And So it Begins

[Guest Smues]

What's your teams opening day lineup, and pitching rotation look like? About 3 weeks away from P/C reporting.

Braves

 

C-Johnny Estrada

1B-Julio Franco/Adam LaRoche

2B-Margus Giles

SS-Rafeal Furcal

3B-Chipper Jones

LF-Brian Jordan

CF-Andruw Jones

RF-Raul Mondesi

 

SP-T. Hudson

SP-J. Smoltz

SP-M. Hampton

SP-H. Rameriz

SP-J. Thompson

 

RP-K. Gryboski

RP-R. Colon

RP-C. Reitsma

RP-T. Martin

RP-G. White

CP-D. Kolb

[Mik 0]

Let's take a short review of the Marlins' offseason...

 

1. Re-sign Paul Lo Duca, a 32 year old catcher, to a 3 year, $18 Million contract. Meanwhile, block Josh Willingham, who posted a 281/449/565 line in AA, and whom Baseball Prospectus projects to be the best catcher in the National League RIGHT NOW.

 

2. Sign Carlos Delgado to a four year, $52 Million contract. Block Jason Stokes, who slugged .513 in AA at the age of 22.

 

3. Sign Al Leiter to a one year, $8 Million contract despite his declining K rate and rising BB rate.

 

Next season, A.J. Burnett and Juan Pierre will likely leave the team via free agency. When they lose them, remember that the Marlins could have kept these good, young players, but instead blew money on players they really didn't need.

I don't think there is any way that Pierre leaves the team. Burnett, maybe.

 

Jason Stokes has weak wrists just like Adrian Gonzalez.

[mike546 0]

C- Posada

1B- Giambi/Tino

2B- Wolmack

3B- A-Rod

SS- Jeter

LF- Matsui

CF-Bernie

RF- Sheff

DH- Giambi/Rube/Tino

 

SP- Randy Johnson

SP- Mike Mussina

SP- Carl Pavano

SP-Jarret Wright

SP- Kevin Brown

SS- Tanyon Sturtze

 

RP- M. Stanton

RP- F. Rodriguez

RP- T. Sturtze

RP- T. Gordon

RP- S. Karsay

RP- P. Quantril

C- M. Rivera

[treble 0]

Blue Jays

 

C - G. Zaun/G. Myers

1B - E. Hinske/S. Hillenbrand/F. Catallanotto

2B - O. Hudson

SS - R. Adams

3B - C. Koskie

DH - S. Hillenbrad/E. Hinske/F. Catallanotto

LF - R. Johnson/F. Catallanotto

CF - V. Wells

RF - A. Rios

 

SP - R. Halladay

SP - T. Lilly

SP - M. Batista

SP - D. Bush

SP - G. Chacin/J. Towers

The bullpen's a bit of a mess. Towers will probably be in there if he's not the 5th starter, so will Shoenweiss, Ligtenberg, Koch, Frasor, and Speier.

[strummer 0]

Mets

 

C-Piazza

1B-Mientkiewicz

2B-Matsui

3B-Wright

SS-Reyes

LF-Floyd

CF-Beltran

RF-Cameron

 

SP- Pedro Martinez

SP- Tom Glavine

SP- Chris Benson

SP- Victor Zambrano

SP- Steve Trachsel

 

RP-Jae Seo

RP- Matt Ginter

RP- Mike DeJean

RP-Orber Moreno

RP-Bartolome Fortunato

RP- Scott Strickland

RP-Felix Heredia

CP-Braden Looper

[Big McLargeHuge 0]

Giants

 

C-Mike Matheny

1B-JT Snow/Pedro Feliz

2B-Ray Durham

SS-Omar Vizquel

3B-Edgardo Alfonzo/Pedro Feliz

LF-Barry Bonds

CF-Marquis Grissom

RF-Moises Alou

 

SP-Jason Schmidt

SP-Brett Tomko

SP-Kirk Rueter

SP-Noah Lowry

SP-Jerome Williams

 

RP-T. Walker

RP-S. Eyre

RP-J. Christiansen

RP-M. Herges

RP-J. Brower

CP-A. Benitez

 

The last 3 seasons have had heart-breaking ends to them each. It doesn't look like that's gonna stop anytime soon, but I can hope.

