Emmz

USC is going downhill, fast.

Kinda like RBI's...

OPS+ Accounts for park advantages, etc. Matsui to Granderson is a downgrade, any way you spin it.

And Cameron has hit around 20-25 HR in San Diego and Milwaukee over the past 4 seasons... I think he could certainly hit the upper half of the 20's at Fenway, with low-30's being the absolute dream scenario.

Not to mention Beltre has more power than Lowell ever had.

I could potentially see Cameron and Beltre hitting over the 25 mark, but that's a high estimate, maybe even low 30 mark. I agree that maybe we've regressed on paper, but I expect a full season of Ortiz being about where he was after the terrible start. Add in Beltre, who I believe is about the same as Lowell offensively, with far superior defense, Cameron, who isn't Bay offensively, but his defense is way superior, Scutaro, who's not great defensively, but better than what we had before Gonzales, and MUCH better than anyone we had last year offensively, as well as a full year of V-Mart. I think that brings us pretty close to where we were last season. Along with that, our starting five is, on paper, the best in baseball, there's not too much of an argument about that (Unless you're a homering Yankee fan who thinks that Vasquez is going to be an ace this year. Not naming any names). All of the improvements and upgrades, in my opinion, make us a better ball club, and I expect us to win more games, and compete in the playoffs. I also like that the Yankees have offensively regressed, replacing Damon, Matsui and Melky with Nick "Feeblebonez" Johnson, Curtis Granderson and Brett "The Benchwarmer" Gardner.

C'mon, you gotta say it in all caps... Hell, you should probably put it in bold, and the biggest letters ever. WHATCHA GUNNA GO, WHEN THE PLUMPAMANIACS RUN WILD ON YOU?!?!?

Even the '87 Twins were mediocre during the regular season. The weren't exactly considered to be the favorites. Same goes with 1991.

Hermida and Hall have some good stats against righties, and lefties, respectively. And yeah, 'Tek and Lowell too. Bench is definitely upgraded, the pitching as a whole is upgraded, the offense is upgraded a several spots, but overall, is probably moderately downgraded. The defense is upgraded immensely, though.

Yeah, great analysis, I love this, and to me it seems a lot like the Sox have most definitely made a huge overall improvement. In reality, when it comes right down to it, the most important thing is run differential. While the offense may have taken a slight hit, our rotation has definitely improved, and the bullpen is definitely still well above average. Defensively, we were pretty horrible, but we've gone from amongst the worst, if not THE worst, to elite. I like our chances this year, I see this as optimism.

Lol, Beckett isn't going to be making CC Sabathia money. He's going to make Lackey money. And not as good? How are we not far superior to last year's team? Honestly, we've upgraded the defensive massively, as well as the rotation, the the point of being the best in baseball in both aspects. Also, we've upgraded two positions, while upgrading defensively, and not taking a massive hit offensively in LF. Our lineup is now more consistent all the way through, and our rotation is now the best in baseball, regardless of what your homering tells you. Allow yourself to be unbiased for one second, and admit that the Red Sox have upgraded the team, while yours has probably taken a step back.

It's pointless. You don't say anything, he'll say "SEE I TOLD YOU, YOU CAN'T EVEN MAKE AN ARGUMENT". If you respond with "Yes, and here's why..." He'll simply tell you something to the effect of "Well then, you're cracked". There's rarely logic attached to these things.

Ahhhhhh! My eyes. Paragraphs man!

Dude, you had like 11 posts. You were never even here in the first place.

PLUMPAMANIA IS RUNNIN WILD BROTHER!

They have a pretty historic program if you count their players, and they have a strong following, but they're more known for producing some really great NFL talent, like Donovan McNabb, Dwight Freeney, Marvin Harrison, Ernie Davis and Jim Brown... Ernie Davis, though, never really got a chance to excel in the NFL... Sad story.

Yeah, they blow this year though. They usually are in the Frozen Four, but this year, no dice.

Most of the guys on the first page haven't been active in like 4 years... And elsrbueno has made like 3 posts in 2 years. And Zenny made a Chicago Newspaper with one of his comments? WOW!

University Of Minnesota has 6 National Titles, all of them from the start of National Title play to 1960. They're pretty much historic... Just Ancient Historic. And most consider Nebraska to be in the North. And isn't USC South, too? Syracuse... North

lol

Yes, and we all know how legendary Tayshaun Prince and Rajon Rondo were

I'd take you seriously if you weren't a Cavs/Browns/Guardians fan.