NCAAbbs

This board has been slow lately.

Post something baseball related.

GDawgs88 Wrote:This board has been slow lately.

Post something baseball related.

i want a really heated debate.

Let's talk about how overrated the 'Stros starting rotation is. :laugh:

Yea, lets talk about the brilliant return of Andy Pettitte today. Or about how Roger Clemens has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this year. Or lets even talk about how Roy Oswalt will have 20 wins by the end of the season and is a top 5 pitcher in the NL. Any of those topics are fine.

it's on like donkey kong, beeatch!

unfortunately i can't deny that the 'stros rotation kicks ******. But i can argue that the team is overrated. Their bullpen is iffy at best, their hitters are old amd their ballpark isn't a home field advantage. But the worst thing about them is their shoddy fielding.

flyingswoosh Wrote:it's on like donkey kong, beeatch!

unfortunately i can't deny that the 'stros rotation kicks ******. But i can argue that the team is overrated. Their bullpen is iffy at best, their hitters are old amd their ballpark isn't a home field advantage. But the worst thing about them is their shoddy fielding.

I can also agree that their bullpen is far less than iffy, they really have only two reliable guys in Lidge and Dotel.

As far as their hitters being old, Bonds is old but it really isn't affecting him now is it. Biggio and Everett will be at .290 or above at the end of the year, Bagwell will have 25-90, Hidalgo will hit .300, 30-110. Berkman and Kent are the guys struggling that need to step up and make plays both on the field and at the plate. I like the Ensberg-Lamb combo at third, they will combine for 15-75. Ausmus needs to just stay above the Mendoza line and thats all we need from him, for he is the best defensive catcher in baseball.

Their fielding is average, not great but not bad. You are basing your opinion on the second game of the season. They are better than that.

Quote:I can also agree that their bullpen is far less than iffy, they really have only two reliable guys in Lidge and Dotel.

Ive been impressed by Dan Miceli so far
13.1 innings pitched
0.68 ERA
13 Strikeouts
1 Earned Run allowed
12 hits allowed
3 walks

There are only 2 big things that have been bothering me:
1) There have been way too bases stolen against us, im hoping this will improve throughout the season
2) Stranding base runners, we are prone to go through streaks where we can get a lot of hits but cant get anyone home, happened a lot at the end of September last year and a couple of games this season. For example, game 2 against the Giants, scored only 5 runs on 15 hits

cbfranchise3 Wrote:

flyingswoosh Wrote:it's on like donkey kong, beeatch!

unfortunately i can't deny that the 'stros rotation kicks ******.  But i can argue that the team is overrated.  Their bullpen is iffy at best, their hitters are old amd their ballpark isn't a home field advantage.  But the worst thing about them is their shoddy fielding.

As far as their hitters being old, Bonds is old but it really isn't affecting him now is it. Biggio and Everett will be at .290 or above at the end of the year, Bagwell will have 25-90, Hidalgo will hit .300, 30-110. Berkman and Kent are the guys struggling that need to step up and make plays both on the field and at the plate. I like the Ensberg-Lamb combo at third, they will combine for 15-75. Ausmus needs to just stay above the Mendoza line and thats all we need from him, for he is the best defensive catcher in baseball.

Their fielding is average, not great but not bad. You are basing your opinion on the second game of the season. They are better than that.

you're going to compare one of the greatest players ever to biggio and berkman? Give me a break. Plus, i never said the Giants were a young team, and i never said they were a good team.

it is extremely wishful thinking that Everett will hit .290 by the end of the season. Biggio has more of a chance, but i don't think he will do it, either. the rest of their players are also easily pitched to.

And no, i'm not basing my opinion on their fielding in game 2 of the series.
3rd base-poor
1B-poor
2b-poor
lf-poor
cf-very poor

5 holes on the defense isn't very good.

I knew I could get an argument going. :D

GDawgs88 Wrote:This board has been slow lately.

Post something baseball related.

