MLB 2014

[StarWarsGirl]

Yes I am aware that spring training does not begin until the end of February, but I thought it was time to get a new thread for this season.

So remind us who your team is and any predictions you might have for this season.


My team, of course, is the Baltimore Orioles. I'm hoping we do well this season. Our biggest area for improvement is our pitching. We still have some key hitters, and our fielding is pretty decent, but the pitching definitely needs work at this point.

 

[afar28]

Yankees! Love the changes in the offseason just the pitching staff I'm not a fan of. Overpaid for tanaka, sabathia has been on the decline, Kuroda is only getting older, and the rest of the rotation is a mystery. Our lineup should be dangerous though

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Yankees! Love the changes in the offseason just the pitching staff I'm not a fan of. Overpaid for tanaka, sabathia has been on the decline, Kuroda is only getting older, and the rest of the rotation is a mystery. Our lineup should be dangerous though

Have fun with Brian Roberts traitor. He's injury-prone.

 

[PUSH]

The Brewers are going all the way this year.

^ This should show that I know next to nothing about baseball. I likely won't post in this thraed (or is it thread out here?) again, so enjoy the MLB talk.

 

[jw24]

Yankees! Love the changes in the offseason just the pitching staff I'm not a fan of. Overpaid for tanaka, sabathia has been on the decline, Kuroda is only getting older, and the rest of the rotation is a mystery. Our lineup should be dangerous though

I'm actually more concerned about the bullpen. I assume Robertson will be the closer. They got Matt Thornton, re-signed Shawn Kelly but other than that, it's hard to say who else will be the relievers that will thrive. I can only hope Sabathia bounces back. His fastball was so weak last season so I would not be surprised if he incorporates more off speed pitches in his throws. Tanaka, well, yes, they overpaid but as I said earlier, I'd rather have him over Ubaldo Jimenez, Garza, Arroyo and Ervin Santana put together! I hope Nova has turned a corner. (He finished 2013 pretty good but 2012, he was up and down from what I remember.) and Phelps and Pineda are the wild cards so I can only hope they pan out good.

Also, the infield is a concern. 3B has not been addressed and I'm worried. Teixeira might not be 100%, who knows how Jeter is. (Personally, I wished he took the Derrick Rose approach last year and sat out the entire year until he was 100%.), Ryan is good defensively but he has a terrible bat, Roberts has been injury prone, and I can't stand Nunez and his constant errors! So for 2nd and 3rd, they may have throw someone from the minors in the fire. Then again, it's gotta start somewhere....

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Yesterday I went to Orioles Fanfest. It was great; got to listen to some of the players, got free stuff, watched Adam Jones judge a bubble gun blowing contest...also brought home about 5 t-shirts. All free.

Manny Machado did say he is ahead of schedule and opening day is a definite possibility. He also said growing up he admired A-Rod and was booed (to which he responded "I know! I know!). He's also engaged and a woman congratulated him...then asked him if he would be willing to reconsider. Poor guy didn't know how to respond to that! He just said, "Thank you."

Also talked about how to improve this season. We've got the best fielding in the majors with a very low error count. Our pitching is what needs improving at this point. I'm also concerned because they haven't really talked about who is taking over second...of course everyone was concerned about first this time last year and out came Chris Davis.

 

[Pocahontas]

The Pirates...

I'm not expecting anything great, but I have loyalty and support for them.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

The Pirates...

I'm not expecting anything great, but I have loyalty and support for them.

Hey, you guys had a winning season and made it to the playoffs last season. Granted, that was last season, this is this season, but there's no rule that says you can't do it again.

EDIT: But on April 29, could you do me a favor and lose? It's my birthday...

 

[Ariel484]

The Cleveland Indians under 2013's AL Manager of the Year, Terry Francona.

Same as last year (and let's face it, every year since the mid-90s) - hoping for the best but no expectations. Last year was definitely a pleasant surprise but we didn't make a ton of moves over the winter - didn't address some things that need to be addressed - so making the play-offs would be pretty shocking. But I'm definitely looking forward to the season starting!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

First and foremost, I'm a NY Mets fan...and I don't expect much. Secondly, I root for my current hometown team- the Houston Astros...and I'm expecting even less from them. I guess it's hard to be let down when expectations are this low

 

[Lord_Vader]

Go Cardinals! We have had quite a few great runs over the past 15 years or so and I am hoping for another great run.

A few areas have been addressed on offense and the middle infield, the loss of Carlos Beltran to the Yankees will hurt and the loss of Chris Carpenter to retirement will cost them a bit on the hump, hopefully Michael Wacha can continue his rise and turn into a true ace along with Adam Wainright.

Once again the NL Central should be tough this year, great competition.

 

[Jimmy Thick]

The Cubbies!!!

And I expect a last place finish with all the pundits telling us fans how great the Cub's minor league system is.

Jimmy Thick- And none of them will pan out...

 

[Lord_Vader]

The Cubbies!!!

And I expect a last place finish with all the pundits telling us fans how great the Cub's minor league system is.

Jimmy Thick- And none of them will pan out...

Well at least you set your expectations where they belong! JK, I have a few friends that always remind me that when we won 105 games the only team to have a winning record against us was the Cubs!

 

[Lucky]

So Jerry Seinfeld and I have something in common. An interviewer asked him if there was anything on TV he likes to watch these days. He said the MLB network was his favorite.

 

[MOXOMUMD]

Anyone else predicting snow for their home opener?

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Anyone else predicting snow for their home opener?

In April? In MD? I don't think so. March snowstorms are rare for us.

 

[IndianaJones]

Phillies fan here.

Expecting another mediocre year. Our team keeps getting older and we do nothing to get better. Hopefully we will have a new GM after this year because Amaro needs to go.

Hey but maybe Ryan Howard will strike out 100 times!

 

[Lucky]

"Baseball Teams and the Windows that Define Them" http://sbn.to/1fUqw3Z

It's best to be in the bottom right (like the Cards, Red Sox and Braves) and worst to be in the upper left (like the Phils)

 

[afar28]

I can't believe pitchers and catchers are about to report. The offseason went extremely quickly, which is definitely a good thing, but wow that was fast.

 

[afar28]

Derek Jeter has announced this will be his final season before retirement