tim@fisher.UUCP (Tim Snyder) (03/04/86)
> > This year there is reason to be optomistic. Ray Miller will be starting the > > season fresh and Blyleven is back in Minnesota. I think the Twins top four > > starters (Viola, Blyleven, Smithson and Butcher) can match anyone in the AL. > > How about Saberhagen, Leibrandt, Jackson, Black, and Gubicza (that's five > I know)? Let's go for a repeat in 86! GO ROYALS!!! > > Bruce Rodean How about: Jack Morris Dan Petry Frank Tanana Walt Terrell Dave LaPoint(e) ...with Willie Hernandez in the wings? DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD! Tim Snyder
cjsgro@watdragon.UUCP (Carlo Sgro) (03/06/86)
Well, so far we've had ... >> > I think the Twins top four starters (Viola, Blyleven, Smithson and >> > Butcher) can match anyone in the AL. >> >> How about Saberhagen, Leibrandt, Jackson, Black, and Gubicza (that's five >> I know)? Let's go for a repeat in 86! GO ROYALS!!! >> >How about: Jack Morris Dan Petry Frank Tanana Walt Terrell Dave LaPoint Rather than suggest the Jays' starters and having everyone else and his brother suggest every other team, why not get them out of the way right now? Yanks: Guidry (still a few excellent years left in that arm), Burns (good man), Niekros (do they really still have it in them?) Jays: Stieb (Cy Young time this year), Key (super young pitcher), Alexander (similar to Guidry (except downgraded a bit)), Clancy (he'll stay off the injury list this year), and then choose from Filer, Steve Davis, Acker, and Leal. Orioles: Flanagan, Boddicker, McGregor, and Storm Davis. Boom or bust, here. Last year was a bust, can they turn it around? Red Sox: Clemens (good young talent but will he be healthy?), Boyd (fade-out or momentary lapse?), Nipper, Hurst. Just average, I'd say. Indians: forget it Brewers: if Teddy Higuera has the sophomore jinx, forget about this staff Angels: who are going to be their starters? White Sox: why did they trade Burns away? The Sox are going to be in trouble unless they have lady luck with them. A's: Walking Underwear joins a non-descript bunch. Mariners: prediction: the M's will can their manager by the end of July when their pitching collapses Rangers: Valentine will be using a revolving-door policy, here (or, at least, he should). Royals: good season last year could be too much to live up to. Their strength is their depth. Tigers: This may be the best rotation in baseball, due to the quality currently present and the depth. Twins: I feel that the claim made was unjustified. The Twins have to prove their quality first. -- Carlo Sgro ...![ihnp4||decvax||allegra||clyde||utzoo]!watmath!watdragon!cjsgro "ihnp4 Express: Overnight to the USA or you don't pay!"
imd@ihlpl.UUCP (Ira M. Dworkin ) (03/11/86)
In article cjsgro@watdragon.UUCP (Carlo Sgro) <530@watdragon.UUCP> writes: > >Rather than suggest the Jays' starters and having everyone else and his >brother suggest every other team, why not get them out of the way right >now? > >Yanks: Guidry (still a few excellent years left in that arm), Burns (good > man), Niekros (do they really still have it in them?) Don't forget about Righetti ... rumor is Piniella will bring him out of the bullpen and back into the starting rotation. Looks like an all-NY world series! The Yanks should have most of the award-winners this year: Cy Young: Guidry or Righetti Batting Title: Mattingly MVP: Mattingly RBI: Mattingly Gold Glove: Mattingly, Guidry, Winfield, Henderson >Jays: Stieb (Cy Young time this year), Key (super young pitcher), > Alexander (similar to Guidry (except downgraded a bit)), Clancy > (he'll stay off the injury list this year), and then choose > from Filer, Steve Davis, Acker, and Leal. The only challenge the yanks will face.