[MikeJordan23 0]

1st: Albert Pujols

2nd: Mark Grudzielanek

3rd: Scott Rolen

SS: David Eckstein

Right: Larry Walker

Left: Reggie Sanders

Center: Jim Edmonds

 

SP- Mark Mulder

SP- Matt Morris (Will miss the begining of the season)

SP - Chris Carpenter

SP - Jason Marquis

SP - Jeff Suppan

SP/RP - Rick Ankiel (Will more than likely replace Morris to begin the season)

 

RP - Julian Tavarez

RP - Ray King

RP - Cal Eldred

RP - Mike Myers

RP - Al Reyes

RP - Jason Isringhausen

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

PHILLIES

 

C- Mike Lieberthal/Todd Pratt

1B- Jim Thome/Jose Offerman

2B- Chase Utley/Placido Polanco

SS- Jimmy Rollins

3B- David Bell/Tomas Perez

LF- Pat Burrell

CF- Kenny Lofton/Jason Michaels/Marlon Byrd

RF- Bobby Abreu

 

SP- Randy Wolf

SP- Jon Lieber

SP- Vicente Padilla

SP- Brett Myers

SP- Cory Lidle

 

CL- Billy Wagner

RP- Rheal Cormier, Tim Worrell, Ryan Madson, Amaury Telemaco, Terry Adams

 

People are down on the team, but there are no holes from one to twenty five on our roster. Ryan Howard and Gavin Floyd also provide some depth on the squad. If Brett Myers and the rest of the staff takes a step forward, I think this squad can win the NL East.

[Guest OSIcon]

Orioles

 

Not a whole lot different from last season.

 

C - Javy Lopez

1B - Rafael Palmeiro/Jay Gibbons/Surhoff

2B - Brain Roberts

3B - Melvin Mora

SS - Miquel Tejada

LF - Larry Bigbie

CF - Jerry Hairston OR Luis Matos

RF - Jay Gibbons/David Newhan

 

Bench: Newhan, Surhoff, Chris Gomez

 

SP - Rodrigo Lopez

SP - Sidney Ponson

SP - Daniel Cabrera

SP - Erik Bedard

SP - Eric Dubose

 

The last two spots really could go anywhere. Ainsworth, James Baldwin, and Matt Riley could be in there.

 

CL - Jorge Julio OR BJ Ryan

RP - BJ Ryan, John Parish, Steve Reed, Rick Bauer

 

The offense was good last year and they should be good again this year. The pitching of course is an incredible question mark has the rotation isn't set at all. At the very least, at least it is a young staff with potential as opposed to a bunch of over the hill veterans or a bunch of "never was" guys. Got to be optimistic somehow....

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

OSIcon, don't forget John Maine. I saw him pitch in Scranton in August, and he looked fairly good.

[the max 0]

Red Sox

 

Jesus Damon - cf

Edgar Renteria - ss

Manny Ramirez - lf

PAPI~! - dh

Capt. Varitek - c

Trot Nixon - rf

Kevin Millar - 1b

Bill Mueller - 3b

Mark Bellhorn - 2b

 

Staff:

 

Curt Schilling

David Wells

Matt Clement

Brandon Arroyo

Wade Miller/Tim Wakefield

[HarleyQuinn 0]

Boston Red Sox

 

C: Jason Varitek/Doug Mirabelli

1B: Kevin Millar/Kevin Youkilis(will try and learn the position during Spring Training)/David McCarty

2B: Mark Bellhorn

3B: Bill Mueller/Ramon Vazquez

SS: Edgar Renteria/Ramon Vazquez/Hanley Ramirez

LF: Manny Ramirez

CF: Johnny Damon/Jay Payton

RF: Trot Nixon

 

SP: David Wells

SP: Matt Clement

SP: Tim Wakefield

SP: Bronson Arroyo

SP: John Halama

 

**This is presuming Schilling is not ready and Miller is still injured**

 

MR: Alan Embree

MR: Matt Mantei

MR: Mike Timlin

MR: Mark Malaska

CL: Keith Foulke

 

That's 25 players right there(excluding Schilling and Miller as pointed out earlier). If Schilling and Miller are ready, Youkilis may get sent to AAA and Halama would move to the bullpen as would Arroyo.

 

Edit: Yes, you're crazy Max

[the max 0]

Am I crazy or is Timlin missing?

