In the next month they will have Burnett, Wandy Rodriguez, ERA leader Jeff Locke, Charlie Morton and Francisico Liriano in their starting rotation. That's pretty damn solid and, along with their bullpen (Grilli-Cheese!), the reason they are doing so well. If the pitching remains solid this team will continue to be very good. The offense is OK but does not scare you. However it does enough.

finally a reason to rejoice!

The Tribe that good, or is the Chisox bullpen that bad?

19-10 Indians over the White Sox going into the bottom of the 9th and this is only Game 1 of a Doubleheader?! and game 2 is scheduled to start at 9:30 Eastern time?! :wtf:

<font color=goldenrod>Tough loss today, but Matt Harvey is fucking sexy.</font>

The sexiest man in the MLB pitching the 9th for the Dodgers in this 16-1 game

Angel Pagan is hurt, and he also plays for the Giants :roll:

Fantastic.

I've been watching this 2nd Indians/White Sox game because I was sure the Indians were coming back and they did. Hawk Harrelson very fatigued/upset.

A millions runs scored between the 2 games.

Damn. My BTS in a day flamed pretty hard. Got 40 out of a possible 57 hits today. That's what I get for picking my players at work.

Oh and Miguel Cabrera is still pretty good at hitting baseballs.

Don't think I ever posted it on here but I swear Scherzer's been a better pitcher than Verlander over the past season and a half. 12-0 baby

I miss Russell Martin

With the catching situation the way it is, he would be a Godsend.

If its not absolutely true, it's pretty close. "They" always said he had this crazy potential that he just needed to harness. With the Tigers the past two years I think he really has.

He has this year at least for sure. Verlander is an a totally inexplicable rut right now.

Also as far as I’m concerned the Ilitches and Leyland need to make the decision to get José Valverde out of town ASAP. He did save a handful of games this season with his brief call-up back here, but he's also blown completely savable (sp?) games more often than not, and that inconsistency, to me, and I'm sure to a lot of Tiger fans just screams LIABILITY. A few people might not want to hear it, but dammit sometimes the truth hurts and they will just have to deal with it.

Besides we've got Benoit, Rondon, Coke and several others that will be reliable when called upon. Release Valverde or trade him already.

Josh Satin has Some Fucking Eyebrows on him

Coke is not reliable with the way Leyland uses him, as it stands. Benoit, however, is a stud. Can't understand why Leyland won't just name him the damn closer already. Alburquerque has struck out more batters than innings pitched. There's another guy who moving into an elevated role would be a wise move.

I don't think anything is really wrong with Verlander, per se. Looking at his numbers, his babip is almost 60 points higher than his career number, and that bodes the same against league average. In short, I think he's suffering from bad luck on balls in play. Even with his decreased velocity, we shouldn't expect him to continue pitching this way. Although, he is 30, so I think the Verlander we've seen the previous two years is on his way out the door.

Scherzer's 28. Think that has a lot to do with how dominate he is. Guy is a strikeout machine in his prime.

<font color=goldenrod>They are quite intimidating. Imagine what they must look like when he gets mad?</font>

http://cdn1.sbnation.com/uploads/cho...dard_352.0.jpg

I quite enjoy him on my buccos :)

You didn't call anything because no one can read your posts

Droford, just answer me and I'll let you post in here.

This is incredible.

Droford would rather pretend to ignore the question than just answer it and be done with it.

What was the bet?

That's not a bet so no, I won't do it.

All you have to do is give me a name and it's over.

You can "say" what you want but no one can hear you.

Goodbye Droford.

Come back to us when you're ready to tell us who is currently the sexiest ballplayer in the MLB.

It's not a bet, idiot.

I'm the one in power.

I have nothing to gain from "winning" your "bet".

no offense, RoXer, but why did you have to delete my posts as well?

quality control

Oooooooof.

ok... but seriously Dro answer the fucking question stop dodging like a fucking politician

Jose Bautista! Fuck your couch nigga!

Rich Garces, duh!

Alfonso Soriano

I have to rethink my position on him

stop messing with the sports topics with personal bullshit IE: deleting posts. keep that for the crappy casual forum

whats your current position on him

<font color=goldenrod>Less than a week to go until the All Star rosters are announced, so I’m going to continue my annual tradition of trying to guess the rosters. Most years I just stick with the best players, but we all know there are snubs. This year I’m going to really try and factor in the way the rosters are voted on. The starting lineups for both teams are voted on by fans. Then a backup at each position (including 3 outfielders), 5 starters, and 3 closers are voted on by players. So really the manager selections are limited, and usually their hands are tied with having to make sure each team gets a rep anyway. There will be snubs in my predictions, but such is life.

