season, they will contend.

[Spence]

No, I don't think the Reds can win the central. They just don't match up talentwise with the Cards. I am encouraged that they have been able to hang in there so far though. Look for St. Louis to pull away by mid-August, unless they Reds find a couple more pitchers to make the stretch run. This is probably the latest the Reds have been in it since the earlly 90's.

[Eric]

I think the Reds can hang in there for a while. The Cards are going downhill in a hurry, the Brewers are mediocre, the Cubs and Pirates are downright terrible, and the Astros don't have any enthusiasm. If I had to pick a team today, I'd pick Cincinnati.

I think the Tigers aren't even assured a spot yet. If they play .500 ball the rest of the season, I don't know if they'd get it with the Yanks, Sox, and Jays. They still have to keep this up. I'm still a little worried about when they play actual good teams though. I think they will learn to beat good teams by the end of the year. My halfway point prediction is that if the Tigers make the playoffs, they'll get bounced in the first round, unless they play the AL West champ.

[Eric]

irish88, Todd Jones was the closer here at one point in time, Juan Acevedo came after him (whew, that was a disaster!). Jones was struggling to find his groove for a while before he became the closer for Florida, so he decided to come back here. He got off to an extremely rocky start but has seemed to pick it up a little bit.

Anyway, the main reason I'm posting is that we can re-assess our teams since it's one hour before August. With the Yanks wheeling and dealing adding Craig Wilson as a utility man, Cory Lidle to the starting pitching staff, and Bobby Abreu in the OF, they're going to be one hard team to beat. I don't know what I was thinking, they always make the playoffs. So, my question, irish88, is do you think your BoSox can hang onto the division lead with the NYY making these moves? Do you think the wildcard will come out of the East or the Central?

Spence, the Reds are still hanging in there, I think they lead the wildcard right now. You don't think they'll fold, do you? I think they might've gave up too much in that Nationals deal, but hey, that was the price demanded. I think they have enough in the tank to challenge for the NL Central the rest of the way, what say you?

I think it's safe to say that the Tigers are for real. I think I'm getting spoiled here. I've forgot what it's like to win, so I feel bad that the Tigers have lost 2 in a row! I think the addition of Sean Casey only further solidifies an AL Central crown. Leyland will keep these guys rolling on through the playoffs. Although I kind of feel in the back of my mind that when September rolls around they'll lose themselves back in the race for the playoffs instead of locking up a spot then thinking back, "man, why was I sucked into this hype?"