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MLB '12-'13 OffSeason OT: Magic is the New Market Inefficiency

R

RBH

Member
Projected Yankees Opening Day Lineup


1. Brett Gardner, cf: The Yankees wanted to take a look at moving Gardner to center field this spring. Granderson's injury made more necessity than curiosity.

2. Ichiro Suzuki, rf: Which Ichiro will the Yankees get? The guy who hit .322 with some pop (.454 slugging percentage) after he was traded from the Seattle Mariners in late July? Or will it be the guy who had hit .261 with almost no pop (.353 slugging percentage) over the first four months or so of the season in the Pacific Northwest?

3. Robinson Cano, 2b: Cano had a huge World Baseball Classic, winning Most Valuable Player honors while leading the Dominican Republic to its first title in the event. The four-time All-Star is entering his contract year, so the pressure to put up big numbers will be ... significant.

4. Kevin Youkilis, 1b: Hey, whenever you can put a guy whose hitting numbers have dropped from .307/.411/.564 in 2010 to .235/.336/.409 last season in your cleanup hole, you have to do it, right? Wait ... what?

5. Ben Francisco, dh: The guy played for three teams and had 117 plate appearances with a .234/.282/.402 batting line in 2012. Francisco was released by the Cleveland Indians on March 11. He's going to open the season in the No. 5 slot for the New York Yankees. I am now going to stock up on bottled water and canned goods.

6. Vernon Wells, lf: The Vernon Wells who hit .303/.357/542 with 32 homers and 106 RBIs would be a great addition to this club. Unfortunately, that was in 2006. Instead, the Yankees are getting the Vernon Wells who hit .230/.279/.403 with 11 homers and 29 RBIs in 2012 ... and improved markedly from his 2011 batting line of .218/.248/.412.

7. Eduardo Nunez, ss: Look at the bright side, Yankee fans. You finally get your chance to see what Nunez can do with a regular spot in the lineup, for however long that may last before Jeter returns.

8. Jayson Nix, 3b: Rodriguez is a lifetime .300 hitter with 647 home runs and 1,950 RBIs. Nix is a lifetime .214 hitter with 34 home runs and 102 RBIs. So there may be an ever-so-slight drop in production at third base.

9. Chris Stewart, c: Think Russell Martin, only with better defensive skills and less power. That is as opposed to the alternative, Francisco Cervelli, who is like Russell Martin, only without the same defensive prowess and less power.
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Yikes.
 
H

h3ro

Member
Sanjuro said:
Your 2013 AL East champions.
Click to expand...

vPtIk.jpg
 
R

RBH

Member
As different as the Braves will look on the field Monday for opening day — with Chipper Jones throwing out the ceremonial first pitch instead of playing third base and two new Uptons in the outfield, brothers B.J. and Justin — there are a few new features around Turner Field as well.

Every year the Braves try to improve the fan experience, and once again they’re aiming at appetites. Building on the successes of bringing Rathbun’s steak sandwiches to the ballpark last year, two new Atlanta restaurants are bringing their fare to Turner Field.

Chef Linton Hopkins will serve his award-winning Holeman & Finch Public House burgers at Turner Field this year. The double-patty cheeseburger topped with house-made ketchup, mustard and pickles was named the “South’s Best Late-Night Burger” by Southern Living magazine. Now it will be available in the Fan Plaza beyond center field.

The Braves also are selling 24 tickets to each game for an outfield seat near the H&F Burger stand and a fast pass to get to the front of the line. The cost is $32.

Dantanna’s restaurant also will serve their crab-cake sandwiches and sesame-steak skewers at a grill cart on the Terrace Level.

As for other changes in fare, McCann’s burgers, as in Braves catcher Brian McCann, will move to new locations, with stands near sections 216 and 231 and will be available in the ChopHouse. The ChopHouse, the outfield restaurant, has undergone a face-lift, with new lighting, furniture and a “Bobblehead wall” that features more than 250 Bobblehead dolls of Braves and other players from around the majors.

Also available this year will be two “Yicketty Yogurt” stands, at sections 206 and 316. The name is inspired by Chipper Jones and his terminology for a home run he introduced last season on his Twitter account.

The Braves have broadened their merchandising for the 2013 season as well, introducing a custom-merchandise shop at section 118 where fans can customize everything from T-shirts to iPhone cases. The ballpark will have a new “Big and Tall” shop near Section 151, featuring shirt sizes up to 6X and larger fitted caps. And the Braves are now selling Wilson and Rawlings leather gloves for fans who forgot theirs and want them to catch foul balls.

The Braves made some aesthetic changes to the ballpark, adding LED scoreboard clocks and moving the location of their retired jersey numbers.

Instead of the Sky Field facade in left field, the retired numbers of Hank Aaron, Greg Maddux, Dale Murphy and the like will be located between the terrace and club levels along the left- and right-field lines. With nine Braves numbers retired, in addition to Jackie Robinson’s 42, and with Jones’ No. 10 to go up in June, the Sky Field was getting crowded. The move also will allow those numbers to be featured more prominently.

For those wondering about the new Superior Plumbing Suite, the Braves combined two suites along the third-base side to accommodate 80 people and including valet parking and custom menu options. The suite has sold out for 2013. Those in the club level will notice that suites have been re-numbered from 1-53 and named for Braves players who wore those jersey numbers.

