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Your thoughts on your team's 2005 roster


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Since the Cardinals team looks like it's all but almost set (Might add another Bench player) here are my thoughts on the 2005 Cardinals. Feel free to add your teams thoughts if you want. I know the off-season isnt done and everything but go ahead if you want.

 

Lineup:

1. David Eckstein, SS

2. Admin Walker, RF

3. Albert Pujols, 1b

4. Scott Rolen, 3b

5. Jim Edmonds, CF

6. Reggie Sanders, LF

7. Mark Grudzielanek, 2b

8. Yadier Molina, C

 

Lineup if you think about it really never changed all that much believe it or not. Yes the Cardinals lost some speed in Renteria and Womack.

 

Eckstein is a downgrade from Renteria but he's a scrappy little player that just needs to get on base and score runs and I think he can do that.

 

Walker if healthy for a full year can but up better numbers than Renteria.. What a start to the Brutal Foursome teams would have to face.

 

Pujols is Pujols. Nuff said!

 

Rolen may not be as good as he was last year but cant decline that much. .300 avg, 35 HR, 115 RBI isnt outta question.

 

Edmonds may decline aswell but he's still a .300 hitter that can hit 30 hr's and drive in 100.

 

Sanders will have that streak where he'll be hot and whatnot. He'll finish with 20 homers and at least 20 sb's.

 

Grudzielanek can give the offense that Womack did. .300 avg, 4 homers, 40 rbi's? I actually think he could do better than that, that's just some numbers thrown out around what Womack did. Grudz wont steal us any bases like Womack did but he wont make many baserunning mistakes..

 

Molina can hit for a higher average than Matheny did. I dont know what Yadier will bring us but it cant be much worse than Matheny's offense.

 

Defense:

Rolen is amazing.

 

Eckstein wont give us any flashy plays like Renteria but who cares if he can get the job done. It also helps some Rolen is over on that side of the field.

 

Grudzielanek isnt that great but neither was Womack on the field. Solid but nothin else.

 

Pujols will win a Gold Glove eventually just a matter of when.

 

Sanders is okay in Left.

 

Edmonds is Edmonds.

 

Walker isnt too shabby himself.

 

Molina has a cannon of an arm but I dont know how he's gonna call this staff and block balls. We'll see.

 

Bench:

Same bench as last year basically (Lost Marlon Anderson) led by John Mabry. Mabry shined last year but who knows this year.. Cedeno gave the Cards a solid year.. Taguchi also did.. Einar Diaz can be ok.. Hector Luna may be in AAA but that's that.. He could improve this year and has some talent. Bench could use someone like say Barry Larkin, Roberto Alomar, or Ben Grieve.

 

Rotation:

1. Mark Mulder

2. Chris Carpenter

3. Matt Morris

4. Jeff Suppan

5. Jason Marquis

 

Alright so you replace and old and aging Woody Williams with a Mark Mulder.. Nice.. Carpenter I dont know what to expect, if he can somehow have another 15 win season or so then what a bargain. Morris is coming off surgery, we'll never know how he's gonna be. I'm hoping for the old Morris but know that day isnt coming in the future. Jeff Suppan had his best year last year, will give the Cards another good year. Maybe he turns around his brutal home record this upcoming year. Marquis has all the tools to be another 15 game winner this year. Who knows.. Some question marks (The injury one) going into this year again with the rotation but wouldnt be surprised if they all win at least 13-15 games, with Mulder close to 20.

 

Bullpen:

The biggest loss this offseason was Kiko Calero. Sure I'll miss Kline but see no reason why Myers couldnt fill his role.. Maybe not as good or anything but he could be solid. Calero's spot could be tough to replace but if Ankiel is in his role I think he could do just as good. King may not have a good year like he did last year but he wont be horrible. Tavarez is the key to setting up Izzy. Isringhausen can have another good save season. Izzy is gonna be Izzy where he scares the fans and everything but get the job done when he needs to the right way for the most part.

 

Overall Early Team Thoughts:

Not expecting even 100 wins outta this team but certainly around 96 and enough for the NL Central crown. Offense may be a push, defense may have downgraded just a tad, rotation looks like it has improved, bullpen maybe a slight decrease. If healthy I see no reason they shouldnt be the best team in the NL once again.

 

Was trying my best to not be a homer and everything but I couldnt :lol

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What can you say about the Yankees..... truly amazing

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You could still break down the Yankees.. I would be interested :thumbup

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Infield:

 

Guys making lots of $$$$$

 

Outfield:

 

Guys making lots of $$$$

 

A-rod and Jeter in there somewhere

 

Rotation:

 

Ex-expo, some guy with a mullet and some stragglers making a load of $$$ too

 

Bench:

 

Not much of anyone, maybe a ghost of some fat guy or something

 

Conclusion:

 

Money does buy happiness, how many happy hobos do you see?

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The Detroit Tigers

 

Lineup: (Not too sure about the order)

1. Alex Sanchez CF

2. Carlos Guillen SS

3. Ivan Rodriguez C

4. Craig Monroe LF

5. Dmitri Young DH

6. Carlos Pena 1B

7. Bobby Higginson RF

8. Brandon Inge 3B

9. Omar Infante 2B

 

That's what I feel it should be. Truth is, Rondell White will probably get more time than Monroe the Belt Thief. The lineup has not really improved over last year. If Guillen, Infante, and Inge can carry over the success they had last year, it could be pretty good.

 

Sanchez needs to learn how to be patient and take some walks. He must get on base to use his speed as a weapon.

