Baseball's Early Surprises - 2008 (pitching, draft, games, record) - - City-Data Forum

case44 · 04-19-2008, 06:18 AM

Hi, everyone! I'd like to see if I can gather you folks together for a little bit around our friendly neighborhood computer campfire. Every year, we make predictions of how baseball teams will fare during the regular season and also have high expectations for certain players, and every season, there's always going to be a surprise that we didn't expect. It usually involves a team getting off to a fast start that no one anticipated contention for, or a good player starting the season in a slump. I think you know where this is going, so let's hear from you baseballers right now. What do you think are this season's biggest surprises in MLB so far??

Let 'er rip! I'll be back with a few musings.

alleycat · 04-19-2008, 07:11 AM

I'm a Cardinals fan so my opinion is biased; plus, this early in the season I don't keep up with the other teams all that much except for the NL Central. I'm somewhat surprised that the Cardinals have done as well as they have so far and are as strong overall as they are. Again, it's still way early.

Maybe my biggest surprises so far has been Smoltz. He's leading the NL in ERA and second overall. He's only pitched three games (3-0), but that's not too shabby for a 40-year old guy.

Anyway, that's my short take. I'm sure there are other surprises that are more impressive; I just haven't kept up with the other teams.

case44 · 04-19-2008, 07:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alleycat

I'm a Cardinals fan so my opinion is bias; plus, this early in the season I don't keep up with the other teams all that much except for the NL Central. I'm somewhat surprised that the Cardinals have done as well as they have so far and are as strong overall as they are. Again, it's still way early.

Maybe my biggest surprises so far has been Smoltz. He's leading the NL in ERA and second overall. He's only pitched three games (3-0), but that's not too shabby for a 40-year old guy.

Anyway, that's my short take. I'm sure there are other surprises that are more impressive; I just haven't keep up with the other teams.

That's fine, alleycat. Good observations.

Retired Law 08 · 04-19-2008, 08:38 AM

Lets see you have cliff lee cleveland starter off to a 3-0 era .040 start
zach greinke kc starter off to a 3-0 era 0.75 start
matsuzaka boston starter 4-0 3.14 era 28k's
smoltz atlanta 3-0 .056 era
arizonia 12-4 record...all in all should be an interesting year for baseball.

dxiweodwo · 04-19-2008, 03:24 PM

i think the early surpirises are the marlins(they are 9-7) and the cardinals.

the tigers im surprised about how bad they are doing, though they are starting to pick it up right now.

case44 · 04-19-2008, 05:33 PM

On my short list right now is Detroit's slow start, but I should see them rebounding. They've gotten too good to go this bad -- their lineup and starting pitching are just too good. And look at the start Baltimore is having, and everybody picked them to be one of the worst teams in the AL. But they look good now and they do have good young talent that, in a few years, might get some looks around the league. The Nationals started 3-0 to turn heads, but then have gone 2-12 since and have fallen back to earth. And look at the Cardinals, too. They're not supposed to be in first right now, but there they are. The Marlins are doing better than many had expected. Kansas City has cooled a little bit, but they, too, had a blazing beginning. Their story has been Brian Bannister, who appears to be emerging as a dependable starter and potential ace.

nl2134 · 04-19-2008, 10:18 PM

The Giants have won more than one game...

neonwattagelimit · 04-19-2008, 10:41 PM

I think maybe a more appropriate question is "are there any surprises you see actually sticking?" This time every year there's some team that everyone panned that is in first place with a 10-6 record or something, and then they wind up with 65 wins. That team is Baltimore this year. They had nothing, and they still have nothing. St. Louis isn't gonna hold on, either, but they do have a shot a respectability, at least.

One early season surprise that I think could actually stick is the weakness of Detroit's pitching. Rogers is 42 years old, Bonderman fell apart late last year, Willis sucked the whole way through....clearly its early, but there were some real weaknesses in that staff that people overlooked, and now its showing. The bullpen isn't too impressive, either. Their offense is good enough that they should be able to slug their way back, however, it wouldn't exactly shock me if the pitching remains a problem and they only win, say, 85 games.

Is that likely? Probably not. But I'd give it far better odds than Baltimore finishing .500, St. Louis winning the NL Central or Cliff Lee leading the AL in ERA.

case44 · 04-20-2008, 07:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by neonwattagelimit

I think maybe a more appropriate question is "are there any surprises you see actually sticking?" This time every year there's some team that everyone panned that is in first place with a 10-6 record or something, and then they wind up with 65 wins. That team is Baltimore this year. They had nothing, and they still have nothing. St. Louis isn't gonna hold on, either, but they do have a shot a respectability, at least.

One early season surprise that I think could actually stick is the weakness of Detroit's pitching. Rogers is 42 years old, Bonderman fell apart late last year, Willis sucked the whole way through....clearly its early, but there were some real weaknesses in that staff that people overlooked, and now its showing. The bullpen isn't too impressive, either. Their offense is good enough that they should be able to slug their way back, however, it wouldn't exactly shock me if the pitching remains a problem and they only win, say, 85 games.

Is that likely? Probably not. But I'd give it far better odds than Baltimore finishing .500, St. Louis winning the NL Central or Cliff Lee leading the AL in ERA.

And some teams may end up respectable. In this day and age, you just never know. My topic is very valid right now, because I'm only talking about the early part of the season, not July. And just because some things are surprises at this moment, they're simply what they are: surprises. No, Baltimore may not finish at .500, and maybe not even St. Louis, but stranger things have happened.

northbound74 · 04-20-2008, 07:49 AM

Those of us who follow the Royals, aren't too surprised of their early success, nor are we shocked at the recent struggles.
Greinke, Bannister, and Meche, are expected to be solid. Bale's lack of success was predictable. He's gone, for the time being, and they've brought up Hochevar, who was picked first overall in the draft a few years back. He's to start today, so we'll see how that goes.
Peralta has been brought back into the pen, whether he's replacing Nomo, I don't know, but Nomo hasn't been good at all.

The offense has some holes to be filled. There's some talent already in place there, but Guillen hasn't produced yet, and Pena never has been the greatest hitter. He did get off to a nice start last year, I think. There may not be enough hitting power around Pena to keep him in the lineup, especially if a bat comes along in the guise of a shortstop. The sad part is that he's a lot of fun to watch on defense.
Other that that, the guys that have good averages, need to get those hits when someone's actually on base.
If the person on base is Billy Butler, they better hope for a home run, or plenty of extra bases, because the boy simply wasn't put on this earth to move his feet quickly.

The way I see it, if Hochevar pans out okay, and a couple of reliable bats come on board one way or another, the Royals will be in the thick of things.