2025 MLB

[Oldspartan]

Phillies are an excellent team. No shame in losing to them, even if the loss was self implosion.

 

[Ceez]

Phillies are an excellent team. No shame in losing to them, even if the loss was self implosion.

Im glad you said it, I didn't want to say we beat ourselves but we really did. Yamamoto throwing error, base running blunders on one of the best catchers who dares you to run...youre 100% right, no shame losing to the Phils

 

[Fishmanic]

How bout the red sox yesterday in their home opener. Two homers and 5 runs in the first inning. High scoring game with Sox winning against the Cardinals 13 to 9. That’s 3 wins in a row.

 

[Ceez]

Dodgers slowly coming back to earth. We need a win tonight. Pages has been a huge disappointment, good thing he has options. I think he'll be a good player eventually but he needs some more time to develop.

 

[Oldspartan]

Dodgers slowly coming back to earth. We need a win tonight. Pages has been a huge disappointment, good thing he has options. I think he'll be a good player eventually but he needs some more time to develop.

Dodgers will be fine. I think they may have gotten a little complacent. They need to get a handle on defense though.

 

[jaylach]

YEA!! Cleveland finally won two games in a row! They are now 5-6.. This is sort of normal with them as they always seem to start slow. Don't know if I'm right but I see two reasons for this.

• They always seem to start on the road due to Cleveland weather being so unpredictable. For instance they were the last team in MLB to have a home game with their first 9 being on the road.
• They don't play their known starters much in spring games. This is a case with probably having the best farm system could be an issue. Most of spring games are looking at farm players to get an idea as to who can they bring up if there is an injury.

I can't say that I really agree with their way of doing spring but can't deny that it seems to work for them. It just seems that, if a player goes on the injury list, they have the perfect player to bring up to replace. While not an injury replacement, they bring up Steven Kwan. He has a gold glove in all 3 of his seasons in left field and is one of the better lead-off batters in the league.

 

[jaylach]

Actually Cleveland started 2024 much better than I remembered. Was really a remarkable season for them with being in first place the entire season except for seven days.

They had a rough start this year going just 3-6 in their first nine games; all on the road. They just finished sweeping the White Sox only giving up 4 runs in the three games so mayhaps the bullpen is coming back to near last year when they were considered the best in the league.

I guess I can't really complain as going 6-6 to start when 9 of the 12 games are on the road isn't really as bad a start as it seems.

 

[Ceez]

Dodgers will be fine. I think they may have gotten a little complacent. They need to get a handle on defense though.

Actually Cleveland started 2024 much better than I remembered. Was really a remarkable season for them with being in first place the entire season except for seven days.

They had a rough start this year going just 3-6 in their first nine games; all on the road. They just finished sweeping the White Sox only giving up 4 runs in the three games so mayhaps the bullpen is coming back to near last year when they were considered the best in the league.

I guess I can't really complain as going 6-6 to start when 9 of the 12 games are on the road isn't really as bad a start as it seems.

Yea it could be a lot worse, you could be the Braves..

 

[jaylach]

Yea it could be a lot worse, you could be the Braves..

Or the White Sox. I almost feel bad for the White Sox. I mean, last year, they set an MLB record for losses going 41-121. That really isn't an easy thing to do but not a record I'd want.

Going to make a bold statement here but, in 2024, I think Cleveland's division, AL Central, was the strongest in MLB. I'm not saying the division had the best teams in the league, just the strongest division. I mean how often does it happen that one division sends three teams to the playoffs. Not saying it will be the same in 2025 but Cleveland, KC and Detroit are all above average teams. Then there are the Twins and White Sox who are, basically, just cannon fodder. Yet many analysts claim the division is weak. Reminds me of the three times in the NFL that Cleveland's NFL division sent three teams to the playoffs in 1982, 1994, and 1997. Still, in all three seasons, analysts claimed it was the weakest division in the NFL.

 

[Ceez]

Or the White Sox. I almost feel bad for the White Sox. I mean, last year, they set an MLB record for losses going 41-121. That really isn't an easy thing to do but not a record I'd want.

Going to make a bold statement here but, in 2024, I think Cleveland's division, AL Central, was the strongest in MLB. I'm not saying the division had the best teams in the league, just the strongest division. I mean how often does it happen that one division sends three teams to the playoffs. Not saying it will be the same in 2025 but Cleveland, KC and Detroit are all above average teams. Then there are the Twins and White Sox who are, basically, just cannon fodder. Yet many analysts claim the division is weak. Reminds me of the three times in the NFL that Cleveland's NFL division sent three teams to the playoffs in 1982, 1994, and 1997. Still, in all three seasons, analysts claimed it was the weakest division in the NFL.

I with the "wth do the analysts know" club anyways. Most of those guys are homers or talking niche points to gain viewership. Screaming A Smith is one of the worst followed almost in step with skip bayless...sports TV has become almost unwatchable these days especially with all the political nonsense. I have the local Dodgers network and Jerry Hairston is God awful to watch, makes me cringe and he's an ex Dodger.

I watch nearly all the games and read everything I come across for the Dodgers. I feel like my opinion is more soaked in facts than any TV sports personality and i see the same in you. Hardcore fans know their teams and if they're honest can reasonably predict how their team is gonna do. We can't predict Injury but hell neither can the "sports analysts".

Feel lucky to have had guys like Chick Hearn and Vin Scully who would not only make you feel like part of the game, they would also tell the truth about the Dodgers/Lakers. Chick was brutal, if the Lakers sucked he would flat out say they did and wouldn't sugar coat anything. Vin had a little more tact, his delivery was more eloquent but at the end the message was clear the Dodgers aren't gonna be that great this year. I must be getting old, I'm always reminded of better days from the past

 

[jaylach]

After really looking at things the Cleveland start is a whole lot better than I initially thought.

• Ya, they started 3-6 in the first nine games but all those were on the road and probably should have been 4-5 if not for a bullpen meltdown. 4-5 in 9 games on the road to start would not have been bad at all.
• Pitching is coming around with only giving up 4 runs total in the last 4 games.
• Even with starting 3-6 they are now at 7-6, only a half game behind Detroit which I think may be their main problem this year.
• They are getting more of the clutch hits especially with 2 outs to score.
• On the down side Jose Ramirez, third base, has already just about, if not equaled his, 2024 error total but I have no doubt that he will get it back together as he is one of the better players in the league finishing as the runner-up for league MVP 5 times.
• Possibly the most important factor is that they are 6-1 within their division. Beat the teams in your division and you probably make the playoffs.
• I still don't like losing Josh Naylor at first base in favor of Carlos Santana as Naylor would likely give a higher RBI total but, even if 39 years old, Santana DID get a gold glove at first last year so, even if short term, may be a better defensive player at the position. In the long run I think I'd still prefer Naylor.

All in all, after looking at everything, I think that Cleveland has had a decent start if not a good start.