World Series predictions?

[trappincoyotes39]

mad Baum well is simply on another level In Post season baseball and that is when it really matters. The AL is supposed to be run generators well he has pitched giving up 1 run in all of his appearances against AL teams. ERA below .29 just crazy good have to hand it to this kid at 25 years old. A monster pay day is comming his way for sure!

Great series close game 7 high drama MLB should be proud of the product.

[bblwi]

The national league found a way to win another WS. That is great as I have always been a NL fan. We were in NY City that Wednesday and did get a chance to see the last two innings of Game 7. I don't know what free agency will do to the lineups but the Giants have been competitive when it comes to compensation. Kudos to the Giants manager 3 WS championships in 5 years! Pretty outstanding feat.

Bryce

[trappincoyotes39]

Opportunistic is what the ginats are. But they will have many decisions for pay roll coming in the next 3-4 years their playoff appearances will drop off. Outside of Baum and Cain they need more starting rotation and middle relievers are a shade above avg at best. Hudson and peavy are on the old side and really just are fill in pitchers.

[bblwi]

The Giants don't have that many more high value free agents then many other teams do and the fact that a player can be on a winner won't hurt recruiting good arms or bats either. Giants are strong up the middle and that makes teams competitive.

Bryce

[trappincoyotes39]

Bryce the giants are not a well balanced team they got,hot at the right time.

next year their starting rotation will be suspect, their middle relievers not stellar, they look to loose there best clutch hitter in Sandoval, They have some good talent at some positions but they have some major holes in starting rotation to fill. A they where a wild card this year for a reason. The dodgers aren't going anywhere soon. Other teams will get better.

one can look at the royals the same way they will max out below 100 million in payroll because the owner will not let them go above it. Their starting rotation is young and not one but maybe two could be shelved for long periods with injuries, some had issues coming down the stretch this year, pitchers anymore are used and abused for the moment. Not like it was years ago, the nasty cutters and curves and things at much higher velocities puts more strain on the elbow, tommy john surgeries are at all time highs the last 5 years and people wonder why? 200 + innings throwing what they do? The human body and mechanics can only take so much before something gives.

It think in the future you will see a 5 man rotation go to 6-7 because of what it takes to get hitters out these days and what happens to young arms because of it.

Look at the Yankees paying far too much for the Japanese pitcher who was abused over there, I had no doubt in my mind he wouldn't make it long before he had issues wi his arm. They where pitching him 120 pitches and then the next day bringing him back for another 40-50 to try and win the next day. The yankess where fools to offer him the money they did plus the buy out amount to the Japanese team he played for. plain crazy if you ask me. This guy will be lucky to have 4-5 years in the majors.

[bblwi]

Well balanced or not with Bruce and Dave as key managers and coaches they know how to make the tea, gel when it needs to. The Giants are stronger than many think and thus the compete better than many think they should. With a marginal pitchers other than Baungartner they did very well and a lot of that is good coaching.
The Giants figured out how to take the Royals out of their speed game and thus they scored far fewer runs then they did during the season and other post season games.
We need to remember that the Giants endured the "elephant" in the room Bonds for years when he would not communicate with anyone and so they know how to deal with adversity and I am sure they know the value of being for each other as a team. They don't need to go out and try to bolster their stats they have the hardware to prove they know how to win.

Bryce

[trappincoyotes39]

Bryce in baseball a great coach manager might make a difference in a few games a season, you are what you are for the most part in baseball. What we saw this year well is not something that happens very often lighting in my bottle only the second time since wild card baseball that both the AL and NL has sent wild cards to the World Series the giants are 1-1 in that regard.

The giants a strong team? No they are like the royals they both got not at the right time, the odds of seeing this happen again in the next 5-7 years? not good for 2 wild card teams to show up in the World Series.

Again next year the dodgers, the angels, nationals will still be heavy favorites to make it to the World Series and for good reason they have better overall players, even the greatest manager with less than ideal match ups will lose more than they win in my playoff format.

The royals played a game in which if they had a lead they had a decent shot at winning they are not built to come back from 3-4 run deficit many times, their bull pen is setup to protect leads and the team not set up to manufacture runs late in games, or they would have had a division title versus a wild card .