 

Bench:

 

As of right now, the bench should look like this -

1. Vance Wilson

2. Ramon Martinez

3. Nook Logan? Maybe Granderson

4. Rondell White

5. Others (Not too sure as of right now) - Maybe Chris Shelton

 

Rotation:

 

1. Mike Maroth

2. Jeremy Bonderman

3. Nate Robertson

4. Wil Ledezma

5. Jason Johnson

 

Not a bad rotation, very young and improving. Would like to see the Tigers pick up another SP and give Johnson a shot in the pen. Ledezma, Robertson and Bonderman have HUGE potential.

 

Bullpen:

 

1. Troy Percival

2. Ugie Urbina

3. Jamie Walker

4. Fernando Rodney

 

Still unsure on this. Urbina may still be shipped for a 3B or CF. Hopefully Percival stays healthy. If he can then the bullpen will be much improved over last years. Rodney is just coming off a major injury, so his quality as of right now is questionable.

 

Overall:

 

This team will perform at the same level as last year. 80 wins may be a stretch.

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Lineup:

2B Ray Durham

SS Omar Vizquel

1B JT Snow

LF Barry Bonds

RF Moises Alou

3B Edgardo Alfonzo

CF Marquis Grissom

C Mike Matheny

 

Bench:

1B/3B Pedro Feliz

C Yorvit Torrealba

OF Michael Tucker

IF Deivi Cruz

OF via minors or trade

 

Rotation:

Jason Schmidt

Brett Tomko

Noah Lowry

Jerome Williams

Kirk Rueter

 

Bullpen

Armando Benitez

Jim Brower

Matt Herges

Jason Christiansen

Jesse Foppert

Scott Eyre

Tyler Walker/ Wayne Franklin

 

 

Based on past seasons, the offense should be consistently productive from 1-7. The major question marks are Vizquel and Snow: both had plus seasons in 2004 after noticable dips in 2003.

 

The rotation should be solid as well. The only problem besides age and the likeliness of injuries (which is high) is Brower/ Herges/ Foppert et. all's inability to strike anyone out.

 

Looks like another season of 88+ wins, in contention the whole way.

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Lineup:

CF or LF Scott Podsednik

LF or CF Aaron Rowand

DH Frank Thomas (although he's out a few weeks to start the year)

1B Paul Konerko

RF Jermaine Dye

C A.J. Pierzynski

SS Juan Uribe

3B Joe Crede

2B Willie Harris

 

Bench:

C Ben Davis

DH/OF Carl Everett (although he starts until Frank gets back)

OF Timo Perez

MIF Wilson Valdez

UTIL Ross Gload

 

and we could also sign Japanese 2B Tadahito Iguchi or IF Alex Cora

 

Starting Pitchers:

SP Freddy Garcia

SP Mark Buehrle

SP Orlando Hernandez

SP Jose Contreras

SP Jon Garland

 

Bullpen:

RP Shingo Takatsu

RP Damaso Marte

RP Cliff Politte

RP Dustin Hermanson

RP Luis Vizcaino

RP Neal Cotts

RP Jason Grili??

 

Overall, I think we are better than last year as a team no doubt, not sure what that means though.....

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Lineup:

 

CF Johnny Damon

SS Edgar Renteria

LF Manny Ramirez

DH David Ortiz

RF Trot Nixon

3B Bill Mueller

1B Kevin Millar

2B Mark Bellhorn

C Jason Varitek

 

Will once again be the top offense in the AL. Edgar Renteria is going to wonders for this team. He has a calm demeanor and is a guy who is going suit up and play hard nosed defense and put the wood on the ball. I think he will make this lineup much better than last year. Trot is boudn for a big year, or he could be shipped out. Millar should perform better knowing his job is safe. Tek focused on just baseball should be exciting as well.

 

Bench:

 

OF Jay Payton

IF Ismael Valdez

C Doug Mirabelli

IF Kevin Youklis

 

Still solid with another player coming back possibly in the Mientalphabet trade. We will miss Kapler some though.

 

Pitching:

 

SP Curt Schilling

SP Matt Clement

SP David Wells

SP Bronson Arroyo

SP Tim Wakefield/Wade Miller

 

Will struggle in the beginning as both Cleemnt and more importantly Wells will have to adjust to Fenway. I think Schilling, despite the injury will still win 20. I think Wells will struggle, but still eat innings. Clement will win 15....Arroyo will win 12+ with a lower ERA. Wake will do his thing. Miller will be the X factor if we get him back at a high level during the middle of the year, watch out.

 

Pen:

 

RP John Halame

RP Alan Embree

RP Matt Mantei

SU Mike Timlin

CL Keith Foulke

 

Should be one of the best in the AL. Mantei could really help this pen lock down the 7-9 innings. Halama will eb able to save alot of arms in the pen. Foulke will have 40+ saves.

 

Im not saying they will repeat, but this team has an excelllent chance of at least getting to the big one.

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It was ironic when hapless barnstorming Expos set the tone of the offseason by handing out the first two ridiculous contracts of the year. The Nationals appears to be much like a slightly older and richer 2004 Expos. Will an early season injury bury their chances at competing? Not if it's in the outfield where there's 5000 guys competing for jobs (including Michael Coleman).

 

 

The Marlins, well, they are marginally a better team than the 2004 second-half team. Unfortunetly half the lineup wasn't hitting during that half, and they've made no improvements to that end. Replacing Mordecai and Harris with Willingham, Wilson or Wathan should help at the very least. Pitching-wise, you have to look at this cast as a stronger as their peers appeared this time last year. Now who will turn in the Carl Pavano-type season? Will it be potential free agent A.J. Burnett? Who knows, but I like having three pitchers with closer-type stuff in the bullpen.

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Wow.. The White Sox team looks suprisingly strong.. I would guess a lot of it depends on if Crede finally plays to his potential. I like Rowand a lot.. He's a damn good ballplayer. I still don't like the Sox tho.

 

 

As for the Marlins, I guess it depends. I already got into my keys to success on the Marlins page.

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