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Burning Questions
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Topic Started: Jul 19 2006, 09:42 PM (81 Views)
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NateFizzle
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Jul 19 2006, 09:42 PM
Post #1
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A year ago, the Baltimore Orioles and the Washington Nationals were the darlings of baseball. If they weren't quite the prequels to the 2006 Detroit Tigers -- a team that looks historically good -- they were at least the surprise teams of the 2005 season.
But with all due respect to their first-half prowess, I still had burning questions about those teams at this time last year. For Baltimore I wondered, "Can the pitching, especially young Daniel Cabrera, hold up? Is Sammy Sosa finished?" Likewise, for the Nats I asked, "Can a team with such a poor offense, a pitching staff that strikes out few batters and a record built on one-run and home games possibly reach the playoffs?"
Well, you know how it turned out for Baltimore and Washington, who didn't sniff a good race, never mind the postseason. April is a good time to be optimistic. This is a good time to be skeptical. Here we go again. It's time for the annual burning questions about all 30 teams as we dive into the second half.
AL East Boston Red Sox Can Josh Beckett, on track to throw more than 500 pitches beyond his career high, be counted on for a strong second half while his strikeout rate and ERA get twisted out of shape by his AL indoctrination? Do you want Rudy Seanez or Julian Tavarez anywhere near a meaningful situation?
New York Yankees Do you still believe Randy Johnson is a shutdown ace, after compiling a 4.23 ERA in 54 starts as a Yankee and lasting fewer than seven innings in exactly half of them? Will Brian Cashman panic into a Bobby Abreu trade when his internal warning system should be asking why the Phillies are so hot to dump this guy?
Toronto Blue Jays Is Reed Johnson one of the more underrated gamers in baseball? Can A.J. Burnett stay healthy for half a season? Can the Jays, after watching their fifth starters go 1-14, find even a decent option in that spot?
Baltimore Orioles Can the baseball people convince owner Peter Angelos that trading Miguel Tejada in a sellers' market is the best move for the organization? Is Rodrigo Lopez the most asked-about trading chip on the market?
Tampa Bay Devil Rays Can they pass Baltimore for fourth place and reach 70 wins? Has there been a worse hitter this season, especially at first base, than Travis Lee?
AL Central
Detroit Tigers Do the Tigers have enough guts to shut down Justin Verlander for two weeks in the second half to control his dangerously inflated innings total? Will GM Dave Dombrowski trade for another bat, even if it's not left-handed? Is there any way the Tigers don't win at least 94 games? (No team in the wild-card era has won at least 94 games and not made the playoffs.)
Chicago White Sox Will GM Kenny Williams find a right-handed power arm for the bullpen? How can Jim Thome be a serious MVP candidate when he doesn't play the field or hit left-handers? Would you have reliever Brandon McCarthy switch roles with starter Javier Vazquez?
Minnesota Twins Is Justin Morneau the most improved hitter in the league? Or is it Michael Cuddyer? Are the Twins, with Johan Santana and Francisco Liriano, the one team contenders hate to see down the stretch? (Look out New York, Boston, Chicago, Oakland and Detroit, all of whom get the Twins in September.)
Cleveland Indians When does Andy Marte join the lineup? How could the Indians be this bad when their top four starters have been healthy virtually the whole season and their lineup is as good as any other? Have you seen their bullpen, defense and baserunning?
Kansas City Will Dayton Moore improve on Allard Baird's track record and dump veteran players for youngsters? Will Buddy Bell be back as manager? How many pitchers besides Scott Elarton get more than 150 major league starts with a career ERA of 5.13?
AL West
Oakland Athletics Do you think GM Billy Beane is capable of letting June and July go by without a trade? Is Rich Harden's elbow the single most important health issue to the division race? Can you make the playoffs with the worst offense in the league this side of Tampa Bay?
Texas Rangers Are they counting just a little too much on the return of Adam Eaton? Is Mark Teixeira due for a huge second half?
Los Angeles Angels Does GM Bill Stoneman, sitting on a pile of prospects and in need of a bat, feel the urgency to do something? Would you take any other starting staff over the Angels'? Is Garret Anderson a drag on this offense?
Seattle Mariners Do they panic into a Kazmir-like deal, thinking they have a shot at the postseason? Do people know J.J. Putz has become an outstanding closer? Do they dare sit down Felix Hernandez in September because of his innings threshold if they're still in a race?
NL East
New York Mets Is Rodrigo Lopez the guy GM Omar Minaya wants to start Game 3 of a postseason series? How healthy will Pedro Martinez be come October?
Philadelphia Phillies Can GM Pat Gillick dump Pat Burrell or Bobby Abreu on some desperate contender? Does manager Charlie Manuel have a shot at keeping his job? Does anybody play harder than Chase Utley?
Atlanta Braves Are you even a little surprised that the Braves have worked their way into the wild-card race? Can GM John Schuerholz fix this bullpen? Why has Tim Hudson been more hittable in the NL?
Florida Marlins Will September get ugly when all the young pitchers hit the wall? Wouldn't Florida be crazy to even consider trading Dontrelle Willis?
Washington Nationals Even if the Nats fleeced Cincinnati in the Austin Kearns trade, isn't their pitching much worse now? Does GM Jim Bowden deserve to keep his job if he does not trade free-agent-to-be Alfonso Soriano?
NL Central
St. Louis Cardinals Any chance Mark Mulder is highly effective when he comes off the disabled list in a month? Is there really any other choice but Albert Pujols for MVP, and if so, how many players could sit out for three weeks and still win the award?
Cincinnati Reds Is there still enough pitching here to steal a playoff spot? How can you be a serious contender when you've been outscored and have the worst bullpen ERA in the league? How many more than 50 homers will Adam Dunn hit?
Houston Astros Even with Aubrey Huff and a new hitting coach (Sean Berry), is there really enough offense here? Can we officially call Preston Wilson a mistake? Isn't Houston happy it has 10 games left with Pittsburgh after Aug. 7?
Milwaukee Brewers Is Ben Sheets an earlier NL version of Harden in terms of affecting the race? Isn't this the smart thing (short of a lopsided deal) to do: keep Carlos Lee in hopes of a meaningful September, then take the draft picks when he leaves as a free agent?
Chicago Cubs Can Dusty Baker survive this season? Would you trade Mark Prior? Does anybody want Juan Pierre? Wouldn't you try to dump him on the Rockies?
Pittsburgh Pirates Will somebody please rescue Craig Wilson from his incarceration on the Pirates bench? Do you still believe those young starters are the foundation of the future?
NL West
San Diego Padres Where do the Padres go to get their third baseman? Can San Diego survive playing 17 of its final 23 games on the road?
Los Angeles Dodgers Will the Dodgers dip into their prospect pool and deal for Soriano? Is Nomar Garciaparra the comeback player of the year and an MVP candidate?
San Francisco Giants What date do you have in the Barry Bonds indictment pool, and might it have any effect whatsoever on this team? Will age catch up to the Giants down the stretch? Is the bullpen good enough to help steal this division?
Arizona Diamondbacks Did you know that Chad Tracy and Eric Byrnes are the only players on this team with 10 homers? Or that Brandon Webb and Miguel Batista are their only pitchers with enough innings to qualify for the ERA title? How much will the Diamondbacks miss Craig Counsell?
Colorado Rockies Is this the start of a collapse or will a trade to fortify the bullpen help stabilize them? Is Jamey Carroll really this good?
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Jim Thome: 564 Homeuns (12th All-Time)

