Troll Lord Games

I haven't seen this mentioned yet on these boards, so I thought I'd start a topic...

What's on your mind about this year's offseason? My biggest worry is the ridiculous cost of pitching, and the possibility the Red Sox might not trade Manny.

Also...does anyone still play MVP 2005 on PC, and if so, have you been updating your rosters? I'm *very* behind and would love to steal an updated roster from someone.
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Sir Fiffergrund, Lord Marshal of the Castle and Crusade Society.

He Who Hides Behind The Elephant's Back

I'd love to comment on this, but the only team I follow is the Cleveland Indians (they sucked this year anyways), and I can;t say much else about the rest of the league.

........................................Omote

FPQ
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I'm curious as to what will happen with Barry Bonds. Not that I am a fan of his but it is going to be interesting if anyone picks him up this year or not. A few sports shows have said he may only play half a season if he ends up in trouble with a grand jury.

Also I'm wondering who the Cards will cut loose this year. With the WS win they have a few they need to keep and if they don't keep Pujols, Weaver or Eckstein(sp?) they may make a mistake.
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The Lord of Ravens
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I'm a die-hard Red Sox fan, so naturally they are catching my interest; if that weren't enough, they are also knee-deep in all sorts of interesting (at best) or questionable (at worst) deals. $51.1 million just to negotiate with Matzusake? I can't believe it. And still no word about what his contract will look like. Now they're going to pay JD Drew $14 million per year to play right field, and Julio Lugo $9 million to play short.

It's pretty ridiculous money. I guess the Sox feel the need to show that they are serious about continuing to be a player. But still ....

As for Manny, I'd bet a fair amount of money that he'll be in left field in Fenway on opening day.

G

Well, seeing that I'm a Brewers fan, there probably won't be a whole lot to get excited about! Good, young talent, but pitching is still a bit thin!!

Yeah, it makes one sick to see how much mediocre pitchers are making these days! Getting millions for a half-assed career with maybe, maybe one good year.

Barry B. - who cares! Bloated, 'roid-boy. Won't get my vote for the Hall.

Speaking of which, can see Cal and Tony G. getting in, but Mr. Androstiendione (sp?) may have a hard time getting this year. Should be interesting to see how that plays out. Wouldn't be surprised to see Sammy get the same treatment when his turn comes around.

Why the Red Sox would want to get rid of Manny and replace him with Drew is beyond me. Most likely a money thing or that he's not the most amiable guy in the clubhouse? Even though he can be a pain, keep him.

I think any team that would pay that amount of money just to negotiate with a player is crazy - I know good pitching is hard to come by, but that is ridiculous!!
Anyway, looking for the Brewers to finish somewhere in the middle (third place most likely).

Deogolf wrote:
Well, seeing that I'm a Brewers fan, there probably won't be a whole lot to get excited about! ...

Anyway, looking for the Brewers to finish somewhere in the middle (third place most likely).

Wow! I don't know if I can call myself a Brewers fan really. But I was born and raised in Brookfield and Milwaukee and grew up as a Brewers fan. I still hope the best for them and will root for them over any other team. But I don't keep up on them. Same thing with the Bucks. I haven't lived in Wisconsin since 1983. I DO call myself a Packers fan still!

Anyway...GO BREWERS!!

I have to say I enjoy my team's relationship with the Brewers. So far the dealings have worked out as a net positive for both sides (I root for the Blue Jays).

Basically, we send you Koskie and Bush for Overbay. I'm liking that deal, and I'm sure you guys are liking Dave Bush's performance. Hopefully he'll keep it up.

We're looking to get Gil Meche now that the Cubbies are paying out the nose for mediocre Ted Lilly. Meche has good stuff, just never put it together...like AJ Burnett. Hopefully Halladay will rub off on Meche like he did on Burnett and we'll have a solid rotation to go with our batting order.

The Red Sox are spending because they ended up in 3rd place, and they'll do most anything to make sure that doesn't happen again. I hate to say it though, Matsusaka is not the solution. The guy pitched well in the WBC against major leaguers, but not over the course of a 162-game season. He'll tire out, or he'll get figured out the second time around the league and he'll get shelled. He could put it all together, but Hideo Nomo experienced similar hype and he fizzled relatively quickly.

So, I say let the Sox spend their cash on injury prone Drew and Matsusaka. Welcome to the AL East, where good careers go bad!
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Sir Fiffergrund, Lord Marshal of the Castle and Crusade Society.

He Who Hides Behind The Elephant's Back

Fiffergrund wrote:
I have to say I enjoy my team's relationship with the Brewers. So far the dealings have worked out as a net positive for both sides (I root for the Blue Jays).

Basically, we send you Koskie and Bush for Overbay. I'm liking that deal, and I'm sure you guys are liking Dave Bush's performance. Hopefully he'll keep it up.