[Cuban Linx 0]

Rangers:

 

C- Rod Barajas/Gerald Laird/Sandy Alomar

1B- Mark Teixeira

2B- Alfonso Soriano

3B- Hank Blalock

SS- Michael Young

LF- Kevin Mench

CF- Laynce Nix

RF- Richard Hidalgo

 

Bench- David Delluci, Gary Matthews, Adrian Gonzales, Herbert Perry

 

SP- Ryan Drese

SP- Kenny Rogers

SP- Chan Ho Park

SP- A bunch of others that will only succeed on run support and smoke & mirrors. Chris Young and Juan Dominguez according to mlb.com's depth chart.

 

Closer: Francisco Cordero

RP- Carlos Almanzar

RP- Frank Francisco

RP- Whichever guys don't end up getting the final two starting spots.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Cubs

 

C - Michael Barrett

1B - Derrek Lee

2B - Todd Walker

SS - Nomar Garciaparra

3B - Aramis Ramirez

LF - Todd Hollandsworth

CF - Corey Patterson

RF - Sneezy

 

SP - Kerry Wood

SP - Mark Prior

SP - Carlos Zambrano

SP - Greg Maddux

SP - Glendon Rusch

LRP - Angel Guzman

MRP - Mike Remlinger

MRP - Jon Leicester

MRP - Farns

SU - LaTroy Hawkins

SU - Joe Borowski

CP - Ryan Dempster

 

OF - Jason Dubois

UTIL - Jose Macias

BC - Henry Blanco

IF - Neifi Perez

Sorry but I have no clue who the rest of the bench is

[geniusMoment 0]

Reds are:

 

Batting order is:

1. D'Angelo Jimenez 2nd base

2. Joe Randa/Austin Kearns 3rd base

3. Ken Griffey Jr. Center

4. Adam Dunn Left Field

5. Wily Mo Pena/Austin Kearns Right Field

6. Shawn Casey 1st base

7. Rich Aurilia Shortstop

8. Jason LaRue Catcher

 

Starting Pitching is:

1. Eric Milton

2. Paul Wilson

3. Ramon Ortiz

4. Luke Hudson

5. Aaron Harang

 

Bullpen is:

Danny Graves Closer

David Weathers late inning guy

Ben Weber possible set-up guy

Kent Mercker Left hander

Ryan Wagner Wild pitch specialist/also walk specialist

Todd Coffey Left hander with great stuff

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Ryan Wagner Wild pitch specialist/also walk specialist

 

Wagner's probably the best guy in the bullpen. His ERA fell nearly two runs after the All-Star break. Remember he's just a year and a half removed from college.

[Hektik 0]

San Diego Padres

 

C - Ramon Hernandez

1B - Phil Nevin

2B - Mark Loretta

SS - Khalil Greene

3B - Sean Burroughs

LF - Ryan Klesko

CF - Dave Roberts

RF - Brian Giles

 

SP - Jake Peavy

SP - Woody Williams

SP - Brian Lawrence

SP - Adam Eaton

SP - Darell May

 

MRP - Dennys Reyes

MRP - Blaine Neal

MRP - Chris Hammond

SUP - Scott Linebrink

SUP - Akinori Otsuka

CP - Trevor Hoffman

[The Czech Republic 0]

Genius what happened to Brandon Claussen

[Mik 0]

I think most people know the Marlins lineup, because it's all household names 1-8 but I'll list anyway

 

C - Paul LoDuca

1B- Carlos Delgado

2B - Luis Castillo

SS- Alex Gonzalez (05 Gold Glove winner - mark my words)

3B- Mike Lowell

LF - Jeff Conine/Juan Encarnacion

CF - Juan Pierre

RF- Miguel "Future 4 time MVP" Cabrera

 

7 of the Marlins starting 8 have played in an all star game.

 

Bench: Chris Aguila, Willingham, Damion Easley, Lenny Harris (ugh)

 

1 - Josh Beckett

2- AJ Burnett

3- Dontrelle Willis

4 - Al Leiter

5 - Ismael Valdez

 

BP: Todd Jones, Antonio Alfonseca, Tim Spooneybarger, Matt Perisho, Jon Riedling

Closer: Guillermo Mota

[Guest Smell the ratings!!!]