American League

Most of the AL lineup seems to be set, as the majority of the players have huge leads. The one close battle is for the final outfield spot, with Bautista gaining on Nick Markakis each time a new poll is released. I’m going to guess that Bautista leapfrogs Markakis by the time the polls close on July 4th.

STARTERS
C Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
1B Chris Davis, Baltimore Orioles
2B Robinson Cano, New York Yankees
SS J.J. Hardy, Baltimore Orioles
3B Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
OF Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays
OF Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles
OF Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
DH David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox

The 12-0 Max Scherzer receives the most votes in player balloting and would presumably be the favorite to get the start. King Felix receives plenty of love from the players as expected, as does ERA leader Clay Buchholz. Japanese imports Darvish and Iwakuma round off the player voting. Jim Leyland notices there are no lefties on the team yet, and there are some very good ones out there so Sale and Holland get in. Bartolo Colon is with his 11 wins. Leyland tabs Kuroda as his final starter, easily the Yankees’ most reliable starter this year.

Mo gets the most votes for the relievers, and should be the designated closer. He’s been the best closer in the AL and, even if he wasn’t, he deserves the honor to close with it being his final All Star Game. Pitch him in the bottom of the 8th if the AL is losing, he deserves an appearance certainly. AL West rivals Nathan and Balfour are also voted in by the players. Leyland opts not to take a 4th closer and instead brings along Jesse Crain, who has amazing numbers as the top set-up guy for the White Sox.

PITCHERS
RHP Grant Balfour, Oakland Athletics
RHP Clay Buchholz, Boston Red Sox
RHP Bartolo Colon, Oakland Athletics
RHP Jesse Crain, Chicago White Sox
RHP Yu Darvish, Texas Rangers
RHP Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners
LHP Derek Holland, Texas Rangers
RHP Hisashi Iwakuma, Seattle Mariners
RHP Hiroki Kuroda, New York Yankees
RHP Joe Nathan, Texas Rangers
RHP Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees
LHP Chris Sale, Chicago White Sox
RHP Max Scherzer, Detroit Tigers

I think the reserves on the AL side will be largely determined by how the players ballot is listed. I believe that the players vote on the same ballot that the fans do, which would mean Encarnacion is technically listed as a DH and is a shoo-in, which opens up Prince to be the backup 1B and make his annual Home Run Derby appearance. Pedroia, Peralta, Longoria, and Cruz seem to be locks to be voted in at their positions. Markakis is voted in despite no longer starting. I think the players would need to write in votes for Daniel Nava which I’m not sure will actually happen, so I’ll say Alex Gordon is voted in, saving Leyland from needing to pick a Royals rep on his own. Santana is voted in as the backup catcher, although Jason Castro of the Astros is having a nearly identical year. Still, Leyland sticks with two catchers and brings along Jose Altuve for additional speed and flexibility. One spot left to fill, so Leyland goes with Adrian Beltre, who is selected as a respected veteran.

RESERVES
C Carlos Santana, Cleveland Indians
1B Prince Fielder, Detroit Tigers
2B Jose Altuve, Houston Astros
2B Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox
SS Jhonny Peralta, Detroit Tigers
3B Adrian Beltre, Texas Rangers
3B Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
OF Nelson Cruz, Texas Rangers
OF Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals
OF Nick Markakis, Baltimore Orioles
DH Edwin Encarnacion, Toronto Blue Jays

Leyland wraps things up with his final vote choices. Daniel Nava gets a chance to be properly voted in. Manny “Doubles Machine” Machado, Josh Donaldson, and Jason Kipnis are certainly all worthwhile candidates. James Loney is also a viable option after quietly putting together a very good campaign in St. Pete.

FINAL VOTE CANDIDATES
3B Josh Donaldson, Oakland Athletics
2B Jason Kipnis, Cleveland Indians
1B James Loney, Tampa Bay Rays
3B Manny Machado, Baltimore Orioles
OF Daniel Nava, Boston Red Sox





National League

I’m going to assume the starters for the NL are the same ones that are currently ahead in the polls. For the starting infield, this is fine as the guys currently slated to start should all be there. But the outfield is unfortunately a mess. Beltran starting makes sense, but at this point I really don’t think Upton or Harper deserve to be there at all, much less starting.

