Craig Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 Is a joke, that's all there is to it. The NL West is laughable, and one of the worst divisions I've seen in a long time. A .500 record might win that division, and I'm not joking. The NL East has the Phillies, who have talent but will always be stuck as average until Admin Bowa is gone, and the Marlins, who although good, lost a lot of talent from last year. Not to mention, the Marlins are not playing well right now, and are still tied for 1st place. The NL Central is not nearly as good as it appears. Look, the Reds if healthy will be about a .500 team this year. The Astros are good, but I have no idea what the heck they are doing right now. I believe part of the Astros problem is they are old, but another part is their pitching outside of the old guys is struggling, but I think they will get over that. As of now, I only see one World Series quality team in this league, and that's the Cubs. They have their 3 best players on the DL right now, and still are a half game out of the best record in the National League. As of now, I'd say the Cubs are by far the odds on favorite to win the pennant, especially if they get healthy. Comments please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Das Texan Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 ugh...cubbies. i still say the astros and marlins meet in the NLCS. but the NL West is a joke. the NL East outside of Florida and Philly is a joke. The NL Central should have teams running away with things...but they are not.....parity is running supreme. But at some point.... there will be a breakaway in that division. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreshFish Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 I think it is a bit early in the season. but I see your point. I think the NL Central would be the best division to watch this year in all baseball. On the Marlins, Pudge and Redman are the only ones that I miss. AJ Burnette will be an adequate replacement to Redman. I don't miss DLEE, Urbina, or Encarnacion. This team will only get better from now on. The Cubs have a solid team, but their offense has a weakness. They don't have much speed and will have difficulty manufacturing runs. I have my money on the Astros. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Posted May 25, 2004 Author Share Posted May 25, 2004 I always say this with the NFL, and I'll say it about the NL this season. The word "parity" is a coverup for the real word that should be used in the situation, which is "mediocrity." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Posted May 25, 2004 Author Share Posted May 25, 2004 The Cubs have a solid team, but their offense has a weakness. They don't have much speed and will have difficulty manufacturing runs. Very good point, but I think the Cubs are going to trade for a speedy position player with a good bat since they need it so bad, don't you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 the NL East outside of Florida and Philly is a joke. Don't underestimate the Mets. They are .500 and are believing they are for real now. They scare me as do the Braves because well, the Braves will make a push. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Juanky Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 AJ Burnett will end all this "no real WS caliber NL team" discussion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Posted May 25, 2004 Author Share Posted May 25, 2004 the NL East outside of Florida and Philly is a joke. Don't underestimate the Mets. They are .500 and are believing they are for real now. They scare me as do the Braves because well, the Braves will make a push. Have to disagree. The Mets are playing about 7 or 8 miles above their heads right now. They have some talent, but they are a .500 team at best IMO. As for the Braves, look people I'd be afraid too if a team won the division I was in 11 times in a row or whatever their crazy streak is, but the fact is, they don't have nearly the talent to make the playoffs. End of story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Posted May 25, 2004 Author Share Posted May 25, 2004 AJ Burnett will end all this "no real WS caliber NL team" discussion. Not unless he causes the Marlins to start hitting the ball consistently and brings new life, talent, and depth to your bullpen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SorianoFanHFW Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 Mets are one big midseason trade from actually being able to take their division. A Schmiit or Johnson could do it, and maybe getting robin ventura to fill in for ty wiggington at third. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Juanky Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 AJ Burnett will end all this "no real WS caliber NL team" discussion. Not unless he causes the Marlins to start hitting the ball consistently and brings new life, talent, and depth to your bullpen. Who needs depth in the bullpen when they'll never be pitching? Besides, the offense has plenty of ability to hit. It just needs to do so more than once a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 The Mets are playing about 7 or 8 miles above their heads right now. They have some talent, but they are a .500 team at best IMO. I will not be surprised if they take 5 out of the 7 from the Marlins in the next week. They may be playing a little above their talent level right now but if they can somehow pull off big wins this week against the Phillies and Marlins they are going to be scary. They are also getting Reyes back this weekend. They are talking about this stretch of 12 games here all against the Phillies and Marlins as their season and that if they finish this 2 week stretch in good condition that they will be looking to plug holes in the team and go full force on contending. