March 9, 200521 yr so.. i was just watching sportscenter and rick sutcliff said now that the giants have alou that they're the team to beat. is he on crack???? lets look at this... break it down this is just a rough draft i know guys on this site like to crucify people if u get something wrong so please don't kill me leadoff?? grissom vs pierre..........i'd take pierre anyday they have bonds...........we have delgotit alou...........................cabby pedro feliz? hah . .mike lowell omar visquel . ........... seabass (breakout season baby) psh what garbage.. pitching?? jason schmidt? aj will challange him this season kirk rueter? if he's healthy?? JB Lowry??? - dontrizzle bullpen??? scott eyre, ryan christianson, armando - spooney, alfonseca, jones, riedling, mota.. i tell you guys espn analysts are a little out there :banghead
March 9, 200521 yr Cards. 15 game winners on the opening day staff is sick. Not to mention the offense.
March 9, 200521 yr I would agree that the Giants will be better this year than last year, but they would still easily lose to either the Marlins or Cardinals, and perhaps the Braves, in a 5 or 7 game series.
March 9, 200521 yr games arent played on paper, folks. 706133[/snapback] Ya, really..Some people... we all know they're played on plastic.
March 9, 200521 yr Author games arent played on paper, folks. 706133[/snapback] Ya, really..Some people... we all know they're played on plastic. 706134[/snapback] hahahahhahaha. quote of the year :owned
March 9, 200521 yr Is there any question for those of us who aren't on Barry's "non-shrinkage" (you know what I'm talkin about..... ) that the CARDINALS are the team to beat?!!?!?!!?!? it seems like ESPN analists know NOTHING about the sport they "analize"
March 9, 200521 yr I gotta agree with the Cards. They are great offensive team and now they have the Ace that they have been missing in Mark Mulder. They are an extremely talented team.
March 9, 200521 yr Only reason he said that was because he did a Giants game yesterday...when he does a St Louis game next week or whenever he will probably say they are the team to beat
March 9, 200521 yr Author Only reason he said that was because he did a Giants game yesterday...when he does a St Louis game next week or whenever he will probably say they are the team to beat 706235[/snapback] thats what greg anthony did with the heat... :censored
March 9, 200521 yr gotta be the cards, b/c they're defending champs and dramatically improved their pitching this offseason. once again the giants have a few superstars surrounded by a bunch of mediocre players, especially in their rotation. might be good enough to be a big fish in a small pond in the lame NL west but that's about it. also not a good short-series team b/c of the lack of depth in their rotation. what the did against the marlins in '03 - win with schmidt and get smoked the rest of the time - sounds about right.
March 9, 200521 yr To me, there are 4 teams that should be in the playoffs.. Marlins, Cardinals, Cubs and Giants.. though I'm a little on the edge about the Giants.
March 10, 200521 yr I may be a little biased, but I will say that Rick Sutcliffe gets a little carried away when he talks about anything... He could be watching Ken Harvey at 1st base make a good play and he'll start talking about how Harvey is one of the best defensive first baseman in the league... However, people forget that the Giants were a team last year that won 91 games with no true right fielder, no true shortstop, a bad defensive catcher, no closer, and a shaky rotation throughout the first half of the season. Grissom will not be leading off. The lineup looks like this: Durham - 2b Vizquel - SS Snow - 1b Bonds - LF Alou - RF Alfonzo/Feliz - 3b Grissom - CF Matheny - C And the rotation (which happened to be one of the best down the stretch last season) is: Schmidt Rueter Tomko Lowry Williams With a bullpen full of guys like Jim Brower, Scott Eyre, Jason (not Ryan) Christiansen, etc... not to mention Armando Benitez... Their bench is the strongest it's been in years with guys like Michael Tucker, Deivi Cruz, Yorvit Torrealba.... This is a damn good team.. Maybe not the team to beat in the NL. But definitely the team to beat in the NL West. Once they get into the playoffs (hoping they do), anything can happen.
