As you may or may not know, I am a HUGE Red Sox fan, I will be starting this dynasty in 2005 and trying to repeat from '04, and of course going beyond that.
Opening story coming next.
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As you may or may not know, I am a HUGE Red Sox fan, I will be starting this dynasty in 2005 and trying to repeat from '04, and of course going beyond that.
Opening story coming next.
Early prediction: they come in last place :D
Just kidding. Good luck, even with that team
Red Sox look to Repeat in '05
Yes, that headline does say "Red Sox look to Repeat in '05", you are not hallucinating. For the first time in 86 years the Boston Red Sox have won the World Series, and they will look to repeat on that magic and glory in '05.
Much of the team that won it all last year is returning including Curt Schilling, the man who endeared himself to all of New England with the infamous Bloody Sock game, Trot Nixon, ALCS MVP David Ortiz, World Series MVP Manny Ramirez, Captain Jason Varitek, Kevin Millar, Bill Mueller, Gabe Kapler, Tim Wakefield, Mark Bellhorn, Keith Foulke, Doug Mirabelli, Johnny Damon, Mike Myers, and Chad Bradford.
The team does not remain completely unchanged, however. They made key off season additions in Edgar Renteria, Matt Clement, David Wells, Wade Miller, and Jay Payton. They also lost a key figure from the team in Pedro Martinez.
The team is not without its flaws and new GM John Monahan, assigned to the post after Theo Epstein retired saying his life was complete after they won it all, will likely look to resign key players like Ortiz try to add some pieces to better prepare them for what lies ahead this season and to improve the team.
AL Preview
AL EAST:
Projected standings based on Projected W-L:
1st - New York Yankees (98-64)
2nd - Boston Red Sox (93-69)
3rd - Baltimore Orioles (77-85)
4th - Toronto Blue Jays (76-86)
5th - Tampa Bay Devil Rays (71-91)
The Red Sox are certainly going to have to make some moves to overthrow the Evil Empire at the top of the division. If they can add a true ace that will go a long way towards toppling them however. The latter 3 teams don't figure to play a factor other than spoiler. There is a strong possibility of the AL Wild Card coming from this division in the person of either the Red Sox or the Yankees.
AL CENTRAL:
Projected standings based on Projected W-L:
1st - Cleveland Indians (94-68)
2nd - Chicago White Sox (82-80)
T3rd - Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers (78-84)
5th - Kansas City Royals (53-109)
The Indians should win this division handily considering the overall lack of talent throughout the rest of the division. However, look for the Twins, with Santana and Hunter, and the White Sox, under the tutelage of Ozzie Guillen, as dark horses in the division. The Royals are looking like an early favorite for the the #1 pick in next years draft and may boost the teams in their division due to divisional play and the sheer inadequacy of the team.
AL WEST:
Projected standings based on Projected W-L:
T1st - Los Angeles Angels and Oakland A's (93-69)
3rd - Texas Rangers (76-86)
4th - Seattle Mariners (71-91)
This is going to be a dogfight between the Angels and A's all year, with a slight possibility of the Rangers playing a factor. Look for this one to go on until possibly the final week of the season without anything decided.
AL Playoff Teams based on Proj. Standings:
AL East Champions - New York Yankees
AL Central Champions - Cleveland Indians
AL West Champions - Los Angeles Angels/Oakland A's
AL Wild Card - Boston Red Sox/Oakland A's/Los Angeles Angels
NL Preview next.
NL Preview
NL EAST:
Projected standings based on Projected W-L:
1st - Florida Marlins (92-70)
2nd - Philadelphia Phillies (89-73)
3rd - New York Mets (86-76)
4th - Atlanta Braves (84-78)
5th - Washington Nationals (76-86)
This division is wide open. Every team in the division has a shot at winning this division, even the Nationals although to the least degree, and all have very strong teams. This will be a tough division to win and a trade could swing it to one team in an instant.
NL CENTRAL:
Projected standings based on Projected W-L:
1st - Chicago Cubs (94-68)
2nd - Houston Astros (85-77)
3rd - St. Louis Cardinals (84-78)
4th - Pittsburgh Pirates (73-89)
T5th - Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers (64-98)
This is three horse race that could very easily become a one or two horse race if the Cubs come out smoking and the Astros and/or Cardinals struggle at first. Outside of the top three teams this is a very poor division and will likely have 3 of the top 10 picks in next year's draft.
NL WEST:
Projected standings based on Projected W-L:
1st - Arizona Diamondbacks (88-74)
2nd - San Diego Padres (83-79)
T3rd - Colorado Rockies and San Fransisco Giants (80-82)
5th - Los Angeles Dodgers (75-87)
This division is just as open as the NL East. The Diamondbacks are the clear favorites, but all the other teams in the division will be contenders and will give them a run for their money.
NL Playoff Teams Based on Proj. Standings
NL East - Florida Marlins
NL Central - Chicago Cubs
NL West - Arizona Diamondbacks
NL Wild Card - Philadelphia Phillies
The Sox are in danger of becoming the next Evil Empire.