We're looking to get Gil Meche now that the Cubbies are paying out the nose for mediocre Ted Lilly. Meche has good stuff, just never put it together...like AJ Burnett. Hopefully Halladay will rub off on Meche like he did on Burnett and we'll have a solid rotation to go with our batting order.

The Red Sox are spending because they ended up in 3rd place, and they'll do most anything to make sure that doesn't happen again. I hate to say it though, Matsusaka is not the solution. The guy pitched well in the WBC against major leaguers, but not over the course of a 162-game season. He'll tire out, or he'll get figured out the second time around the league and he'll get shelled. He could put it all together, but Hideo Nomo experienced similar hype and he fizzled relatively quickly.

So, I say let the Sox spend their cash on injury prone Drew and Matsusaka. Welcome to the AL East, where good careers go bad!

Hi Casey!

Glad you liked the deal! Hated to see Overbay go! Although, if Fielder keeps progressing, it will make the deal easier to take. He's a nice team player and can definitely hit! Met him once at an autograph signing at a local grocery store here - very nice guy! Hoping David Bush can find a little more consistency and control - if so, look out!

Looking forward to the Cubbies melt-down this year! After paying out all that money (most of the owners are idiots!!), I'll be dancing a jig if they fall flat on their face! That goes for Boston too! I'm sure Matsusaka is a fine pitcher, but they're going to need a bit more than that. Too much money being thrown around recklessly. The owners will NEVER learn!! Their egos won't let them!

Quote:
Looking forward to the Cubbies melt-down this year!

As a Cardinals fan Cub meltdowns are never a bad thing!
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The Lord of Ravens
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[on Red Sox] LOL! I heartily agree. Barring the 2004 aberration, the Bosox have a long history of 1) spending money in strange spurts to keep up with the yankees 2) going for aging sluggers over good pitching. Remember that they could have kept Pedro Martinez a few years ago for a lot less than any of the new signings (admittedly PM is getting old, but still). I share Fiff's suspicion of Matsuzaka - he's never pitched in the bigs. I predict he comes out smokin' and then ends up on the DL by August 1. And the AL East is the home of ridiculous spending and posturing - and I say that even as a Sox fan. It's pretty embarrassing. Of course if they win the 2007 Seris it'll be another tune that I'm singing.
G

Geleg wrote:
[on Red Sox] LOL! I heartily agree. Barring the 2004 aberration, the Bosox have a long history of 1) spending money in strange spurts to keep up with the yankees 2) going for aging sluggers over good pitching. Remember that they could have kept Pedro Martinez a few years ago for a lot less than any of the new signings (admittedly PM is getting old, but still). I share Fiff's suspicion of Matsuzaka - he's never pitched in the bigs. I predict he comes out smokin' and then ends up on the DL by August 1. And the AL East is the home of ridiculous spending and posturing - and I say that even as a Sox fan. It's pretty embarrassing. Of course if they win the 2007 Seris it'll be another tune that I'm singing.
G

This is why I never was an AL East fan. They spend ridiculous amouts to keep up with the joneses then are confused when it blows up in their face. Add to it that the league thinks they shoud automatically have a team in the WS and you get one messed up divison. NL East has similar issues as well but doesn't seem as loud about it. Don't get me wrong there are some good teams over there but the overall attitude of the divison turns me off.
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The Lord of Ravens
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Well, you can't always pick your loyalties - having grown up in the Boston suburbs, I'll be a Bosox (and AL East) follower for life. Don't know whether to put a or a to punctuate this comment.

G

Geleg wrote:
Well, you can't always pick your loyalties - having grown up in the Boston suburbs, I'll be a Bosox (and AL East) follower for life. Don't know whether to put a or a to punctuate this comment.

G

I think it boils odwn to region mostly. We're pretty much raised on the Cardinals hereto the point I swear it's in the water. Hell other regions may look at the central divisions as a bunch of back woods wannabe's for all I know.
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The Lord of Ravens
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Yup, region is pretty important - especially in those formative 8-12 year-old years. You know - collecting baseball cards, living and dying on the team like only a kid can. Experiencing the thrills of the '75 world series and the bitter disappointment of the Bucky Dent game. yup. Those experiences made a mark that are hard to erase. [same goes for Hockey - I'll always be bruins fan, since Bobby Orr was my idol. Who cares if the B's haven't won a cup since I was 7 - they'll always be my team]

I think the internet makes it a lot easier to stay loyal to teams. Before the internet it could be hard to get info on the teams from where you grew up (if you moved away, that is). There'd be an inevitable shifting of interest to the locals. Now, I can stay current on all the Boston teams even though I haven't lived near Beantown since '88. No reason for me to shift to a more local team (not that I don't like 'em, but there's less pressure).

G