Chicago White Sox

 

C - AJ Pyzersxlkjsadlkjinski

1B - Paul Konerko

2B - Tadahito Iguchi (good name)

SS - Juan Uribe

3B - Joe Crede

LF - Scott Posednik

CF - Aaron Rowand

RF - Jermaine Dye

DH - Frank Thomas (Carl Everret while he's out)

 

Starters

 

Mark Burhele

Freddy Garcia

Jose Contreras

Orlando Hernandez

Jon Garland

 

Relivers

 

Some Scrub

Neil Cotts - Long Man/6th Starter

Jon Adkins - Long Man/6th Starter

Dustin Hermanson - Expensive Suckfest

Damaso Marte - Setup/Lefty Killer

Shingo! Takatsu - Closer

 

Bench

 

Ross Gload - 1B/OF

Willie Harris - 2B/CF

Ismael Valdez - 2B/SS

Ben Davis - C

Carl Everret - OF (Timo Perez while Frank is out)

 

 

this is based on the assumption that the awful Timo gets dumped and Ozzie gets past his bizzare obsession with having 3 catchers.

[Bored 0]

A's

 

C: Jason Kendall

1B: Scott Hatteberg

2B: Keith Ginter or Mark Ellis (depending on health)

3B: Eric Chavez

SS: Bobby Crosby

LF: Eric Byrnes

CF: Mark Kotsay

RF: Nick Swisher

DH: Erubial Durazo

 

Bench

 

Adam Melhuse

Charles Thomas

Bobby Kielty

Ginter/Ellis or Marco Scutaro (again depending on Ellis' being healthy)

Dan Johnson (only if they keep 11 pitchers but appears they will keep 12)

 

Rotation

 

Barry Zito

Rich Harden

Joe Blanton

Danny Haren

Dan Meyer (might start year in Triple-A)

 

Bullpen

 

Octavio Dotel

Kiko Calero

Ricardo Rincon

Chad Bradford

Justin Duchscherer

Juan Cruz (could be in rotation if Meyer is in AAA)

Keiichi Yabu (same story as Cruz)

 

Other bullpen options: Seth Etherton, Tim Harikkala, Tyler Johnson, Chris Mabeus

[Guest Smell the ratings!!!]

is Huston Street still in AAA? (or whatever the hell his name is)

[Bored 0]

Yes he'll start the year in Sacramento and may end up being there all year. Before they added Cruz and Calero it looked like he'd make the team but now they have a ton of depth in the bullpen so there is no reason to rush him.

[UZI Suicide 0]

Los Angeles Dodgers:

 

1. Cesar Izturis, SS

2. Jayson Werth, LF

3. D.L. Drew, RF

4. Milton Bradley, CF

5. Jeff Kent, 2B

6. Jose Valentin, 3B

7. Hee Sop Choi, 1B

8. David Ross, C

 

Rotation:

 

1. Derek Lowe

2. Odalis Perez

3. Brad Penny

4. Jeff Weaver

5. Edwin Jackson/Kaz Ishii

 

Bullpen:

 

Eric Gagne

Yhency Brazboan

Wilson Alvarez

Duenar Sanchez

Giovani Carrera

Darren Dreifort

Elmer Dessens

[The Czech Republic 0]

Don't let Bob Barron see this thread, he'll have to post thirty times just to cover all his bases.

[Guest Smues]

Don't let Bob Barron see this thread, he'll have to post thirty times just to cover all his bases.

Yeah because with the thread only being 4 months old I'm sure he hasn't noticed it yet.

[MrRant 0]

M's sign Cuban shortstop prospect

Betancourt, 22, replaces Looper on 40-man roster

 

By JOHN HICKEY

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

 

The Mariners concluded a yearlong pursuit of Cuban shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt yesterday, completing a four-year contract that is worth $3.65 million.

 

After the United States government granted final clearance, Betancourt, 22, became a Mariner. As part of his contract, he was put on the 40-man roster and will report to spring training next month.

 

To make room on the roster, pitcher Aaron Looper, still recovering from surgery last May, was placed on the designated-for-assignment list.

 

Making it to the 40-man roster is a big step for Betancourt, who didn't play last year after having fled Cuba on a raft in 2003, eventually landing in Mexico.

 

"He's a pretty good-looking ballplayer," Benny Looper, the Mariners' vice president of player development and scouting, said of Betancourt. "There was a lot of competition to sign him. And that's what it took to get the deal done."

