Cocos Disciples

So we kept that lead for about five minutes.

No, no huzzah for that.

Huzzah for quick outs and sub-6 ERAs.

Well that's kind of encouraging.

Was the lineout hit hard?

Wooo Overachiever Lowell! 1-0.

But in your fake ballpark you'll have all your fans chanting "TU-LO!" and it will create atmosphere, making up for the runs you lose by having Tulo over Hanley at SS.

Good job working some counts this inning. Tallet already at 23 pitches. And yes, I am Gamecasting this.

Lineups Ellsbury Pedroia Youkilis Bay Lowell Ortiz Varitek Baldelli Green Scutaro Hill Rios Wells Lind Bautista Overbay Chavez Inglett

To spark some conversation, I figured I would do some rankings for teams thus far. Top 3 Rotations: 1. CrespoBlows: Easy choice here. He has the best pitcher in the game, and then a fantastic staff behind him. King Felix has kind of been forgotten after the initial hype, but he's still only 23 and I expect him to be great. Lester has struggled this year, and his 2008 may even be his ceiling, but he's a solid middle of the rotation starter, with a higher potential. Kazmir, like Lester, has sucked this year. He has career worsts in walk, hit, K and HR rates. Still, this is an extreme for him and we've seen what he can do. Porcello is going to be amazing. 2. DipreG: Lincecum and Price should be one of the best 1-2 combos in this league, probably second behind Santana-Hernandez. I don't think I need to say much more about them. Verlander struggled last year but is off to a great start this year, leading the AL in strikeouts, and boasting a 1.10 WHIP. He should be a solid #2 for most teams, and is a 3 on this team. Scott Baker is a nice piece in the 4 slot. He had an excellent (albeit not full) season last year and is just entering his prime. The 5 slot is still up in the air here. 3. Dojji: I was torn on this last spot in my rankings between a bunch of staffs. Greinke makes this staff, however. Obviously he's having a remarkable 2009 so far, and he has the stuff to continue it. The question for him is the composure, and it seems that he's worked that out. Shields is another great starter, and though he's having a slight down year so far, I think he's a pretty good bet for a mid-3 ERA with a 1.1-1.2 WHIP. The rest of the rotation is more iffy for me, which is why I teetered with some other teams. Zambrano doesn't thrill me with his control (led the NL in walks in 2006 and 2007), but he's worked around it to be a fairly consistent (apologies to Joe Morgan) pitcher, and a good value in the 3 slot. Bush is a very interesting pitcher. If you look at his stats the past three years they don't jump out--ERAs of 5.12, 4.18 and 3.92 from 07-09. His WHIPs are more impressive, and I think he's a solid middle of the rotation guy. I'll do lineups when teams are a little closer to having a full 9.

Okay so I figure taking Chipper Jones probably requires an explanation. I know he's 37, but he's had a 1.000+ OPS for the past three years, and should be one of the league's best hitters through at least 2010. After that I have Pedro Alvarez, the top 3B prospect in baseball. BP projects Jones, in 2011, hitting .322 with a .954 OPS. So yes, I know his production will drop, but I don't think it's to the point where he isn't worth a selection. I feel great about the 3B position for all five years. EDIT: Plus, after drafting 4 consecutive guys from this year's BP Top 25 prospect list, my team needs a veteran presence.

Chipper Jones

This game needs some CD mojo. Brad Penny vs. Brian Tallet.

And he was beyond miserable offensively.

lol nancy drew

Ughhhhhhh @ Jacko's one pick. Maybe he wants two versions of Phil Hughes: Jacko's dream version and reality version.

I don't know if Penny is a time bomb. I'm sure he'll have the occasional terrible game, but other than that I think he'll be a solid back end of the rotation pitcher, if healthy (fairly large 'if').

Our rotation should improve, as Lester and Dice are not this bad (though not as good as last year). Plus, Smoltz and Buchholz should add a little extra when they get called up. Ortiz has nowhere to go but up. Still, I'm not loving this team right now.

Bard was awesome tonight from what I saw in the box score. That's basically the only encouraging thing.

Wouldn't be shocked if you were in 1st for a long time.

I had to think about that post for a while, don't make fun of it.

Win.

I have a hole at 3B at this point, and I think Alvarez will be in the bigs for the majority of the next 5 years.

Woot victory.

Damn, Smoak was on my short list.