[trappnman]

giants have won, what..3 WS in 5 years?

think they got it down

I think managers are far more important in baseball than perhaps any other sport-

Twins just hired Paul Molitor, and his comment was things change quick, and he is here to win, and I think he will do just that. If the Twins open up that checkbook a little, and get a couple of good free agents, I think they will turn around quick-

Will molitor at the helm, and a good bet Robin Yount is going to be here as a coach- I think there will be free agent interest in MN-

time will tell, but going to be an interesting winter

[bblwi]

And you don't think that teams and general managers don't know these things? I am sure they are working on all aspects of their game and managerial expertise. Your definition of a good team and my definition are different. Good teams win games they need to win. Good managers know how to deal with the weak areas of their team and win. When you empower players to do better than they are expected to do they do better. There is nothing to say that those teams will be wild card teams next year. They may be division winners.

Bryce

[trappincoyotes39]

Sure they do but many are handcuffed by owners who have a cap on what they are willing to spend each year,even at the demise of their fans at times.

[bblwi]

Well that is an owner's choice and it has little to do with how managers and coaches get the best out of their players they have. Many fans enjoy good baseball and thus many understand the nature of the beast when it comes to free agency etc. Learning to appreciate the level of play that a team with limitations dollar wise is something that many good fans are aware of. We saw a lot of energy this year from KC, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee etc. small market teams with medium at best salaries that made impacts within their respective divisions.

Bryce

[trappincoyotes39]

Bryce sure it does you can have the best manager in the game without the right player personnel you go no where for a period of time, like the royals who it took 29 years to get back to the playoffs, catching lighting in a bottle is far different from other teams with slightly higher payroll making the playoffs more often than not.

Do you relies how many excellent ball players the royals have let go through the years due to money? Years they could have made a playoff appearance .

You look at certain teams and they are built better just the way it is, without having to have a top 5 payroll.

[bblwi]

Yes I do and that does not address the owners choices of how he/she wants to invest in their team. Royals are only one of many teams that lose good players but that is the American way. I don't mind the way it is today. If you want to know about how much the owners controlled the game in the early history of the game watch the Ken Burns Baseball DVDs. He dis an outstanding job of relating the history of the game. Curt Flood put his career on the line to finally break the grip the owners had on players and so players owe Flood a debt of gratitude. When and if the ML's ever want to consider revenue sharing etc. to create parity then that may change some things. Good players don't always make teams winners either.

Bryce

[trappincoyotes39]

Bryce MLB has revenue sharing 31 percent of all teams local revenue goes to a pot and gets split by 30 teams equally, also the MLB general pot mainly TV revenue gets shared as well with smaller market teams and a salary luxury tax is also placed on large market teams. Plenty of revenue sharing in fact in many years small teams like the pirates even though they stunk on the field the owner made record profits from such revenue sharing. getting paid to put a bad product on the field, yep makes for happy fan base.

Good players are that for a reason and One needs a balance of young up coming talent and solid seasoned players. The cardinals are a great example of that, they have their core people and always bring up young talent late in the season even when it means a playoff birth on the line no better way to see how they can perform.

The royals owner has a set amount 100 million pay roll he wants to stay darn close to that even after going to a World Series and a major boost in revenue sharing dollars. hard to stay consistent when your key people come up for a contract and your willing to move them rather than pay a few of them the market rate.

Goo to buck night at the K been there sounds like a great deal until your sold 6oz cup of pop for a buck, stale peanuts with the date right on the bag that they are 3 months past the expiration date on the bag for a buck and hotdogs that I can buy on sale at a grocery store for .89 for 8 of them .

In have been to more than a few royals games and more cardinals games two totally different mind sets by ownership groups without a doubt, even with my cardinal bias. We shall see next season when I attend the cardinals/royals game at the K if the royals have more blue in the stands than the red of cardinals fans. It darn sure should be after this season, but the ol saying by the gate attendants is we like to see cardinals fans it means the only sell outs of the year at the K

I hope for the royals fan base sake the owner gets his head out of his butt and keeps this team competitive for a period of years time will tell, adding a second wild card team to the mix should give that an added bonus now let's see what they do with it in KC. I have no problems with the fans strictly ownership and GM stuff.

[trappincoyotes39]

It was a very good year for Major League Baseball; as in historic. According to a source speaking on condition of anonymity, for 2013 MLB gross revenues will exceed $8 billion for the first time, ever. While exact figures were not revealed, baseball will end 2013 with revenues between $8-$8.5 billion.

Last year, revenues were above $7.5 billion. While attendance has been ostensibly flat for the league, the continuing growth in television revenue is a key reason for the rapid escalation.

