2012 MLB Regular Season Running Thread

Melky, Pagan, Posey, Panda and Belt are not a bad five, but they do need one more bat in the OF.

Is Brown crapping out in AA?

 

At least part of this latest run is finally just letting Belt play. He is finally becoming the player they hoped he'd be just in time. Guys like Pagan and Theriot are only going to get you so far. They desperately needed to get Belt going and Sandoval healthy.

 

I saw Brown hit an absolute bomb on Sunday at the Diamond -- right over the section of the left-field wall that got ripped apart by the storm that blew through the city on Monday afternoon.

Only seen him play a few times, but I like him. He's one of those young guys who always seems to make the game look pretty easy. Runs well, throws well and has some pop.

 

How's he going to pay for their final two years?

 

He is a highly rated prospect for the Giants, but everytime I look at his numbers he is hitting about .250 in AA and is 24. I would think he would be close to making the leap soon.

Hopefully he pans out.

 

Really good story on Harper from the Post's Kilgore today.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nationals/bryce-harper-loves-washington-and-says-he-wants-to-play-his-entire-career-there/2012/06/29/gJQAnc5OBW_print.html

 

First pitch 8:05 a.m. PDT.

 

Yup. I like the kid a little bit more.

 

I see this is a running thread...but does that mean no threads on specific discussions?

Was curious about a midseason thread..

Biggest surprise teams..
Headed to the World Series at this point...
Mid-seasonleague MVPs, Cy Youngs..

would you change your preseason predictions?

 

This seems odd, but to me anyway, the Yankees are one of the biggest surprises. I thought when Rivera went down, with their age and more-than-questionable starters (hi, Phil!), they'd fade. But they've played excellently, despite even more injuries. Now, they might get to critical mass if Sabathia doesn't heal quickly, but so far, better than I expected.
Surprised the Tigers have been so mediocre, and of course, surprised that Pittsburgh hasn't sucked. A. J. Burnett for Cy Young!! (ducking incoming posts).

 

I'm going to be a little suprised if the Dodgers really tank instead of this just beinga mid-summer burp for them. Washington surfaced two years earlier than I thought they would. The Braves, I felt, was the best team in the NL in April. That hasn't happened - yet.

It's hard to imagine the Rangers three-peating with the inconsistent pitching...which makes them look like the old 15-10 shootout Rangers. Yet, Darvish has lived up to stuff, Harrison has been a shock and they both have 10 wins. It's a long season and maybe they get well and in sync by September. But I like the Angels slow but steady climb. Biggest disappointment? Detroit.
MVP AL..Hamilton ....Price wins the AL Cy Young; Beltran the NL MVP and Bumgarner the Cy.

 

Baseball is a funny game, in that you never know when that light will click on -- if ever -- and a player will start performing to the level of his talent.

I still remember interviewing Wilson Betemit when he was the Braves' No. 1 prospect for 3 or 4 consecutive years, yet couldn't get more than a cup of coffee in Atlanta and spent most of those seasons stuck in Richmond.

For a while there, it looked like he had total bust written all over him, but he's found a role as a reserve who has proven capable of hitting major league-caliber pitching.