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NateFizzle
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Jul 19 2006, 09:44 PM
Post #2
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San Diego Padres Where do the Padres go to get their third baseman? Can San Diego survive playing 17 of its final 23 games on the road?
25-16 on the road, no problem.
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How can Jim Thome be a serious MVP candidate when he doesn't play the field or hit left-handers?
Same as David Ortiz.
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Jim Thome: 564 Homeuns (12th All-Time)

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BlueJaysfan
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Jul 19 2006, 11:22 PM
Post #3
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hey padres, we have a third basemen for you....shea hillenbrand
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knuckleballer28
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Jul 19 2006, 11:44 PM
Post #4
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Closer
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- thomehomie,Jul 19 2006
- 09:42 PM
Tampa Bay Devil Rays Can they pass Baltimore for fourth place and reach 70 wins? Has there been a worse hitter this season, especially at first base, than Travis Lee?
Don't tell Carlfan bout Travis Lee, since he is complainin bout the rays and doesn't need anymore ammo against his own team
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TRIPLE DAMN!!! Coming Soon!

 
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GonetoSleep21
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Jul 19 2006, 11:50 PM
Post #5
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The Devil Rays dont have a power first baseman, Travis Lee is strictly a backup guy. Good defense, but no power... actually he can't hit, period. The Devil Rays are obviously not going for the pennant this year, the trades of Huff, Hendrickson and Hall for younger players and prospects shows... They are continuing to rebuild for the furture. Lee would have to do for now...
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