SB Nation User Blog: TexasAsfan

Good, informative Baseball Blogs?

TexasAsfan — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 18:23:04 -0000

As someone who spends much of the day browsing the internet when they are supposed to be working, what other baseball blogs are worth checking out on a daily basis? Is there anything out there as good as Fire Joe Morgan? (Which i still go back and read old posts on, because all of it still applies)

Currently I read Rob Neyer (Or Sweetspot, I'm not sure how to refer to that now), Shysterball, and of course AN, but what else is out there?

Rob Neyer picks the A's to win...

TexasAsfan — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 22:34:11 -0000

The AL West:

From: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4047201&name=Neyer_Rob

NL West
1. Dodgers
2. Diamondbacks (WC)
3. Rockies
4. Giants
5. Padres

I had the Diamondbacks in first place until Manny re-upped with the Dodgers, but it's still going to be close and I like Arizona for the wild card. The Padres won't be as bad as everybody thinks, and could almost as easily finish third as fifth.

NL Central
1. Cubs
2. Cardinals
3. Brewers
4. Reds
5. Astros
6. Pirates

I've got the Brewers and Cardinals both winning 83 games, but I'll give the Cardinals the edge because Chris Carpenter and Jason Motte might be twin sensations (though probably not). The Pirates probably are the one team in the majors most likely to lose 100 games.

NL East
1. Mets
2. Braves
3. Phillies
4. Nationals
5. Marlins

The Marlins are drawing some positive reviews because of their unproven-but-obviously-talented starting pitchers, and I have to admit they could surprise me. But the numbers I've seen argue that the Marlins are the worst team in the division, a few games behind the Nationals. As for the Phillies, they'll be pretty good but I believe the gimpiness of Cole Hamels and the oldness of Jamie Moyer will drop the champs to third place (also, Brad Lidge won't be perfect again this year).

AL East
1. Yankees
2. Red Sox (WC)
3. Rays
4. Blue Jays
5. Orioles

It has quickly become a meme: The three best teams in the majors all are in the American League East. This happens to be true. Doesn't mean they'll finish with the three best records, or that they'll be the three best teams three months from now. But at this moment on paper, they're the best. What's more, they're close enough that the order could easily be reversed. But I think the Rays' best won't come until 2010 and '11, and that this year they'll miss the playoffs by a couple of games.

AL Central
1. Indians
2. Tigers
3. Twins
4. Royals
5. White Sox

There won't be any terrible teams in this division -- in fact, I can't find any terrible teams in the American League -- but I'll be shocked if anyone here wins 90 games. The Indians are seriously deficient after their top two starters, and that's without even considering the possibility that Cliff Lee was a fluke last season and Fausto Carmona was a fluke the season before that. I just think the Indians' deficiencies are less damaging than those of the other contenders.

AL West
1. Athletics
2. Angels
3. Mariners
4. Rangers

I know, I know … It's probably a little bit crazy to pick the A's, considering that their current pitching rotation includes five pitchers who have combined for the grandly splendiferous total of 18 major league wins. Actually, that might make me certifiable. But if two or three of them pitch well and Justin Duchscherer comes back strong and the Angels continue to miss three of their starters … Hey, it could happen!

I do agree with his picks for the most part, I think the Rangers will finish 3rd, the M's are still a mess, and the Rangers will probably win a lot of 9-8 games. I also think the Giants could really surprise if they could get any offense going.

The MoneyBall Movie

TexasAsfan — Sat, 02 Sep 2006 00:08:01 -0000

There was a blurb in ESPN the magazine about Vince Vaughn and George Clooney vying to play Mr. Beane in the film adaptation.

Facing only those two choices, I would go with George Clooney, because he seems a little more like Billy than does Vicne Vaughn does, VAugh is a little too smarmy, and would probably make Billy look more like a swindler than a genius. Clooney could pull off the negotiations better, I could see him doing the part of the book from draft day where he's calling up Steve Phillips, gets the secretary, and asks "whos' the best looking GM in the league?"

I think Kevin Costner would be best in the role, he's done more baseball movies than anyone which is both good (Bull Durham) and bad (For the love of the game)

HH is delusional

TexasAsfan — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 12:53:15 -0000

I can't wait to see their blog once the A's clinch (I believe the magic number is 24)

Their most recent blog post has their magic number on it (38) despite how they are closer to the 4th place team than the 1st place team. They really need to pull their heads out of the sand.

I think today's game will probably be similar to last night's I'm just glad that Los Kirk was able to keep the line up down because Beckett looked really good. I hope Zito can put together another very good outing, I'm not going to say that him giving up a hit before the 7th will be a dissapointment, but he is on my fantasy roster, and I need the ERA and WHIP boosts