Around the Horn (4/14)

[General]

Losing Mangina won't hurt that much. +++

Final Buy or Sell: Da Mutts are off to a hot start, while the rest of the NL East is not. Just look at my Braves.

Buy the Mutts in the playoffs this season? Yanks?

[RockSports17]

I'll buy. The Mets will definitely be in the playoffs. They were my favorites even before the season started. Any time you can add a Billy Wagner, a Carlos Delgado, a Paul Lo Duca, you got a strong team. Pedro, Glavine, Bannister, and Traschel haven't been too shabby in the rotation. You got Wagner, Oliver, Sanchez, Heilman in the bullpen. Delgado, Lo Duca, Beltran, Wright, Reyes for the offense. This team is strong from top to bottom. They'll win the division, they'll go onto the playoffs, they'll keep their hot streak going. This will be an exciting to team to watch this season.

[General]

+++

LoDuca? Yeah, he's a fearsome hitter

Dry?

[Dry1313]

I'm buying, but not as a division winner. They're going to win the wildcard but I could never see such aged pitching and inexpierienced rookies winning enough games to beat out the Braves. They are getting amazing production now, and I don't really expect that to stop. Reyes will again put up 60 SB and if Beltran stays at this form they will have strong hitting. But I can't stress injury enough. With so many frequently injured players: Pedro, Delgado, Cliff Floyd, Billy Wagner, Zambrano, all these young players who aren't proven: Bannister, Maine, Hernandez, and Relievers who don't really display consistency: Jorge Julio, Duaner Sanchez, Darren Oliver, Chad Bradford, I could never pick the Mets over a team that has screamed consistency for 14 years. They will make a nice run with this solid core, but don't expect them to be movers or shakers in the tough NL East, or the entire NL for that matter.

[General]

++++

Dam, what say you?

[Dam8610]

In the weak NL, I'll buy it. They have one of the best lineups in baseball, one of the best pitchers in the league and an overall solid staff, and a solid defense. Their 7-1 start is a bit of a misnomer though. They're not nearly that good, and playing teams that have been struggling early will always help. They look like they could win the NL East, but if they don't, the wildcard is a strong possibility for them.

[General]

+++

Sly, kill off Buy or Sell.

[Slyder]

I will buy playoffs, but I will sell division. They have spent a lot of money and done better getting pieces to complement each other rather than the Yanks plan of nothing but old huge name stars. Wagner solved a problem of the pen it gives them a closer to come in and turn the lights out 35-40 times this year for saves. LoDuca gives them someone who should get some hits and at least through the lineup to the heart of that lineup more often. The only question I have is what have they exactly proven thus far?

Lets look at the schedule shall we. The Mets have been beating up on the Marlins and Nats so far, which isnt saying much. The Nationals are a team in total mess as Jim Bowden continues to try and play fantasy baseball by bringing in Soriano (who had refused to move from 2b for 2 other teams) when you already had yearly all star Jose Vidro coming back and continue to show he has yet to learn from his mistakes of cincinnati by bringing in band aids for pitchers when he needed to go out there and get great pitchers.

The Marlins are the Marlins, most teams BENCH players could probably start for the Marlins right now, except Cabrera and Willis. They suck and are going to be so far in last place this year as they wait for either a new stadium, moving trucks, or new ownership willing to spend money to build the franchise to a sustainable winning team. Ask me again in a couple weeks what I think about the Mets when they play the Braves a few times.

[General]

++++

Tally time!

[RockSports17]

This ATH is rigged. Slyder and Dry are going to win it because they sucked him off, and now their mouths are full of jMUTE



This has gone far enough. You have been dishonorably discharged.

-General

[General]

Well, we got ourselves a volunteer for the first elimination.

Commercials now, Hot Topic next.

[General]

Alrighty men, we have returned.


The Florida Marlins are a pitiful team. They, as a team, make less money than about 20 MLB players. They started 2-6. Newspapers are picking them to win less games than the Miami Heat. This brings the question:

Who ya got: Heat or Marlins, more wins? Dry?

[Dry1313]

Hmm, it's gonna be a photo finish. Right now the Marlins are on pace to go
41-121. I think they will be 10-20 games better. Miami could at best get 54 wins. I'm banking on the Marlins being a bit better. You never know, their youth could band together. Now, if they deal Dontrelle and Miggy Cabs then they don't have a shot, because those two will prodcue roughly half of Florida's wins. But if they end up with ~60 wins, like I think they will, they will beat the Dwayne Shaqs, I mean the Miami Heat.

[General]

+++

Sly?

[Slyder]

Lets look at the odds.
Baseball plays almost twice as many games as NBA does (162-82).
Over the past 4 yrs only Detroit in 2003 (43) and Arizona in 2004 (51) with as many or fewer wins than Wade's Heat team has this year.
Miami is playing Chicago, Boston, and Atlanta to finish the year. First two are trying the vie for playoff spots while Atlanta's long since been playing to increase their shot at the #1 pick. So Ill say Miami wins 2 of 3 to put them at 53. Florida will beat the odds and win in the high 50s to low 60s which seems to be about the watermark for MOST bad teams and pass the Heat. Now if the Marlins do something truely nuts and trade Willis and/or Cabrera all bets are now off.