March 10, 200521 yr Ya every year i look at the giants roster they seem to have another 3 70 year olds
March 10, 200521 yr Giants have a good (maybe even great) team, potentially. A lot rides on health, and on Bonds/Schmidt. Can Benitez deal with the pressure of being in a "win-now" environment? Can Alou hit in Pac-Bell efficiently? And for that matter, can he play right field? Can Barry deal with the hounding that comes with the steroid allegations, and with passing Ruth/Aaron. Those are some serious questions, and with that in mind, I'll take the Cards as the team "to beat" simply because they won the pennant last year and they didn't really get any worse in the offseason. I'm not sold on Mudler being the stud he was 3 years ago (Beane has to know something about his hip to deal him at least a year early), or that the offense/defense can rebound flawlessly without Renteria. However, the Cardinals were the best team last year and don't really have anything glaringly wrong with them going into the season, they're my pick.
March 10, 200521 yr Great points, TSwift... And that's exactly why I wouldn't pick anyone else as "the team to beat".. St Louis is the team to beat, until someone proves them wrong. They're the NL Champs and will be until this October. But I like my Giants chances....
March 11, 200521 yr On paper the Giants are the team to beat. That team is very good. But I could see them show age and completey bomb.
March 11, 200521 yr I may be a little biased, but I will say that Rick Sutcliffe gets a little carried away when he talks about anything... He could be watching Ken Harvey at 1st base make a good play and he'll start talking about how Harvey is one of the best defensive first baseman in the league... However, people forget that the Giants were a team last year that won 91 games with no true right fielder, no true shortstop, a bad defensive catcher, no closer, and a shaky rotation throughout the first half of the season. Grissom will not be leading off. The lineup looks like this: Durham - 2b Vizquel - SS Snow - 1b Bonds - LF Alou - RF Alfonzo/Feliz - 3b Grissom - CF Matheny - C And the rotation (which happened to be one of the best down the stretch last season) is: Schmidt Rueter Tomko Lowry Williams With a bullpen full of guys like Jim Brower, Scott Eyre, Jason (not Ryan) Christiansen, etc... not to mention Armando Benitez... Their bench is the strongest it's been in years with guys like Michael Tucker, Deivi Cruz, Yorvit Torrealba.... This is a damn good team.. Maybe not the team to beat in the NL. But definitely the team to beat in the NL West. Once they get into the playoffs (hoping they do), anything can happen. 706783[/snapback] I'm very skeptical about the rotation. Schmidt is awesome, but aside from that the roation is no better than that of the most other NL teams. Reuter has been around a long time and has always been mediocre, tomko isnt a big deal either and so forth.
March 11, 200521 yr The rotation is being counted on big time.... Schmidt - One of the best in the league Rueter - Nothing spectacular, but somehow always keeps the team in the game. The Giants have won like 70% of his starts.. Until last season, which everyone is hoping was a fluke Tomko - Has been great the last couple of seasons in the 2nd half... He just needs to duplicate that in the 1st half. Lowry - This guy is gonna be a stud. Went 6-0 last year and has looked pretty good this spring. He's young, so you never know, but he looks very promising. Williams - Another guy who is young and has shown signs of brilliance, but again, you never know... However, as a 5th starter, he should be awesome. You never know what you're gonna get. But the Marlins are kind of in the same boat. Will Beckett stay healthy all year? Will Burnett stay healthy? Will Dontrelle be able to stay consistent? etc..... 25 Days Til Opening Day !!!
March 11, 200521 yr The rotation is being counted on big time.... Schmidt - One of the best in the league Rueter - Nothing spectacular, but somehow always keeps the team in the game. The Giants have won like 70% of his starts.. Until last season, which everyone is hoping was a fluke Tomko - Has been great the last couple of seasons in the 2nd half... He just needs to duplicate that in the 1st half. Lowry - This guy is gonna be a stud. Went 6-0 last year and has looked pretty good this spring. He's young, so you never know, but he looks very promising. Williams - Another guy who is young and has shown signs of brilliance, but again, you never know... However, as a 5th starter, he should be awesome. You never know what you're gonna get. But the Marlins are kind of in the same boat. Will Beckett stay healthy all year? Will Burnett stay healthy? Will Dontrelle be able to stay consistent? etc..... 25 Days Til Opening Day !!! 707576[/snapback] True, but thats the same for every club. however, even the giants strating 5 at their best are still mediocre, with the exception of schmidt and perhaps lowry who is unproven.
March 11, 200521 yr The Giants are the team to beat in the NL West, but certainly the NL favorite is in my opinion the Cards. I'd put the Marls and even the Braves before the Giants.
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