The Braves also have made some technological improvements, improving the in-park Wi-Fi, adding a tablet tour to the Braves Museum and Hall of Fame, and offering an app for iPhone and Android users that features video highlights, Braves radio broadcasts, seating chart information, ticket upgrades and more.
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http://www.ajc.com/news/sports/baseball/whats-new-at-turner-field/nW5z9/


I appreciate the new additions to Turner Field over the past couple of years.
 
DietRob

DietRob

i've been begging for over 5 years.
I'm going to head down to the opening day parade in Cincy. Any of my other cincy peeps going to be down there?
 
D

darkside31337

Tomodachi wa Mahou
Might as well get my predictions in:

Rays
Yankees
Blue Jays
Red Sox
Orioles

Tigers
Royals
Indians
Twins
White Sox

Angels
A's
Rangers
Astros
Mariners

Braves
Nationals
Mets
Phillies
Marlins

Reds
Brewers
Cardinals
Cubs
Pirates

Giants
Dodgers
Diamondbacks
Padres
Rockies

WS: Rays defeat Braves

NL MVP: Justin Upton
NL CY: Gio Gonzalez

AL MVP: Evan Longoria
AL ROTY: Wil Myers
AL CY: David Price
AL Rolaids Relief Man of the Year: Fernando Rodney
AL Comeback Player of the Year: Fausto Carmona (after he legally changes his name)
AL Manager of the Year: Joe Maddon
WS MVP: Sam Fuld
 
R

rando14

Member
darkside31337 said:
Might as well get my predictions in:
Angels
A's
Rangers
Astros
Mariners
Click to expand...

You motherfucker.

WS: Rays defeat Braves

AL MVP: Evan Longoria
AL ROTY: Wil Myers
AL CY: David Price
AL Rolaids Relief Man of the Year: Fernando Rodney
AL Comeback Player of the Year: Fausto Carmona (after he legally changes his name)
AL Manager of the Year: Joe Maddon
WS MVP: Sam Fuld
Click to expand...

Oh lol nvm you're not being serious
 
R

rando14

Member
darkside31337 said:
Yeah just messing around lol.

I think the Mariners are going to be really awful though and the Astros will be better than most people are thinking (so 65 wins or so).
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Why do you think the M's would do THAT much worse than last season? I can't think of any area off the top of my head where we've taken a step back, only exception being starting rotation but that's not a step-back just more of a line-up change. Hopefully we'll get some freebies from the Astros also.

That said I don't anticipate anything higher than 4th place. :^(
 
D

darkside31337

Tomodachi wa Mahou
rando14 said:
Why do you think the M's would do THAT much worse than last season? I can't think of any area off the top of my head where we've taken a step back, only exception being starting rotation but that's not a step-back just more of a line-up change. Hopefully we'll get some freebies from the Astros also.

That said I don't anticipate anything higher than 4th place. :^(
Click to expand...

Defense has definitely taken a huge step back.

Ibanez/Bay + Morse is pretty much the worst defensive corner OF combination in all of baseball.

Considering they've had some historically awful offenses the past few years they really can't do worse. But I don't think they'll do much better. The pitching is still really iffy after Felix in the rotation and Wilhelmsen in the bullpen and the only thing they had going for them really was their defense.

I think their projection really depends how optimistic you are that their actual young positional players (read: not Justin Smoak) turn shit around this year.
 
R

rando14

Member
darkside31337 said:
Defense has definitely taken a huge step back.

Ibanez/Bay + Morse is pretty much the worst defensive corner OF combination in all of baseball.

Considering they've had some historically awful offenses the past few years they really can't do worse. But I don't think they'll do much better. The pitching is still really iffy after Felix in the rotation and Wilhelmsen in the bullpen and the only thing they had going for them really was their defense.

I think their projection really depends how optimistic you are that their actual young positional players (read: not Justin Smoak) turn shit around this year.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure how solidified our OF is yet. Outside of those you noted, we also have Gutierrez, Saunders, and Wells vying for spots. Wells was not good in the OF last year but Saunders is a solid fielder and obviously Gutierrez is great. Fielding will probably go through some adjustments before the best combination is found. I'm pretty sure Ibanez is just going to end up being a pinch hitter anyways but who knows.

As for pitching, I don't think we're any worse, it's just different. Long-term speaking I'm not too worried about our arms because we've got a ton of minor league talent that's getting closer and closer to being called up.

I guess we'll find out on Monday. So excited! :D
 
J

jakncoke

Banned
darkside31337 said:
Might as well get my predictions in:




Reds
Brewers
Cardinals
Cubs
Pirates


WS: Rays defeat Braves

NL MVP: Justin Upton
NL CY: Gio Gonzalez

AL MVP: Evan Longoria
AL ROTY: Wil Myers
AL CY: David Price
AL Rolaids Relief Man of the Year: Fernando Rodney
AL Comeback Player of the Year: Fausto Carmona (after he legally changes his name)
AL Manager of the Year: Joe Maddon
WS MVP: Sam Fuld
Click to expand...

We will not finish last!
 
P

Parch

Member
Jays are ready.
Dang Reyes. I don't know if I should fear the beard or just want to tug it because it's so cute.


Why does the Easter Bunny hide his eggs?

He doesn't want anyone to know he's screwin' a chicken.
 
A

aFIGurANT

Member
CygnusXS said:
I feel like Pittsburgh has a good shot at a 80-82 third place.
Click to expand...

Yeah the brew crew is not going to be too much better this year, shit pitching is shit pitching (and I mean the bullpen mostly) no matter how good an offense looks at times. As a cards fan I do wish the rookie starters the best of luck in general. Let's go Shelby Miller.
 
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