 

Betancourt's last regular job was as a 20-year-old shortstop/second baseman for Villa Clara in the Cuban big leagues. He played mostly at second base because Eduardo Paret, who has spent most of the past decade as the starting shortstop for the Cuban National Team, was Villa Clara's shortstop.

 

"Yuniesky is an athletic, offensive shortstop," Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi said. "We view him as the equivalent of a first- or second-round draft pick."

 

The Mariners plan to have Betancourt begin his Mariners career at Class AA San Antonio.

 

Betancourt, who is 5-feet-10 and 190 pounds, is, in Looper's words, capable of playing outfield and third base, which may become necessary, because some of the best players in the Seattle minor league system are shortstops, including Seattle's first picks in the past two drafts, Matt Tuiasosopo and Adam Jones.

 

"We are excited about this," Looper said. "We like him as a baseball player. I know he can play second; I've seen him play second. I think he can play shortstop, too, but shortstops are generally the most athletic players on the team and they can wind up elsewhere.

 

"Shortstops have wound up playing lots of other positions down the line."

 

The Mariners first made contact with Betancourt last January, after Looper saw him play shortly following his exit from Cuba. They've had an agreement in principle with Betancourt and his agent, Jaime Torres, since Dec. 16. But neither side could say anything while the U.S. Treasury Department looked into Betancourt.

 

Cuban exiles need clearance from the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control. That office administers and enforces the U.S. sanctions on foreign governments, including Cuba's. The Mariners got word this week that Betancourt had received clearance.

 

To make room for Betancourt, Aaron Looper, Benny's son, was designated for assignment, meaning the Mariners have 10 days to trade him, release him or put him through waivers and hope no other club claims him. The third option is the mostly likely. And if that happens, the Mariners could re-sign Looper to a minor league contract.

 

Looper underwent ligament-replacement surgery in his forearm last May and has not thrown in a game since. He currently is in Arizona trying to regain arm strength, and while he was scheduled to be with the club during spring training, the Mariners estimate he won't be at full strength until two months into the season.

 

Any club claiming him on waivers would have to put him on the 40-man roster and pick up his medical expenses. The Mariners hope that will deter teams that otherwise might be interested.

 

If Looper remains a Mariner, he likely will be at spring training with the club.

 

NOTES: The Mariners signed right-handed starting pitcher Cha Seung Baek to a contract for the 2005 season that will pay him $316,000 if he makes the big league club. Baek went 2-4 with a 5.52 ERA in seven appearances (five starts) for Seattle last year. At Class AAA Tacoma, he was 5-4 with a 4.21 ERA. ... Including Betancourt and Baek, 22 of the 40 players on the roster are signed, and the Mariners control the contract rights of the other 18. ... The Mariners' annual FanFest is this weekend at Safeco Field, starting at 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.

[HarleyQuinn 0]

Los Angeles Dodgers are considering placing a bid for SS Norihiro Nakamura.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-dodger...ack=1&cset=true

 

New York Mets are close to signing MR Mike Mathews to an MLC and invite to ST.

 

Atlanta Braves agreed to a 1 year, $877,500 contract with MR Kevin Gryboski.

 

Barry Larkin has said he will likely opt for retirement.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-l...ov=ap&type=lgns

 

Anaheim Angels agreed to terms with C Josh Paul on a 1 year, $450,000 contract.

 

New York Yankees signed OF Damian Rolls to an MLC and invited to ST.

 

Arizona Diamondbacks re-signed MR Mike Koplove to a 2 year, $2 Million contract.

 

Atlanta Braves signed MR Jay Powell to an MLC.

 

Houston Astros agreed to a 1 year, $10.50 Million contract with OF Lance Berkman.

 

Milwaukee Brewers agreed to a 1 year, $1.15 Million contract with OF Brady Clark.

 

Washington Nationals signed 1B/3B George Arias to an MLC and invited to ST.

 

Tampa Bay Devil Rays signed SP Hideo Nomo to an MLC and invited to ST.

 

Boston Red Sox signed MR Denny Tomori.

http://bostondirtdogs.boston.com/Headline_..._tomori_si.html

[sfaJack 0]

The good news for Astro fans: Lance Berkman avoids arbitration and signs a one year deal worth 10.5 mil.

 

The bad news for Astro fans: Lance Berkman signs only a one year deal.

 

EDIT: Harley just beat me to it...