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Juanky Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 Mets are one big midseason trade from actually being able to take their division. A Schmiit or Johnson could do it, and maybe getting robin ventura to fill in for ty wiggington at third. Yeah, ok. We'll do to the Mets worse than we've done and will continue doing to the Phillies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Posted May 25, 2004 Author Share Posted May 25, 2004 AJ Burnett will end all this "no real WS caliber NL team" discussion. Not unless he causes the Marlins to start hitting the ball consistently and brings new life, talent, and depth to your bullpen. Who needs depth in the bullpen when they'll never be pitching? Besides, the offense has plenty of ability to hit. It just needs to do so more than once a week. The top 6 of your lineup can hit, but the bottom 3rd is a black hole. That's a significant problem. And every team needs at least an adequate bullpen if they want to go anywhere, and the Marlins bullpen other than Mando is currently below average at best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Das Texan Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 the mets will battle the braves for 3rd both around .500 sorry. people believe this 'hype' about the braves. even at full stength they still dont have enough offense. they have an imposing outfield.....drew will miss significant tiem eventually though. giles is a good second baseman....furcal is fast...the corners dont do anything to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreshFish Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 I will not be surprised if they take 5 out of the 7 from the Marlins in the next week. If that happens, we are in serious trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 I hope it doesn't happen but I'm just saying I wouldn't be surprised. They are better than I thought and now with Reyes coming back -- that much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Posted May 25, 2004 Author Share Posted May 25, 2004 Look, the Marlins and Phillies are going to be the top 2 in this division by several games. The Mets and Braves are both 75 to 80 win teams and 3rd or 4th place teams. I'm not sure why some people think the Mets and Braves are a threat, because they aren't, not even close to a threat with their current rosters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 I'm not sure why some people think the Mets and Braves are a threat, because they aren't, not even close to a threat with their current rosters. The problem is, if they stay in contention this will not be their final roster. I believe the Mets have the roster to hover around contention long enough to convince management to add the pieces to the puzzle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Posted May 25, 2004 Author Share Posted May 25, 2004 I'm not sure why some people think the Mets and Braves are a threat, because they aren't, not even close to a threat with their current rosters. The problem is, if they stay in contention this will not be their final roster. I believe the Mets have the roster to hover around contention long enough to convince management to add the pieces to the puzzle. The Mets could take on payroll, but I don't see them staying close in this division until trading deadline time. As for the Braves, there is no chance on God's green earth they are going to take on payroll. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SorianoFanHFW Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 Why is everyone discounting the Mets? I mean, when Reyes comes back, we're going to have a pretty solid outfield, good hitting middle infield, pretty good hitting at first, decent bullpen and starting. The mets have a lot of money and some minor league talent to trade. what does that mean? That means getting some of the following: -an good to very good starter -a good to very good bullpen arm -an average third baseman -a good outfielder (like a Beltran), but the spencer garcia platoon isn't that bad at all. The Mets can definitely contend. People are yet to see Phillips and Cameron start hitting. The mets have solid defense and the ability to improve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 Why is everyone discounting the Mets? I'm not obviously. You're right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SorianoFanHFW Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 thanks dude, I didn't mean you of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rune Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 Is a joke, that's all there is to it. The NL West is laughable, and one of the worst divisions I've seen in a long time. A .500 record might win that division, and I'm not joking. The NL East has the Phillies, who have talent but will always be stuck as average until Admin Bowa is gone, and the Marlins, who although good, lost a lot of talent from last year. Not to mention, the Marlins are not playing well right now, and are still tied for 1st place. The NL Central is not nearly as good as it appears. Look, the Reds if healthy will be about a .500 team this year. The Astros are good, but I have no idea what the heck they are doing right now. I believe part of the Astros problem is they are old, but another part is their pitching outside of the old guys is struggling, but I think they will get over that. As of now, I only see one World Series quality team in this league, and that's the Cubs. They have their 3 best players on the DL right now, and still are a half game out of the best record in the National League. As of now, I'd say the Cubs are by far the odds on favorite to win the pennant, especially if they get healthy. Comments please. The Phillies went 5 of 6 against two first placed teams in their last two series, they also don't even have Thome or Wagner. The Marlins will always be contending, that's not pathetic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Das Texan Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 The Mets can definitely contend. People are yet to see Phillips and Cameron start hitting. The mets have solid defense and the ability to improve. Cameron has not really hit for 2 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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