mykes@3comvax.UUCP (Mike Schwartz) (03/13/86)
For my money, the starting rotation of the Chicago Cubs is the best in baseball, when not injured. Sutcliffe, Eckersly, Trout, Sanderson, and Fontenot. Sutcliffe & Eckersly are certainly capable of being 20 game winners, and Trout has become good enough to be #1 or #2 on quite a few teams. Sanderson has been very good when he has pitched. And Fontenot is a lefty, is young, and has showed a lot of potential. Lee Smith is proven as a finisher. The Cubs' starting 8 might be the best all-around in either league, too. Other teams that look strong are the Dodgers, Yankees (Britt Burns is a high quality pitcher), and KC (although they have a limited track record). The Tigers have some questionable guys who came through last year, so they might be tough, too. And it is awful hard to believe that the Orioles got so bad so quick. Real early predictions: N.L. East Cubs All they need to be dominant (as in '84) is a long reliever or two Mets Gary Carter's teams never finish first Cards Only 'cause the next 3 are so bad Phils Youngsters are comin' along Expos Lots of Shortstops and 3rd Basemen, no Bryn Smith, Raines & Dawson Pirates Not much of anything N.L. West Reds Much improved at 3rd and at C, maybe a dynasty in the making Dodgers Best organization in N.L. / if Reds don't, LA will Padres Lamarr Hoyt's situation is sad, sniff :) Braves Bad trades ruined a team with a chance (where are you Brett Butler) Astros Jose Cruz is good, but one good player is not enough Giants They're not even playing for the fun of it A.L. East Yankees Guidry, Burns, Winfield, Mattingly, Henderson, Baylor, Righetti ... Jays They are as good as last years team Tigers Sparky will always be a winner Indians Quietly have become a real talented young team. Need pitching. Orioles A strong club if the pitching rebounds, Murray, Ripkin, Young ... Red Sox They'll bounce a few off the monster, need better D, more P Brewers Never have had a pitching staff, the bats died in '83 A.L. West Royals "Show Me" that pitching staff again for another year A's Andujar, Lansford, Murphy, Griffin, Kingman, Canaseco ... Twins could win the division with strong showing from the pitchers Angels hitters on the decline, pitchers on the rise, senior citizens Mariners building a strong future Chi Sox blew it by giving back Hassey & Burns Rangers weakest team in weakest division The N.L. is hurting folks - not a single quality team last year. The NL East has 3 decent teams, and the west has 2. The AL East is the strongest division, with 6 quality teams, while the West has maybe 1 (K.C.). My rankings are based on the theory that strength up the middle wins ball games. That means strength at Catcher, Shortstop, 2nd Base, and Center Field. Pitching is a major factor. It is my opinion that this theory is quite accurate and reflects why teams like the Expos of recent years or the current Mets look real good on paper but fail to win. For example, the Mets have some great stars like Hernandez, Foster (the last player to hit 50+ homers), Carter, and Strawberry. Only Carter plays one of the "middle" positions. With players like Backman, Wilson, and whoever (at shortstop), it is tough to win. The Royals had guys like White, Sundberg, Wilson up the middle. The Cards were strong last year, too. The Cubs have Jody Davis, Ryne Sandberg, Bob Dernier, and Shawon Dunston. When the Sporting News prints the club rosters, I will provide more analysis.
gds@mit-eddie.MIT.EDU (Greg Skinner) (03/20/86)
In article <450@3comvax.UUCP>, mykes@3comvax.UUCP (Mike Schwartz) writes: > > My rankings are based on the theory that strength up the middle wins ball > games. That means strength at Catcher, Shortstop, 2nd Base, and Center > Field. Pitching is a major factor. It is my opinion that this theory is > quite accurate and reflects why teams like the Expos of recent years or > the current Mets look real good on paper but fail to win. > > For example, the Mets have some great stars like Hernandez, Foster (the > last player to hit 50+ homers), Carter, and Strawberry. Only Carter plays > one of the "middle" positions. With players like Backman, Wilson, and > whoever (at shortstop), it is tough to win. The Mets failed to win last year because Strawberry was out for six weeks. They were 18-8 before he was out, and 20-23 while he was out. Likewise, the Cubs didn't win because most of their staff was out at various times during the season. You can't tell me that injuries don't make a difference. -- It's like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder how I keep from goin' under. Greg Skinner (gregbo) {decvax!genrad, allegra, gatech, ihnp4}!mit-eddie!gds gds@eddie.mit.edu
flynn@acf2.UUCP (Susan Flynn) (03/20/86)
>the current Mets look real good on paper but fail to win. >For example, the Mets have some great stars like Hernandez, Foster (the >last player to hit 50+ homers), Carter, and Strawberry. Only Carter plays >one of the "middle" positions. With players like Backman, Wilson, and >whoever (at shortstop), it is tough to win. The Royals had guys like The Mets may fail to win penants (don't tell this to Whitey Herzog) but they certainly don't fail to win ball games. I'm not big on remembering satisticts, but haven't the Mets won more games in the last two years than any other club in the Major Leagues ? It's true pitching isn't everything, and I don't expect fans to be unbiased, but you have got to admit the Mets starting pitchers are rather formidable. (If only I could say the same about the relievers.)