Orphaned Response
rod...@hpfcla.uucp
> 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
{ihnp4|hplabs}!hpfcla!rodean
Tim Snyder
How about:
Jack Morris
Dan Petry
Frank Tanana
Walt Terrell
Dave LaPoint(e)
...with Willie Hernandez in the wings?
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!
Tim Snyder
Carlo Sgro
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!"
Ira M. Dworkin
>
>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.
Mike Schwartz
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.
Tim Snyder
> 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.
We'll find out. I don't agree with you on the rotation. Just for the record,
how many times have Sutcliffe and Eckersly won 20?
>
> 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.
>
Parrish Whitaker Trammell Lemon or Gibson excellent pitching
Hassey Randolph Meacham Henderson ancient and
questionable staff
Is Henderson good enough to pick the Yanks for the AL East?
Very biased for D,
Tim Snyder
Greg Skinner
>
> 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
g...@eddie.mit.edu
Susan Flynn
>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.)