The Braves will end up getting the better end of the Millwood/Estrada trade. Watch.

GDawgs88 Wrote:

GDawgs88 Wrote:This board has been slow lately.

Post something baseball related.

The Braves will end up getting the better end of the Millwood/Estrada trade. Watch.

estrada might end up being better than millwood, i wouldn't know, i can't predict the future. But i do think this was a bad trade for the braves because the trade was based on need. IMO the Braves need the starting pitching more than they need a very good hitter. Based on the performances of hampton and ortiz so far, i'd say the braves could really use some depth at SP.

flyingswoosh Wrote:you're going to compare one of the greatest players ever to biggio and berkman? Give me a break. Plus, i never said the Giants were a young team, and i never said they were a good team.

it is extremely wishful thinking that Everett will hit .290 by the end of the season. Biggio has more of a chance, but i don't think he will do it, either. the rest of their players are also easily pitched to.

And no, i'm not basing my opinion on their fielding in game 2 of the series.
3rd base-poor
1B-poor
2b-poor
lf-poor
cf-very poor

5 holes on the defense isn't very good.

I am not comparing the veterans on Houston to Bonds, I am just saying that many players get better with age. Bagwell and Biggio are still more than capable of performing at a high level.

We do not have five holes on defense. Bagwell and Berkman are IMO average fielders, maybe even slightly better. Biggio is still adjusting to center field and is getting better all the time. I will give you Kent and Ensberg. But what about Ausmus, Hidalgo, and Everett, all top five at their position? The Astros are fine defensively, not great, but fine.

GDawgs88 Wrote:

GDawgs88 Wrote:This board has been slow lately.

Post something baseball related.

The Braves will end up getting the better end of the Millwood/Estrada trade. Watch.

I seriously doubt that. Millwood has been disappointing in Philly overall but is still a quality number 2 pitcher. Estrada will be lucky to be in the top half of his players at his position. That remains a bad trade IMO for the Braves.

flyingswoosh Wrote:

GDawgs88 Wrote:

GDawgs88 Wrote:This board has been slow lately.

Post something baseball related.

The Braves will end up getting the better end of the Millwood/Estrada trade. Watch.

estrada might end up being better than millwood, i wouldn't know, i can't predict the future. But i do think this was a bad trade for the braves because the trade was based on need. IMO the Braves need the starting pitching more than they need a very good hitter. Based on the performances of hampton and ortiz so far, i'd say the braves could really use some depth at SP.

I think our Starting 5 is and will be fine. Ortiz had a rough outing against the Giants the other day, but he was lights-out the two previous starts. John Thomson, Horacio Ramirez and Jaret Wright have all done an awesome job for us, too. Hampton's the only guy I worry about but he got off to a bad start last year and still won 14 games and had a 3.84 ERA. He'll get it going. So really, we're not in dire need of a guy like Millwood, although don't get me wrong, I'd love to have him. But with Lopez, Sheffield and Castilla gone, we've needed to get some production from the catcher, and Estrada's having an All-Star year to this point -- and I don't think it's a fluke.

cbfranchise3 Wrote:Estrada will be lucky to be in the top half of his players at his position.

Dude, he's hitting .323 and leads the team with 18 RBI. If he hits that good all year, not only will he be in the top half of his position, he'll be up there with the very best in the game.

BTW, Millwood is gone in Philly after this year, IMO. Estrada will be our catcher for a long time.

GDawgs88 Wrote:

cbfranchise3 Wrote:Estrada will be lucky to be in the top half of his players at his position.

Dude, he's hitting .323 and leads the team with 18 RBI. If he hits that good all year, not only will he be in the top half of his position, he'll be up there with the very best in the game.

IF he hits that good. I doubt he will. He has had a great start, but I think he will cool off. I would still much rather have Millwood.