And, it’s very possible that MLB could see revenues in the $8.5-$9 billion range by this time next year. The league will see revenues double for new broadcast deals with their national network partners FOX, ESPN, and TBS that will add an additional $788.3 million a year to the league’s coffers.


In related news, sources indicate that the massive Dodgers television deal that has been reported to be anywhere from $7-$8 billion over 20 years appears to be on track for approval by the league. At this stage, issues around the revenue-sharing component have been resolved and it’s down to other issues. The deal is expected to be cleared by the league before the start of the 2014 season.

In 1995, MLB revenues were $1.4 billion, or over $2.2 billion when accounting for inflation. Since that time, gross revenues for the league have grown a staggering 264 percent in 18 years.

[trappnman]

big market teams, can afford to spend every year-

small market teams, tend to peak, and then have a series of off years, then regroup by either developed young talent, or getting a few 1 year free agents.

[trappincoyotes39]

Tman that is what profit sharing is all about or supposed to be, the TV revenues are climbing and there should be no excuse that these owners who are all worth far more than the players set a pre determined amount they will spend, they make a profit no doubt but how much profit versus fan satisfaction are they willing to go to?

Some small market teams do an excellent job at keeping spending lower than the top 5 and still put a good product on the field more years than not.

I do not want an owner that will go all in every 20-25 years and then go back to the cellar so he can stick more into his pocket at the cost of the fan base, these owners should know why they get involved in professional sports that is to produce a winner and make money I do not like owners who,put making an extra 15-20 million over putting a competitive product out on the field and the reason profit sharing was put in, in the first place.

it was to make baseball more competitive to keep revenues up for everyone because of TV deals and butts in the seats, not to just take their share of another teams profit and put it directly into their pocket.

Those are teams I will not support or be a fan of. My KC Cheifs are very close to such but they seem to be willing to spend more and it was the fans outcry a few years back that got things shake in up in KC. I think ownership got the word for at least awhile the fans took it upon themselves by hiring a plane to fly over before every game with a large banner saying fire the GM and make coaching changes. Plus lots of signs that most never got aired on TV

baseball doesn't seem to have that kind of rabid action yet but as revenues increase owners will have to answer to the fans at some point. excuses run out in all things in life.

[bblwi]

There are many reasons capitalist buy pro sporting teams. Some do it for tax write offs, some because they want to build winners and some to make profits. Some try to do all if they can. We can't control what owners want from their investments and the vast majority of us don't have even the combined wealth to buy into pro teams. How community or fan based an owner or owners are depends mostly on their motives and how responsible to fans and community they choose to be.
Some of us live in areas or support teams that meet our expectations and some of us don't. The only community based franchise I know of in pro sports are the Green Bay Packers and they have a very successful history in success as well as community support. They are also extremely charitable within the Green Bay area as well. We are fortunate that a city of 100K can and does have a competitive franchise.
As an example of building your own franchise the Packers have only 5 players on their current roster that have played for other NFL teams. They Bears on the other hand who the Pack demoralized last night have 31 players from other NFL teams. Relying on free agency does not always build winners and to a certain extent that is true with ML Baseball as well. Probably the best example in ML baseball on buying a WS was the Florida Marlins a few years ago and within 1-2 years most of those players were gone and the Marlins really tumbled.

Bryce

[trappnman]

but at the same time TC- small market areas have considerable reduced revenue to spend in all the related things within their fan area- team hats, shirts, concessions, etc even ticket price and attendance. profit sharing is only part of it. no way are all teams equal in $$$ to spend


twins have always built from within- but the trouble is, we get players that become so good, and demand so much money- that the team cannot afford to keep them. the plan for the Twins (and overall we have been very successful) has always been foundation of home grown players top defense- and a few free agents to give them that added spark- and its won us world series

I think we will be very competitive in our division at the least

[bblwi]

Steve I don't look at the losing of great athletes to other teams for money as a bad thing. If your franchise can develop young players what great fun to go to games and watch the young players emerge as great players. That way you can go to any home game at reasonable cost and see some great players while they are building their resume.
I got the chance to see A Rod as a single A player in Appleton twice before he moved up. he was in the majors later that same season. You could just see how good he was at that time in his career and b4 all the crap as well. There are ML teams that are like farm teams to the big money boys and that is okay by me. Look at some of the greats they stay with their teams like Banks, Aaron, Oliva, Killabrew, Puckett to name just a few. I have always been a Paul Molitor fan so I hope he has success with the Twins.
As good as he was he spent 12 years with the Twins getting ready to manage at this level. Confidence yes, arrogance no.
Bryce