STARTERS
C Yadier Molina, Cardinals
1B Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds
2B Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati Reds
SS Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies
3B David Wright, New York Mets
OF Carlos Beltran, St. Louis Cardinals
OF Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals
OF Justin Upton, Atlanta Braves

Harvey, Kershaw, and Wainwright are all shoo-ins to be among the top 5 in the player vote. Cliff Lee gets is voted in as well as he is well-known and is having a very good year. Somewhat controversially, Strasburg gets in as the 5th guy in player balloting. His numbers have been good, but he’s primarily voted in based on reputation. Corbin seems to still be unknown to so many, which is unfortunate as he’s been amazing. He and Zimmermann have been far too good for Bruce Bochy to leave out. Jeff Locke gets in as a surprise contender for the ERA title. Rookie of the Year contender Shelby Miller gets in as well. Bochy has said he will likely pick Harvey as the starter given that the game is in New York, hopefully he follows through with that.

On to the closers, Grilli has been a great story and the best closer in baseball, so he’s the top guy voted in and is the official closer for the NL team. Kimbrel being voted in is a given. Chapman is the 3rd guy voted in, and while he’s been good, I think his reputation for dominant stuff is what pushes him in ahead of some other guys. While Bochy seems to be a reasonable guy, there always seems to be a token favoritism pick – so Sergio Romo is tabbed as the final pitcher on the squad ahead of Mujica or Soriano.

PITCHERS
LHP Aroldis Chapman, Cincinnati Reds
LHP Patrick Corbin, Arizona Diamondbacks
RHP Jason Grilli, Pittsburgh Pirates
RHP Matt Harvey, New York Mets
LHP Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
RHP Craig Kimbrel, Atlanta Braves
LHP Cliff Lee, Philadelphia Phillies
LHP Jeff Locke, Pittsburgh Pirates
RHP Shelby Miller, St. Louis Cardinals
RHP Sergio Romo, San Francisco Giants
RHP Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals
RHP Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals
RHP Jordan Zimmermann, Washington Nationals

Posey, Goldschmidt, and Gonzalez are all no-doubters to be voted in. Sandoval also is voted in as 3B options are really slim. Rizzo is selected by Bochy as the Cubs’ lone rep pretty much by default. Matt Carpenter is voted in as the backup 2B, but Bochy also opts to take Scutaro, who brings value as the team’s utility guy. Jean Segura is voted in as the backup SS and, by rule, would move into the starting lineup since Tulowitzki won’t be playing. Knowing Tulowitzki won’t play also makes it easier for Bochy to select the speedy Everth Cabrera onto the team as an extra SS and the lone Padres rep. HR leader Domonic Brown and Cuddyer’s hitting streak get them voted in by the players. That leaves 1 OF spot, and although leaving out Carlos Gomez feels criminal, Bochy has to bring a Miami Marlin, so in comes Giancarlo Stanton.

RESERVES
C Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants
1B Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks
1B Anthony Rizzo, Chicago Cubs
2B Matt Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals
2B Marco Scutaro, San Francisco Giants
SS Everth Cabrera, San Diego Padres
SS Jean Segura, Milwaukee Brewers
3B Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco Giants
OF Domonic Brown, Philadelphia Phillies
OF Michael Cuddyer, Colorado Rockies
OF Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado Rockies
OF Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins

Lastly, Bochy needs to make his final vote choices. Gomez really should both be there to begin with, but the Upton/Harper fan voting cost him – at least he’ll get another chance, as will Jay Bruce. Bochy gives the Giants fans one last chance to vote by putting Pence into the mix. Mujica and Soriano also get another chance after being snubbed for Romo.

FINAL VOTE CANDIDATES
OF Jay Bruce, Cincinnati Reds
OF Carlos Gomez, Milwaukee Brewers
P Edward Mujica, St. Louis Cardinals
OF Hunter Pence, San Francisco Giants
P Rafael Soriano, Washington Nationals</font>

<font color=goldenrod>And as I leave off Ian Desmond, he promptly says "fuck you" and hits a 2 run bomb. Could see him making the team anyway once Tulo has to officially be replaced.</font>