Uhm....go Orioles? :)
Red Sox Come Out of the Gate Fast
The Red Sox have started the season off on the right foot, despite a rash of injuries. Third basemen Bill Mueller, ace starter Curt Schilling, slugger Manny Ramirez, starting right fielder Trot Nixon, starters Wade Miller and Tim Wakefield, and setup man Matt Mantei all have missed, or are missing, time due to injury, it hasn’t slowed the Red Sox at all however. After one month of play the Red Sox record stands at 16-9, 2.0 games back of their rival New York Yankees in the AL East and 2.0 games ahead of the Cleveland Indians in the AL Wild Card, despite all the injury problem to their prominent players.
The Good:
-The Red Sox are getting great production from the first 3 spots of the lineup. Johnny Damon, Edgar Renteria, and David Ortiz are batting a combined .313 with 15 homers, 6 steals, 62 runs, 65 runs knocked in, and an OBP of .384.
-Rookie second basemen Hanley Ramirez has been very good. He is hitting .282 with 3 homers, 9 steals and only 1 caught stealing, 25 runs, 11 runs batted in, and an OBP of .345.
-Matt Mantei has provided a great bridge to closer Keith Foulke. He has allowed only 3 earned runs in 10 2/3 innings pitched, to earn an ERA of 2.53, and has shown he can get a K when he needs one by striking out 14 already.
The Bad and the Ugly:
-The Red Sox lineup and pitching staff have been decimated by injuries, as detailed above, and they may be in first if not for key players like Manny and Schilling having extensive injuries.
-The pitching has been downright awful. The Red Sox are carrying a team ERA of 4.97, a rotation ERA of 5.42, and a bullpen ERA of 4.87. Do not be surprised if there is a trade made to address this clear weak point of the team.
-Outside of Damon, Renteria, Ortiz and Hanley Ramirez the lineup has been downright awful. The rest of the lineup is batting a mere .221.
I'll do a league update with league and division leaders and what not tomorrow when I get home.
The Red Sox acquired 26 year old flamethrower Ben Sheets from the Milwaukee Brewers, in exchange relief prospects Craig Hansen and Cla Meredith, and starting pitcher prospects David Pauley and Lenny Dinardo and cash considerations.
Ben Sheets brings a high 90's fastball, clocked as high as 100 and sitting in the 95-97 range, a devastating 12-6 curveball, a solid sinker and a developing change. So far this season he has been very poor, with an ERA of nearly 8 and an opposing batting average of .333, but he should bounce back nicely after going 12-14 with a 2.70 ERA and 264 strikeouts last season, on a very poor Milwaukee Brewers team. He could anchor the Boston rotation for years to come.
The Brewers acquired some great prospects in the deal however. Cla Meredith operates in the low to mid 80's with his fastball, but has great movement and control with a great sinker and frisbee slider, he projects to be phenomenal closer and would be ready to relieve for a Major League team now. Dinardo has similar stuff to Meredith and projects as a solid 2 or 3 on a contending team. Pauley could become a decent 4 or 5 and Hansen has a high 90's fastball and a good slider and could become a decent closer, or a great setup or short relief pitcher.
This move was made, on the Boston side, due to the unreliability of the rest of the staff and the injury to staff ace Curt Schilling.
Ive been waiting for a Red Sox dynasty, definitely reading
I agree with that Trade 100% Very Smart Trade.Quote:
Originally Posted by YEAH DAAAAWG
I got Sheet to the Sox in 1 of my 2000 Red Sox Game in 2000:)
League Summary
http://www.whitesox1.de/images/mlb-logo.jpg
AL Division Standings:
AL EAST
New York Yankees (18-7)
Boston Red Sox (16-9) 2 GB
Tampa Bay Devil Rays (11-14) 7 GB
Toronto Blue Jays (10-16) 8.5 GB
Baltimore Orioles (8-17) 10 GB
AL CENTRAL
Chicago White Sox (15-10)
Cleveland Indians (14-11) 1 GB
Detroit Tigers (13-12) 2 GB
Minnesota Twins (10-15) 5 GB
Kansas City Royals (10-15) 5 GB
AL WEST
Seattle Mariners (17-8)
Oakland A's (14-11) 3 GB
Texas Rangers (11-15) 6.5 GB
Los Angeles Angels (9-16) 8 GB
AL WILD CARD
Boston Red Sox (16-9)
Cleveland Indians (14-11) 2 GB
Oakland A's (14-11) 2 GB
Detroit Tigers (13-12) 3 GB
NL Division Standings:
NL EAST
Washington Nationals (14-11)
New York Mets (14-11)
Atlanta Braves (12-13) 2 GB
Philadelphia Phillies (12-13) 2 GB
Florida Marlins (10-15) 4 GB
NL CENTRAL
St. Louis Cardinals (16-7)
Chicago Cubs (14-11) 3 GB
Cincinnati Reds (13-11) 3.5 GB
Houston Astros (13-11) 3.5 GB
Pittsburgh Pirates (10-15) 7 GB
Milwaukee Brewers (9-15) 7.5 GB
NL WEST
Arizona Diamondbacks (17-8)
Los Angeles Dodgers (13-11) 3.5 GB
San Fransisco Giants (13-11) 3.5 GB
San Diego Padres (10-15) 7 GB
Colorado Rockies (6-18) 10.5 GB
There are a few surprises of note after a month of play, most notably the success of the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners were projected to finish 71-91 at the beginning of the season and finish last in the division, so far this season they are 17-8, tied for the second best record in baseball behind the Yankees, and lead their division and are already nearly 1/3 of the way to their projected number of wins. It may be a fluke, however, since they have a team ERA near 6 and are outscoring their opponents by only 7 runs and their Pythagorean W-L is only 13-12, it will be interesting to see if they can keep it up. Also surprising is the inadequacy of the Los Angeles Angels. They were projected to finish tied for first in the division and have one of the bottom five records in baseball and sit at 24th in the Power Rankings.
