well it looks like all the cinderalla teams are gone.

[Hunter Montana]

Once the Braves were done, I was hoping for a rematch of the 1988 World Series. Both teams haven't been there in a while (88 for the Dodgers, 90 for the A's).

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

Oh, and Papi admitted nothing. He said he was surprised his name appeared on a list and he would get to the bottom of it and let us know. Just becasue we are still waiting doesn't mean a thing.

My bad -- I thought Papi admitted to testing positive in 2003. I guess I was mistaken. I retract the statement.

 

[Hunter Montana]

Detroit Tigers' Prince Fielder Eats a Fan's Nachos After Missing Pop-Fly | Bleacher Report

I like the video from "Men at Work" at the end of that article. Classic movie.

I love the "french fries" line and Charlie Sheen's reaction of WTF after.

 

[BostonFan]

The Red Sox no one thought that they would be there, hell a lot of people didn't think they'd make the playoffs. Also it isn't like they went out and spent a lot of money in the offseason. The team that they have now is pretty much the team they had last year.

Yes, I'm a Red Sox fan so I am a little biased but I think that it is going to be a Red Sox - Dodgers World Series.

 

[StanMarsh51]

The Red Sox no one thought that they would be there, hell a lot of people didn't think they'd make the playoffs. Also it isn't like they went out and spent a lot of money in the offseason. The team that they have now is pretty much the team they had last year.

Yes, I'm a Red Sox fan so I am a little biased but I think that it is going to be a Red Sox - Dodgers World Series.

The 2011 Sox that won 90 games was virtually the same team (player-wise) as the 2012 Sox that won 69, so I think a good amount of people felt that the 2013 Sox would probably be closer to the 2011 team than 2012.

I mean, Lester was expected to rebound, which he did in 2013. Ortiz and Ellsbury were able to each play 130+ so that helped out the 2013 team. Napoli was expected to adequately replace Gonzalez, which he did more than did since Gonzalez had a disappointing 2012. Buccholz missed half the year, but he was dominant and we've seen that in the past, so it wasn't that much of a shock. Lackey was able to finally put together a good year in Boston (he was due). They also made a great signing in Uehara, as we saw how much he dominated in 2011-2012, which he continued to do in 2013.

So I'd argue that many knew what this team was capable was if most/all things went right....it was just a matter of whether the key guys who were hurt last year would stay healthy, and players who had off years last year would rebound.

 

[BostonFan]

The 2011 Sox that won 90 games was virtually the same team (player-wise) as the 2012 Sox that won 69, so I think a good amount of people felt that the 2013 Sox would probably be closer to the 2011 team than 2012.

I mean, Lester was expected to rebound, which he did in 2013. Ortiz and Ellsbury were able to each play 130+ so that helped out the 2013 team. Napoli was expected to adequately replace Gonzalez, which he did more than did since Gonzalez had a disappointing 2012. Buccholz missed half the year, but he was dominant and we've seen that in the past, so it wasn't that much of a shock. Lackey was able to finally put together a good year in Boston (he was due). They also made a great signing in Uehara, as we saw how much he dominated in 2011-2012, which he continued to do in 2013.

So I'd argue that many knew what this team was capable was if most/all things went right....it was just a matter of whether the key guys who were hurt last year would stay healthy, and players who had off years last year would rebound.

Agreed.

The last part you said was the nail on top of the head to be honest. We needed the players that were hurt last year to come back and play like they could. Jacoby had a damn good year sucks that he will probably leave because we all know he has Scott Boras as an agent and he is going to play the Sox off of any other team that might show interest.

The Sox did do some key moves but they weren't moves that jumped out at you. The Uehara signing I loved right from the start because at that time I thought he would be a good set up man for Bailey or Hannarhan. He stepped his game up and he has become a pretty damn good closer.

But I still go back to the point that things had to go "right" which they did but I think if a couple of things went wrong they would have probably missed the playoffs. Luckily nothing really went wrong and they have done well thus far. We will see what happens in the ALCS but I like their chances.

 

[ImSmartherThanYou]

To be honest, I consider the Red Sox to be a bit of a Cinderella team....not very many people expected them to make the playoffs

Nope. Anyone who paid attention to the people they kept and the people they shipped out, and the players they acquired in the offseason saw that they were a very deep, talented team. They weren't great in any one area, but had no weaknesses. The wild card was the starting rotation. If they got good starting pitching, they were a shoo-in for the playoffs. I didn't expect them to win the division by such a wide margin, but I had no doubt they'd make the playoffs. I had them with 93 wins and a wild card before the season started, and I wasn't alone.

 

[ImSmartherThanYou]

Yep, and now the "most likeable" team is the team that had the second highest payroll in baseball...

Why does that even matter?

 

[Clayton]

Nope. Anyone who paid attention to the people they kept and the people they shipped out, and the players they acquired in the offseason saw that they were a very deep, talented team. They weren't great in any one area, but had no weaknesses. The wild card was the starting rotation. If they got good starting pitching, they were a shoo-in for the playoffs. I didn't expect them to win the division by such a wide margin, but I had no doubt they'd make the playoffs. I had them with 93 wins and a wild card before the season started, and I wasn't alone.

The general consensus was that the AL East was a division that any team could win. I think I had Tampa winning the division but people were even talking up the Blue Jays and no one was sleeping on Boston.

I actually dont see anything too terribly unlikable about any of these teams

 

[OutlawImmortal]

Yep, and now the "most likeable" team is the team that had the second highest payroll in baseball...

The Dodgers were hampered by an injury riddled start to the season. It's not like Boston where people were pretty sure the players could bounce back, nobody thought Crawford was going to play the whole season or play well. Hanley started the season on the DL and not many thought he could regain his 2009 form. our biggest offseason acquisition in Zach Greinke got hurt, as well as plenty of other question marks. They started the season terribly and after what happened to the Lakers, many thought the Dodgers would see the same fate in terms of coming up short. The Dodgers then got healthier and went from worst to first while riding one of the best stretches of ball ever played by a Dodgers club.

Lots of people claimed the Dodgers were out of their mind when they made that trade with Boston (especially Sox fans), now people are calling the trade a lot closer.

So yeah, huge payroll, but did the majority of the public expect us to be here after the start of the season? My opinion is no.

 

[uncfan103]

Why does that even matter?

Yeah, IMO considering the teams the OP listed as Cinderellas were low payroll teams it's interesting that the most likeable team now is the team with the second highest payroll in baseball.

 

[uncfan103]

The Dodgers were hampered by an injury riddled start to the season. It's not like Boston where people were pretty sure the players could bounce back, nobody thought Crawford was going to play the whole season or play well. Hanley started the season on the DL and not many thought he could regain his 2009 form. our biggest offseason acquisition in Zach Greinke got hurt, as well as plenty of other question marks. They started the season terribly and after what happened to the Lakers, many thought the Dodgers would see the same fate in terms of coming up short. The Dodgers then got healthier and went from worst to first while riding one of the best stretches of ball ever played by a Dodgers club.

Lots of people claimed the Dodgers were out of their mind when they made that trade with Boston (especially Sox fans), now people are calling the trade a lot closer.

So yeah, huge payroll, but did the majority of the public expect us to be here after the start of the season? My opinion is no.

Probably not. But my guess is people expected Tampa but he still mentioned Tampa in the Op because they're a low payroll team. I'm not saying the Dodgers aren't likeable either, I think they're very likeable.

 

[Wazmankg]

Nothing cool about drunk driving, doesn't matter who you are.

Agreed. But that was a few years ago and all indications are that he's cleaned up his act.