But my initial point was that it will be a better trade in the long run for the Braves. Millwood is probably leaving Philly after this year while Estrada will be a Brave for a long time. So would you rather have a guy who's likely gone after this year and has been a disappointment, or a good hit-good field catcher who will be around for a long time? That's an easy choice.

GDawgs88 Wrote:But my initial point was that it will be a better trade in the long run for the Braves. Millwood is probably leaving Philly after this year while Estrada will be a Brave for a long time. So would you rather have a guy who's likely gone after this year and has been a disappointment, or a good hit-good field catcher who will be around for a long time? That's an easy choice.

If Millwood leaves you could make that argument, but you don't know for sure. Right now all you can do is look at who is better overall. The importance of pitching can't be denied, and Estrada has yet to prove himself.

cbfranchise3 Wrote:Right now all you can do is look at who is better overall.

But that's not my point. Millwood may be better now -- although not if Estrada keeps hitting like this -- but I'm just saying that even if he is, I think the Braves will get the better end of this deal in the LONG RUN.

GDawgs88 Wrote:

cbfranchise3 Wrote:Right now all you can do is look at who is better overall.

But that's not my point. Millwood may be better now -- although not if Estrada keeps hitting like this -- but I'm just saying that even if he is, I think the Braves will get the better end of this deal in the LONG RUN.

The Braves will get the better of the trade IF Millwood leaves. If he stays, Philly got the better deal. I think that is what we are saying.

We can talk about how Clemens just became the 1st Astros ever to go 5-0 in the month of April :)

cbfranchise3 Wrote:

GDawgs88 Wrote:

cbfranchise3 Wrote:Right now all you can do is look at who is better overall.

But that's not my point. Millwood may be better now -- although not if Estrada keeps hitting like this -- but I'm just saying that even if he is, I think the Braves will get the better end of this deal in the LONG RUN.

The Braves will get the better of the trade IF Millwood leaves. If he stays, Philly got the better deal. I think that is what we are saying.

Even if he stays, I believe we will end up getting the better end of the deal. I don't think Millwood can be a dominant pitcher without Leo Mazzone.

Uzian Wrote:We can talk about how Clemens just became the 1st Astros ever to go 5-0 in the month of April :)

Yeah, he's off to a heck of a start. Gotta be the (very) early pick for NL Cy Young.

GDawgs88 Wrote:

Uzian Wrote:We can talk about how Clemens just became the 1st Astros ever to go 5-0 in the month of April  :)

Yeah, he's off to a heck of a start. Gotta be the (very) early pick for NL Cy Young.

I agree, 5-0.

GDawgs88 Wrote:Even if he stays, I believe we will end up getting the better end of the deal. I don't think Millwood can be a dominant pitcher without Leo Mazzone.

I disagree, so I guess we will have to leave it at that.

Uzian Wrote:

Quote:I can also agree that their bullpen is far less than iffy, they really have only two reliable guys in Lidge and Dotel.

Ive been impressed by Dan Miceli so far
13.1 innings pitched
0.68 ERA
13 Strikeouts
1 Earned Run allowed
12 hits allowed
3 walks

There are only 2 big things that have been bothering me:
1) There have been way too bases stolen against us, im hoping this will improve throughout the season
2) Stranding base runners, we are prone to go through streaks where we can get a lot of hits but cant get anyone home, happened a lot at the end of September last year and a couple of games this season. For example, game 2 against the Giants, scored only 5 runs on 15 hits

Miceli has been impressive so far, hopefully he can keep it up.

Ausmus is the man behind the plate, the stolen bases will go down. He has just been unlucky from the games I have seen, getting curve balls during stolen base attempts.

Stranding runners has also been a problem, Kent has left lots of guys on base so far this season. That will have to improve.

the losing streak reaches 4 games...... i think people are getting ready to jump off the Reds' bandwagon. oh wait, my bad nobody's on the bandwagon! :rolleyes:

My ideal World Series matchup for this year would have to be

Rangers/Astros (Hey, its possible!)

I could see the Astros. Rangers? Well, never say never.