Team Stats After One Month
Pitching Stats:
HTML Code:Player Name W L ERA IP K SV CG OBA Team Starts
Clement, Matt 3 3 6.39 38.0 32 0 0 .273 BOS 7
Wells, David 3 1 5.81 31.0 16 3 0 .321 BOS 2
Papelbon, Jonathan 2 1 5.00 18.0 14 1 0 .278 BOS 0
Bradford, Chad 2 0 3.71 17.0 9 0 0 .258 BOS 1
Sheets, Ben 1 2 7.71 18.2 22 0 0 .333 BOS 4
Miller, Wade 1 1 4.70 23.0 25 0 0 .261 BOS 4
Arroyo, Bronson 1 1 4.22 32.0 24 0 0 .288 BOS 5
Wakefield, Tim 1 0 2.25 8.0 7 0 0 .185 BOS 1
Myers, Mike 1 0 5.40 13.1 10 0 0 .283 BOS 0
Foulke, Keith 0 1 5.40 11.2 13 5 0 .277 BOS 1
Mantei, Matt 0 1 2.53 10.2 14 0 0 .211 BOS 0
Batting Stats:
HTML Code:Player Name Team AB H HR RBI Avg OBP SLG SB CS
Kapler, Gabe BOS 18 8 2 9 .444 .474 .889 0 0
Mirabelli, Doug BOS 5 2 0 1 .400 .400 .400 0 0
Millar, Kevin BOS 100 35 3 28 .350 .414 .540 0 0
Payton, Jay BOS 81 28 3 14 .346 .384 .531 3 0
Damon, Johnny BOS 112 37 3 22 .330 .385 .536 4 1
Renteria, Edgar BOS 97 31 2 14 .320 .394 .474 2 0
Ortiz, David BOS 104 30 10 29 .288 .373 .644 0 0
Ramirez, Hanley BOS 103 29 3 11 .282 .345 .427 9 1
Youkilis, Kevin BOS 61 17 0 8 .279 .348 .344 0 0
Varitek, Jason BOS 99 21 3 13 .212 .284 .354 0 0
Nixon, Trot BOS 81 16 4 12 .198 .327 .370 0 0
Ramirez, Manny BOS 15 1 0 0 .067 .176 .067 1 0
Bellhorn, Mark BOS 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Olerud, John BOS 12 0 0 1 .000 .333 .000 0
Red Sox and Ortiz Agree to 5 Year Extension
The Boston Red Sox and David Ortiz have agreed to a 5 year contract extension. The deal is reportedly worth an estimated 10.2 million dollars per year over the next 5 years with a limited no-trade clause.
Ortiz was an integral part of the Championship team last year and has become one of the most feared hitter in baseball since joining the Red Sox. He won the ALCS MVP with his clutch and walkoff hits to help the Red Sox come back against the hated New York Yankees in historic fashion, becoming the first team in Major League history to rally from a 3-0 series deficit to win the series, and batted .301 with 41 homers and 139 RBI's in the regular season.
By the way, feel free to ask questions concerning this dynasty and the league and I'll try to answer them ;) :).
Ken Griffey Jr. Traded to the Bronx; Delgado Headed to the Braves
In a rather surprising deal the Cincinnati Reds have sent star outfielder, and future Hall of Famer, Ken Griffey Jr. to the New York Yankees for top second base prospect Robinson Cano. Griffey was hitting almost .380 with the Reds at the time of the trade and has struggled since joining the Bombers. Cano is a great prospect who will be ready by the end of the year and projects as a high batting average guy.
In another deal, the Braves acquired first basemen Carlos Delgado, pitcher Valerio de los Santos, second basemen Luis Castillo, and SS Alex Gonzalez, in exchange for pitchers Mike Hampton and Macay McBride, and outfielder Brian Jordan. This is a great deal for Atlanta, they acquire 3 All-Star caliber players for an oft injured and overpaid Hampton, a no better than solid RP, and an old washed up Brian Jordan.